ALEXANDER BEETLE
Written by A. A. Milne, set to music by Melanie Safka.

From the album CANDLES IN THE RAIN (1970) (US only, first pressings)

I had a little Beetle, so that Beetle was his name
And I called him Alexander and he answered just the same
And I put him in a matchbox and I kept him all the day
But Nanny let my Beetle out, Nanny let my Beetle out
She went and let my Beetle out and Beetle ran away

She said she didn't mean it and I never said she did
She said she wanted matches and she just took off the lid
She said I mustn't worry and I really mustn't mind
That there's lots and lots of Beetles that she certain we could find

She said I mustn't worry but it's difficult to catch
An excited sort of Beetle you've mistaken for a match
If we looked in all the places that a Beetle might be near
And we made the kind of noises that a Beetle likes to hear

And I heard a kind of something and I gave a sort of shout
It was a Beetle house and Alexander Beetle coming out
It was Alexander Beetle I'm as certain as can be
And he had a kind of look as though he thought it might be me

And he had a kind of look as though he thought he ought to say
”I'm really very sorry that I tried to run away”
And Nanny's very sorry too 'cause you know what she did
And she's writing ALEXANDER very blackly on the lid

So Nan and me are friends because it's difficult to catch
An excited Alexander you've mistaken for a match

NOTES

Melanie explained at one of her concerts that she took this A. A. Milne poem and set it to music, then released it on the album CANDLES IN THE RAIN only to receive objections from the Milne Estate. Therefore it was removed from subsequent pressings. Presumably these objections were overcome, as the song was eventually released as a single and has been restored to its rightful place on the most recent CD release of the album.

Two versions of the song exist, the version from CANDLES IN THE RAIN and one that appeared on the compilation THE VERY BEST OF MELANIE (Buddah Records BDLP 4001), released in 1973. This alternative recording is sung in a child-like voice throughout and has more the feel of a demo version.