I had threatened a few posts back to add some more spider-themed music, and have decided that the time has come.
In specific, when I first became seriously interested in Scytodes atlacoya, I had gone to the World Spider Catalog (WSC) to see just how many species of Scytodes might be involved, and was rather surprised to find that there were 222 (up to 224 at this writing)!
Coïncidentally, a few months later I stumbled upon a Hank Snow video of a song called I’ve Been Everywhere, Man, written in 1959 by an Australian named Geoff Mack, and based on the names of some Australian towns. Mack later wrote an American-town version, subsequently recorded by Hank Snow in 1962 and covered by a number of artists, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson among them.
Owing to the number of species found in the genus Scytodes, I figured I’d try to do something based on Geoff Mack’s song, using the WSC list. So, following the original song’s format, I was able to squeeze almost 100 of the specific epithets into this version.
To make it easier for you to sing along, I have subtitled the lyrics for each of the four verses, but to see them, be sure to turn on the “Closed Caption” feature of YouTube. On a cell phone, do this:
On a desktop:
So, herewith, my version of Scytodes Everywhere, Man
If you get a chance, check out the version Hank Snow recorded: He’s really honking along! In fairness to me, though, please note that he modulates to a different key after each chorus, thus buying him extra two measures in which to inhale!