Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Reasons to be Cheerful, With A Gloss By Yours Truly
Lyrics to "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
These contain a number of Britishisms likely baffling to non-natives, a few of which I translate in the comments below.
Why don't you get back into bed x 10 Reasons to be cheerful part 3 One two three Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly
Good golly Miss Molly and boats
Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi Ballet
Jump back in the alley and nanny goats 18-wheeler Scammels, Domenican camels
All other mammals plus equal votes
Seeing Piccadilly, Fanny Smith and Willy
Being rather silly, and porridge oats A bit of grin and bear it, a bit of come and share it
You're welcome, we can spare it - yellow socks
Too short to be haughty, too nutty to be naughty
Going on 40 - no electric shocks The juice of the carrot, the smile of the parrot
A little drop of claret - anything that rocks
Elvis and Scotty, days when I ain't spotty,
Sitting on the potty - curing smallpox Reasons to be cheerful part 3
Reasons to be cheerful part 3
Reasons to be cheerful part 3
Reasons to be cheerful part 3 One two three Reasons to be cheerful part 3 Health service glasses
Gigolos and brasses
round or skinny bottoms Take your mum to paris
lighting up the chalice
wee willy harris Bantu Stephen Biko, listening to Rico
Harpo, Groucho, Chico Cheddar cheese and pickle, the Vincent motorsickle
Slap and tickle
Woody Allen, Dali, Dimitri and Pasquale
balabalabala and Volare Something nice to study, phoning up a buddy
Being in my nuddy
Saying hokey-dokey, singalonga Smokey
Coming out of chokey John Coltrane's soprano, Adi Celentano
Bonar Colleano
Gloss (from jtf) Hammersmith Palais -- famous London dance hall Jump back in the alley -- from the Little Richard song "Tutti Frutti" 18-wheeler Scammels -- British mfr of heavy trucks
Dominican camels -- i.e. Caribbean cigarettes, i.e. spliffs Fanny Smith and Willy -- British slang for F & M genitalia
porridge oats -- Oatmeal
claret -- red wine
spotty -- British slang for the condition of having acne Health service glasses -- famously unfashionable heavy plastic frames at one time provided free by the British National Health Service.
(see pic www.bbc.co.uk/arts/multim...tem_4.shtml) brasses -- "brass" is Cockney rhyming slang for prostitute (rhymes w/ "brass flute") lighting up the chalice -- smoking a bong wee Willy Harris -- British entertainer Rico -- trombone player Rico Rodriguez famous for reggae sessions Slap and tickle -- British expression for foreplay, sex Dimitri and Pasquale -- Composer Shostakovitch and baritone Amato? balabalabala and Volare -- lyrics from songs (La Bamba, Nel blu dipinto di blu) nuddy -- nude Smokey -- Robinson (natch) chokey -- prison (from Hindi for a shed or police station) John Coltrane's soprano -- saxophone Adi Celentano -- Italian Elvis Presley Bonar Colleano -- B movie actor
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