The old song and dance
Hello World,
What a difference a week makes. Last week, we were complaining that it was 70 degrees (and you know how I always say, when people do their Christmas shopping in their shirt sleeves, you have blizzards at Easter) and today when I left work, they tell me it was 37 degrees and I have no reason to doubt them. I'm thinking that someone at the Kremlin's infernal weather machine must have fast-forwarded our climate right from early September straight through to late February, and cut out all that other stuff in between. It certainly felt like the dead of winter out there, especially compared to last week. On the other hand, Bill and I were at Wal*Mart last Saturday, to look for some seasonal decorations, and were astounded to discover one lonely staffer assembling trees in what was going to become their Trim-A-Tree department if they ever got around to it. There were a few boxes of ornaments tossed about in a haphazard manner, and some old broken outdoor decorations dragged out of the basement, but other than that, it appeared as if Christmas at Wal*Mart was still months and months away in the distance, and they had all the time in the world to set up for it. We just couldn't get over that.
Last weekend, we were at Mom's house to celebrate Bill's birthday, and could not have had a more lovely day. We had lunch at Friendly's, where they're always happy to see Mom, and our lunch was all that we could have asked for. Later we had fresh baked brownies and ice cream, not to mention presents, and taken all together as a whole, that would be hard to improve upon. Bill received a number of items from the clothing group, as well as the junk food group, which I consider a well-rounded gift giving experience. Plus having his birthday off on Friday, well, it just doesn't get any better than that.
Speaking of things getting better, I remember sending this note to a cyber-friend at the beginning of September --
=====================================
Thanks for sending along the note about the gas boycott on September 1st. I suppose I shouldn't thank you for that, or in fact, anyone else who sent that to me, because it ended up turning out pretty badly for me. I wanted to get gas on Thursday, but that was the day we were supposed to boycott buying gas, so I didn't. On Thursday when I left work at 5:30, the regular at the Sunoco station was $2.99/gal. When I went past the same station on Friday after work, same time, the same regular was now $3.57/gal, or more than 50cents per gallon increase in 24 hours. On Saturday morning, when I absolutely had to get gas, because I was driving to Long Island, I paid $3.69/gal for the same regular gas at the same station. It had gone up 70cents per gallon in 36 hours. And all because I didn't buy gas on Thursday like I wanted to! Mind you, on Tuesday it was back down to $3.57/gal and today it had gone down again to $3.46/gal, so buying gas on Saturday was about the worst thing I could have done.
=====================================
I was reminded of that now, because lately it seemed that every day, the price of regular gas at the Sunoco station went down by a few cents a gallon. One day, I noticed it was $2.57, and I thought to myself, it's too bad that I don't need to get gas. The next time I looked, it was $2.51, and in another few days, it was $2.49. At that point, I figured there was no reason for me to go get gas, because obviously the longer I waited, the cheaper it was going to get. I told Bill that if this keeps up, the next thing you know, they'll be giving away glasses and steak knives like they used to, and cleaning your windshield. I finally caved in and filled up the Tempo when the Sunoco regular was $2.44 a gallon, and felt like John D. Rockefeller when it came to only $30 total, compared with the prices from two months ago. On the other hand, today I saw that it had gone down even further to $2.39, but I still feel that I got the best of the bargain.
While we're on the topic of things that are cheap (oh, hit that easy target!) a while back, Bill was on the ElectricScotland web page, where they have a collection of MIDI files of Celtic folk music, such as "Cock o' the North," "Loch Lomond," "Annie Laurie" and "Bonnie Dundee." They also listed a selection they referred to as the "unofficial Scottish National Anthem," which was not only not "Scotland the Brave," but there seemed to be nothing listed as the real and official Scottish National Anthem. Everyone knows how Bill loves a research challenge, so he was all over that like a bad suit, and this is what he came up with.
=======================
SUGGESTIONS FOR A SCOTTISH NATIONAL ANTHEM
The Scottish Arts Council has suggested having a new national anthem written for post-devolution Scotland. However, a number of existing songs or tunes could be used. Here's the most frequently suggested.
