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08 Apr 99 - 07:49 AM (#69071) Subject: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: Ian Does anybody know this one? I want it for a recitation and I have it on tape (somewhere). I think it's by John Betjeman or Roger McGough but I haven't been able to find it in any of their published works. I tried an INFOSEEK search for "discretion" and "Valerie" but, guess what, got some VERY interesting results. Thanks! |
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08 Apr 99 - 09:34 AM (#69101) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: AlistairUK I think that you'll find that it's a Les Barker creation and he would be thrilled if he saw you compared him to Betjeman or McGough. Though I suspect a reference to a train might please him more. |
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08 Apr 99 - 09:46 AM (#69105) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: AndyG Sorry, but if Mr Barker wrote it it wasn't under the given title 'cos I just searched his poem index.
AndyG |
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08 Apr 99 - 09:53 AM (#69107) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: AlistairUK I'm sure I heard him do a poem with that name at the club I used to run...my memory must be playing tricks...only 33 and already senile *sigh* |
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09 Apr 99 - 09:43 AM (#69383) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: Ian Thanks, I'm pretty sure it wasn't written by Les Barker. Anoyone else got any ideas? |
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15 Apr 99 - 07:13 AM (#71058) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: McGonigal Is that Discretion is the better part of Valerie/Though all of her is nice? Don't know any more, I'm sorry! |
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15 Apr 99 - 11:22 AM (#71086) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: Dale Rose I found the phrase on this page
http://www2.prestel.co.uk/lwtcdi/all/3mnov86.htm
though the way it is used is in an offhand sort of way. Perhaps the person who wrote the page knows where he got the phrase from. There is an address there to communicate with the page author. |
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27 Apr 99 - 08:48 AM (#73718) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: McGonigal Another line to this one "Not for her potatoes, or puddings made of rice" Sorry, I can't think where it's from. |
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08 Sep 99 - 08:43 AM (#112405) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: IanC Finally found it!!! It's by Roger McGough and was published in "Watchwords" (1969).
Discretion is the better part of Valerie
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09 Sep 99 - 07:22 AM (#112744) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: Hawkeye Discretion is the better part of Valerie Though all of her is nice Lips as warm as strawberries and eyes as cold as ice You can tell by her demeanour that she keeps her love on ice But you've lost your heart on her, now you'll have to pay the price Not for her potatoes or puddings made of rice Not for her potatoes or puddings made of rice She takes carbohydrates like God takes advice A surface(?) of ambition is her particular vice Valerie fondles lovers like a mousetrap fondles mice And though in the morning she may whisper 'It was nice.' This is totally from memory so is probably not that accurate. I can remember another verse of which the first line was: 'Valerie is corruptible but known to be discreet' and the last: 'Valerie rides a silver cloud where once she walked the street.' It is definitely from 'Watchwords' by Roger McGough and I first heard it on a 1969 album called L the P by the Scaffold (Parlophone label, M.C. Esher's 'Ascent and Descent on the cover). Hope I've at least provided clues or jogged some memories. Let me know. |
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09 Sep 99 - 08:05 AM (#112753) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: AndyG Full details of The Scaffold album Lily the Pink are available here.
AndyG |
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29 Jun 05 - 01:43 PM (#1512602) Subject: ADD Poem: Discretion (Roger McGough, 1968) From: GUEST,Lynda Hey! It was so great to see someone else was fascinated enough to be looking for this one. Partly thanks to you, I've found it, after frequent episodes of wishing I could get my hands on it. It came up on my very first day of first-year English at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1982. I never kept those notes, but often wished I had, just because they contained this poem! I found the full text at: www.haileybury.herts.sch.uk/english/Schemes%20of%20Work%20Removes/ Anthologies/collated%20all%20sections.doc. Here it is, for those who are still interested: Discretion - Roger McGough (1968) DISCRETION (Roger McGough) Discretion is the better part of Valerie (though all of her is nice) lips warm as strawberries eyes as cold as ice the very best of everything only will suffice not for her potatoes and puddings made of rice Not for her potatoes and puddings made of rice she takes carbohydrates like God takes advice a surfeit of ambition is her particular vice Valerie fondles lovers like a mousetrap fondles mice And though in the morning she may whisper: "it was nice" you can tell by her demeanour that she keeps her love on ice but now you've lost your hardearned heart now you'll have to pay the price for she'll kiss you on the memory and vanish in a trice Valerie is corruptible But known to be discreet Valerie rides a silver cloud Where once she walked the street. |
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20 Sep 05 - 12:58 PM (#1566932) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST,sasha drummond ye it is by roger mcgough as i am dooing coursework on the poem i was wondering if anyone could give me info on how this poem stands out!? |
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20 Sep 05 - 01:25 PM (#1566952) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: Morticia Do you mean stands out from other McGough poems, Sasha? From other Liverpudlian poets of his time? He's a bit of a favourite of mine so if you are more precise in your questioning, I'll do what I can to help. |
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09 Nov 10 - 10:34 AM (#3027592) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST,Wisesarah So great to see this poem! I just googled the first line and this forum came up. I studied this poem for A level English and was talking about it today. Couldn't remember the author and thought it might have been Betjemin. |
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27 Nov 10 - 04:47 AM (#3041306) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST Thanks for that, Read in 1971. Never forgotten.along with the one where they "waited for poppy sellers to appear on her streets" |
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28 May 14 - 09:05 AM (#3628686) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST,Friend. Vallerie (prefers being called Val) only remembered the first few lines so when I was told Roger McGough had written a poem for her, I had to come on line and have a look for it. Val met Roger McGough at some music do where she was collecting glasses for free entry. They then went up to the quauntaux? Is this spelled correctly? in Taunton. The barbecue was on and music playing, people having a few drinks and everyone there having a good time. Even today, Val is known to throw a good barbecue. She hasn't changed much. Still sharp as ever and an amazing woman full of wit. I'm in danger of waffling on. Thanks for posting the Vallerie poem. I can write it down now and give it to her tomorrow. |
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28 May 14 - 09:32 AM (#3628698) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST Quantocks. Mind you Rog would pee himself at your spelling. Oh, the problems of old age. Which offers a new rendering, Digression is the better half of Valerie.. |
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28 May 14 - 07:13 PM (#3628800) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST,Jenny Roger McGough was very fond of his puns, and that's what this poem essentially riffed off, I think. |
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29 May 14 - 07:48 AM (#3628845) Subject: RE: Poem:Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST Puns? Rock cakes. Digestion is the better part of valour. |
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25 Nov 15 - 09:50 PM (#3753620) Subject: RE: Poem: Discretion is the better part of Valerie From: GUEST,John White Today in an email to a colleague I referred to someone else's work a "valiant". It's not a word that comes up very often when you work in I.T. and are discussing people's programming skills, so it was fun moment for me. At any rate, later on I was considering whether I should have used "valorous" instead, and that put me in mind of the proverb (used, I've just learned, by Falstaff in Henry IV Part 1) which of course brought me to this wonderful opening line, which was quoted by a prof of mine over 30 years ago but which I've never forgotten. I'd never know its source or author, so googling it today brought me to this thread which has been running now, remarkably, for over 16 years. I don't have much to contribute other than my shared pleasure in finally seeing the full text and learning about Roger McGough for the first time. But here's a link to a collection of McGough's poem on Google Books: https://books.google.ca/books?id=0M_BrM8Y54wC&printsec=titlepage Also, it occurs to me that "silver cloud" in the second last line might have been capitalized, if it refers to the model of car that Rolls Royce produced in the 50's and 60's. In the published work it's not capitalized, so I guess McGough wanted it to work with the multiple meanings. |