NOV 30, singable satire, parodysitism: "THE BURNING GRAPEVINE"

ALTERED SONG-LYRICS: parodysitism 
RECIPIENT SONG (music): "Light My Fire", The Doors, 1966, as covered by Jose Feliciano.

INVADING SONG (lyrics): "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", Motown Records 1966-1968,  as performed by Marvin Gaye, etc.
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, November 2015.

KEYWORDS: goldenoldy, mishmash, pairody

A major way to have fun with songs is to insert lyrics from one into the musical backdrop of another. This pastime has been referred to as “mishmash”, “smoosh”, "pastiche" or “contrafactum”. In my view, a good analogy is that the lyrics and theme act as an invader or parasite, taking over the music and pre-empting the message of the “recipient” or “host” song. PARODYSITISM is a neologism mixing the concepts as well as the sounds of parasitism and parody. These examples under the heading "Breaking Up Is Hard" demonstrate how songs about the ardent phase of love/relationships can give way to a more difficult phase in their life-cycle.

THE BURNING GRAPEVINE

(to the tune of "Light My Fire" – Feliciano version)

I bet you’re wondering how I knew;

It took me by surprise, I’ll say.

Your plans to cheat and make me blue - 

I only found out yesterday.

Just about to lose my mind, 

Not much longer you’ll be mine - 

Heard it through that old grapevine.

A man is not supposed to cry -

You could have let me know yourself;

Tears I can’t hold back inside

They say you’ve found somebody else.

Just about to lose my mind

Not much longer you’ll be mine

Heard it through that old grapevine.

They say, of what you see, half’s true

You can’t believe the things you hear

I can’t help bein’ so confused

If I’m to go please tell me dear.

Just about to lose my mind

Not much longer you’ll be mine

Heard it through that old grapevine

Heard it through that old grapevine.

 

NOV 29, poetic Panama palindrome parody: 'Pan's panama hat'

Pan, unknown French sculptor, 19th C,
Lady Lever Museum, UK

You can review the whole collection of our illustrated verses on this topic  by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Panama palindrome parodies' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

And, if you are interested in seeing innumerable examples of spoofy palindrome variants on wordplay maps, you could embark on a journey through a collection of  blogposts entitled 'Tourists' Palindromic Guides: The Americas, #1 -#4'. All that's needed is to click on the link.

NOV 28, American satire: Arizona (AZ) 'fraudit'

Authors' Note: 

frumpery: dowdy or old-fashioned appearance or behaviour

trumpery: attractive articles of little value or worth

This verse was written in early January, 2021, after revelation of a recorded telephone conversation involving the chief election official of the American state of Georgia, as well as lawyers on both sides, in which suggestions were made to illegally revise the previously reported state's results in the recent presidential election of November 2020. The president, in the waning few weeks of his term, had seemed consumed by concern about poorly specified fraud that might have contributed to his loss of Electoral College votes in closely contested states.

 We hope that you enjoyed this verse. You can find 30 more on this topic in 5 collections on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE to start! 

waterfowl: mallard ducks in flight

 

NOV 26, death and the afterlife: heavenly pie

Authors' Note: Our partners' scrumptious apple pie is to die for, and so is the incredible strawberry pie pictured above.

You can review more poems about 'Death and the Afterlife' in context on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE!

Incidental Photo:

At  a downtown department-store
(Holiday season  window display)

NOV 24, birdlore: desnooding turkeys (role of the mohel)

Authors' Note: 

 mohel (mo-HAYL, a more Hebraic pronunciation), or

 moyel (MOY-uhl, more Yiddish-influenced)   

 The current verse can be read employing either pronunciation.

You can view an encyclopedic collection of illustrated poems on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Poems about BIRDLIFE' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

NOV 23, waterfowl: trumpeter swans

 You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Immersible Verse: Limericks about Waterfowl' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. (Or, if you prefer, you can view them on Facebook in Giorgio's photo-albums).

