ADD: You are Old Father William (Lewis Carroll)

Subject: Lyr Add: You are Old Father William
From: Monologue John
Date: 13 Sep 22 - 05:19 AM

Written by Charles Ludwig Dodgson A K A Lewis Carroll it is a parody on a Robert Southey poem The Old Man's Comforts and how he gained them

You are Old Father William written by Lewis Carroll

"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
    "And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head—
    Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
    "I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
    Why, I do it again and again."

"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
    And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door—
    Pray, what is the reason of that?"

"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
    "I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment—one shilling the box—
    Allow me to sell you a couple."

"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak
    For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
    Pray, how did you manage to do it?"

"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
    And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
    Has lasted the rest of my life."

"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose
    That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose—
    What made you so awfully clever?"

"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"
    Said his father; "don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
    Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!"[2]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You are Old Father William
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 Sep 22 - 01:30 PM

Set to music by 20th-century American composer Irving Fine,
for mixed chorus with piano.
Although,
Composer Fine left out the verse about the ointment, as well as the final verse.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You are Old Father William
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 22 - 02:46 PM

I'm surprised this isn't here already, though as a "parody of a parody," the poem/song has been discussed.

Subject: RE: So, what IS a parody?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You are Old Father William
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 13 Sep 22 - 08:18 PM

Timid discussion.

https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123495


Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Nice one to drudge up - memorized in my youth - I have used it again and again.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You are Old Father William
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Sep 22 - 08:28 PM

Shortening the name would have brought more results. Good call.

Subject: RE: ADD: You are Old Father William (Lewis Carroll)
From: GUEST,Spellcek
Date: 15 Sep 22 - 01:27 PM

Gargoyle: drudgery or dredging ¿

Subject: RE: ADD: You are Old Father William (Lewis Carroll)
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Sep 22 - 02:30 PM

Here is a live performance of Irving Fine's choral version
(with two verses missing, as stated in an earlier post on this thread).

Chorus III from Alice in Wonderland [Irving Fine, composer]