The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #70705 Message #1208918
Posted By: Bill Hahn//\\
16-Jun-04 - 06:44 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: Parody: 'Cause I'm A Jew
Subject: RE: Parody: 'Cause I'm A Jew
Humor is a delicate thing. The best part of humor, to me, is a simple truth revealed by irony. Ethnic humor is really only funny when done by people of that ethnicity. Think of Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Pat Harrington, Godfrey Cambridge, and the early Jackie Mason (I say "early" because now I think he is not funny---just a bit racist himself in demeaning others with no clever puch line.)(Humor like that has to be self deprecating).
Tom Lehrer is one of the few that can straddle all ethnicities in send-ups---think of Vatican Rag, Irish Melody, and a few others. In today's world Modern Man can do that in spoofing geographical region's foibles, ethnic foibles, etc; through music.
Here are a few thoughts that might be put to a melody by someone else:
When Jewish Ladies Burn their wigs---hurrah, hurrah Indian Ladies lost their hair in vain--hurrah hurrah And DuPont ladies will cash in====Hurrah Hurrah