APR 20 (2021), singable satire: Bob Dylan sings "A FICKLE TWIST of VERSE", part #1

 PARODY-LYRICS, based on traditional poetry (limericks)

ORIGINAL SONG: "Simple Twist of Fate" Bob Dylan 1975; covers by Diana Krall and Sean Costello are recommended.
ORIGINAL POETRY: At Wikipedia (click here), you can find a discussion of limericks dealing with the 'man from Nantucket'.
PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, June 2016.

PARODY-SONGLINK: To access ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany "A Fickle Twist of Verse" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

CURRENT CONTENTS: these are limericks chosen from the classic repertoire for interpretation by B.D.
1. "There once was a man from Nantucket" (clean version) - 3 verses, unattributed.
2. "There once was a man from Nantucket" (dirty version) - cleaned up by G.C.
3. "A gross, a dozen, and a score" - Leigh Mercer.

4. "There was an old miser named Clarence" - Ogden Nash.
5. "There was a brave girl of Connecticut" - Ogden Nash. 
6. "There was a young belle of Old Natchez" - Ogden Nash.
Chorus. "People say it makes them sick" - Giorgio Coniglio.

FICKLE TWIST OF VERSE, part #1

(to the tune of "Simple Twist of Fate")

1. There was a family from  Nantucket:   

Pa kept cash hid in a bucket,

'Til one day his daughter took it,

Daughter name of Nan - 

She ran off with a man. 

Pa felt things might get worse, and 

Watched out for a fickle twist of verse. 

Pa followed couple to Pawtucket -  
Little Nan and cash-filled bucket. 

Just before old Pa retook it,

He said to the man, 

"You’re welcome to keep Nan.” 

He uttered a terse curse, and  

Moved off with a fickle twist of verse. 

The couple trailed him to Manhasset 

Pa held cash there as an asset.

Pail in question? Now man has it;

They stole cash and ran - 

Nan with her new man –  

She stuffed it in her purse, and  

Forgot about a fickle twist of verse.

2. They had a neighbor on Nantucket --

On the island he was stuck; 

Bad reputation, couldn’t chuck it, 

Based on body build –  

Girls found him too ‘strong-willed’, 

Which fate could not reverse, 

Brought on by a simple twist of verse. 

3. A gross, a dozen and a score            
Plus three times the square root of  four;

Divide by seven, no whit more, 

And add eleven fives, 

And hope your brain survives; 

That’s nine squared per Leigh Mercer, 

Cited in this twisted limerick verse. 

4. A mean miser, name of Clarence -  

Simonized both of his parents; 

Found initial cost of care  

Immense, but still declared, 

He’d save on wear- and tearance  

Humor which emerges  

Clearly from O. Nash’s limerick verse.

A brave girl of Connecticut                 

Flagged the train with her petticut. 

Some folks deplored her lack of 

Ecticut, some more inclined 

To laud her presence of mind -  

Debate in which immersed 

Her critics in this controversial verse. 

6. A young southern belle of Natchez’   

Garments always were in patches. 

She divulged she itched, but scratches 

If the need arose; 

Played havoc with her clothes,  

Which stitching could reverse,  

Apart from this fickke twist of verse.

                                           

   CHORUS:

    People say it makes them sick

    To hear too many limericks;
    I fear it had become my shtick,
    But now I've lost the knack,
    With no good jokes to crack --
    A tendency perverse;
    Blame it on a fickle twist of verse.

Did you enjoy  Bob singing the classic limericks? Stay tuned for a follow-up post. 

Pending Topics...

7. "A flea and a fly in a flue" - author unknown, often attributed to O.N.

8. "There was a young lady of station" - Lewis Carroll. 
9. "A wonderful bird is the pelican" - Dixon Merritt. 
10. "There was a young lady named Bright" - Reginald Buller.
11. "There was an old man of Peru" - Edward Lear. 
12. "There was a young fellow of Wheeling" - traditional. 
13. "Hickory dickory dock" - traditional.
 Chorus. "People say it makes them sick" - Giorgio Coniglio.

APR 19, etymology : 'dog'

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!

APR 18, to clot, or not: overview

You can view these verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'To Clot, or Not to Clot' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

 

APR 17, diagnostic imaging: image-guided biopsy

Authors' Note: The above verse panders to the jargony use of the medical term biopsy,as a verb. The position mentioned in the verse would apply specifically to fine-needle biopsy of the prostate, a procedure discussed in a verse HERE.      

  You can review all our verses on this intriguing topic by proceeding to a post on 'Edifying Nonsense' entitled 'Selected Topics in Diagnostic Imaging'. Click HERE!

APR 16, portraits of couples: gemboks, highly-giroomed dogs

Photo: 2017, Barry Weinstock. Etosha National Park, Namibia.

NOT A TYPO !

giroomed:  a neologistic portmanteau word meaning 'groomed like a giraffe'

 

You can view this photo from our portfolio of 'Couples' portraits in a wider context on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" here. 

APR 15, classic palindrome: 'no lemon, no melon'

 

You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Limericks About Classic Palindromes' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

APR 14, poetic Panama palindrome parody: 'a man, a potato'

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.

APR 13, waterfowl: oystercatchers

oystercatcher at Crab Bank

 running along the Mt. Pleasant shoreline

at a more leisurely pace

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'. 