Existing Anthem:
The current Official National Anthem is God Save the Queen, which is detested by many, not least because it was originally written as a pro-English, anti-Scottish song at the time of the Jacobite freedom fighters. Furthermore, many Scots are not particularly Royalist. The original version had this verse (now dropped)
God grant that Marshall Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush
God save the King.
Flower of Scotland is also used in an official capacity as the anthem for Scottish Rugby and Football and I believe it is also used at the Commonwealth Games. It was written to commemorate the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 when the Scottish Army under Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II's army. This ended the English rule of Scotland. (Bill says, "Yeah, right. For which 20 minutes?")
O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
The Hills are bare now,
And Autumn leaves lie thick and still,
O'er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
(Very much further down, they obviously feel obligated to mention Scotland the Brave, but they do so only grudgingly, and refer to it disparagingly as "Victorian Celtic Twilight Nonsense.")
Scotland the Brave
Hark when the night is falling
Hear! Hear the pipes are calling,
Loudly and proudly calling,
Down thro' the glen.
There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping,
High as the spirits
Of the old Highland men.
Chorus:
Tow'ring in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards
Gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever,
Scotland the Brave.
==================================
I said to Bill, you wouldn't think that it would be such a big federal undertaking to come up with a Scottish national anthem, for crying out loud. And after playing the MIDI file, that Flower of Scotland is certainly a tune that does not grow on you, and that's a fact. Although as tunes go, you can't quarrel with Amazing Grace, and I wouldn't recommend that as anyone's national anthem, including the Vatican. I can't understand what they think is wrong with Scotland the Brave for the anthem. It's got a great tune, and like La Marseillaise, it just makes you want to march off to war, even if you're not Scottish. The other problem with Flower of Scotland is that it has stupid Edward listed at least once in every verse, while only mentioning Scotland twice, which seems to defeat the purpose of a Scottish national anthem in the first place. Normally, it wouldn't matter if it was played rather than sung, but national anthems are generally sung. It's more of a song against Edward, rather than a song in favor of Scotland. Besides which, of course, there's no rivers of blood from the martyrs trampled by the barbarian hordes, defiling the scorched fields and plundered meadows of the fabled homeland. You'd certainly expect better of the Scots there.
On the other hand, when you look at the lyrics for Scotland the Brave, anyone could tell at a glance why that could never be the official national anthem of anything, because even when you get to verse 4, there's still no legions of proud dead slaughtered for the Fatherland, their rivers of blood snaring the unwary tread of the trampling inhuman hordes that defiled the ground where their gory remains lifted the olive branch of peace and freedom to the Heavenly Patriarch who smiles beneficently on His favored children of the sainted homeland. Not to mention, the gay darkies happy all the livelong day. (Oops, that was My Old Kentucky Home, with "the darkies are gay, the corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom while the birds make music all the day.") Nowadays, it's considered bad form to make these kinds of references, even deep in the heart of Dixie, and they make them sing different lyrics to that when they show the Kentucky Derby on television. Damn Yankees!
Now, the Mexicans know a thing or two about national anthems, because even though theirs starts out with the forehead of the fatherland being girded with olive garlands, it doesn't take long for it to turn into this instead:
Fatherland, before your children become unarmed
Beneath the yoke their necks in sway,
And your countryside be watered with blood,
On blood their feet trample.And may your temples, palaces and towers
crumble in horrid crash, and ruins remain saying:
The fatherland was made of one thousand heroes.
In fact, even the Maryland State Song, "Maryland, My Maryland" can be counted on to contain all the necessary elements of a national anthem (although you have to wait until Verse 9 before you get to my favorite part about spurning the "northern scum") with the exception of having no references to the gay darkies all the livelong day.
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland! My Maryland!
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,
Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll,
Better the shot, the blade, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the Soul,
Maryland! My Maryland!
In the end, Bill decided that Scotland the Brave was probably written by an Englishman, so then the Scots would naturally hate it. I figured it would turn out that it was written in 1900 by two Jewish store clerks working in Tin Pan Alley. I mean, they certainly didn't understand the first thing about the rivers of blood being trampled underfoot by the martyrs of the homeland, and that's not just whistling Dixie!
