Songs

Ronald Ross spent long days searching in vain for what was causing malaria. It seems from his memoirs that he quite often felt depressed but he wrote home regularly to his scientist friend Patrick Manson, who wrote long letters back encouraging Ross not to give up. In one letter he reminded Ross that there’s a reason for everything that occurs in nature. I took Manson’s remark that “nothing in nature walks with aimless feet” as a hook for an upbeat, encouraging song.

Above all said Patrick please do call to mind
This handy maxim if you can and
If you’d be so kind
That nothing occurs without a cause
That’s just how Nature made the laws
And if you check that’s certainly what you’ll find.
(Kick on down, walk on down
Kick on down walk on down)

Because nothing in Nature walks with aimless feet
No nothing in the whole wide world of creation
Walks an accidental street.
We may not know the reason why
One cell says do and the other says die
But nothing in Nature walks with aimless feet

(Kick on down, walk on down
Kick on down, walk on down)