Dear Mr P. Doff,

I myself have, by a very strange coincidence, also been asked many times to play that very same piece. Although seemingly popular, searches for it in the DT have proved fruitless although it is possible Masato Sakurai or Malcolm Douglas may have the answer readily to hand. The only references on the internet I have found to it have been sporting ones such as to kick (or throw) that "bloody thing somewhere else". I am assuming, therefore, that it is a sporting song of some type and hope that our more athletic type contributors may be able to help. I have also heard the phrase "point that bloody thing somewhere else" in several Westerns and in soem TV police shows, so it is also possible that it is a "cowboy song" or perhaps an old "outlaw ballad". A search of the EFDSS and Bodleian resources. "That bloody thing" has a distinctly Australian ring to it to my ears and perhaps one of our Australian experts may be able to help.

Regarding the sock, there is no reason why you should endure physical injury or damage for your art, so I would recommend removing the said item of apparel from your guitar and placing once again on your foot. In all probability, that particular member of the audience was probably short-sighted and mistook your guitar for a banjo where use of a sock is not only commonplace but often recommended.

For these various reasons, I personally have long since desisted from performing requests.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Guitar