Gertie’s Birdseed Diner
by Michael Mark & Tom Chapin
© HCD Music & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

Every morning at a quarter to five
The early birds all start to arrive.
Gertie’s Diner is coming alive
And the rush is about to begin.
Gertie mixes up her menu with care,
The special seed today is “Sesame Rare.”
The smell of sunflowers filling the air
And the regulars are winging in.

Hear the cackle of the grackle
And the moanin’ of the dove
And the mockingbird a-rockin’
From the branch above
And the catbird sittin’ in the catbird seat. He says,
“Pull up a perch and eat!”
Hear a Nashville warbler sing a country song
And all the birdies at the counter are a-chirpin’ along. They go
Flap, flap, flap. Tweet, tweet, tweet
At Gertie’s Birdseed Diner.

The Bluebird Special ha a wonderful crunch.
The poppy seeds sure pack a punch.
Come for breakfast, stay for lunch.
You never know who you’ll see.
Sparrows, starlings, they all fly through
In cardinal red and jaybird blue.
Would you believe I saw a cockatoo, too
Chattin’ with a chickadee?

Hear the cackle of the grackle
And the moanin’ of the dove
And the mockingbird a-rockin’
From the branch above
And the catbird sittin’ in the catbird seat. He says,
“Pull up a perch and eat!”
Hear a Nashville warbler sing a country song
And all the birdies at the counter are a-chirpin’ along. They go
Flap, flap, flap. Tweet, tweet, tweet
At Gertie’s Birdseed Diner.

“We’ll make your migration feel like a vacation.
Just follow the swallow, it’s not too hard,
To the big bird feeder in the little backyard.
Just fly in to gertie’s, be served by Gertie’s Birdies.
“We’re dishin’ up the very best Birdseed mix.”
What a bunch of fabulous chicks.

Hear the cackle of the grackle
And the moanin’ of the dove
And the mockingbird a-rockin’
From the branch above
And the catbird sittin’ in the catbird seat. He says,
“Pull up a perch and eat!”
Hear a Nashville warbler sing a country song
And all the birdies at the counter are a-chirpin’ along. They go
Flap, flap, flap. Tweet, tweet, tweet
At Gertie’s Birdseed Diner.

Nothin’ could be finer
On the way to Carolina
For a towhee or a bunting
Or a phoebe or a mynah
Than to stop in at the diner.
“I’ll meet you at the Diner.”
Gertie’s Birdseed Diner!

This song appears on Tom Chapin's In My Hometown CD.
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