The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #11575   Message #3103290
Posted By: LadyJean
26-Feb-11 - 07:26 PM
Thread Name: Origin: The Bastard King of England
Subject: RE: Origin: The Bastard King of England
Young Rudyard published a quasi improper poem, "The Sergeant's Wedding" with the chorus, "Cheer for the sergeant's wedding. Give him on cheer more! Gray gun horses in the landau! And the rogue is married to an etc."

Etcetera doesn't rhyme with more, of course. But Victorians wouldn't print the word that does. Leslie Fish recorded it, to a nice catchy tune, with the original lyrics. Rogue is replaced with bastard in her version.

Even the bowdlerized version is a lovely, wicked little poem. It has a subtlety that the Bastard King of England lacks.

I was told that Rudyard Kipling wasn't made poet laureate because he called Queen Victoria a fat old lady, which of course she was.