Mr. Lighter

Rugby Football Songs
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 17 Nov 01 - 12:13 AM

The cover page of the primary source
CAMP PENDLETON "GHOST RIDERS" RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
OFFICIAL SONG BOOK
(Second Edition)

Not copyrighted – 15 January 1981 by Pendleton RFC
No rights reserved. Any part of this work, considering there are
no copyrights, may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means
graphic, electironic, or mechanical, including photocorpying, record-
ing taping, or information and retrieval systems - - without written
permission of the Pendleton RFC.


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Subject: RE: Rugby Football Songs
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 17 Nov 01 - 12:17 AM

This is close as possible to the original written text's, layout and design; it is neither edited nor corrected, with the typos and original line breaks included. These were still the days of the manual and "selectric" typewriters.
The following explanation from/within the manuscript explains why I believe some of these songs, (hopefully dick/Susan will concur) belong within the anals (sic) of the Digital Tradition.

Sincerely,
The Digital Tradition's most humble of servants,
Gargoyle

PENDLETON'S FUCKING OFFICIAL (?) INTRODUCTION

The sport of Rugby is unique but oddly enough the action on the
playing field itself has little to do with this distinction. The
stamina, skills and risk of bodily harm can be matched, all or in
part, by other sports. The can't, however, match the unusual comb-
ination of sport of sportsmanship, comaraderie, humor and enthusiasm which
surfaces after the game has finished. In no other sport can the
participants indulge in such vicious bodily contact, cause or
sustain an assortment of hurt and injury then, win or lose, join
the opponents in a convivial party to share an evening or rowdy
song and drink, even going so far as to pay for the enemy's beer.

Although the game of Rugby has often been described as unorgan-
ized mayhem, this description is only partially correct. It would
be more to the point to describe the game of Rugby as organized mayhem.

Rugby songs themselves are a traditional part of folklore and
each team member owes it to the team to learn them in order to
participate more fully in the sport. The passage below was taken
from the preface to the book, "Why was he Born so Beautiful and
Other Rugby Songs" by Michael Green, 1967. It more eloquently
describes the animal known as the "rugby song" and is reprinted here
without the permission of the publisher and in complete disregard
for copyright policies just as Michael Green did in compiling his
own book. It will serve as the introduction to the Pendleton RFC
OFFICIAL SONGBOOK and in turn as the last bit of sanity in an
otherwise happily insane collection of smut.

"It has often been said that what happens after a game of rugby
is more important then what happens of the field and the sing-song
is one of the chief post-match activities. Perhaps it is rather
stretching it to the word 'sing'. The noise which comes out
of a rugby clubhouse on Saturday night has little in common with
the work or Marie Callas and Benjamin Britten, although the dis-
sonant half-tones, like an elderly bagpipe exploding, which mark
attempts at harmony, might gladden the heart of a Kurdian shepherd."

"Yet the rugby song does have a crude sort of folk culture all of
its own. At its worst it is simply a bawdy chorus, a Chaucerian
obsession with the basic functions of the human body being the es-
sential linking theme of all good rugby songs. At its best it may
tell a moving story, make a pertinent social comment. Keir Hardie
himself could not have resisted the socialist appeal of "they're
digging up fathers grave to build a sewer." the story of an honest
British workman who was exhumed for the building of a scewer up to
(1)

"some dirty pesh's residence" and who retaliated by haunting the
aristocrat's lavetory seat. And his heart would be hard indeed
who was not moved by the tragety of Morphine Bill and Cocaine Sue
who after killing themselves with drugs (Honey have a sniff on me)
were buried side by side."-.

"Some rugby songs tell a narrative story of heroic proportions
in 'recitative', such as the famous "Eskimo Nell' or the witty story
of the incredible "Wild West Show". from which the Oozekum Bird has
passed into the language as a symbol of futility. Others like "Oh,
You Zulu Warriors' depend for their appeal on violent physical actions
by the participants, such as pouring beer over the singer. A large
section are derived from hymn tunes, and while they would scarely
be accepted by ecclesiastical authorities they have a grim attraction
of their own."

"Truly there is something for everybody, providing they can drink
enough beer to dull their finer senses. This volume itself could
serve as a treasure trove for the psycologist. The literature fills
a gap in English Literature (somewhere between Smellet and Henry
I think). I commend it to all rugby players who can read, while
even front-row forwards will enjoy having it spelled out for them".

Due to the length of this work and the skill (or lack thereof) of the
typist, there will be some typographical errors in you copy. Please
look upon these as lending aesthetic value to the work.

Signature
Bradley W. SHARP
Treasurer, Pendleton RFC
15 January 1981

END OF ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT

Sincerly,
Gargoyle

Cripes was that hand typed, hand line breaks>transcription ever a labor of drunken love of brew. I could not/would not ... do it today ... but, it kept me sain.

I honor your contributions, and original source material ... I am clearing my collections and planned to send it to John M