Wreck of the Drakes Bay oyster farm
written & performed by The Manna Tease
Lyrics and chords:
G7 C/G
In Drakes Estero, named for the pirate knight,
G7 C/G
A family oyster farm put up an epic fight.
F amin
Kevin Lunny bought the farm,
E amin
Kevin Lunny lost the farm,
C/G G7 C
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
What is a wilderness, and what can we explore?
Congressman Phillip Burton protected Point Reyes National Seashore.
Phillip Burton chain-smoked Chesterfields,
Phillip Burton never visited the oyster fields.
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
Don’t go near seals, it can scare them back to sea.
The National Park Service put those oyster boats under scrutiny.
Don Neubacher made attacks,
But they messed up some of the facts,
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
Oysters just ain’t native to the San Francisco region,
But foodies tend to like ‘em, raw and briny, when in season,
Alice Waters knew their appeal
At ninety dollars a meal,
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
Small family businesses struggle to survive,
No one likes when local farms have got to fight to stay alive.
Dianne Feinstein showed support,
And the farm took the Park to court.
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
In twenty-twelve, their lease was up, but they weren’t shut down.
Placards from both sides showed up on lawns all over town.
Kevin Lunny felt abused,
Kevin Lunny went on Fox News.
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
The Western Snowy Plover, Charadrius nivosus;
The Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris;
Sterna antillarum browni;
Speyeria zerene myrtleae;
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
In Drakes Estero, Esperanto for Estuary,
The Drakes Bay Oyster Farm started this epic controversy.
Kevin Lunny bought the farm,
Kevin Lunny lost the farm.
Didemnum lahillei, didemnum lahillei!
[This song is in the Public Domain. Please feel free to perform and adapt it.]