Black Oak

sung to the tune of “Louie Louie”

CHORUS:

E

Black oak, black oak

A                          B

Oh, baby let your xylem flow

E

I said, black oak, black oak

A                          B

Oh, baby let your xylem flow

A gray squirrel told me just the other day

How he took my acorns and he hid them away

He said, “Winter’s coming and it’s getting late,”

He has to get ready to hibernate

The Miwok people used to be around.

They’d take my acorns to their mortar holes to pound.

They had to get rid of that bitter taste,

So, they leached them into an acorn paste.

Scientists call me a deciduous tree,

When the days get shorter my leaves fall off of me.

Just like other trees I grow an annual ring.

So, put your hands together and let’s all sing…

I have also seen these verses used:

A Black Oak’s roots grow way down low

Where the water and the nutrients begin to flow

They raise their branches and wave to the sun

Now photosynthesis has begun

I saw a grey squirrel just the other day

He found an acorn and he ran away

He dug a hole and stuck it in the sand

Now tall trees are growing all over the land

The Me-Wuk call it Telele [Ta-lay-lay]

They used to eat more than they eat it today

But they still grind it up and make it into powder

Try some and you’ll have BLACK OAK POWER!