You know the Smothers Brothers have infiltrated the mainstream, subversive interpreters that they are, when one of their pieces is printed for use by the Boy Scouts of America. Yes, I found this on the Internet. No, I am not a Boy Scout.

This appears to be a conflation of two things. One is a poem by the Reverend George A Strong, which Mudcat has on another thread (naturally, or it wouldn't be Mudcat). I'm going to save that chunk for later. The rest of the piece is built around this. Internet source material disclosed at the end of this post.


HIAWATHA
As recorded by the Smothers Brothers on "It Must Have Been Something I Said!" 1964.

On the shores of Gitchee Goomee,
By the shining big sea water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
And the little Hiawatha.

Hiawatha, he went hunting,
Went to hunt a bunny rabbit,
Had to make a pair of mittens
From the bunny rabbit's fur.

Oh he hunted over woods,
He hunted over dell,
He hunted all about,
Where the bunny rabbits dwe -e-e- -e-ell.

He hunted all the day,
He hunted all the night,
At last he found a rabbit
With the fur just ri- -i-i-   i-ight.

Now the fur upon the rabbit,
Has the warm side fur side outside,
Hiawatha found that rabbits
Have the inside skin side in.


And Rev. George A Strong's poem is more or less shoe-horned in here. Future post.


resuming:

Hiawatha, he went hunting,
Went to hunt a bunny rabbit


(This is NOT in the Boy Scouts version:
Tom Smothers stops the music and hollers from the stage:
"HI THERE I'm your bunny for the evening Tommy")


Had to make a pair of mittens
From the bunny rabbit's fur.   


Section Ten, Page 22
Campfire Programs,
Super Saturday Book, 1998
Milwaukee County Council,
Boy Scouts of America
printed by CNI Newspapers


(re: the Mad Magazine Parody thread: guest Michael D asked after the Mad Magazine parody of Hiawatha making mittens. Don't know if Mad Magazine did it, but how COULD I forget the Smothers Brothers recording of a live show, "It Must Have Been Something I Said"?
Composer credit for "Hiawatha" is given as Milton Rosen on the album.)