Sunday 31 December 2017

BLOG SUMMARY for 2017: Sequentially Silly Songs and Satire

BLOG SUMMARY for 2017: 

Nothing that's new here, that is, in comparison to the extensive list of delightful song blogposts that we have generated. But, it did take a lot of work to summarize what we have concocted for the previous calendar year.

Technical Note: Each jpeg 'slide' embedded in the blog is protected and cannot be linked, so the hotlinks are listed under each slide. Click on those profitably, and enjoy!   Giorgio.


OR, IF YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE...
CLICK HERE TO GO FORWARD TO THE SUMMARY FOR 2018
CLICK HERE TO GO BACKWARD TO THE SUMMARY FOR 2016 (warning! this choice takes a lot of patience. An alternate plan is to click on the year and month you want in the right hand margin and follow the links found there.)


Assuming that you do want Calendar Year  2017, let's proceed...



HOTLINKS and keywords
Three Bears  plants and animals, fantasy, domestic issues
The Great Outdoors  environment, limerick medley 
Lightly Curtained Verse  profanity, poetry, limerick medley
The Trump Years  U.S. political satire, limerick medley, history
More Gun Control  U.S. political satire, folk/protest,  limerick medley
Sesquicentennial Canada Day  holidays, Canada, limerick medley
This Land Has Anagrams  Canada, U.S. political satire, wordplay
Latin Cat's Strut  swing era, classical languages



HOTLINKS and keywords
Skittish Doll  Jewish culture, adolescence
Handel's Alajuela Chorus  travels, classical composers
And No Birds Sing  poetry, legends/myths, golden oldies 
(Even More) Simple Twist of Verse  folk/protest, classic limericks, wordplay
Using Greek Words etymology, classical languages, word structure 
Literary Classics  poetry, literature
Travels in Greece  travels, Greek culture, food and diet, classical languages 
Bad Booze Chronicles  poisons, alcohol and drugs 




HOTLINKS and keywords
Nuclear Cardiology  medical imaging, health/medical issues
Acid Reflux  health/medical issues, food and diet
Eating Italian  Italian culture, food and diet
Medical Imaging  health/medical issues, medical imaging  
First Year on the Range  U.S. political satire
The Avian Life  plants and animals, environment
Animal Behavior  plants and animals, environment
Aging in Place  retirement, elderly, nursing homes and hospitals 
Struggles with French  French language, etymology, Canada



LIST OF KEYWORDS

adolescence
alcohol and drugs
black (macabre) humour
boating
Canada
classic languages
classic limericks
classical composers
domestic issues
environment
etymology
fantasy
folk/protest
food and diet
gardens
geology
golden oldies
guest contributor
health/medical issues
history
holidays
Italian culture
Jewish culture
limerick medley
literature
legends/myths
mathematics
musical talent
multiculturalism
nonsense
nuclear weapons
personal
plants and animals
poetry
profanity
poisons
relationships
retirement
romance
Russian culture
software/tech
South Carolina
swing era
travels
tribute
ukulele
weather
wordplay


word structure

Friday 29 December 2017

Singable Limerick-Medley (Quebec ballad): STRUGGLING with FRENCH

POST #162:
Singable Limerick-Medley 
ORIGINAL SONG: These verses could be sung to the standard "The Limerick Song", as per YouTube here. However, for this post, we have used a different tune, the melody for the verses of the 1970s French-Canadian hit. "La Complainte du Phoque en Alaska" by the band Beau Dommage. The Quebec cowboy type melody is mixed with elements of circus music, and in fact a calliope is a major element in orchestration of the original piece.
Deep thanks to Steve McNie of Toronto Ukes, whose chord chart provided the basis for current version; any errors are likely due to the key transposition by G.C.
LIMERICK VERSE:  Original verses composed by Giorgio Coniglio 2016-2017, and compiled in December 2017. Several of the verses also appear in the online limerick dictionary OEDILF.com.
WORDPLAY LINK: Further limerick verses dealing with French words and concepts can be found on our companion wordplay blog "EDIFYING NONSENSE" in the post about "SAVOIR-FAIRE"



CONTENTS:
1. Gallicism(e)
2. French Loanwords
3. Québécois (Joual)
4. French Wench
5. French Enologists


STRUGGLING WITH FRENCH 

A LIMERICK-MEDLEY

(to the tune of verses of "La Complainte du Phoque en Alaska")



1. Gallicisme? Its origin: - - (it’s) French
coquette: a flirtatious French wench.
R S V (won't you), Please; a massage: rub and squeeze,
Rendezvoustête-à-tête, or a clench.

