For many years I have been haunted by the quotation, put to good use by Joyce via the drunken Stephen Dedalus, taken from The Maunder’s Praise Of His Strowling Mort by Shirley which runs :
White thy fambles, red thy gan,
And thy quarrons dainty is;
I have finally succumbed to writing a version of that original for myself. I had first to modernise the cant speech to prose and then, while trying to stay close to the original form, to re-versify.
The title certainly is, of course, a joke, and the whole piece is (and was in the original, I believe) written with comic intent.
Stephen D. to Shirley girlie
Dolly, the shine in your eyes sends me spare
as they glitter behind those fancy frames !
No other bloke fucked with one to compare!
your arse out-pouts any uptown dame's!
Your white soft hands, your crimson lips
tell me it's time that I got you bedded:
the swell of breasts, the swell of hips
Show me the way I should be headed.
I don't wear those flash designer jeans
nor clothe myself in an Armani suit:
no! let me only find the means
while naked to taste forbidden fruit .
I know that you delight to shag
and from you the honey fairly drips.
Surely I do not need to nag,
so get those neat knickers off your hips.
When comes the dawn we'll take a breath,
dry ourselves off with a velvety rub:
no further suffering the
little death
we'll refresh our strength at the nearest pub.
After a night of free for all
I'll willingly take another ticket
to make more play with bat and ball
once more upon that sticky wicket.
|
Sorry for the repetition
Written by Phil (6951 comments posted) 12th December 2007 |
Hi Brian.
Being a bloke of a sometimes baser nature, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Not sure how PC it is, but I'll risk an honest 'thumbs up.' I particularly enjoyed the last three, the fourth being my favourite. An intellectual rugby song. Just goes to show, poetry doesn't have to be all daffodils, albatrosses and such.
Enjoyed very much - comic intent and all.
Phil |
A rather rough lot ...
Written by patterjack (1429 comments posted) 12th December 2007 |
... those vagabonds of The Triumph of Wit !! Yet I feel a kind of tenderness in the actual lines quoted-- unsure why !
They are songs indeed --though it did not occur to me to equate them with rugby songs  -- a nice idea ! but I would need someone with a musical talent to set and sing them for me . There may even be traditional tunes which would go with them.
For me the writing of the verse was enjoyably cathartic.
patterjack |
Written by fellpony (1700 comments posted) 12th December 2007 |
the writing of the verse was enjoyably cathartic.
Should you be admitting to such things on a public forum, Brian? |
Written by Bottleblondesurfer (3556 comments posted) 12th December 2007 |
Oh, now I understand the title a little better; Stephen Dedalus I knew from Ulysses, though I don’t remember Shirley. I thought it was Molly, but I’m sure you know more than me. I certainly don’t know the original poem.
The trouble with poems like this is that all the old allusions and references just pass you by and it becomes a museum piece. So well done you for updating it, what a good idea and how well it works. I thought it was a clever and vibrant poem and can stand up as a work in it’s own right. It could be the sort of thing a real bonzer bloke might write to his special Sheila.
Seriously, I do realise that there is a lot of learning and skill gone into an exercise like that
Jane |
Three approaches
Written by patterjack (1429 comments posted) 12th December 2007 |
Ah FP
The use of catharsis on this occasion referred to the psychiatric definition
discharge of pent-up emotions so as to result in the alleviation of symptoms or the permanent relief of the condition --
that is , to finally after 60 years get rid of the burr in my mind about that original quote 
I do not set myself up in competition with Aeschylus and his mates with the definition relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy Far too heavy ! 
Finally , though there are a lot of things appearing on the site that do indeed give me a dose of the trey bits , but I was not referring to medical purgation .
patterjack
|
thanks
Written by fellpony (1700 comments posted) 12th December 2007 |
| for introducing me to the original of the poem and thus to the "thieves' cant" it contains (some of which I knew, but so much is foreign to us these days). I assume the "Shirley" reference is really the author, thus the title "Shirley's girlie"! |
HI Brian
Written by jean.day (2359 comments posted) 12th December 2007 |
I enjoyed reading this bit of blokey verse. It makes it even more impressive to know a bit more about where you got the idea from.
|
Written by audrie (454 comments posted) 13th December 2007 |
Rude, crude and somewhat lewd,
But no one can call you a prude! |
Hypocrisy ? Prurience ?
Written by patterjack (1429 comments posted) 13th December 2007 |
Maybe ! I very often think in the way of the Maunder - but rarely express it outright as I did here , Audrie .
Wishful thinking from a 78 year old .
This was a great chance to channel , so off i went !
patterjack ,
who hopescrude does not refer to the structure of the verse |
Patterjack,
Written by audrie (454 comments posted) 14th December 2007 |
No, I would never comment on the structure, you are a pastmaster of the written word.
The crude I meant was as in unrefined! Really only used it to get the rhyme!
I know what you mean about pouring it out on paper (but not girlie mags I hope!!) Sorry about that, now who's being crude? |
Such a hoot!
Written by gerardconnolly (1186 comments posted) 14th December 2007 |
Brian, how engaging! How delightful and exquisite! Fancy bringing the Maunder verse up to date!
Your next job is to lean upon Sir Phillip Sidney and try to get some sense out of him. For the life of me, I can't.
Fabulously done. Such a hoot!!
Slan! |
Written by Witzl (1585 comments posted) 14th December 2007 |
I didn't know the original poem either, Brian, but this reminded me of an intellectually-minded rugby song, much as it did Phil. And lest you think I'm damning this with faint praise, some of those rugby songs are fantastic, in my humble opinion.
A clever piece of writing. |
Written by Talisker (1331 comments posted) 19th December 2007 |
Fabulous!
I really enjoyed this Brian, and that most logical/absurd sphere of human behaviour is a natural for poetic expression.
Quality smut always seems to find Gerard rising to the bait too!
Oli |
Quality Smut , eh?
Written by patterjack (1429 comments posted) 19th December 2007 |
Thanks Oli-- I wish I had the capacity for bawdry that some of those early writers had ! Best i can do is rewite such as this -- though I did enjoy rewriting the Miller's Tale in limerick form
Do you know Tom Lehrer's song Smut ? It encapsualtes so much about intentions at least !
paqtterjack |
*giggle*
Written by no1butClo (341 comments posted) 25th December 2007 |
nice to see someone being up front about such matters for a change!
never seen the original, but enjoyed this lots =P
clo |
*giggle*
Written by no1butClo (341 comments posted) 25th December 2007 |
nice to see someone being up front about such matters for a change!
never seen the original, but enjoyed this lots =P
clo |
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