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20 Nov 03 - 09:19 PM (#1058198) Subject: Lyr Req: 'The English Are Best ?od All The Rest From: GUEST,noddy Heard this one years ago, now I can't recall the words. Please help - we need it for the Chrismas after dinner talk. Thanks Wanderly Wagon somewhere between Main and Fleet Street |
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20 Nov 03 - 09:26 PM (#1058203) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'The English Are Best ?od All The Re From: Anglo From Flanders & Swann, isn't it? "The English, the English, the English are best, I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest." |
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20 Nov 03 - 09:30 PM (#1058205) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'The English Are Best ?od All The Rest From: Malcolm Douglas Michael Flanders and Donald Swann. It's in the DT, under the wrong title, and without the tune: The English. Properly, of course, it's called A Song of Patriotic Prejudice. Never search here for a song title, because people often get them wrong; always look instead for an identifiable phrase. |
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20 Nov 03 - 09:34 PM (#1058210) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'The English Are Best ?od All The Re From: GUEST,noddy Thanks - but that is not quite the same thing. The one I recall has some slightly stronger words in it, so it is fannier. When I think of Christmas now I always remeber bits of this 'bawdy' version and laugh and laugh and then fall over. |
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20 Nov 03 - 11:23 PM (#1058255) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'The English Are Best ?od All The Rest From: Malcolm Douglas In that case, you should probably hold your breath until the hiccups stop, and then quote a phrase or two from the song you're looking for, and give us a hint as to where you might have heard it. I expect there are "bawdy" parodies, but such things are often local and not widely known. |
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21 Nov 03 - 02:08 AM (#1058290) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'The English Are Best ?od All The Rest From: alanabit Fred Wedlock did a version in the seventies, which included (then) topical verses about the Common Market and everyone beating England at cricket. It's remarkable how little has changed really, isn't it? I assume that a song like this one will always have topical verses to make any sense at all. |
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21 Nov 03 - 08:30 PM (#1058882) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'The English Are Best ?od All The Rest From: Murray MacLeod You wouldn't by any chance be thinking about Derek Brimstone's magnificent oeuvre ? I have taken the liberty of copying and pasting my initial posting from an earlier Mudcat thread. Since the thread on alternative American anthems created such a response, let's see if we can do something similar for the British Isles. I have long been of the opinion that Andy M Stewart's "Rambling Rover" should be the National Anthem of Scotland, but in the (unlikely) event of total independence for the Celtic countries, England is going to need a new National Anthem as well. I propose Derek Brimstone's stirring song should be adopted I'm a fine young Englishman, And I do the best I can I try to be a credit to the nation I don't ask for much at all Just to piss my wages up a wall And win the Duke of Edinburgh Award for fornication Now the English are the best An example to the rest They all should get down on their knees and thank us The Irish are a pest Al except for Georgie Best And the Scots and the Welsh are a bunch of wankers. These are Derek's omly two verses. Some years ago I took the liberty, with his permission, of composing a middle verse which goes like this: You can see me on the street In Benidorm or in Lloret As out of the pub at 5 a.m. I stagger I may act the randy pup But I can never get it up After drinking sixteen pints of Carlsberg lager I feel this song encapsulates the spirit of the modern Englishman in a way which "God Save the Queen" somehow fails to do ................... Murray |