On this, our first legit snow day in Philly in two years, I dust off my faux R-n-B musical tribute to waking up to the sweet sounds of KYW News-radio, Hogan’s Heroes and Hot Chocolate.
In 1993 I was 24 years old, living at home in suburban Philly, unsure of the next steps I might take in my life. I took a job teaching Hebrew School, leaving me time to pursue my passion for songwriting. Snow days were a fairly common thing in those years, not like the last few, where between climate change and Zoom learning, a Philly area snow day feels like a rare relic of days gone by, like playing on your Atari 2700 or listening to the radio, or a functioning Eagles offense.
But the winter of ‘93 brought a massive, three-day, city-closing, six-foot drift-creating mega-storm that, for a less than enthusiastic Hebrew school teacher, brought unspeakable, tear-inducing joy. As the storm took hold that night, I sat down at my piano and recalled my youth growing up in Havertown in the 70’s where the mere hint of a massive snowstorm kept me up all night, avoiding any assignments, and rolling the dice.
What came out was an ode to my childhood snow-day memories, a tribute to Ray Charles, TV game shows, and the sweet sound of KYW rattling off school closing numbers. I would lie in bed in the still dark morning, blanket clutched to my chest, heart pounding, unable to breathe, until I would finally (hopefully) hear our school closing number.
It’s heartening to know that even in 2024, some things are universal. There is no joy, no rapture, no elation, no relief as welcome as hearing those school closing numbers while the fake ticker tape typewriter sounds played underneath the announcer. And let me tell you: the only people happier than students for a snow day? Teachers.
Snow Day. It’s been a while. Enjoy the song, your cup of cocoa, and a rerun of your choice.
(recorded on a beloved Tascam 4-track tape recorder, noises and tape hiss included. )
It’s 2am, I’m wide awake,
Well the man on the tV must have made a mistake
Six hours till school and I don’t see a flake
Man I’m screwed, Lord I’m screwed
And as I stare at the lights, outside of my room
I feel an overwhelming sense of impending doom
Was it all a bad dream or my imagination
Oh Lord all I ask is for accumulation
I blew it off, I partied all night
Dreaming of “Hogan” and “The Price is Right”
Lord above I’ve got helluva lot of repenting to do
If you make it snow, I’ll make it up to you
I said, Snow Day
I can see it falling
Snow Day
The Lord came calling on a
Snow Day, to study’s a sin
Before a snow day,
I’m sleeping in
Now my mom heard flurries,
That’s a whole lot of jive
I swore I heard ‘3 to 4’ [inches]
My friend’s they heard ‘4 to 5’
But what if my friends were wrong and my mother was right?
I guess I’m up the creek with no paddle in sight
“I’ll bet your friends are ready for that big math test”
[*here I am imagining three sexy backup singers in a ‘call and response’ type thing]
“Why don’t you women just give it a rest”
“There’s gonna be school, and you’re gonna fail!”
“Well I’m just waiting for the Lord to prevail!”
Chorus
I must have drifted off, cause when I awoke
It was 6:01 I was going for broke
I looked outside, it was anyone’s pick
It had snowed! (Praise the Lord)
But in the end would it stick?
Well then before my ears the closing numbers were told
Mine was 605, so brave and so bold
There were a bunch of school closings,
No electric, no gas
I had a wonderful feeling the lord was working at last
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
But then a wave of horror came over that station:
“605 open, with no transportation”
Snow Day…
