I Can Pick Up Dog Poop

by @nancycunning

Liner Notes

I've been noticing an increase in dog poop on sidewalks in my neighborhood lately. A few years ago (maybe early 2017?) I noticed the same thing and decided to start a little practice of picking it up sometimes. This was before the NYC plastic ban bag, but that's maybe another song. This time, I've been wondering whether it's still needs to be part of my mission, or whether songwriting is enough of a calling that I can skip that stuff...But then I thought maybe I could combine the two and get out of actually picking up the dog poop this time by inspiring other people to do it, a la Tom Sawyer getting friends to pay him to white wash his aunt's fence.

Separately @unknownbecky of #SongSidekickSongCircle asked for suggestions to short-circuit doom scrolling. So this is dedicated to Becky and Herschel and to the rest of us who feel a little overwhelmed sometimes and not quite sure where to start...

#americana #acousticonetake

Lyrics

Some days it feels like there’s nothing I can do Like the whole world’s spinning out of my control These days I feel like there’s nothing I can do But deep down, that’s not true

I can moan, I can whine I can say somebody oughta pay a fine Or I can open up my backpack I can take out a plastic bag When I feel like there’s nothing I can do It’s not quite true I can pick up dog poop

I can write a little check for some good group Make a big vat of chicken soup Or I can pitch in and pickup other people’s dog poop

I can moan, I can whine I can say somebody oughta pay a fine Before I open up my backpack and I take out a plastic bag When I feel like there’s nothing I can do It’s never true Cause I can always pick up dog poop

I can write a letter for my favorite group Invite all my friends to hand out soup Or I can write a song to make you wanna pick up dog poop Come on now, let’s sing it while we scoop

While we work for some good group While we hand out vats of soup While we bend over and we pick up other people’s dog poop

We can moan, we can whine We can say somebody oughta pay a fine Then we can open up my backpack We can all take a plastic bag When you feel like there’s nothing you can do It’s never true Cause we can pick up dog poop Cheer up, Becky, look at all this dog poop

Comments

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Came here for the song title and was well rewarded. I love specifics in lyrics and "dog poop" is as specific as it gets. But there's an underlying message of solidarity and hope, so necessary in these challenging times. "I can write a song to make you wanna pick up dog poop" -- you did!

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@siebass

A nice sentiment; we have this problem in our neighborhood. Sure it's just one or two folks, but that's all it takes. Great idea to do something small on your own to take back the sense of control. Look at all this dog poop indeed.

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Man I really identify with these lyrics! I feel sometimes like I'm fighting a losing battle trying to uphold civility, courtesy, and consideration in day to day life. It's easy to complain about all of life's little injustices, but it's orders of magnitude more useful to just do what you can to build the world you want to live in. Really great work here!

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@wynia

Was not expecting to land on a song with this title and be so, so touched by the depth of its message! So often we feel powerless or apathetic, but goodness, starting right on the ground with the grossest of the gross things is the first step, isn’t it? Catchy music to boot!

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@aeye

This is the best song I've ever heard about dog poop. I should play this at the HOA meetings here. It's always a hot topic at those meetings.

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"Come on now, let’s sing it while we scoop" got chuckle out of me for sure. I was not expecting to listen to a song about dog poop, but here I am. What a funny word, so great little theme here with a non-serious attitude, while still maintaining a positive forward message and double messaging.

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This is an ear work that I am not sure I can explain. Great way of reminding yourself that there is ALWAYS something you can do. I'm nearly crying laughing at this. Cheer up, Becky, indeed!

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@briggs

Oh great, now I’m gonna have a song about dog poop stuck in my brain for the next 2 days… thanks a lot!😊 But seriously, this is extremely clever, fun, and infectious. Thanks for creating and sharing!

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I love this! I carry a roll of poop bags all the time because I have a dog, but also I pick up poop other people have left and this is a great practice! When something isn't getting done, do it yourself if you can! Thanks! Great song!

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oh, I'm laughing and smiling! so many gems of lyrics in here! And I love the message of doing small things to help the community. I can really relate to it - wait now I'm crying! Love your voice on this, too. I have made it a practice to pick up litter along the sidewalks when I walk my dog in my neighborhood. I always bring a plastic bag (we still have 'em here in PA) and sometimes it's filled to overflowing by the time I get home. Neighbors see me and thank me - it feels good. I even pick up other dogs' poop sometimes - in fact, I did that today!!

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Lovely message here, you got me grinning from ear to ear! We can feel powerless, but you can change the world around you, in even the smallest ways. Great song!

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This is great... and hits home a bit. At my place in Florida I'm on a double lot. I just built a garage on the second lot, but before last summer it was kind of a unkempt area... and had somehow become the "dog park" for a number of dog walkers in the area. So yeah, I picked up dog poop. And since I also own a dog (she's in one of my songs this year) and always have bags with me, I've got into the habit of picking up any other dogs' contributions when we're out walking!

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Oh man, I totally feel this one. Nothing worse than being out on a walk and stepping in…”AWWW DAMMIT!” I was seeing an uptick of this in my neighborhood last year and would get so mad and then one morning I was out on a run early in the morning and I encountered two coyotes and I…decided to give my neighbors a break (2 and 4 legged).

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@gm7

Came for the title...laughed a lot. Cheer up, Becky, look at all this dog poop...funny

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omg this is hilarious. I often think about picking up the poo but I don't hahahaha

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Loving how the chorus shifts perspective as the song proceeds. ROFL at the line "Or I can write a song to make you wanna pick up dog poop". As a side note, on our neighborhood walks we have seen a truck with a similar dog poop pickup service stopping at several different houses. Who knew there was a business case? Maybe cat litter is next?

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I like what @billwhite51 said. That's hilarious and so is this song.

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I totally feel you on this one! First of all, you sound awesome. And I always pick up my dogs' poop - also, I pick up litter on my street. Little gestures mean a lot in our crazy world!

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in your vocation, there is never a lack of work.

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What a delightfully quirky song! Somebody needs to do it!!! It is a good reminder that there is always something more we can do! Your delivery is great!!!!

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Look at that, we can be the change!

[FAWM]