2. À propos of French loanwords- - I'd say
Spoofing poets spout words like outré.
So, sans cesse I have cursed that so few are well-versed,
Quant à moi, a unique nonpareil.

3. The ACcent / ahk-SOHN  --- Québécois
Doesn't equal French studied by moi.
Speaking joual, what they say sounds much more like 'mo-AY';
If I speak, I'll blurt, "Mw-é, j'parle pas.”  

4. I must say there's no word worse for rhyming  with ‘French
Than that somewhat archaic term 'wench'.
You're put off by a klaxon (the horn honks, "Anglo-Saxon"),
Then you'll notice your appetence quench.


5. French enologists  --- don't talk a bunch,
But they'll use the word grappe — that's my hunch.
For them, grapes are raisins; they choose crus to make vins.
Check what vintage they order with lunch.


(For explanation of the French words, and some more intriguing poems, refer to the blogpost "SAVOIR-FAIRE")



UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT
(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

































WORDPLAY LINK: 
For wordplay (palindromes, anagrams, eggcorns, creative cartography, etc.) and silly poetry (limericks, including some more French-tinged offerings), see our sister blog "EDIFYING NONSENSEhere



ORIGINAL SONG-LYRICS
























Sunday 17 December 2017

Singable Limerick-Medley (Romanian waltz): AGING IN PLACE, SOMEWHERE

POST #161: Singable Limericks 
ORIGINAL SONG: These verses could be sung to  "The Limerick Song", as with other limerick-medleys that we have posted. However, for this medley, the verses have been set to a Romanian waltz theme. This tune seems appropriate for the sombre sentiment of some of the verses, and more importantly, we only learned how to do it recently. The tune is similar to "The Anniversary Song"; a Youtube recording by Al Jolson is found here.
LIMERICK VERSE:  Original verses composed by Giorgio Coniglio, and compiled in December
 2017. Many of the poems have been published at the OEDILF website (the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form) by Giorgio Coniglio, 2016-2017. The OEDILF identifying number (#) and the Author's Note accompanying each poem, where relevant, are shown following the first verse. 


CONTENTS:
1. The Man from Nantucket - Romanian waltz version 
2. Old Farts
3. Cape Cod Codger
4. Octogenarian
5. Mien Geriatric
6. Centenarian
7. Georgian Historian
8. Heart Block
9. Old Farts (reprise)

SEASONAL MESSAGE: 
Happy holidays to everyone out there in blogland.

You can enjoy some of Giorgio's parody songs for the holidays 



 - "Avitaminoses" ( A Late-Days of Christmas Song) 


AGING IN PLACE, SOMEWHERE

 (To the tune of "The Anniversary Song". Display of the lyrics has been condensed to 4 lines for each verse, with internal rhyming in line 3, rather than the more customary 5-line limerick format.) 


1.(Classic, clean limerick)
 There was an old man from Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket; 
But his daughter named Nan ran away with a man
And as for the bucket, Nan took it.

2. “To the social milieu we bring flatus,
For which fault peevish offspring berate us.
We should state from the start, hate that insult, ‘Old Fart’;
We’ll depart. Won’t return.”  signed, The Late Us.

3. An old codger who lived on Cape Cod
Tended assets in fashion quite odd.
He would spend as he'd wish (often smelling of fish)
From his cache in his bucket of scrod.

4. An octogenarian bird
Thought that giving up sex was absurd.
So she programmed an app that she kept on her lap-
Top: "Remind me next March twenty-third." 

5. An old duffer, with mien geriatric
Laced his skates  in a gesture theatric. 
Dropped his cane, took the ice, loosened up in a trice,
And went on to complete a mean hat trick.

6. Centenarian Rose had a stroke
Playing bridge in the lounge with some folk. 
And the last thing she did was to call out her bid; 
Next card night she’ll be back; that’s no joke.