What a difference a week makes. Last week, we were complaining that it was 70 degrees (and you know how I always say, when people do their Christmas shopping in their shirt sleeves, you have blizzards at Easter) and today when I left work, they tell me it was 37 degrees and I have no reason to doubt them. I'm thinking that someone at the Kremlin's infernal weather machine must have fast-forwarded our climate right from early September straight through to late February, and cut out all that other stuff in between. It certainly felt like the dead of winter out there, especially compared to last week. On the other hand, Bill and I were at Wal*Mart last Saturday, to look for some seasonal decorations, and were astounded to discover one lonely staffer assembling trees in what was going to become their Trim-A-Tree department if they ever got around to it. There were a few boxes of ornaments tossed about in a haphazard manner, and some old broken outdoor decorations dragged out of the basement, but other than that, it appeared as if Christmas at Wal*Mart was still months and months away in the distance, and they had all the time in the world to set up for it. We just couldn't get over that.
Last weekend, we were at Mom's house to celebrate Bill's birthday, and could not have had a more lovely day. We had lunch at Friendly's, where they're always happy to see Mom, and our lunch was all that we could have asked for. Later we had fresh baked brownies and ice cream, not to mention presents, and taken all together as a whole, that would be hard to improve upon. Bill received a number of items from the clothing group, as well as the junk food group, which I consider a well-rounded gift giving experience. Plus having his birthday off on Friday, well, it just doesn't get any better than that.
Speaking of things getting better, I remember sending this note to a cyber-friend at the beginning of September --
=====================================
Thanks for sending along the note about the gas boycott on September 1st. I suppose I shouldn't thank you for that, or in fact, anyone else who sent that to me, because it ended up turning out pretty badly for me. I wanted to get gas on Thursday, but that was the day we were supposed to boycott buying gas, so I didn't. On Thursday when I left work at 5:30, the regular at the Sunoco station was $2.99/gal. When I went past the same station on Friday after work, same time, the same regular was now $3.57/gal, or more than 50cents per gallon increase in 24 hours. On Saturday morning, when I absolutely had to get gas, because I was driving to Long Island, I paid $3.69/gal for the same regular gas at the same station. It had gone up 70cents per gallon in 36 hours. And all because I didn't buy gas on Thursday like I wanted to! Mind you, on Tuesday it was back down to $3.57/gal and today it had gone down again to $3.46/gal, so buying gas on Saturday was about the worst thing I could have done.
=====================================
I was reminded of that now, because lately it seemed that every day, the price of regular gas at the Sunoco station went down by a few cents a gallon. One day, I noticed it was $2.57, and I thought to myself, it's too bad that I don't need to get gas. The next time I looked, it was $2.51, and in another few days, it was $2.49. At that point, I figured there was no reason for me to go get gas, because obviously the longer I waited, the cheaper it was going to get. I told Bill that if this keeps up, the next thing you know, they'll be giving away glasses and steak knives like they used to, and cleaning your windshield. I finally caved in and filled up the Tempo when the Sunoco regular was $2.44 a gallon, and felt like John D. Rockefeller when it came to only $30 total, compared with the prices from two months ago. On the other hand, today I saw that it had gone down even further to $2.39, but I still feel that I got the best of the bargain.
While we're on the topic of things that are cheap (oh, hit that easy target!) a while back, Bill was on the ElectricScotland web page, where they have a collection of MIDI files of Celtic folk music, such as "Cock o' the North," "Loch Lomond," "Annie Laurie" and "Bonnie Dundee." They also listed a selection they referred to as the "unofficial Scottish National Anthem," which was not only not "Scotland the Brave," but there seemed to be nothing listed as the real and official Scottish National Anthem. Everyone knows how Bill loves a research challenge, so he was all over that like a bad suit, and this is what he came up with.
=======================
SUGGESTIONS FOR A SCOTTISH NATIONAL ANTHEM
The Scottish Arts Council has suggested having a new national anthem written for post-devolution Scotland. However, a number of existing songs or tunes could be used. Here's the most frequently suggested.
