) JUN 25 (2026) singable satire: "MY TENOR UKE', politically-corrected lyrics

 ORIGINAL PARODY-LYRICS 

MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS: "My Tall Silk Hat", traditional camp-song, written about 1937, based on the popular Neapolitan song "Funiculi, Funicula", 1880.

The iconic song became the basis for many spoofs in English. Recently, we joined that group of parody songwriters with our effort, "UKULELÍ, UKULELÁ", that was eventually posted HERE in February 2021. 

 

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, September 2013, with prompt initial posting at the online parody website "AmIRight" as here, with a few subsequent re-writes. 

UKULELE and GUITAR-FRIENDLY LINK: Our whole series of songs can be found in a friendly format for ukulele (and guitar)-players on our sister blog "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE" with chord-charts for both the parody and original song, as well as helpful performing suggestions. 

 To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "MY TENOR UKE" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

In the traditional version of this schoolboy parody, based on the tune of ‘Funiculi, Funicula’, a “big a-fat-a lady” squashes a hat on a vehicle's seat. The current updated lyrics are, we hope, more politically correct and more appealing to adults. The final line, as in the posting of November "Ukuleli, Ukulela" is a proposed Neapolitan Ta-da!, meaning let's go up there. Pronounce the "j"s as "y" to sound like an Italian tenor. 

photos courtesy of Wikipedia and other web-sources

MY TENOR UKE

(to the tune of "Funiculi, Funicula")

Introduction:
Inspired by trendy p’litical correctness,

I changed a song, an old camp-song,

Reflecting pre-teen Piggy/Twiggy bias,

That got it wrong, so very wrong.

   

Besides, a flavor more Napolitana,

I craved to chance, appeal enhance;

And so I trimmed my 'Lady' down to sexy,

Not anorexy,

And let her dance, a bella dance !

Revised Camp-Song: 

One day, as I was riding up the tramway,

My tenor uke, my tenor uke

I laid it on the seat a-right beside me,

My tenor uke, my tenor uke. 

The tall and shapely Nina sat upon it,

Was that a fluke? My tenor uke !

And launched a liaison volcanic,

(Not too platonic); my tenor uke, my tenor uke ! 

Pavarotti, what do you think of that ?

Master it, six sharps or seven flats;

‘Cause body-type is so much hype;

It’s only brawn or big-a belly –-

So save a seat in cielo

For our sleek friend A. Bocelli.

Outro:

‘Ncoppa jammo ja’, ukulelí, ukulelá.

L. Pavarotti (left),  A. Bocelli (right)

) JUN 20 (2026) singable satire: 'RHYMING BINOMIALS', (part #2, M to Z)

 

ORIGINAL SONG: "The Elements", Tom Lehrer, 1959.  

PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio,  2015. This song is the fifth of nine in the series on Word-Pairs. You can find the links to the lyrics of the previous songs at the bottom of the post. Also, our prior exploration of this theme resulted in a lexicon of rhyming binomials on this site as displayed here.

CHORD-CHARTS, etc. 
As is usually the case with potential song-lyrics, we have simultaneously provided suggested chords for ukulele, guitar or whatever-stringed-instruments for the parody and for the original lyrics on our music-buff site "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE".

To access ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany "RHYMING BINOMIALS, M to Z" on your favorite instrument, click HERE. 

EXPLANATION: For discussion of binomials specifically and word-pairs in general, check an earlier post on this blog-site by clicking HERE. 

Most binomial pairs are not rhyming

The inherent music of language is an important element in the toolkit of parodists. When all of this began, I used Tom Lehrer’s format to sing a nonsense-song about irreversible binomials. The current offering highlights pairs in which the 2 elements rhyme, e.g. ‘make or break'. Specific cases may border on cliché, but delight us with their musical quality. Sneak a peek!

UKULELE and GUITAR-FRIENDLY LINK: Our whole series of songs can be found in a friendly format for ukulele (and guitar)-players on our sister blog "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE", with chord-charts and helpful performing suggestions. Click HERE to proceed to this site.

There’s make or break, and move and groove, and neither (either), game of blame,
And meet and greet, and meter-feed, and moans and groans, and name and shame.
It’s my way or the highway, metes and limits, also leer and jeer,
Obama and Osama, and the news and views, both near and dear.