APR 12, funny bones: distal radial fracture

Authors' Note: Injuries to the metacarpal bones, such as knuckle fractures, are most common in injuries occurring with the closed fist, e.g. a punch thrown in a fistfight. In fact, an isolated fracture of the head of the fifth ('pinky'-side) metacarpal is known as a boxer's fracture. 

  On the other hand, fractures of the wrist (including the distal ends of the radial and ulnar bones of the forearm and eight intrinsic small carpal bones) are most commonly caused by a fall on the outstretched hand. Of all of these, fractures of the distal radius, sustained when attempting to break a fall, are by far the most common.

 

You can view verses on this topic in a wider context by proceeding to the post 'Breaking News: FUNNY BONES' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

APR 11, life in Palindrome Valley: 'Liar Trail' (duplicitous signpost)

Authors' Note:  A somewhat archaic meaning of duplicitous is 'twofold', and that is the basis of its more common modern use to imply deception. In the archaic sense, any palindrome is duplicitous, as it can be read in either of two directions. However, a palindromic place-name on a signpost seems like a recipe for getting lost.

There are other popular posted destinations that could confound the unwary visitor to Palindrome Valley. These include: Drama Rd., Evaded Ave., Llama Mall, and Roomy Moor.

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'.

APR 10, waterfowl: wood ducks

 

male wood duck (below) swimming with male mallard (above) 

male wood duck

 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'. 

APR 8, American satire: tweetstorm

:

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

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE POETRY ON THIS SITE?

POEMS: Poetry appearing on this site was written (unless otherwise indicated) by Giorgio Coniglio (registered pseudonym), and for the most part contributed to the online humour dictionary-site...

OEDILF (Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form). In its 15 years of existence, OEDILF has worked its way alphabetically from Aa- to Gr-, with the goal of accumulating a verse defining every meaning of every word in the English language. This co-operative project has  accumulated over 107,000 carefully edited limericks, with completion date estimated to be around the year 2065. In the past three years, Giorgio has contributed over 300 poems to the project; the site's accession number for the verses is indicated at the bottom of the relevant slides in our presentations.

APR 7, classic palindrome: 'lonely Tylenol'

You can review more illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Limericks About Classic Palindromes' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. 

APR 6, amphibians: Giorgio's froglegs

Be sure to check out the whole collection of 'Amphibians' by proceeding to "Edifying Nonsense." CLICK HERE ! 

APR 5, trees: Leif the Norway maple, a bilingual complaint

Authors' Note: The winged fruits of the tree are known as keys, but also as samaras, pollynoses and even whirligigs. 

  The second verse, in Norwegian, as well as its English translation and related notes are by GalFisk.

Leif's daily autumn debris

You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Uprooted Verse: 'Poems about Trees' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. 

APR 4, old world palindromes, #19 and #20

You can view the entire collection of 'Old World Palindromes' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense";  start by clicking here. 

APR 3, a brief saga: bipolar illness (gun-toting Phyllis)

 BIPOLAR ILLNESS

Authors' Note: The two phases of bipolar illness or manic-depressive disease are manifested in unpredictable time sequence, with considerable disruption to patients, families, and even the surrounding community. Medications, including longterm lithium salts, are often helpful in maintaining equilibrium; however, prescribed drugs may be discontinued by patients who enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and creativity that accompany the hypomanic phase.

  For the purpose of this blog, a 'brief saga' is defined as a poem, usually narrative, but occasionally expository, that tell its story in at least 15 lines. Most commonly, the format involves three stanzas in limerick form, constituting a single submission to the online humor site 'Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form'. On the OEDILF site, rigorous standards for content and format proceed in a collaborative editing process that may take several weeks to over a year. 

   Generally, OEDILF has not been enormously welcoming of multi-verse submissions, but Giorgio Coniglio has persisted, and the OEDILF number for each accepted multi-verse poem is shown here on the slide with its first verse. 

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog, proceed to 'methylated spirits'.

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga', back up to 'workplace pollution (compensable)'. 

APR 2, Canadiana: "sorry!"

Authors' Note: The metaphorical use of 'borrowing' in the context of speech and ideas continues, often without payback/return, in the examples of 'borrow a word/phrase', 'borrow a page', 'borrow an idea', etc.

  

 Characteristic differences in speech between Canada and adjacent regions of the United States involve words such as eh, out, borrow and sorry. Exposure to a flood of American-based media has eroded some of these differences; but as our national anthem says, "We stand on guard for thee."

  

 Readers may note that, as an intentional measure of international friendliness, the above verse maintains its rhymes when read with either a Canadian or American accent.

 You can review poems, pictures and diverse nonsense related to Canada on the post "Canadiana" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense".

APR 1 (APRIL FOOL'S DAY): reptiles: 'reptile fantasy'

 You can review photos and illustrated herpetologic verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Verses about Reptiles' (don't worry! no photos of snakes)' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

MAR 31, commercial product: furniture protector

Authors' Note:  The principal ingredients and other details of Dust, the indispensable furniture protector, are left to the reader's imagination.

Our range of domestic and commercial products is somewhat limited, but you might want to review our unusual prospective gifts on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

MAR 30, classic palindrome: 'a Toyota's a Toyota'

You can review a collection of illustrated verses on this topic by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Limericks About Classic Palindromes' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.