Silent E

I knew a letter E once. He was always around.
But he was a silent E you see. He hardly ever made a sound
You could never hear his voice on the "phone"
He mostly just sat quietly in his "home"

No one ever noticed him when he was in any "place"
He got so tired of always coming in last in every "race"
And having to follow other letters on a "hike"
Somehow he just ended up at the back of the "line"

But he wanted to speak up for himself that much was for sure
Silent E wanted to be heard, in a word.
He often thought a "party" sounded like the kind of place he should be
But when he got there sometimes Y was sitting in his seat

Which made him go away just dragging his feet
But when no one was looking he would sing

Don’t wanna be a silent E
I wanna be just about as loud as I can be
I wanna howl like the vowel I was meant to be
I wanna be a better letter than I am you see
And I do not want to be a silent E.

Silent E worked really hard but he had a thankless job
Just stretching the other vowels out from short to long
Why one time he even rescued his friend the letter A
He pulled him off a wild stag and placed him safely on a stage

But he got so tired of always working behind the "scene"
His job was so quiet it made him wanna scream
He thought that maybe it was time he took a little break
Perhaps a vacation somewhere far away

"Hawaii’s nice", he thought, "at least everyone seems to agree"
"And it sounds like the kind of place that would have a spot reserved for me."
But when he got there to the place he thought he should’ve been
He found a pair of i’s staring back at him

So he went back home with his suitcase in his hand
And he sang his song when he was alone again

Don’t wanna be a silent E
I wanna be just about as loud as I can be
I wanna howl like the vowel I was meant to be
I wanna be a better letter than I am you see
And I do not want to be a silent E.

Well Silent E had just about given up all hope
He was really at the end of his "rope"
And one fateful day when he was in a "daze"
He didn’t look where he was going and he wandered away.

He bumped into the letter L and said, "Pardon me."
The letter L said, "No problem dear friend Letter E".
Silent E couldn’t believe his ears! Could it really be?
The Letter L had heard him speak!

He looked around. There were other E’s and they were talking. It was true!
And what’s more the other letters could hear him when he was talking too.
That’s right. These letters spoke with E’s. You see, quite by accident
Silent E found himself in his "element"

And he felt his song coming on again
He sang it loud and strong. He couldn’t hold it in.

Don’t wanna be a silent E
I wanna be just about as loud as I can be
I wanna howl like the vowel I was meant to be
I wanna be a better letter than I am you see
And I do not want to be a silent E.

Well Silent E isn’t silent anymore you know it’s true.
He speaks up twice as much in "meetings" as the other letters do
He walks proudly right down the middle of the "street"
And he’s up from with his "emotions" with whomever he should meet.

He got a better job than the one before don’t you know.
He heads up the "entertainment" at the Alphabet Show
He leads an "ensemble" of letters and what’s more
When the people yell, "encore" he’s the first one that they ask for.

So if you think you’ve got some important things to say,
But you’re feeling kinda shy and just a little bit afraid,
Just remember our story about Silent E.
One day you might wanna sing...

Don’t wanna be a silent E
I wanna be just about as loud as I can be
I wanna howl like the vowel I was meant to be
I wanna be a better letter than I am you see
And I do not want to be a silent E.

 

Listen to clip: