Monday Meanderings - 12.18.2017

The Blizzard of '17 had us all singing "snow" songs - you know, like, "Winter Wonderland" and "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow." And that old favorite, "Good King Sauerkraut."

Not familiar with that one? Must not be a Pogo fan. Every year, Walt Kelly fractured a few carols with versions of his own. For instance, the paean about the 10th-century Bohemian King Wenceslas, which normally goes:

"Good King Wenceslas looked out
 On the feast of Stephen
 When the snow lay round about
 Deep and crisp and even.."

But Kelly's version usually, but not always, ran:

"Good King Sauerkraut looked out,
On his feets uneven,
While the snoo lay round about,
All kerchoo acheiven."

There was never any more after that, at which point the following exchange would occur with whatever two characters were present:

"'Kerchoo'?"
"Gesundheit. Uh, what's 'snoo'?"
"I dunno. What's new with you?"

But the classic Pogo Christmas carol is "Deck us all with Boston Charlie." I memorized this song as a college student, and can sing it even now, whether asked to, or not. The first verse goes:

"Deck us all with Boston Charlie,
Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo!
Nora's freezin' on the trolley,
Swaller dollar cauliflower alley-garoo!
Don't we know archaic barrel
Lullaby Lilla Boy, Louisville Lou?
Trolley Molly don't love Harold,
Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo!"

There are actually more verses, but as best as I can determine, they appeared only in the anthologies of Pogo cartoons published after Kelly's death and they don't have the verve and élan of the classic first verse.

And what holiday would be complete without a rousing chorus from the Chad Mitchell Trio's "Song of the Temperance Union?"

We're coming, we're coming, our brave little band
On the right side of temperance we do take our stand
We don't use tobacco because we do think
That the people who use it are likely to drink

Away, away with rum, by gum, rum, by gum, rum, by gum
Away, away with rum, by gum, the song of the Temperance Union

We never eat cookies because they have yeast
And one little bite turns a man to a beast
Can you imagine a sadder disgrace
Then of a man in the gutter with crumbs on his face

Away, away with rum, by gum, rum, by gum, rum, by gum
Away, away with rum, by gum, the song of the Temperance Union

We never eat fruitcake because it has rum
And one little bite turns a man to a bum
Can you imagine a sorrier sight
Than a man eating fruitcake until he gets tight

Away, away with rum, by gum, rum, by gum, rum, by gum
Away, away with rum, by gum, the song of the Temperance Union

And I conclude by singing to one and all, "We wish you a merry fruitcake, we wish you a merry fruitcake, we wish you a merry fruitcake, and to all a good night!"