Pollution
All around
Sometimes up
And sometimes down
But always around.
Pollution, are you coming to my town?
Or am I coming to yours?
We're on different buses, pollution
But we're both using petrol.
(From Bomb)
Why those lines have stayed with me I have no idea. In the past it was a common form of entertainment to memorise verse and to give poetry recitations. I would not be able to hold the floor for long as there are only fragments of poems that I've remembered. Wordsworth's:
The full version is beautiful.
Another remembered snippet from my favourite, Robert Frost:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth....
And the famous lines by Ogden Nash:
Algy met a bear.
A bear met Algy.
The bear was bulgy.
The bulge was Algy.
Of course, in our family, there is a long tradition of oratory and musical entertainment.
Most who have dipped their toes in our gene pool have a favourite song which they will give voice to with minimal arm twisting and varying degrees of lubrication of the vocal chords. We are known to be fond of a ballad.
Reputedly my paternal grandfather could recite, in its entirety, Who Killed Cock Robin? While I don't remember witnessing this it was no mean feat, in my opinion.
http://www.rhymes.org.uk/who_killed_cock_robin.htm
I do remember my Nana singing the old Scottish ballad" The Day I Found the Five Pound Note" which was her particular favourite. My cousin Stephen's song is" Father and Son" by Cat Stevens. A more touching rendition you will never behold but he is not to be outdone by his mum, Auntie Jean, who does a fantastic version of "Paper Roses". My Dad was partial to "They Tried to Tell Us We're Too Young" which was very mournful indeed.
My party song is Paper Lace's "Billy Don't Be A Hero" which I occasionally perform from start to finish, often with accompanying actions to give an added dimension and pathos. I used to favour "Stand By Your Man" until I suffered serious bruising falling over as the bus rounded a corner while I was singing into the microphone.
I suspect this trait has trickled down through to the next generation but I have not encouraged it. One of my daughter's knows by heart songs by Eminem and I fear having to enforce an MA rating at family gatherings if she bursts into song.
