Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Aug 13 - 11:43 AM

could you tell me the publisher of the gay gondolier and if possible a copy of the sheet music . I would be so obliged.sincerely mike [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: GUEST,Tom Vacek, Minneapolis, MN
Date: 10 Feb 11 - 07:01 PM

Tom Barnes--
Where did you ever find the score? I'd love to get my hands on one, as well as Income Tax Collector and the Commissioner. Please contact me off list. twva@cek@[e-mail]. (Remove all but the middle '@'.)

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 21 Jan 11 - 06:07 AM

Thanks Jim,

Amazing what you can learn via Mudcat!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Jan 11 - 08:53 PM

See The Dog of Montarges at Wikipedia. (It was a 19th-century melodrama.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 07:19 AM

Sincere thanks to Tom for taking the trouble to contribute what must be the definitive version of this song.
I don't think we'd ever have got it completely correct trying to transcribe it. For example, "bog off on starches" turned out to be "Dog of Mon-tar-gis" - who'd have guessed that?
Thanks again, Tom.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: GUEST,Tom Barnes, Ottawa, CANADA
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 07:57 PM

Today I received the sheet music for "The Gay Gondolier" by Flanders and Swann. The lyrics (and tempo indications) directly from the score read as follows:
=====
The Gay Gondolier
Words by Michael Flanders
Music by Donald Swann

(Valsa placida)
Ho, lo, lo, lo, lo   lo, lo, lo, lo, lo,   lo, lo, lo, lo, lo,   lo, lo, lo, lo, lo,   lo________
Gon – do – li – er________ Ha, ha, ha, ha.   Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha:

A Gon–do-la owner in Ven-ice
I had been since the age of dis-cre-tion   (thirteen)
But to-day gon-do-lier-ing in Ven-ice
Is a most ov-er crowd-ed pro-fes-sion
You can't swing a cat-sa a-round the Pi-az-za;
The Pal-ace of Dog-es is full of old fog-ies,
And by the San Mar-co, there's no-where to Par-ko!
(A Tempo)
It wasn't for me.    So I went out to sea__________and
Caused a co-mo-tion by cross-ing the o-cean. Now
I am the on-ly or-ig-in-al Gon-do-lier,________ Gon-do-lier,________
On the Man-ches-ter Ship ca-nal!
(Alla Valse Tempo 1)
On boaed my gon-do-la, I serve Co-ca Co-la-, in flag-ons which once held Chi-an-ti,
And for five bob a night I will sing or re-cite from a bast-ard-ized ver-sion of Dan-te.
The Trans-port Com-mission gave me their per-mis-sion, One Gon-do-la, Canal, or
Tham-es-es
And when I made o-be-zands, they threw in a li-cence, for vi-no con-sumed on the pre-mis-es.
When I sing un-so-ber-ly "La Donnae mo-li-le" peo-ple in house boats com-plain.
Of my gay Bar-ca-rolle, so I stick in my pole, and sing it a-gain and a-gain.

(Dolce ma non troppo)
Ho, lo, lo, lo, lo   lo, lo, lo, lo, lo,   lo, lo, lo, lo, lo,   lo, lo, lo, lo, lo, lo,   lo,
Bar-ca-rol-la___He, he, he,    he.   Ho, ho, ho, ho   ho

A gay gon-do-lier as I shot, ev'-ry weir, and I shout as I did in Ven-ez-ia____
Oh, who wants to fond-le a girl in my Gon-do-la up come the river Po-li-zia
Oh while all un-seen-a in-side-a the cab-in-a
The Eng-lish man travels in style.
With a young Si-gno-ri-ta my Gon-do-la met-or, is tick-ing up three pence a mile

So, tied to a jet-ty I eat my spag-het-ti, and drink 'till I'm pro-per-ly plast-ered
Shout-ing "Dog of Mon-tar-gis" to bar-gers on bar-ges, Who shout in re-ply:
"You're a…"   What? It's a lie______.

Oh it's ev-er such fun you will find on my Ang-lo Ve-ne____(tian)tian blind.____
(a tempo al fino)
======
Enjoy!
ttfn, Tom
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Jun 10 - 07:02 PM

Thanks to all who have posted. I certainly wasn't expecting the operatic performance that I found to on YouTube. It was a pleasant surprise.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GAY GONDOLIER (Flanders and Swann)
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 05 Jun 10 - 04:26 PM

This seems to be what we now have :


La la la la la la la la la la la la la laro
Gondolier, he he he he, ha ha ha ha

A gondola owner in Venice
I had been since the age of discretion, thirteen
But today gondoliering in Venice
Is a most overcrowded profession
You can't swing a cat sir around the piazza
The Palace of Doges is full of old fogies
And by the San Marco there's nowhere to park-o
It wasn't for me
So I went out to sea
And caused a commotion by crossing the ocean
Becoming the only original gondolier, gondolier
On the Manchester Ship Canal

