"The Mock Turtle's Song", also known as the "Lobster Quadrille ", is a song recited by the Mock Turtle in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , accompanied by a dance. It was taught to him at school by his teacher called Tortoise.
"The Lobster Quadrille" is a song written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). It is a parody of "The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Botham Howitt. It appeared in Chapter 10 of Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , and was sung by a character in the book, the Mock Turtle.
The poem is very similar to "The Spider and the Fly" in its rhyme scheme, meter, and tone. The first lines of the two songs are as follows:
Will you walk a little faster said a whiting to a snail... (The Lobster Quadrille)
Will you walk into my parlour said a spider to a fly... (The Spider and the Fly)
The song fits into the flow of chapters 9 and 10, "The Mock Turtle's Story" and "The Lobster Quadrille", which are about the Mock Turtle's life and schooling under the sea. The whimsical lyrics feature animals such as porpoises, snails and lobsters. The snail is invited to join a dance in which he would be cast into the English Channel towards France, but he fearfully declines. The reason is left unspoken in the song, but France is known for its consumption of escargot. [1]
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,
"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle—will you come and join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?
"You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"
But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance—
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.
"What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied,
"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France—
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?" [2]
The song was performed by Franz Ferdinand (band) for the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland . The song was featured in the film's soundtrack.
The song was performed by the band The Four Postmen on their 1997 album Looking for Grandpa in an upbeat modern style.
The song was performed by the punk rock band Feederz on their 1986 album Teachers in Space.
The song was performed by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (with Becker doing the lead vocals) as part of a number of demo songs recorded before they formed the band Steely Dan.
The song was set for chorus by Irving Fine in his "Three Choruses from Alice in Wonderland" (1942). [3]
The poem was set to music by György Ligeti in his "Nonsense Madrigals" (1988/93).
The song is sung by a chorus to the "real" Alice in the 1985 film Dreamchild .
The song was included on The Simon Sisters' children's album, The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children (1969).
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics professor at Oxford University. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. The artist John Tenniel provided 42 wood-engraved illustrations for the book.
Dungeonland (EX1) is a 1983 adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game, written by Gary Gygax for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. It is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with the various characters from the book translated into AD&D terms.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the Alice books by Lewis Carroll. The thirteenth release of Disney's animated features, the film features the voices of Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley, Bill Thompson, and Heather Angel. The film follows a young girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole to enter Wonderland, ruled by the Queen of Hearts. Along the way, she encounters an odd assortment, including the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat.
The Mock Turtle is a fictional character devised by Lewis Carroll from his popular 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Its name is taken from a dish that was popular in the Victorian period, mock turtle soup.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It is currently the last production to adapt the original stories and was first broadcast on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4.
"The Spider and the Fly" is a poem by Mary Howitt (1799–1888), published in 1829. The first line of the poem is "'Will you walk into my parlour?' said the Spider to the Fly." The story tells of a cunning spider who entraps a fly into its web through the use of seduction and manipulation. The poem is a cautionary tale against those who use flattery and charm to disguise their true intentions.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a 1972 British musical film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel of the same name and its 1871 sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, directed by Australian television producer-director William Sterling. It had a distinguished ensemble cast with a musical score by John Barry and lyrics by Don Black.
"'Tis the Voice of the Lobster" is a poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in Chapter 10 of his 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is recited by Alice to the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon.
Alice in Wonderland is a musical by Henry Savile Clarke, Walter Slaughter (music) and Aubrey Hopwood (lyrics), based on Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It debuted at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End in 1886.
The Gryphon is a fictional character devised by Lewis Carroll in the popular 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. True to the conventional view of a griffin, he has the head, talons, and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1949 French film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Directed by Dallas Bower, the film stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as Lewis Carroll, and Raymond Bussières as The Tailor. Most of the Wonderland characters are portrayed by stop-motion animated puppets created by Lou Bunin.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1915 American silent dark fantasy adventure film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed and written by W. W. Young and starring Viola Savoy as Alice.
"You Are Old, Father William" is a poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in his 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is recited by Alice in Chapter 5, "Advice from a Caterpillar". Alice informs the Caterpillar that she has previously tried to repeat "How Doth the Little Busy Bee" and has had it all come wrong as "How Doth the Little Crocodile". The Caterpillar asks her to repeat "You Are Old, Father William", and she recites it.
Alice in Wonderland (1931) is an independently made black-and-white Pre-Code American film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed by Bud Pollard, produced by Hugo Maienthau, and filmed at Metropolitan Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Almost Alice: Music Inspired by the Motion Picture is a 2010 concept album of various artists' music inspired by Tim Burton's film, Alice in Wonderland. The album is also notable for featuring songs that were inspired from quotes directly from Lewis Carroll's original 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. For example, both "The Lobster Quadrille" and "You Are Old, Father William" are both word-for-word performances of poems from the original Alice as quoted by the Mock Turtle and Alice herself to the Caterpillar. Furthermore, "Very Good Advice" by Robert Smith is a cover of Kathryn Beaumont's "Very Good Advice" from Disney's 1951 animated adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.
Quadrille is a dance.
"Lobster Quadrille" is the twenty-sixth episode of the third series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 21 March 1964. The episode was directed by Kim Mills and written by Richard Lucas.
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is a 2001 stage adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass. It was written by Adrian Mitchell.
Alice by Heart is a musical with music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater, and a book by Sater with Jessie Nelson. The musical is inspired by Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and was originally presented by London's Royal National Theatre in 2012.
