by Jeff Rosen © 2004
performed by
The Off-Gassers
featuring
The Western Archives Institute - class of 2004
(click here to download or play the mp3 recording)
(if you have difficulty downloading this file, send an email request to jrosen@sfsu.edu)
The Archives Song
moderate reggae/calypso rhythm
chorus
At the archives they've got lots of stuff;
You write with pencil -- wear little white gloves;
Look to see what the people said;
Someday we'll all be dead.
I went down to the archives,
To learn about my old Aunt
Sue;
Left my backpack outside the door;
My water bottle too.
chorus
They've got family papers and ar-ti-facts;
Old photos with
chips and cracks;
All protected from U-V rays;
Saved for another day.
They've got rare books and man-u-scripts;
Cards
and posters with spots and rips;
Old letters from every time and
place,
Saved in a cool dark place.
(guitar solo)
So come on down to the archives;
We've got a shelf for
you;
Make sure you give us the copyright;
Your old diaries too.
We'll accession you with a Deed of Gift*;
Legal papers to
prevent a rift;
We'll write a record so you're easy to see;
Maybe an
E.A.D.**
chorus x2
*Deed of Gift - the documents that establish legal and physical control over a donated archival collection.
**E. A. D. - Encoded Archival Description - a standardized catalog record for archival materials.
The Off-Gassers are:
Mark Allen, Maritime Museum of San Diego - vocals
Steve Chaney,
Oracle Corporation - ukulele
Matt Oftedahl, Port of Vancouver (Washington) -
kazoo
Jeff Rosen, Labor Archives - San Francisco State University - guitar
& vocals
Sherman Seki, University of Hawaii - Archives & Manuscripts
- lead guitar
-Very special thanks to Bayne Bentley and his colleagues at the Diocese of San Jose for sound recording and file conversion services.