On board my gondola I serve Coca-Cola
In flagons which once held Chianti
And for five bob a night I would sing or recite
From a bowdlerised version of Dante
The Transport Commission gave me their permission,
One gondola, canal or Thamesis
And when I made obeisance they threw in my licence
For vino consumed on the premises
When I sing unsoberly La donna è mobile
People in houseboats complain
Of my gay barcarolle
So I stick in my pole
And sing it again and again

La la la la la la la la la la la la la laro
Gondolier, he he he he ha ha ha

A gay gondolier as I shoot every weir
And I shout as I sit in Venezia
O who wants to fondle a girl in my gondola
Up come the river policia
Oh, bacciare inside the cabina
The Englishman travels in style
With a young senorita
My gondolin meter
Is clicking up three-pence a mile
So, tied to a jetty I eat my spaghetti
And drink 'til I'm properly plastered
Shouting "bog off on starches" to bargees on barges
Who shouting reply "you're a *****"
It's a lie
For it's ever so much fun you will find
On my Anglo-Venetian blind.

Any more suggestions?
Ian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Jun 10 - 08:58 PM

Time to post the best revised draft.

I'm getting a headache sorting and resorting these posts.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: Barbara
Date: 03 Jun 10 - 06:21 PM

The Italian for 'kissing' is 'baciare' which could be the word in the line "Oh, baciare inside the cabina"
Just a guess.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann
From: GUEST,Joe
Date: 30 May 10 - 04:16 AM

The remaining points of confusion are actually phrases in italian, of which I have no knowledge

Oh (italian) inside the cabina

Shouting "(italian)" to bargees on barges

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann
From: GUEST,Joe
Date: 30 May 10 - 03:53 AM

and also:

Oh who wants to fondle a girl in my gondola

I have the Ian Wallace recording of this song

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann
From: GUEST,Joe
Date: 30 May 10 - 03:51 AM

The line should be:

When I made obeisance they threw in my licence

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 07:01 PM

2nd verse: barcarolle (spelling)
Last verse, as Snuffy has said Venezia, not Vanicia(as on the website)
And "weir" would be right as it's like shooting the rapids, which is a bit of a joke as you don't get many on a canal!!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swan
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 06:00 PM

Great work!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Barbara
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 05:21 PM

Ian, I think the line is " when I made oblations..." meaning, made the necessary offerings i.e. crossed their palms with silver.
It mostly makes sense, anyway.
And I found that it is on some of the F&S recordings as the Anglo-Venetian blind" so that part of the phrase makes sense.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 04:17 PM

Thanks to all. I have collated above contributions and placed best version on the web-site. Hopefully further corrections can be made in future.
Ian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: bubblyrat
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 02:19 PM

I would suggest "Thamesis ",pronounced "TEM-A-SISS"----supposed to be a combination of the Thame ( the Thames as far upstream as Dorchester,the confluence of the Thames & the Thame !!) and,from there to beyond Oxford, the Isis,as that part of the river was classically known.And it ryhmes pretty well with "Premises".QED.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Barbara
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 01:11 PM

Window blinds are called Venetian blinds on this side of the pond, too, Snuffy. but I thought perhaps there was some special quirk to Anglo-venetian blinds that I didn't know about.
And the pun is, of course, on the idea that a blind is also a hiding place. Hence, the gondola for trysting is a venetian blind.

And the line should read "so, tied to a jetty.."
Damn the typos, full speed ahead.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Snuffy
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 12:11 PM

Venetian Blinds

Venezia is the Italian version of Venice, but an Englishman would probably pronounce it more like Venicia

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Barbara
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 05:52 PM

Doges -- I cut the wrong letter
When I made oblations
Not sure about Venicia
Not sure about "bog off on starches"
And could the pun be a play on a kind of concertina? Is there an Anglo-Venetian concertina?

Have fun
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Barbara
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 05:39 PM

Here's what I got from the Utube link.

