an anthem: to a Merchant Prince

We are actually in Florida at the moment, so when I read this morning that it's 34* Fahrenheit in Nice (just above freezing Centigrade), I thought of our last few days there this past October, and felt guilty that I haven't finished the last few posts from that trip. Sooner or later, I will, but some of the Muses, at least Euterpe and Polyhymnia, plus Momus and Iambe, must have been on the plane with us.
And after having just read this in Madison Avenue Spy, I believe that this little Song of Praise is even more à propos than it was when I first posted it. Feel free to sing along.




The night was dark,
The girls wore schmattas,
And the prices kept going up.

Oh, Leader Dear, we sing to you
You brought us stripes on white and blue
You thought up tee shirts, jeans and blouses,
Long distance, from one of your many houses.





From furs and fig leaves you have brought us
-- as your PR folks have taught us --
To synthetic blends which, though not better,
Make a cheap and disposable sweater.
chorus

The mystery metals you invented
Brought bling unto the golfing classes,
Do we really look better represented
In socks with heels and nerdy glasses?




To you we owe the vest of feathers,
The raincoat that can't go out in wet weather,
To you, the Twig, the Moss, the Heather,
And elastic-waisted shorts of leather.
chorus

Dear Leader, it's to you we turn
When for sleeveless coats we yearn,
For brocade shorts, for sequined maxis
Too costly to be worn in taxis.
You heard our prayers and brought back color,
(though seam allowances are smaller),
May your neons ever brightly burn
(though pilly cashmere we'll still spurn.)





chorus
Crown him with a wreath of laurel,
His brow with precious oils annoint,
With success there is no quarrel,
When all else fails, just raise the price point.

14 comments:

  1. It's funny because it's true! LOL

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  2. Hi, xoxo, yes, I thought it was time for a more formal hymn or anthem...

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  3. Southern Belle Ph.D.February 6, 2012 at 8:59 PM

    It is perfect! Sad but true... And I love the idea of an anthem.

    Wondered if you were in Lucas Oil Stadium or Key West. Either way I am sure you all enjoyed the game. I certainly did even though it wasn't always easy to watch!

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  4. Thanks, Southern Belle! We were holding our collective breaths until we arrived on Sunday, at one point LAG was holding commercial takeoffs to let private jets leave for the Superbowl, but we got here! And what a game. We didn't have anything to eat or drink in the condo, watched the game with a few glasses of water, and yet woke up this morning feeling exhausted and hung over. Sadly even though he has 3 tickets, Himself didn't get a bowl ticket in the Giants' lottery.

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  5. I second xoxo: it is very funny because true!

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  6. Hi, Dani, yes, it's tragicomic. Picturing DL being followed around by a Greek chorus.

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  7. Hi, Gigi, glad you enjoyed! I'm hoping someone will be inspired to set this to music, or at least suggest a hymn or nursery rhyme that has a melody that will work with it.

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  8. Love the fur/figleaf verse the best. Some of this will work with the hymn "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken", esp the chorus; the tune is arranged by Haydn.

    Congratulations on the Giants win-- not sore losers here and we were clearly outplayed. Giselle is mad as hell though.

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  9. THanks, Lane! Just hummed it and got strange look from elderly lady on nearby beach chair. Oh, right, tune is the well-known second movement of the Emperor Quartet. Well, I wasn't thinking of that when I scribbled the verses & chorus, but it is fitting for a tribute to a despotic leader. If not exactly tasteful.

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  10. Can't think of a more secular tune here.

    Hope the weather is marvelous there, soak up the heat for us. Do you use a Kindle while away for reading or, like me, are you stuck on your real books? I feel a responsibility to support the books I love, but my shoulders would probably like a Kindle better.

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  11. hi, Lane, the iPad comes with an dreaded and it's also possible to download a kindle not it, so i've tried e-reading. lighter to carry, not as nice in the hand as a real book. Our local public library has a long list of kindle titles to "borrow" for 2 weeks.

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  12. Thanks so much for the mention. I would love to hear you sing your antham. Seems like a no brainer youtube sensation!

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  13. Hi, Lila Delilah, thanks for stopping by! The blog has a Glee Club and Chowder Society which goes parading and caroling (I.e., visits other people's blogs) during holiday and sale seasons, but I haven't yet gotten any of the little creatures to stay in one place long enough to create a YouTube production. Some efforts are collected on the Verse & Verse page. There are plans to find and add more. But the best-laid plans... mostly have more fun than I do.

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