The lyrics[3][4] tell of an elderly rake who "slyly inveigles" an attractive girl of 17 to his flat to view his collection of (unperforated) stamps, where he offers her a glass of Madeira, a fortified Portuguese wine. The girl enthusiastically drains her glass, becoming slightly drunk in the process. Sensing victory, he offers her another glass, which she accepts. However, before raising it to her lips, she recalls her dying mother's warning to avoid red wine. With a cry, the girl drops the glass and flees the apartment, the old roué's pleas for her to remain echoing in her ears. The following morning, however, she wakes in bed with a hangover and a beard tickling her ear.
The song contains three much-quoted instances of zeugma:[5][6]
And he said as he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar and the lamps
She lowered her standards by raising her glass, her courage, her eyes and his hopes
She made no reply, up her mind and a dash for the door.[7]
The song has been covered by other groups, including most notably the Limeliters (performed by Lou Gottlieb). The lyrics were also recited as a poem by Tony Randall in episode #922 of The Carol Burnett Show which first aired February 21, 1976.
Notes and references
Notes
↑ The shorter title is used on the original LP records of the show; the longer is adopted in the 1977 collected songs of Flanders and Swann, edited by Flanders's widow Claudia.[1]
References
↑ Parlophone LPs PMC 1033 (1957) and PCS 3001 (1959); and Flanders and Swann, p. 143
↑ Blocker, Jack S.; David M. Fahey; Ian R. Tyrrell (2003). Alcohol and temperance in modern history: an international encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p.210. ISBN978-1-57607-833-4.
Flanders, Michael; Donald Swann; Claudia Flanders (1977). The Songs of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann. London: Elm Tree Books and Saint George's Press. ISBN0241897386.
Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo. Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and composer and pianist Donald Swann (1923–1994) collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a school revue in 1939 and eventually wrote more than 100 comic songs together.
Michael Henry Flanders was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known for his stage partnership with Donald Swann.
Donald Ibrahim Swann was a British composer, musician, singer and entertainer. He was one half of Flanders and Swann, writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders.
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's notable street markets, known for its second-hand clothes, pastries and antiques. Every August since 1996, the Portobello Film Festival has been held in locations around Portobello Road and, in 2015, Portobello Radio was founded as the area's community radio station.
The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice follows him down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Alice encounters him again when he mistakes her for his housemaid Mary Ann and she becomes trapped in his house after growing too large. The Rabbit shows up again in the last few chapters, as a herald-like servant of the King and Queen of Hearts.
Here, My Dear is the fifteenth studio album by music artist Marvin Gaye, released as a double album on December 15, 1978, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place between 1977 and 1978 at Gaye's personal studios, Marvin Gaye Studios, in Los Angeles, California. The album was notable for its subject matter focusing largely on Gaye's acrimonious divorce from his first wife, Anna Gordy Gaye.
"Dear Prudence" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Written in Rishikesh during the group's trip to India in early 1968, it was inspired by actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence Farrow, who became obsessive about meditating while practising with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Her designated partners on the meditation course, Lennon and George Harrison, attempted to coax Farrow out of her seclusion, which led to Lennon writing the song.
"The Gnu" is a humorous song about a talking gnu by Flanders and Swann.
"In My Merry Oldsmobile" is a popular song from 1905, with music by Gus Edwards and lyrics by Vincent P. Bryan.
The Limeliters are an American folk music group, formed in July 1959 by Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev (banjo/baritone), and Glenn Yarbrough (guitar/tenor). The group was active from 1959 until 1965, and then after a hiatus of sixteen years, Yarbrough, Hassilev, and Gottlieb reunited and began performing again as The Limeliters in reunion tours. On a regular basis a continuation of The Limeliters group is still active and performing. Gottlieb died in 1996, Yarbrough died in 2016, and Hassilev, the last founding member, who had remained active in the group, retired in 2006, leaving the group to carry on without any of the original members.
"Dear Jessie" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fourth studio album Like a Prayer (1989). It was released as the fifth single from the album on December 4, 1989, by Sire Records. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song was inspired by Leonard's daughter Jessie. The release of "Dear Jessie" was limited to the United Kingdom, certain other European countries, Australia and Japan. The track is composed more like a children's lullaby rather than a pop song, and features strings, synthesizer and strummed acoustics. A change in tempo occurs during the breakdown, where instrumentation from trumpets is included. Lyrically, the song evokes a psychedelic fantasy landscape, in which pink elephants roam with dancing moons and mermaids.
"Solar System" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1977 album The Beach Boys Love You. It was written and sung by Brian Wilson. The lyrics discuss the planetary system in a similar vein as the band's 1965 hit "California Girls". In "Solar System", the narrator asks, "What do the planets mean? / And have you ever seen / sunrise in the mornin'? / It shined when you were born".
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom is a 1987 juvenile fiction book from the author Louis Sachar, about a fifth-grade bully named Bradley whose behavior improves after intervention from a school counselor. The title comes from a point when a character, Jeff, is horribly embarrassed after accidentally entering the girls' bathroom while trying to go to the school counselor's office when a teacher gives him the wrong directions.
At the Drop of a Hat is a musical revue by Flanders and Swann, described by them as "an after-dinner farrago". In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano. The songs were linked by contemporary social commentary, mostly by Flanders. After a long London run the show played in the US, Switzerland, and on tour in Britain.
At the Drop of Another Hat is a musical revue by Flanders and Swann, similar in format to its long-running predecessor, At the Drop of a Hat (1956). In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano. The songs were linked by contemporary social commentary, mostly by Flanders. Highlights included "Ill Wind", in which Flanders sings rapidly about a pilfered horn to the tune of the Rondo from Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4 and "New Built Up Area", a soliloquy by Flanders in which a disgruntled resident of Salisbury Plain complains of the newly erected Stonehenge.
"After the Ball" is a popular song written in 1891 by Charles K. Harris. The song is a classic waltz in 3/4 time. In the song, an uncle tells his niece why he has never married. He saw his sweetheart kissing another man at a ball, and he refused to listen to her explanation. Many years later, after the woman had died, he discovered that the man was her brother.
Madeira, officially named the Autonomous Region of Madeira, is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal ; it is an archipelago situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, southwest of mainland Portugal.
"Down in the Willow Garden", also known as "Rose Connelly" is a traditional Appalachian murder ballad about a man facing the gallows for the murder of his lover: he gave her poisoned wine, stabbed her, and threw her in a river. It originated in the 19th century, probably in Ireland, before becoming established in the United States. The lyrics greatly vary among earlier versions, but professional recordings have stabilized the song in a cut-down form. First professionally recorded in 1927, it was made popular by Charlie Monroe's 1947 version, and it has been recorded dozens of times since then.
Little Star is a 2010 horror/drama novel written by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It is named after Lilla stjärna, the Swedish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1958 held in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
Poems and Songs of Middle Earth is a studio album of spoken-word poetry by English author J. R. R. Tolkien and art songs composed by British musician Donald Swann. On the first half of the album, Tolkien recites seven poems from or related to his fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). The second half is a performance of Swann's song cycle The Road Goes Ever On, which sets selections from Tolkien's verse to music. The vocalist William Elvin sings The Road Goes Ever On with piano accompaniment by Swann. Caedmon Records issued the album on 18 October 1967 in the United States, then on 28 March 1968 in the United Kingdom. Its release coincided with the publication of The Road Goes Ever On as a book of sheet music with commentary and illustration by Tolkien.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