An ocean of devotion, moon in June —they’re grouped with odds and sods
An Okie from Muskogee, onward — upward, also nods and prods.
There’s pedal to the metal, but a man sans plan? no pain — no gain,
And slump or hump, and scrimp or primp, and pump and dump, and planes and trains.

There’s red or dead, and rough and tough, and rude and crude, and rain in Spain,
And Seven and Eleven, stash and dash, and stain you can’t explain.
There’s slice or dice, and shake and bake, and surf and turf, and scowl and frown,
And shop ’til drop, and slim and trim, and sag- and baggy, town and gown.

There’s sine and cosine, thrills and chills, son of a gun, and twine and line,
And twirl and swirl, and use or lose it, weed and feed, and wine and dine.
Whale of a tale, wham-bam and thank you, very wary, wheel and deal,
And wear and tear, and yeas and nays, and zoot suit, and religious zeal.

There’s likely umpteen others, but so far I can’t imagine them
They’d spread across the alphabet from a-ardvark to zymogen!

If you want to continue singing a recitation of binomial phrases, you will have to switch now to the alliterative binomials, but waiting for a few days is all that’s required.

Press enter or click to view image in full size

Funny (rhyming) money
Loonie and Toonie

And, for those interested, here's how you find the lyrics-only-version

of the tennine songs that make up this cycle. If you would like to  accompany yourself on ukulele or guitar, find relevant chord charts by following the links that will take you to the versions in our blog "Silly Songs and Satire". 

1. PAIRS, to the tune of "Words" in the style of the Beegees

...  the following songs in the style of "The Elements" by Tom Lehrer

2. ALLITERATIVE BINOMIALS, part#1

3. ALLITERATIVE BINOMIALS, part#2

4. RHYMING BINOMIALS, part#1

5. RHYMING BINOMIALS, part#2

6. A LESSON ABOUT REDUPLICATIONS

7. REDUPLICATIONS, part#1

8. REDUPLICATIONS, part#2

9. LEGALISTIC DOUBLETS, in the style of "Supercalifragilistic..." from  the musical "Mary Poppins"

JUN 15, 2026: PLANET-SAVING VERSE, folio #3 [5]

 This post is a continuation of the collection of poems 'PLANET-SAVING VERSE (not before we need it') as displayed on this blog June 15, 2024 (folio#1) and June 15, 2025 (folio#2).

previous poetic posts (Note that captions are available for poems displayed on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" since January 2024).

(first folio): beach foam, 'clean' coal, compostables, drought, enzootic ending.

(second folio): fur-farming, invasive species, koi (invasive fish), phosphate detergents, shorebird council. 

CURRENT CONTENTS: (#3 -- June 5, 2026)

Species loss

Summer aroma

Too hot to hoot

Wild vs farmed fish

Walrus and Carpenter (6 stanzas, a 'brief saga')

Authors' Note:  Scientists have determined that as of 2018, more than 99% of all the species that have been present on our planet have become extinct. Many of the existing varieties of life, plant and animal, are under increasing pressure due to global warming, loss of habitat and in some cases, exploitation and pollution. 

Authors' Note: Although meat-eating is a practice that we personally have avoided for almost 20 years, we do accept that most people around us continue to indulge in this ancient tradition, appropriate to when the planet and our species were younger. We would not make you happy if we continued on a rant (kvetch = complaint) about this issue; we prefer to remain silent, and live and let live. Inhabiting a downtown neighborhood with very small urban lots has its limitations, and the smells and smoke of dinner being barbecued by our neighbors almost every summer evening is one of them. 

By the way, we and our partner continue to eat seafood and fish on occasion to ensure adequate protein intake, but one person in our immediate family is a true vegetarian (but not vegan). As you know, the terms to describe these eating patterns are complex and even misleading, but all non-meat-eaters would prefer that others keep their steak-smoke to themselves.

Authors' Note:

Sir; a plan, if final — Paris.

  In December 2015, the United States, under President Barack Obama, became a part of the Paris Accord, an international convention to mitigate the effects of climate change by curtailing production of greenhouse gases.

  In June 2017, President Donald Trump, whose personal business depended in large part on the construction and operation of golf-resorts, proceeded to withdraw from the treaty.

  Immediately after his inauguration in January 2021, President Joe Biden took measures to rejoin the accord.

 Authors' Note:   As stocks around the planet have suffered from overfishing, the price of fresh wild fish has mounted incessantly. As of 2016, aquaculture has apparently resulted in over 50% of the global supply of this foodstuff, both marine and freshwater varieties. 

