Bambi: an important island voting block To commemorate the start of another hunting season — archery season starts Monday — here's a funny song written around 1990 by singer/songwriter Jon Campbell. Campbell lives in Exeter, but has long-time ties to Block Island. He wrote this ditty, "Bambi got the vote," about the ever-increasing influence of deer on the island.

Campbell doesn't have any particular interest in the shooting of deer; he's not an avid deer hunter. He said, "I always thought the island was a funny place. The old stories get told over and over. It's kind of nice. Everybody's in a fish bowl, including the deer."

The deer are "not as big a problem as in a lot of other places," he said, and the island has a distinct advantage over other places because the speed limit is 25 mph. Nevertheless, issues such as the deer population "have a way of getting magnified on the Block."

"Bambi Got the Vote"

It was down in Rodman's Hollow

In the springtime of the year,

The Wildlife people set up camp,

And they registered the deer.

They said, "Animals have rights, you see,

And as you can plainly tell,

We think that all God's creatures on the earth,

They're citizens as well."

So all we did was sign ‘em up

And this might come as quite a shock,

But since it's deer to humans two-to-one

They are the voting block.

Chorus:

We're pretty much outnumbered,

Let all New Shoreham note.

Venison's gone out of style

Since Bambi got the vote.



They've got an eight-point platform

And this might go down hard —

They want no fences on the gardens

And a salt lick in every yard.

They want no more dogs left running loose

And shelter when it snows,

A free clinic for the Lyme disease

And a home for unwed does.

They want food stamps good for hay and grain

And welfare for bad luck.

And let our town fathers quake in fear

Lest they ever pass the buck.

Chorus:

You know we're pretty much outnumbered,

Let all New Shoreham note.

There'll be no more driving cars at night

Since Bambi got the vote.



They'll want seating in the restaurants

And lots of Moosehead beer.

I bet they're even getting mopeds

Made up special by John Deere.

We'll soon have fawning at the bar

And rutting night and day.

I even heard that some old buck

Had joined the NRA.

Chorus:

You know we're pretty much outnumbered,

Let all New Shoreham note.

They're gonna put their hoofs down hard

Since Bambi got the vote.



You know we're pretty much outnumbered,

Ed McGovernment take note.

You'll have Rudolf the Red-nosed Warden soon

Since Bambi got the vote.



Lyrics reprinted by permission of

Jon Campbell