"Parodies Found" Your spoofs of well-known classics

[prendrelemick]

The Highwayman -sort of.

The wind was a torrent of smogness among the neon signs
The moon was a ghostly galleon caught up in the power lines
The road was a ribbon of tail-lights across the urban moor
And the stockbroker came driving
Driving, driving,
In his BMW driving, up to the motel door.

He'd a burberry scarf around his neck, and a rolex round his wrist
A coat of blackened silk he wore and he smelt of lavender mist
His Brogues were the softest leather and made to the best design
And he came with his teeth a-twinkle
His cufflinks all a-twinkle
His i-phone five, a-twinkle under the motel sign.

.........and I can't be bothered any more.

[YesNo]

Mary ate her little lamb
And sent it off to heaven.
On its behalf she wants a rhyme
More meaningful than "seven".

[prendrelemick]

Mary ate her little lamb
And sent it off to heaven.
On its behalf she wants a rhyme
More meaningful than "seven".

It would be easier if it went to Hell

[YesNo]

It would be easier if it went to Hell

Ah! Sometimes one has to think outside the box. Thanks! Here's the new version:

Mary ate her little lamb
And sent it off to Hell.
Her classmates thought that wasn't nice
Though they ate some as well.

[AuntShecky]

Let's bump this thread so that some of our witty LitNutters can do their thing. (I'm talking to you, YesNo and Pendragon!)

Meanwhile, here's a ditty from April 2008, a parody of the famous "Misty" by Erroll Garner with original lyrics by the unsung master, Johnny Burke. Neither artist deserves to be parodied, but this one comes from affection, as when an audience, upon recognizing the initial notes, sighs a collective “Ah!”– even when the semi-professional band is fictional, and led by a pianist named “Chick.”

Look at Chick,
There’s no sweeter song that he could pick:
a pleaser he’s flinging to the crowd.
We can understand
why he chose “Misty”
for him and his band.

In a way
a thousand other groups
begin to play --
or is it the sound of his solo
so sweet and so clear?
Almost as if Erroll were here!

I could say that he’s putting us on,
but the audience knows each part.
We don’t notice how guilelessly we’re charmed.
That’s why we’re humming it by heart.

On my own
I could never play piano
or saxophone
or push wind through wood,
but this “Misty”
makes me wish that I could.

I hear “Misty,”
and wish that I could.

[Hawkman]

Parody or no it's rather good.

[YesNo]

Misty makes me wish I could play as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_tAU3GM9XI

Here's something to keep the thread going:

Twinkle, Twinkle

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
Now I know just what you are
Always out there, night or day,
Even when you go away,
Even when the sun shines bright
Like a star in someone's night.

[Hawkman]

Do not bemoan the dawning of the light;
The sleepless man should rise at break of day
Complaining of the snoring in the night.

The wisest of us know that this is right
Because the weary man should have his say.
Do not bemoan the dawning of the light;

You should chastise your partner for your plight,
Their selfish deed asks wakefulness to stay.
Complaining of the snoring in the night,

Tired men, not seeking quietude in flight,
Who learn too late they should have run away,
Do not bemoan the dawning of the light.

Brave men with earplugs know the score, delight
In their preserve, they have no need to stray,
Complaining of the snoring in the night.

You should not rage or blaze with anger’s might
Go out and purchase what you need today;
Do not bemoan the dawning of the light,
Complaining of the snoring in the night.

[AuntShecky]

Thanks, Hawk,for reviving this thread. Your offering is a clever one, indeed.

RE: the villanelle. Incidentally, did you know that when Sylvia Plath was a schoolgirl, she won a prize for writing a villanelle? Maybe that's what launched her poetry career. I can refer to only two villanelles that I know well enough to talk about. One of them is "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop, a poem that speaks to yours fooly personally on so many levels.

Your parody, of course, takes off on the most famous villanelle of all, by Dylan Thomas. It is a much-beloved poem, but I've always wondered why he said "gentle" and not "gently." On those rare occasions when I want to try writing a villanelle,I have to have a copy of that poem right in front of me so I can emulate the form, line by line.

I'm more likely to try writing a pantoum, but again, I wouldn't dare attempt it without having the template before me. Otherwise, I'd leave out a line or get the sequence wrong, in which case I'd be screwhoohoohooed, if you know what I mean.

You've done a nice job here, though.

[Hawkman]

Poor Sylvia, writing a villanelle is enough to make anyone suicidal!

I read Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art" and I agree it's a good poem, and I think we all feel like that sometimes, but she cheated! lol.

I don't know why Thomas used the adjective rather than the adverb, other than for its sound. The y in gently is more stressed than the swallowed 'L' of gentle.

I think I prefer rondeaus to pantoums, but I suppose I ought to give one a go, just so I can say I have

Thanks for reading and liking this little effort.

Live and be well - H

[YesNo]

so much depends
upon --

what? a wheel
barrow?

white chickens? rain?
drivel

from a soggy
brain?




-----------------------

Just in case someone doesn't know the original: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-red-wheelbarrow/

[AuntShecky]

Pretty clever parody, YesNo, but I hope you don't dislike WCW's other works.

[cacian]

so much depends
upon --

what? a wheel
barrow?

white chickens? rain?
drivel

from a soggy
brain?




-----------------------

Just in case someone doesn't know the original: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-red-wheelbarrow/

I liked this a lot YesNo really fun.
the red wheelbarrow is such simplicity and yet clever, thank you for posting it

[Hawkman]

Don't listen when Erato sings;
there's "no ideas but in stings."

a copywriter.

[cacian]

when in murk
do like a curk
deny all perk