Kristin Lems: Song Lyrics, samples

One of my favorite of my own songs...written about a very special newborn, whose parents were committed to gender fairness and absolute love. I feel a glow every time I sing this...for them, and for all inspired by the story.

The First Five Minutes of Life

1. They decided in their birthing class
That the first five minutes of life
When the baby came, they would not ask
The first five minutes of life
If it was a girl or it was a boy
They didn’t want to know, wanted to enjoy
The baby’s birth with the purest joy
In the first five minutes of life

2. They cried in joy, “It’s a baby child!”
The first five minutes of life
Its daddy kissed its head, the baby smiled
The first five minutes of life
The room was warm with a loving glow
It lay upon its mama, they did not know
Into which gender the babe would grow
In the first five minutes of life

3. No need to choose the pink or blue
The first five minutes of life
No need to say what the babe can do
The first five minutes of life
No need to start with grownup schemes
If parents and child hold to their dreams
Anything is possible, or so it seems
In the first five minutes of life

4. Welcome the baby to the world
The first five minutes of life
Welcome to the boy, welcome to the girl
The first five minutes of life!
Now I’m not gonna say which kind they had
It doesn’t really matter, be it lass or lad
And the freest moment that baby had
Was the first five minutes of life....

Words and music by Kristin Lems
© 1983, 2000 Kleine Ding Music (BMI)