NOV 22, life in Palindrome Valley: palindrome bees

You can review other illustrated verses on this topic by proceeding to the collection 'Life in Palindrome Valley' on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

NOV 25, garden intruders: papyrus

 

Readers, you are fortunate to have available all our poetic comments on creatures (animal and vegetable), devoted to subverting your gardening plans. To view this collection on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense", click HERE!

You can also review illustrated verses about orderly garden inhabitants by proceeding to 'Poetry Praising the Charleston Garden' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE! 

NOV 21, oncologic verses: beware, boomers! (cancer)

This verse can be considered a companion to the verse benign tumors.

 You can view all such verses in a wider context by proceeding to the collection of "ONCOLOGY VERSES" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

NOV 20, singable satire: The Irish Rovers sing "VANCOUVER'S ISLE"

PARODY LYRICS

Rainbow over Ladysmith Harbour
  brief break from several days of intense rain.

ORIGINAL SONG: "Black Velvet Band" traditional Irish pub song, as arranged by the Irish Rovers 1967. Of note, the Irish Rovers' 50th and putatively final tour took place 2 years ago, ending with St. Patrick's Day concerts in Vancouver and Nanaimo BC. 
PARODY COMPOSED: Dr.G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, January, 2018. 
PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "Vancouver's Isle" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

The IRISH ROVERS ended their 50th world
ANNIVERSARY TOUR with a concert in Nanaimo B.C.

 PARODY SONG-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: "" by Oscar Brand, 1963. You can listen to the well-known version by The Travellers on YouTube by clicking here.

PARODY COMPOSED: Dr.G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, April 2018, in preparation for upcoming Canada Day 2018.

UKULELE and GUITAR-FRIENDLY LINK: All our songs (Giorgio's parody-lyrics and the originals that gave rise to them) can be found, along with suggested chord sequences in a friendly format for ukulele (and guitar)-players on our sister blog "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE". 

VANCOUVER'S ISLE

(to the tune of "Black Velvet Band")

From that oversized town called Toronto

Retirees take pains to be gone;

What with prices as lush as the co-ondos,

And in May, frozen slush on the ground.

I booked tickets by air to Vancouver,  

To the West Coast I thought we might move;

You can fly A.C.*, Westjet (not Porter)

Your relations are bound to approve. 

I'd go straight on to Vancouver Island,

And there I'd explore for a while.

I'd spend time with my bro in Nanaimo

August weather's sublime - that's my style.

But bad misfortune overcame me, 

Paid a penalty, rebooked my flight.

I did land in October, and so did a sober-

ing storm on the very same night.

It can rain on the plains and the prairies.

And in Banff, it can rain there a while.

There's no rain that's a pain, it's not hard to explain,

Like the rain out on Vancouver's Isle.

Spent ten days hunkered down in Nanaimo,

Tried to drive around, poured every mile,

Had to run from the car to the tavern door --

That's a sport out on Vancouver's Isle.

In a bar not too far from Chemainus

A guitar-man sang out this refrain,

"Frequent downpours and drizzle abolish life's sizzle.

Cherish sunny climes? Get on a plane."

"When you fly here with Westjet (not Porter),

Can't extinguish the anguish most vile.

There's no rain that's a pain, it's not hard to explain,

Like the rain here on Vancouver's Isle."

I've retired now to South Carolina --

Coastal mornings are mostly quite fine.

Folks complain should it rain; it's so flat - doesn't drain;

They've got nothing about which to whine.

It can rain on the plains and the prairies;

Banff and Jasper - it rains there in style.

There's no rain that's a pain, it's not hard to explain,

Like the rain out on Vancouver's Isle.

*  A.C. = Air Canada. Westjet is a competitor on flights across the country. Porter provides more local service from Toronto Island Airport to destinations in Eastern Canada and the East Coast of the U.S. 

Chemainus: shuh-MAY-nuhs

Nanaimo: nuh-NIE-moh

NOV 19, binomial phrases: fixed order (hunger and thirst)

 To review the poetic effusion that we have accumulated about binomial phrases, proceed to our blog "Edifying Nonsense", and look over the post  'Grandpa Greg's Grammar: Binomial Expressions'. Click HERE ! 