La la la la la la la la la la la la la laro
Gondolier, he he he he, ha ha ha ha

A gondola owner in Venice
I had been since the age of discretion, thirteen
But today gondoliering in Venice
Is a most overcrowded profession
You can't swing a cat sir around the piazza
The Palace of Dodes is full of old fogies
And by the San Marco there's nowhere to park-o
It wasn't for me
So I went out to sea
And caused a commotion by crossing the ocean
Becoming the only original gondolier, gondolier
On the Manchester Ship Canal

On board my gondola I sell Coca-Cola
In flagons which once held Chianti
And for five bob a night I would sing or recite
From a bowdlerised version of Dante
The Transport Commission gave me their permission,
One gondola, canal a tempsis
And when I had reservations they threw in a licence
For vino consumed on the premises
When I sing unsoberly La donna è mobile
People in houseboats complain
Of my gay baccarole
So I stick in my pole
And sing it again and again

CHORUS
La la la la la la la la la la la la la laro
Gondolier, he he he he ha ha ha


A gay gondolier as I shoot every weir
And I shout as I sit in Vanicia
O who wants to fondle again in my gondola
Up come the river policia
O why not be seen-a inside the cabina
The Englishman travels in style
With a young senorita
My gondolin meter
Is clicking up three-pence a mile
So to tied to a jetty I eat my spaghetti
And drink 'til I'm properly plastered
Shouting "bog off on starches". to bargees on barges
Who shouting reply "you're a …..>"
It's a lie
For it's ever so much fun you will find
On my anglo-venician blind.

I'm guessing that last line is a set up for a pun that the entire song is build on,
His gondola is a blind for trysting or prostitution and the pun is that there is a kind of window blind called Anglo-venetian. (or something like that.

weir rhymes with [gondo-]lier.
I think the second verse is that he gets a temporary permit and the phrase is latin.

Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 05:32 PM

Thanks Jim for your sterling effort.

Anyone else like to help?

Ian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 01:36 PM

"Palace of Doges" or maybe "Doge's"--but this is a spelling matter only.
podges(?) -- I'm not familiar with that word, but I'll take your word for it.
"San Marco"--not St
"I serve Coca-Cola"
I don't think "or Thames is" is right, but I can't make out the correct words.
I don't think "had reservations" is right either. It's "made" something. "Ovations"? That doesn't make sense, but it's the best I can do.
"When I sing unsoberly"
"And I shout as I sit in Venicia*
O who wants to fondle again in my gondola
Up come the river policia"
The last line ends with "...Venetian blind" but I'm missing a word or two before it.

[*this line doesn't need to rhyme with "wier"; it rhymes with "policia"]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swan
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 10:00 AM

Well, I'm sure it was amusing to put together, for all involved.

The second line may be:

"And I shout as I stick in my OAR"

which may make sense, with an alternative pronounciation of "weir."

Over here in the States "weir" rhymes with "ear."

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swann
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 08:16 AM

Thanks for that Charley. I seem to have made a mess of the web-site clicky in the first post. It should be :

http://www.waterwaysongs.co.uk/index.htm

The song is rather amazing(!), I'm not quite sure what I think of it.

Ian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier - Flanders and Swan
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 07:59 AM

Quite fascinating!

Here's one line completed:

Who shouting replIED "you're a BASTARD!"

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr Req: The Gay Gondolier (Flanders and Swann)
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 03:37 AM

The Gay Gondolier by Flanders and Swann and sung by Ian Wallace can be heard here. As it is about the Manchester Ship Canal I am wanting to add the lyrics to my here website. I have transcribed most of the words but cannot make out the rest. Any help or corrections welcome. Perhaps someone has the lyrics in an old book? Have I got the correct number of la's?

La la la la la la la la la la la la la laro
Gondolier, he he he, ha ha ha

A gondola owner in Venice
I had been since the age of discretion, thirteen
But today gondoliering in Venice
Is a most overcrowded profession
You can't swing a cat sir around the piazza
The Palace of Dodges is full of old podges
And by the St Marco there's nowhere to park-o
It wasn't for me
So I went out to sea
And caused a commotion by crossing the ocean
Becoming the only original gondolier, gondolier
On the Manchester Ship Canal

On board my gondola I sell Coca-Cola
In flagons which once held Chianti
And for five bob a night I would sing or recite
From a bowdlerised version of Dante
The Transport Commission gave me their permission,
One gondola, canal or Thames is
And when I had reservations they threw in a licence
For vino consumed on the premises
When I sing and soberly La donna è mobile
People in houseboats complain
Of my gay baccarole
So I stick in my pole
And sing it again and again
La la la la la la la la la la la la la laro
Gondolier, he he he ha ha ha


A gay gondolier as I shoot every weir
And I shout as I stick in my ….
O who wants to honda again in my gondola
Up come the river politicia
O why …..inside the cabina
The Englishman travels in style
With a young senorita
My gondolin meter
Is clicking up three-pence a mile
So to tied to a jetty I eat my spaghetti
And drink 'til I'm properly plastered
Shouting bog off on ….. to bargees on barges
Who shouting reply "you're a …..>"
It's a lie
For it's ever so much fun you will find
On my …….