Poetry, Jingles, Doggerel and Song Lyrics

[Moonraker]

• The Moving Finger Writes
  taken from a translation of the Rubaiyat
  of Persian (Iranian) Polymath and Poet,
  Omar Khayyám

• The moving finger writes; and having writ,
  Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
  Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
  Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.

So that was the inspiration behind Agatha Christie's novel, The Moving Finger - a murder mystery concerning a poison-pen writer? Fascinating.

[Aurélien]

• The Moving Finger Writes
  taken from a translation of the Rubaiyat
  of Persian (Iranian) Polymath and Poet,
  Omar Khayyám

• The moving finger writes; and having writ,
  Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
  Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
  Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.

So that was the inspiration behind Agatha Christie's novel, The Moving Finger - a murder mystery concerning a poison-pen writer? Fascinating.

Guess one can't 'undo' a murder, either....gruesome thought for the day.

Old Aurélien mentally recalls waaay too many newspaper stories about [NZ] elder abuse.

[Moonraker]

Guess one can't 'undo' a murder, either....gruesome thought for the day.

I suppose you could kill someone, then successfully resuscitate them, thereby "undoing" the murder...

[Boodi]

This is a really great thread, thanks for thinking of it Aurélien! I have just spent a pleasant hour browsing through it. In addition to many of the poems and song lyrics already mentioned, three that stick in my mind and remind me of those pleasant far-off days are: The Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear, which I had to learn off by heart for my Elocution teacher (I don't think such a title exists today...I think the modern term is "speech and drama"!!). Although it is about 40 years ago now I still remember the poem perfectly!! Here goes:

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

II
Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Two songs that I found rather special in my young days were Pamela, Pamela (I wonder if anyone remembers it now??) sung by Wayne Fontana:

Pamela, Pamela
Remember the days
Of inkwells and apples
And books and school plays
Where little Brer Rabbit kissed Pooh in the wood
And Fluff was the cat that sat on the rug

When Laurel and Hardy were shown at the flicks
With sticky red lollies on splintery sticks
Pigtails and ribbons and crushes on miss
Secret discussions about a first kiss
But you were young
And everything was new
Impatient to do things you couldn't do etc etc etc

The other was "La Belle Vie" sung by Sacha Distel, which I found most romantic...

Ô la belle vie
Sans amour
Sans soucis
Sans problème.
Mmm la belle vie
On est seul
On est libre
Et l'on s'aime.
On s'amuse à passer avec tous ses copains
Des nuits blanches
Qui se penchent
Sur les petits matins etc etc

I still enjoy listening to both songs and also to "My Boy Lollypop" which was a hit for Millie Small (I think) when I was very, very young...indeed it is one of the first songs I remember!! That should allow people to guess my age fairly quickly...if anyone is interested in the age-guessing game!!

Cheers,
Boodi

[Aurélien]

Hi there Boodi...I remember Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat"....always thought that a pussycat addressing an owl as "You elegant fowl" was simply asking for trouble...but could never decide exactly what sort of trouble that would be...

‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

[Boodi]

Yes indeed Aurélien, the mind boggles at the various scenarios that might have followed from such an exclamation ! Mind you, the owl must have been very brave (or extremely foolish) to choose a FELINE for a partner....still, it is a very amusing poem!!

[Aurélien]

Yes indeed Aurélien, the mind boggles at the various scenarios that might have followed from such an exclamation ! Mind you, the owl must have been very brave (or extremely foolish) to choose a FELINE for a partner....still, it is a very amusing poem!!

A brave owl? Yes, unless *shudder* instead of being an ordinary, inoffensive owl it should happen to be a Bubo horribilis, sometimes called a Bubo hogvartiensis.

Then, Boodi, poor pussy would muchly rue the day [he?] got overly frisky with the feathered one!

‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

Edit:
Nah, 'horribilis' isn't what I had in mind, but I am not a Latinist. Anyone know the correct form of 'magus' or of 'arcanus'? Probably either of those would be better.

[Boodi]

Then, Boodi, poor pussy would muchly rue the day [he?] got overly frisky with the feathered one!

Edit:
Nah, 'horribilis' isn't what I had in mind, but I am not a Latinist. Anyone know the correct form of 'magus' or of 'arcanus'? Probably either of those would be better.

Unfortunately I'm not much good at Latin either, so I have no idea! Strangely enough, I always assumed the cat was female and the owl male!! As you say, if the owl was indeed one of the varieties you mention then no doubt poor pussy would have a problem when it suddenly swooped upon her(??) on silent wings!

[Moonraker]

Anyone know the correct form of 'magus' or of 'arcanus'? Probably either of those would be better.

The phrase, Loduv Bolliccus leaps to my mind, old fellow...

[Aurélien]

Anyone know the correct form of 'magus' or of 'arcanus'? Probably either of those would be better.

The phrase, Loduv Bolliccus leaps to my mind, old fellow...

Guess you must have had a particularly hilarious Latin teacher, then, Moonraker. Reminds me of Mrs. Rosemary Rowe Aitkens' murder mystery series about Libertus the Mosaic Maker, but no, they are set in Roman Glevum [Gloucester] not in Salisbury, which didn't exist way back then......*Thinking: So the Public Loos in Salisbury can't be Roman Remains, then*

• The Dog
  by Ogden Nash

• The truth I do not stretch or shove
  When I state the dog is full of love.
  I've also proved, by actual test,
  A wet dog is the lovingest.

‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

[Julie2owlsdene]

I suppose you could kill someone, then successfully resuscitate them, thereby "undoing" the murder...

If your ambulance was at hand.

[Moonraker]

Reminds me of Mrs. Rosemary Rowe Aitkens' murder mystery series about Libertus the Mosaic Maker, but no, they are set in Roman Glevum [Gloucester] not in Salisbury, which didn't exist way back then......*Thinking: So the Public Loos in Salisbury can't be Roman Remains, then*

Au contraire, me old Kiwi; During the Roman times Salisbury was called "Sorviodunum". When the city was named “Searoburh”, in Saxon times, there was a great battle between the Britons and the West Saxons. After the Normans occupation of England, they built a castle here, it was called "Sarum". The castle site is now unpopulated and is called Old Sarum. It was here that the first cathedral was built in Salisbury, in 1075. However, when relations between military and clergy in the region deteriorated, the cathedral was re-sited. The new city, or New Sarum, was founded in 1220 and became what we now know as Salisbury. The cathedral also has the country’s largest spire at 404 feet.

Just a brief history!

[Aurélien]

The phrase, Loduv Bolliccus leaps to my mind, old fellow...

Hey, friend, you've got to expect a few feeble jokes from a retiree.
Some days it's about all we're capable of....

Sorry about the insult to your fair city, though...wasn't intentional. Hums three bars of

• Rule, Sarum,
  Sarum rules the plains;
  Sarumites never, never,
  Will be...put down.

*Thinks: Hmm...something wrong about both the scansion and the rhyme in that one*

[Aurélien]

And, from the pen of the young C. L. Dodgson, the same likely lad who [then aged 12] admonished his 8-year-old brother thusly:

• Roar not, lest thou be abolished!

I bring you the 9th (and last) stanza of his epic poem, “Woes”:

• Two chokes, one howl,
  A stifled growl,
  It died without a struggle:
  And the only sound
  That was heard around
  Was its last expiring guggle.

Your best guesses are invited as to exactly what has just died [very messily], and how?

‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

[Julie2owlsdene]

The Hound of the Baskervilles?