MAR 20, singable satire: politically-corrected lyrics "MY TENOR UKE"

 Today's Offering (Mar 20. 2025):  SINGABLE SATIRE

ORIGINAL PARODY-LYRICS 

MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS: "My Tall Silk Hat", traditional camp-song, written about 1937, based on the popular Neapolitan song "Funiculi, Funicula", 1880.

The iconic song became the basis for many spoofs in English. Recently, we joined that group of parody songwriters with our effort, "UKULELÍ, UKULELÁ", that was eventually posted HERE in February 2021. 

 

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, September 2013, with prompt initial posting at the online parody website "AmIRight" as here, with a few subsequent re-writes. 

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 for both the parody and original song, as well as helpful performing suggestions. 

 To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "MY TENOR UKE" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

In the traditional version of this schoolboy parody, based on the tune of ‘Funiculi, Funicula’, a “big a-fat-a lady” squashes a hat on a vehicle's seat. The current updated lyrics are, we hope, more politically correct and more appealing to adults. The final line, as in the posting of November "Ukuleli, Ukulela" is a proposed Neapolitan Ta-da!, meaning let's go up there. Pronounce the "j"s as "y" to sound like an Italian tenor. 

photos courtesy of Wikipedia and other web-sources

MY TENOR UKE

(to the tune of "Funiculi, Funicula")

Introduction:
Inspired by trendy p’litical correctness,

I changed a song, an old camp-song,

Reflecting pre-teen Piggy/Twiggy bias,

That got it wrong, so very wrong.

   

Besides, a flavor more Napolitana,

I craved to chance, appeal enhance;

And so I trimmed my 'Lady' down to sexy,

Not anorexy,

And let her dance, a bella dance !

Revised Camp-Song: 

One day, as I was riding up the tramway,

My tenor uke, my tenor uke

I laid it on the seat a-right beside me,

My tenor uke, my tenor uke. 

The tall and shapely Nina sat upon it,

Was that a fluke? My tenor uke !

And launched a liaison volcanic,

(Not too platonic); my tenor uke, my tenor uke ! 

Pavarotti, what do you think of that ?

Master it, six sharps or seven flats;

‘Cause body-type is so much hype;

It’s only brawn or big-a belly –-

So save a seat in cielo

For our sleek friend A. Bocelli.

Outro:

‘Ncoppa jammo ja’, ukulelí, ukulelá.

Pavarotti (left),  Bocelli (right)

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