Existing Anthem:
The current Official National Anthem is God Save the Queen, which is detested by many, not least because it was originally written as a pro-English, anti-Scottish song at the time of the Jacobite freedom fighters. Furthermore, many Scots are not particularly Royalist. The original version had this verse (now dropped)
God grant that Marshall Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush
God save the King.
Flower of Scotland is also used in an official capacity as the anthem for Scottish Rugby and Football and I believe it is also used at the Commonwealth Games. It was written to commemorate the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 when the Scottish Army under Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II's army. This ended the English rule of Scotland. (Bill says, "Yeah, right. For which 20 minutes?")
O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
The Hills are bare now,
And Autumn leaves lie thick and still,
O'er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
(Very much further down, they obviously feel obligated to mention Scotland the Brave, but they do so only grudgingly, and refer to it disparagingly as "Victorian Celtic Twilight Nonsense.")
Scotland the Brave
Hark when the night is falling
Hear! Hear the pipes are calling,
Loudly and proudly calling,
Down thro' the glen.
There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping,
High as the spirits
Of the old Highland men.
Chorus:
Tow'ring in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards
Gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever,
Scotland the Brave.
==================================
I said to Bill, you wouldn't think that it would be such a big federal undertaking to come up with a Scottish national anthem, for crying out loud. And after playing the MIDI file, that Flower of Scotland is certainly a tune that does not grow on you, and that's a fact. Although as tunes go, you can't quarrel with Amazing Grace, and I wouldn't recommend that as anyone's national anthem, including the Vatican. I can't understand what they think is wrong with Scotland the Brave for the anthem. It's got a great tune, and like La Marseillaise, it just makes you want to march off to war, even if you're not Scottish. The other problem with Flower of Scotland is that it has stupid Edward listed at least once in every verse, while only mentioning Scotland twice, which seems to defeat the purpose of a Scottish national anthem in the first place. Normally, it wouldn't matter if it was played rather than sung, but national anthems are generally sung. It's more of a song against Edward, rather than a song in favor of Scotland. Besides which, of course, there's no rivers of blood from the martyrs trampled by the barbarian hordes, defiling the scorched fields and plundered meadows of the fabled homeland. You'd certainly expect better of the Scots there.
On the other hand, when you look at the lyrics for Scotland the Brave, anyone could tell at a glance why that could never be the official national anthem of anything, because even when you get to verse 4, there's still no legions of proud dead slaughtered for the Fatherland, their rivers of blood snaring the unwary tread of the trampling inhuman hordes that defiled the ground where their gory remains lifted the olive branch of peace and freedom to the Heavenly Patriarch who smiles beneficently on His favored children of the sainted homeland. Not to mention, the gay darkies happy all the livelong day. (Oops, that was My Old Kentucky Home, with "the darkies are gay, the corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom while the birds make music all the day.") Nowadays, it's considered bad form to make these kinds of references, even deep in the heart of Dixie, and they make them sing different lyrics to that when they show the Kentucky Derby on television. Damn Yankees!
Now, the Mexicans know a thing or two about national anthems, because even though theirs starts out with the forehead of the fatherland being girded with olive garlands, it doesn't take long for it to turn into this instead:
Fatherland, before your children become unarmed
Beneath the yoke their necks in sway,
And your countryside be watered with blood,
On blood their feet trample.And may your temples, palaces and towers
crumble in horrid crash, and ruins remain saying:
The fatherland was made of one thousand heroes.
In fact, even the Maryland State Song, "Maryland, My Maryland" can be counted on to contain all the necessary elements of a national anthem (although you have to wait until Verse 9 before you get to my favorite part about spurning the "northern scum") with the exception of having no references to the gay darkies all the livelong day.
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland! My Maryland!
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,
Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll,
Better the shot, the blade, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the Soul,
Maryland! My Maryland!
In the end, Bill decided that Scotland the Brave was probably written by an Englishman, so then the Scots would naturally hate it. I figured it would turn out that it was written in 1900 by two Jewish store clerks working in Tin Pan Alley. I mean, they certainly didn't understand the first thing about the rivers of blood being trampled underfoot by the martyrs of the homeland, and that's not just whistling Dixie!
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 8:43 PM
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