Bigger On The Inside

© 1991, 2014 Stephen Savitzky. CC-by-nc-sa.

This song is sort of our household anthem.

It was originally written about Steve and his wife Colleen, and their house in San Jose called "Grand Central Starport". It was a gathering-place for local fans and filkers. When Steve and Colleen moved to Seattle and added Naomi and her kids, they moved into a huge house they called "Rainbow's End", and Steve added a new verse and modified chorus.

Now, the household is known as "The Rainbow Caravan"; a couple of new verses are definitely in order. But the basics haven't changed.

Recordings:

[ogg] [mp3]

Lyrics [pdf] [txt] [cho]

	A	Asus2	D	A
	Our house is bigger on the	inside than it	looks from on the	street

	E	E7	E6 E	A	E7
	There must be something	odd	about the	way the corners	meet.

	D	D5	D	A
We	warn our friends ab	out	it, but they	always seem surprised,

	E	E6 E7 E	E7	A	E	A
And I	sometimes can't	imagine how our	stuff	all	fits ins	ide.

D A Asus2 A

We have computers, toys, and magazines, and quiet co zy nooks;

E7 A E A Asus2 E7

The bathroom's lined with ced ar planks, and the living room with books.

A Asus4 A Asus2 A D A

There's boxes full of god- knows- what in the attic up ab ove,

E E6 E7 E6 A

And we always keep good compa ny and love.

Colleen is halfway buried as she crochets up a quilt

I'm getting in some songs before my voice begins to wilt.

Kids are shouting back in Emmy's room, the pizza's getting hot;

Folks come over every Wednesday whether we're at home or not.

When we moved North to Rainbow's End some things got re-arranged;

The family's gotten bigger, but the main things haven't changed.

Folks are singing in the Great Room, and the chili's getting hot;

They come over every Sunday whether we're at home or not.

D A Asus2 A

We have computers, toys, and magazines, and quiet co zy nooks;

E7 A E A Asus2 E7

The bathroom's lined with ti les and the living rooms with books.

A Asus4 A Asus2 A D A

There's boxes full of god- knows- what in the cupboards up ab ove,

E E6 E7 E6 A

And we always keep good compa ny and love.

We moved to Whidbey Island, though we aren't quite certain how;

Our yard has deer and rabbits and sometimes a neighbor's cow.

We're now the Rainbow Caravan, but never mind the name;

No matter where we wander we're a family just the same.

D A Asus2 A

We have computers, toys, and magazines, and quiet co zy nooks;

E7 A E A Asus2 E7

The bathroom's lined with cupboards and the living room with books.

A Asus4 A Asus2 A D A

There are boxes full of tools be low and full of beds ab ove,

E E6 E7 E6 A

And we always keep good compa ny and love.

There's a gallery of science-fiction pictures in the hall,

And something's taped or bolted on to each square foot of wall.

Our children's closets look just like a baby dragon's hoard;

It's true that we're disorganized, but at least we're seldom bored.

There's a guest crashed on the futon couch who's too wiped out to leave,

And something in the fridge that's been there since last Christmas eve.

We're packed in five dimensions, and through the twilight zone,

It's all the friendly clutter here that makes it feel like home.

Inspired by a friend's account of a visit to our house. At the Younger Daughter's insistence I pluralized ``daughters'' in verse 2, and at the older's insistence changed the name in verse 3. Now, of course, ``some things got rearranged'', and the former verse 2 was moved down to the penultimate verse, where ``daughters'' has become ``children''. Another move, to Whidbey Island (sometimes called "Rainbow's End North"), naturally necessitated yet another verse and chorus. I may have to start a new song.