No One Knows For Sure
Having hope, opens doors we do not yet see.
I love this song because it’s about the importance of hope. The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is fear, and with these times ahead of us worldwide, when our lives and future may look dark, people are afraid and don’t know how to proceed.
The only thing I know that shines ‘light’ into the darkness of fear is having hope.
So here’s my song ‘No One Knows For Sure’. When we’re afraid, a tiny sliver of hope can be a small light that guides us onto new pathways we didn’t even know were there. Even though others present us with stories of despair and hopelessness, this song reminds us that we are alive and able to love.
Joe Hill said “Don’t mourn! Organize.” I like to say “Mourn and organize!” We can do both at the same time! We can also hope and organize at the same time, along with other hopeful people, our hope can light up the fear and darkness.
This song has helped me and thousands of others, … I hope it helps you too!
NO ONE KNOWS FOR SURE
Illustrations by Frank Bolle.
NO ONE KNOWS FOR SURE There’s a camel in the desert, G Who could really use a drink Bm Her hump is all dried up, C And her name’s Irene, I think G-D If she doesn’t get some water, G Or some juice or soda soon Bm I don’t think she’ll last much longer, Em I don’t think she’ll last til noon D And the sun is burning brightly, Em And the desert sand’s so hot Am And Irene’s so awfully thirsty, C She might die right on the spot! D-D7
Cho: But no one knows for sure, G Something might come along D That could save the day and help her out, C And fix whatever’s wrong D-D7 ‘Cause no one knows for sure, G We’ve still got time to hope D And Irene might see a giant milkshake C-Em Over the next slope! D (Well, she might if she keeps walking!) C ‘Cause no one knows for sure, G No one knows for sure! D-D7
There’s a highway by the river, Where a little toad named Russell Has hopped out in the middle, Now he’s too scared t’move a muscle. He’s afraid because the cars there Sound like giant, angry ducks And ‘cause other toads who crossed that road Got flattened out by trucks! I guess Russell’s in big trouble, It must be awful for that toad If a bus comes, our friend Russ might be A waffle in the road!
Cho: But no one knows for sure, Something might come along That could save the day and help him out, And fix whatever’s wrong. ‘Cause no one knows for sure, We’ve still got time to hope And if Russell’d only hustle, Well then he wouldn’t have to croak! (And he might hop any minute now!) ‘Cause no one knows for sure, No one knows for sure!
There’s a monkey named McCaffree Who’s lived a long, long time, And he’s got a broken tail That makes it pretty hard to climb. So, he’s careful in the jungle When he climbs where monkeys go, But he missed a vine and fell into The river down below! And the crocodiles surround him And McCaffree, he can’t swim And he’s driftin’ toward the waterfall, Guess that’s the last we’ll see of him!
Cho: But no one knows for sure, Something might come along That could save the day and help him out, And fix whatever’s wrong. ‘Cause no one knows for sure, We’ve still got time to hope And McCaffree might see Wonder Woman, And she might have her rope! (Well, she usually caries one with her, right?!) And no one knows for sure, No one knows for sure!
There’s a kid I know named Evelyn One of my fav’rite friends And they put her in the hospital For testing once again. And the Doctors and the grown ups, They were sad when they were through. They told her she was very sick, No one knew what to do, To make her feel better, So that she could run and play And Evelyn knew that she might die, But she’d look at me and say!
No one knows for sure, Something might come along That could save the day and help me out, And fix whatever’s wrong. ‘Cause no one knows for sure, We’ve still got time to hope And maybe Dr. Seuss and me’ll Invent a Super-Dooper kind of soap! (And I’d wash behind my ears even, …) ‘Cause no one knows for sure, No one knows for sure! No one knows for sure!”
Written by Peter Alsop, © Copyright 1983, Moose School Music (BMI) On Wha’D’Ya Wanna Do? (with Abi Stallcup Blakeslee Kelleher as 'Evelyn')
Illustration by Terri Asher
There are many wonderful stories about this song. Once it actually helped to save the life of a seven-year-old girl who required chronic special care in the hospital. The doctors had run out of options to manage and treat her illness. Two wonderful pediatric nurses, Diane Grimm-Gates and Penny Pefley played this song for the staff on her ward at Seattle Children’s Hospital when they had almost given up looking for ways to keep her alive. This song became part of the daily fabric in that ward, and they kept searching and eventually found a way to help this child survive. Last I heard that little girl made it out of the hospital very much alive and grown up, because ‘No One Knows For Sure’, right?!
We know our expectations actually DO have an effect on what happens to us! It’s stories like this that keep me writing songs so we can keep singing together!
For more discussion about this song, check out Peter Alsop’s SONGS TO CHEW Podcast Episode #127 here on Substack (or wherever you get your podcasts).