There is also an entire collection of lyrics to patter songs, somewhat older material, dedicated to various kinds of binomials, that provides more didactic material and an extensive series of examples, and allows you to sing these expressions for your own enjoyment, or for that of others around you. Click HERE !

NOV 18, wordplay maps: Scramble-towns of eastern Canada, #15 and #16

Who would ever have guessed? It turns out that an unparalleled word in generating anagrams, i.e. letter scrambles, is P-A-L-I-N-D-R-O-M-E-S. We have taken advantage of that property to create this unique series of wordplay maps of imaginary American (and Canadian) locales, each one completed by its official two-letter state (or provincial) abbreviation. 

 LINKS to other nonsense in this series: 

Forward? See the finale of this entire continental series.

Back to the previous Canadian map, eh?

Default to U.S.A. map #21 (final American version)

NOV 17, palinku (poetic novelty): potatoes

 You can view all our "palinku" verses if you proceed with a single click to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. (Or if you prefer, you can stay on this particular blogsite and look for the offerings for the 17th day of each month -- there are now more than 60 of these.)

links for any date: scroll over to the calendar-based listings of 'Past Posts' in the righthand column on this page, choose your year and month of interest, and then select (by clicking) the post of your choice.

 

NOV 16, mammalian wildlife: Western lowland gorillas

 

You can review a whole collection of illustrated verses about mammals (both domestic and exotic) by checking out the more extensive post on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE !

NOV 15, humorists' scurrilous talk: 'comings and goings'

EDITORS' WARNING: You must be at least 12 years of age to read this post! 

The collection of informative verses dealing with 'HUMORISTS' SCURRILOUS TALK' can be found by proceeding to our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

NOV 14, bi-lyrical limerick: fiefdom

Authors' Note: This verse is a seven-line concoction based on the limerick format (that we have nicknamed a 'limerrhoid'). The dual-rhyme scheme could only be maintained for the first five lines, but we feel we deserve a star in our notebook for trying! 

Be sure to check out the whole grouped collection of 'bi-lyrical limericks' by proceeding to "Edifying Nonsense." CLICK HERE ! (Or, if you prefer, you could look over this stuff on Giorgio's Facebook photo-albums.) 

links for any date: scroll over to the calendar-based listings of 'Past Posts' in the righthand column on this page, choose your month of interest, and then select (by clicking) the post of your choice.

NOV 13, wordplay maps: Scramble-towns of eastern Canada, #13 and #14

Who would ever have guessed? It turns out that an unparalleled word in generating anagrams, i.e. letter scrambles, is P-A-L-I-N-D-R-O-M-E-S. We have taken advantage of that property to create this unique series of wordplay maps of imaginary American (and Canadian) locales, each one completed by its official two-letter state (or provincial) abbreviation. 

 LINKS to other nonsense in this series: 

Forward to the next Canadian map, eh?

Back to the previous Canadian map, eh?

Default to U.S.A. map #21 (final American version)

NOV 12, etymology: 'mystery'

For fans of etymology, we have three blogposts with collections of verses about word-origins such as the one above on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". You can start to review some of this intriguing material by clicking HERE, and then following the links!

NOV 11, insects: woolly bear caterpillars

Authors' Note: 

bello, bella: Italian (male, female forms) for fine, handsome or beautiful

  The best-known name for this common North American insect derives from the larval form, the banded woolly bear. The caterpillar, with reddish-brown midsection and vertically demarcated black front and rear ends, is often seen in the autumn, appears playful to children, and is non-toxic. There is no easily appreciated visual difference between the genders for either larval or adult stages. Several small locales in the United States celebrate these cute caterpillars with fall 'woollybear' festivals.

You can review Giorgio's other verses about pesty and occasionally beneficial insects, as  collected in 'Buzzwords: Verses about Insects' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.