SEP 20, singable satire: Tom Lehrer Sings "RHYMING BINOMIALS, A to L"

 PARODY SONG-LYRICS

  A rhyming binomial

ORIGINAL SONG: "The Elements", Tom Lehrer, 1959.  

PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio,  2015. This song is the fourth of nine in the series on Word-Pairs. You can find the links to the lyrics of the previous songs at the bottom of the post. Also, our prior exploration of this theme resulted in a lexicon of rhyming binomials on this site as displayed here.

EXPLANATION: For discussion of binomials specifically and word-pairs in general, check out a recent post on this blog-site by clicking HERE.

 

Most binomial pairs are not rhyming

The inherent music of language is an important element in the toolkit of parodists. When all of this began, I used Tom Lehrer’s format to sing a nonsense-song about irreversible binomials. The current offering highlights pairs in which the 2 elements rhyme, e.g. ‘make or break'. Specific cases may border on cliché, but delight us with their musical quality. Sneak a peek!

UKULELE and GUITAR-FRIENDLY LINK: Our whole series of songs can be found in a friendly format for ukulele (and guitar)-players on our sister blog  "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE" with chord-charts and helpful performing suggestions. Click HERE to proceed to this site. 

There’s age and stage, bug in a rug, (out and) about, and ants in pants

And agony and ecstasy, and amble ramble, ain’ts and shan’ts

There’s bows and arrows, brake and take, more bounce to ounce, and box and cox

Bird is the word, feathered not furred, and claws and paws, cock of the walk.

There’s chips and dip, and chalk and talk, and cruising for a brui-uising

Candy is dandy, liquor’s quicker – it’s your pick and choo-oosing.

And crime and grime, and croon a tune, crumpled and rumpled, (blushing groom)

Cat in the Hat, Dancer and Prancer, dream and scheme, and doom and gloom.

Dennis the Menace, dives and drive-ins, fair and square, and eyes on prize

Delicious and nutritious, flotsam jetsam, also Five Alive.

There’s gym and swim, and gap and lap, and grip or slip, Amazing Grace

And shades of Hades!  hurry  scurry, huff and puff, and haste makes waste.

The hostess with the mostest, hire and fire, and high and dry, haircare

Highway and byway, health- and wealthy, height and weight, and here and there.

By hook or crook, and grope and hope, and hulk and skulk, and hitch and snatch

Hasten and chasten, hustle bustle, hither thither, itch and scratch.

There’s kneel and squeal, and kitty litter, luck and pluck, and keen and mean

Loonie and toonie, life of strife, lock stock, muss fuss, and lean cuisine.  

The latest and the greatest, loot and booty, Mod Squad, lie and pry

Lotions and potions, ma-and-pa, musty and dusty, my and thy.

Burns’ ‘Louse’ and ‘Mouse’*, and Looney-Tunes, and old cartoons with Mick and Minn

Or Huey Dewey Louie, while the cat is OUT and mice are IN.  

There’s likely umpteen others, but so far I can’t imagine them

They’d spread across the alphabet from a-ardvark to zymogen.

*   Among Robert Burns many famous poems, "To A Louse" and "To A Mouse" figure prominently. 

Funny (rhyming) money
Loonie and Toonie