Intro
Well, gather ’round the television,
Pull your socks up by the fire,
There’s a tale from up in Canada
That every kid should still admire.
Verse
He don’t roam the prairie grasslands,
He don’t swim the Bay of Fundy tides,
You won’t find him in the Rockies,
Or hitching famous railway rides.
He’s a shy domestic legend
With a cautious little stride,
Living somewhere near the baseboards
Where the dust bunnies will hide.
He’ll inspect your mitten collection,
He’ll investigate your shoe,
He’ll disappear behind the Chesterfield
The second he spots you.
And though science may object a bit,
And biologists say “No,”
There’s a nation full of grown-ups
Who still hope the House Hippo’s so.
Chorus
Oh, House Hippo, tiny friend,
Guardian of the den,
Nibbling crumbs at half past ten,
Then hiding once again.
From Thunder Bay to Montréal,
From Whitehorse down to T O,
You’re the smallest giant legend
That a kid could ever know.
Oh, House Hippo, don’t be shy,
Peek beneath the stereo,
Every Canadian secretly hopes
You’re tiptoeing below.
Verse
Now he feasts on toasted bagels,
Peanut butter’s quite a treat,
The occasional potato chip
Abandoned near your feet.
He’s a connoisseur of cookie crumbs,
A gourmet of the floor,
And he’ll drag a single popcorn flake
Across the livingroom corridor.
The family cat remains suspicious,
The dog is none too sure,
But Grandma says she saw one once
And frankly that’s enough proof for her.
Chorus
Oh, House Hippo, tiny friend,
Guardian of the den,
Nibbling crumbs at half past ten,
Then hiding once again.
From Thunder Bay to Montréal,
From Whitehorse down to T O,
You’re the smallest giant legend
That a kid could ever know.
Verse
Some folks chase Sasquatch photographs,
Some search lake monsters all day,
Some look for lights in northern skies
That dance and drift away.
But me, I keep a saucer out
Beside the old TV,
With crumbs from butter tarts and toast
In case one visits me.
Was it settling of the floorboards?
Just the furnace saying hello?
Or a tiny household hippopotamus
Moving soft and slow?
Chorus
Oh, House Hippo, tiny friend,
Guardian of the den,
Nibbling crumbs at half past ten,
Then hiding once again.
From Thunder Bay to Montréal,
From Whitehorse down to T O,
You’re the smallest giant legend
That a kid could ever know.
Bridge
Now the clever thing about a story
Is knowing where it starts,
A picture on a screen can live
A long time in our hearts.
So question what you’re looking at,
Think carefully and slow,
But leave a little room for wonder
As you’re learning what you know.
‘Cause facts can build a sturdy house,
And dreams can paint the sky,
And somewhere in between the two
The best ideas survive.
Verse
The years rolled by, the kids grew older,
The tube TVs disappeared,
Phones got smart and cars got quieter,
And beards got strangely weird.
But every time Canadians gather
And nostalgia starts to flow,
Somebody mentions House Hippos
And the whole room starts to glow.
Folks who now pay mortgages,
Who schedule meetings every day,
Will grin and say, “Remember when
Those little guys would sneak away?”
For all the grand national symbols,
The maple leaf and snow,
There’s a special place for tiny beasts
Who lived beneath the radio.
Double Chorus
Oh, House Hippo, tiny friend,
Guardian of the den,
Nibbling crumbs at half past ten,
Then hiding once again.
From Thunder Bay to Montréal,
From Whitehorse down to T O,
You’re the smallest giant legend
That a kid could ever know.
(Everyone Singing)
Oh, House Hippo, little king,
Hear the whole country sing,
Every dusty hiding place
Could hold a wondrous thing.
In apartments, farms, and townhouses,
Wherever people go,
May your tiny footsteps echo
Softly through the floor below.
Oh, House Hippo, stay awhile,
Though we know the tale’s not so,
You remind us that imagination
Still deserves a place to grow.
Outro
And if tonight you hear a rustle
When the midnight breezes blow,
Leave a crumb beside the baseboard…
Just in case.
You never know.
