Words and Music by Dennis Livingston Once upon a time, my sisters and I knew a man, a most inventive, odd young man, who loved to tell stories. How he loved to tell stories. Especially to little girls, like my sisters and me. That was plain to see. Then one summer day, my sisters and I and the man, the most inventive, odd young man, took a trip on the river. He loved picnics on the river. That was plain to see. It was all in the golden afternoon, as we drifted in a boat up the River Thames. The quiet of the day spread a luminous glow that sparkled from the water like a thousand gems. His logic took flight as he spoke with delight of a world in which commonplace things were not quite what they ought to be. Try to imagine the sight of a crying pink baby, or was it a pig? A mushroom one bite of which made you so big, A game of croquet that was awfully queer, if you won, you could lose you head, that much was clear. Just think of a trial completely unfair, not to mention a cat who wasn't all there! Now and then he turned his head to glance my way Perhaps concerned that I might be upset. I ordered him in queenly voice to tell us more. And yet... Was there something more he could not say? Some have wondered through the years since that day. It was all in the golden afternoon, as we drifted in a boat up the River Thames. The quiet of the day spread a luminous glow that sparkled from the water like a thousand gems. How he loved to tell stories, and riddles and poems that danced with rhyme. He took me to Wonderland. Once upon a time. ©1998 Hallmark Music Co. Revised 2008 This song is inspired by Dreamchild, a film in which an elderly Alice Liddell, during a visit to New York in 1932, recollects the fateful afternoon she passed with Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) one fine day in the summer of 1862. Back to previous page Back to SONGS main page