7. That ol' Georgian historian, Gene Goss
Told tall tales of rubes conned in Waycross; 
He could bring home the bacon with his legends of Macon.
He's just passed, we're deploring his loss.

8. "Mrs. Hart, things have gone quite amiss;
You've a block in your bundle of His.
My advice must be heeded — The right pacemaker's needed;
Then you'll live to one hundred in bliss."

9.“To the social milieu we brought flatus,
For which fault peevish heirs did berate us.
We had thought from the start that our title, ‘Old Fart’
We’d update.”,  Dear Departed (sic) / Late Us.


UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT
(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

























At this point you might wish to return to the post 'Singable Lyrics: Novel Melodies for LimericksHERE

























    

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Singable Limerick-Medley: ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

POST #160: Singable Limericks 

ORIGINAL SONG: These verses can be sung to  "The Limerick Song", as per YouTube here.
LIMERICK VERSE:  Original verses composed by Giorgio Coniglio, and compiled in December 2017. Many of the poems have been published at the OEDILF website (the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form) by Giorgio Coniglio, 2016-2017. The OEDILF identifying number (#) and the Author's Note accompanying each poem, where relevant, are shown following each poem. 
CONTENTS:
1. Molevolence
2. The Male Rhino
3. Rabbit-Habits (Male)
4. She-Goats
5. The Centipede Returns
6. Anthropocentric
7. Moe, the Clothes Moth
8. The Woodchuck


FURTHER READING (singing):

 Readers keen on Biology might also like to review the blogpost "The Avian Life". 
Readers who are fans of Ogden Nash, might recognize his influence with respect to our poems here concerning rabbits' habits and the intrusion of the centipede into domestic life. These folk might enjoy enjoy seeing some of their hero's poems set to music in post #28, and post #29 .




ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

(A LIMERICK MEDLEY)

(To the tune of "The Limerick Song". Display of the lyrics has been condensed to 4 lines for each verse, with internal rhyming in line 3, rather than the more customary 5-line limerick format.) 


1. Eastern moles shun our sun-drenched solarium;
They have fun as they trench their ‘terrarium’.
Our lawn’s riddled with knolls where moles tunnel their holes.
With malevolence, I’d like to bury 'em.
(Or abolish their habits or vary 'em)

2. Ron the rhino, depressed and forlorny,
Mourned, "That mate of mine seldom feels horny."
Does this tale about 'tail' prompt a human males's wail?
Men might find this verse corny or porny.

(But for guys, Ron's dilemma is thorny)

The mating habits of the white rhinoceros are discussed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_rhinoceros

3. I detest the offensive male rabbit;
He's a beast of concupiscent habit.
He'll egregiously breed, though there's clearly no need:
Should occasion present he‘d just grab it.
Any chance for romance? Watch him nab it.

4. That fine Chavignol cheese that you've bought?
Gourmets say, "It's the best chevre we've got."
All the she-goats have heard that their crottin's preferred,
Though the French word for 'turd' is  la crotte.  

5. His performance derided by Nash, 
Yet he streaks 'cross your den in a flash.
Even Ogden agreed -- his speed's hard to impede.
It's the centipede's 100-foot dash.


6. Each mammalian species and genus
Has a male form – the one with the p***s.
Female humans, we find, that self-centered, he’s blind
To all subtlety. That comes between us.

7. Moe grumps, "Butterfly? Flutterby-schmutterby. 
Mindless moults and clothes-noshing just stutter by.
My mouth's stuffed — that's a patter-killer; I'm no kvetch," moans this
   caterpillar.
As a moth, eats no cloth, he'll just mutter by.
  Manny's moth-mob infests your dried pasta
(Though they'll ravage your sweater-vests faster).
If some larvae are seen in your box of rotini:
Meatsauce ready? Just eat; no disaster.


8. Fierce debate: how much wood throws a woodchuck
(When well-trained, so he knows what he COULD chuck)?
"I could pitch half a cord if I didn't get bored.
That's my personal best: it's a GOOD chuck."


UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT
(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)


















    




















HOTLINK to Wikipedia: "Clothing Moth (Tineola bissilliella)"