Lyrics composed by John Henderson on 2nd May, 2010
to Will E. Dulmage's 1927 music for 'Dreaming The Hours Away',
played here by banjoist Jim Bottorrf



Aye when the gloaming hour,
Brings rest to leaf and flow'r,
Jasmine their blooms so pure,
Breathe wafts of such allure,
That Emba's small owls wing,
To where high branches swing,
And there, they coo, their 'Ku-Ku Kukutyou'.

Then, bobbing and squinting through the gloom,
They wait, those harbingers of doom;
Preyers by moonlight, flickering star light,
Poised, to kill, mice at will.
As humans we're safely out of sight,
Under white sheets and tucked up tight;
Yet while we sleep small owls still keep
On seeking right through the night.

Scavenging for many hours and hours,
Small owls show their relentless powers,
In the pale moonlight, and distant star light,
Blest with sweet, jasmine showers.
Till rose skies tell of approaching dawn
That warn "Small owls you'd best be gone
To shady barns on nearby farms,
And far from the light of morn."