Zoo Atlanta: Panda Power

Lyrics

[Intro]
November 'ninety-nine.
The air got thin with waiting.
A FedEx jet descends, a special kind of freight in.
From Chengdu with a promise, a diplomatic art.
Two black and white ambassadors, to win a city's heart.

[Verse 1]
Call him Yang Yang, call her Lun Lun.
In their green kingdom under the Georgia sun.
Eighty pounds of bamboo 'fore the day is done.
A slow-motion marathon, already won.
Watch that grip, that clever hold.
It's not a thumb, it's a story told.
A wrist bone bent, a stalk of green.
The most laid-back royalty you've ever seen.

[Chorus]
Yeah, that's the power, panda power.
Hour after lazy hour.
Black and white magic, a Grant Park dream.
Flowing like a steady stream.
It's more than fur, it's more than cute.
It's a deep and quiet root.
That's the power, panda power.
Building up a brand new tower.

[Verse 2]
Then September sixth, two thousand six.
On a grainy monitor, a world transfixed.
A tiny squeak from the birthing den.
Mei Lan was here, and it happened again.
And again. Seven times.
Small as a stick of butter, life's first rhymes.
Pink and blind, a fragile thing.
The hope a brand new cub can bring.

[Chorus]
Yeah, that's the power, panda power!
Hour after lazy hour!
Black and white magic, a Grant Park dream!
Flowing like a steady stream!
It's more than fur, it's more than cute!
It's a deep and quiet root!
That's the power, panda power!
Building up a brand new tower!

[Bridge]
And the years roll on, the loan comes due.
The kids go home, it's nothing new.
But that quiet rustle of the bamboo leaves...
Becomes the memory a city weaves.
Was it just a show? A passing phase?
Or something planted here to last for days and days?

[Outro]
It's not just about the bears.
It's not just about who stares.
Yang Yang. Lun Lun.
A lesson learned. A job well done.