"We the men of Ottawa are."

"We the men of Ottawa are" is the song sung by the men's choir last night at the Choir Show at Glen Cairn United Church. I am in this photo singing my solo verse at the front of the Gabriel's Chorus.

The song was sung in harmony to the tune of "We three kings of Orient are."

A barbershop quartet from the Chorus sang the first verse of Three Kings as follows"

We three Kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar.
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Lead us to thy perfect light.

Our leader then broke in to suggest we needed to sing the modern 21st century version:

The chorus then sang:

We the men of Ottawa are.
Buying gifts we go very far.
Centrum, Bayshore, going from store to store
So we'll be someone's star.

(Centrum and Bayshore are Ottawa shopping malls.)

O Amex, Visa, cards so right,
Use them all so shiny and bright.
So misleading, never heeding
Payments then go out of sight.

Our lead tenor then sang a solo:

Home depot, Canadian Tire
Socket wrench and tongue and groove pliers.
Golf town, Winners, Home Outfitters,
We are the super buyers.

Refrain.

Our lead bass then sang his solo:

We are men, we're feeling abused.
Buying gifts, we're always confused.
Scarf of sweater? Which one's better?
With gift cards we just can't lose.

Refrain.

It was then my turn to sing the verse I had written:

Ties I receive and manly perfume,
Gifts I hate and never consume.
Senators' Tickets, Those'd be wicked,
Then I would really swoon!

Refrain.

(The Ottawa Senators are Ottawa's National Hockey League team.)

The performance was one of the hits of the show!