PARODY-LYRICS
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, August 2013.
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Charlotte Church, child diva sings "Men of Harlech" |
PEN of RABBITS
(to the tune of "Men of Harlech")
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Welsh 'rarebit'; no rabbits harmed |
Singable Introduction:
Still today caer Harlech perches,Dominating YouTube searches -
Steals your breath away.
Here’s a song about Welsh Rare-bit,
Squarely dealing with the hare-bits --
Seen on fare-bills quite a fair bit,
Patrons seem perplexed.
Rabbit Welsh –- offensive nomen-
-clature used by Saxon foemen ?
“No Welsh eats, but cheese and dough, man,
‘less they poach some game.” [2]
Meat-free choice? Just ask your hostess,
Beer-and-cheese-melt over toast; its
Celtic fans applaud and boast, it’s
Cambria’s national dish.
Some meat-shunners might eschew it Thinking it a hunter’s stew –- but
It lacks lagomorphs [3], that’s true –- Bugs
Outwits Elmer Fudd!
Rare-bit search is Brasch’s [2]
Hare terse-verse is Nash’s [4]
‘HoJo’ wrote the spoof ‘Woad Ode’ [5]
Coniglio [6] penned some flashes.
Hail a dish that harms no hopsters;
Not how Newberg hassles lobsters,
Fwycassees can fweak out sqwabsters --
Free the Cornish hen!
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Easter rabbit hunt, New Zealand |
Sadly, elsewhere, butchered rabbitSatisfies game-lovers’ habits;
Easter special –- Braised Brunch-Basket:
Bunny-love abused.
Hard life in the burrows,
Where bereavement’s thorough.
Peters sad, their mom or dad
Got skewered for lunch ‘al burro’ [7].
Hail a world that harms no hopsters,
Fricassees make quail no squabsters,
Calves should escape escalope, sirs ! Peace in field and warren !
[1] Charlotte Church aged 13, recorded the traditional ‘Men of Harlech’, 1998.
[2] Dr R. Brasch discusses the origins of ‘Welsh rarebit/rabbit’ in ‘How Did It Begin’ , MJF Books, 2006.
[3] herbivorous mammals in a zoologic order which includes rabbits and hares.
[4] Ogden Nash’s well-known 2-line poem, ‘The Rabbits’
[5] Best-known spoof on the song: a Boy-Scout song based on the tradition among ancient Britons of fighting naked in woad dye, by Eton housemaster W. Hope-Jones, 'HoJo', 1921
[6] Coniglio: name derived from the Italian word for rabbit
[7] culinary term in Italian for 'prepared in a butter sauce'