There's a small town,
South of North Dakota.
Nobody's ever heard of it,
not a single iota.
In the town there lived a man,
who went by the simple name of Dan.
He never really sought after all of life's pleasures,
because it was in serving others that he saw hidden treasures.
The joy of living,
Dan knew quite well.
But his biggest accomplishment,
to nobody did he tell.
See, Dan never had any kids of his own.
For most of his life, he was completely alone.
No family he had.
No nieces not nephews
No dogs or cats,
nor sisters nor brothers.
Nobody to feud with,
for Dan kept no lovers.
But there's a secret Dan kept,
and I'll tell you today.
That Dan saved the world, in his own special way.
See Dan was a laborer;
he worked and he toiled.
To support himself,
and keep his house on good soil.
Dan saved his money,
he lived cheap and frugal.
For Dan had a plan, which he thought was crucial.
"Build an orphanage in the town, for all the lost children."
Because when Dan was young,
he had no house to live in.
At night his back would ache,
and his feet would hurt.
But this was okay to Dan;
he wanted keep the orphans from sleeping on the dirt.
So when he passed,
Dan left a book and a note.
"To the bank take this paper, do not say by whom this book was wrote."
The pages had instructions,
and detailed schemes.
For an orphanage for the town,
the home of Dan's dreams.
The bank took the paper,
and showed an account.
That for even the richest person,
would have been a great amount.
And so the home was built,
the walls were made.
An orphanage for the children,
a home for those in need.
And it all started because of Dan,
who decided to serve instead of lead.