I Made Her Wait Two Years. Then I Wrote a Song About It.

During the first ever Wooly Week, a Spanish teacher named Jennifer Bilby won an original song written by me and Nate Niederkorn. The plan was to write and record something in a day: just a little ditty that we would improvise on the spot, throw some acoustic guitar in the background, and above all else, keep it simple.

But I had the feeling that there might be a slightly better idea hiding around the corner, so I delayed. I do this a lot in my creative process. I get this general sense of a nebulous idea floating in the ether, and then I don't always take the time to figure out what it means.

So, Jennifer Bilby waited for her prize.

And waited.

And waited.

What should have been delivered within a week of Wooly Week ending turned into a month. And then it turned into a year.

Now, I want to be clear that, throughout it all, Jennifer Bilby was never anything but generous and patient. But at the two-year mark, this delay was getting ridiculous.

Which, eventually, gave us our idea.

Una canción original

Una canción original is a Señor Wooly Spanish music video about a woman who wins a song from me. I keep promising it. And asking for more time.

“Necesito más tiempo.”

Yes, I made this poor woman wait for a song and then wrote her a song about having to wait for a song.

Thank you for your patience, Jennifer!

Past-tense Spanish in Una canción original

For teachers looking for Spanish songs with preterite and imperfect verbs, Una canción original includes:

• Preterite verbs: ganó, celebró, esperó, recibió, and nunca perdió la fe.
• Querer + infinitive in the imperfect: Quería escuchar.
• Passive constructions: Una canción original, escrita por el Señor Wooly and fue invitada.

So if you’re looking for a Spanish music video with some very tongue-in-cheek, meta humor at my expense, this one should do nicely.