  Carp, catfish, Atlantic salmon and tilapia are the leading four types of fish currently involved, with recent improvements in the quality and reliability of farmed flatfish (turbot, flounder, halibut, etc.).

Note that the six stanzas of this "brief saga" can be found in more readily legible format on the blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense"; click HERE. 

And as a later development, we put words to music. You can now sing along with the song "WALRUS and CARPENTER" by proceeding to our song-blog "Silly Songs and Satire". Click HERE.

OVERLAPPING THEMES:

Also, if you like parody-songs, you might take a peek at "COACH THE NESTLINGS" and "DOWNSIDE"

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR WEB-EXPLORERS: 

To resume your review of the sequence of daily titillations on our related blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense", click HERE. Once you arrive, you can select your time frame of interest from the calendar-based listings at the bottom of the page, and check the daily offerings for any month from the start of 2020 through the summer of 2026. 

As of March, 2026, there are 2,000 unique entries available on the daily blog, displaying individual poems (often illustrated) and wordplay, but also with some photo-collages and parody song-lyrics. 

Most of these key elements of our work are assembled here on "Edifying Nonsense" in topic-based collections.

The "Daily" format, a formidable mix of genres has the advantage of including song-lyrics, videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.

JUN 10, 2026: WATERFOWL, seventh flocking [6]

 

    This post is a continuation of a collection of verses about WATERFOWL' as posted on this blog on June 10, 2020 (flocking#1), June 10, 2021 (flocking#2), June 10, 2022 (flocking#3), June 10, 2023 (flocking#4), June 10, 2024 (flocking#5), and June 10, 2025 (flocking#6).

previous poetic posts (Note that captions are available for poems displayed on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" from 2024 and onward).

(flocking#1): American white ibis, anhinga, awkward great auk, birder, black-capped night heron, black skimmer. 

(flocking#2): brown pelican (Caribbean), brown pelican (revisited), Canada goose, double-crested cormorant, Egyptian goose, feral ducks. 

(flocking#3): flightless seabirds, gallinule (marsh hen), great blue heron, great egret, habitat, hooded merganser.

(flocking#4): juvenile night heron, laughing gull, little blue heron, loon, mallard duck, muscovy duck. 

(flocking#5): mute swan, oystercatcher, the "pelicatessen", pescatarian, roseate spoonbill, ruddy turnstone. 

(flocking#6): seabird feeders, snow goose, snowy egret, tricolored heron, trumpeter swan.

CURRENT CONTENTS (flocking#7):
Willets
Wood ducks
Wood storks
Yellow-crowned night herons
A loon's life (3 verses, a 'brief saga')
Cormorant rookery (3 verses, a 'brief saga')

   

Bird-watchers, academic ornithologists, wordplay enthusiasts, wildlife photographers, Giorgio's relatives, and just everyday folks have united in their demand for still more illustrated doggerel on related topics!

For poems about landbirds and birds in general birdlife, please proceed to a series of posts on 'Birdlife' by clicking HERE.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR WEB-EXPLORERS: 

To resume your review of the sequence of daily titillations on our related blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense", click HERE. Once you arrive, you can select your time frame of interest from the calendar-based listings at the bottom of the page, and check the daily offerings for any month from the start of 2020 through the summer of 2026. 

As of March, 2026, there are 2,000 unique entries available on the daily blog, displaying individual poems (often illustrated) and wordplay, but also with some photo-collages and parody song-lyrics. 

Most of these key elements of our work are assembled here on "Edifying Nonsense" in topic-based collections.

The "Daily" format, a formidable mix of genres has the advantage of including song-lyrics, videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.

JUN 5, 2026: FIVE-LINE TRAVEL REVIEWS (at the inn-) [7]

CURRENT CONTENTS  
Inn-Auspicious

Inn-Coherence

Inn-Complete

Inn-Dulgence

Inn-Dwelling

Inn-Genious

Inn-Habits

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR WEB-EXPLORERS: 

To resume your review of the sequence of daily titillations on our related blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense", click HERE. Once you arrive, you can select your time frame of interest from the calendar-based listings at the bottom of the page, and check the daily offerings for any month from the start of 2020 through the summer of 2026. 

As of March, 2026, there are 2,000 unique entries available on the daily blog, displaying individual poems (often illustrated) and wordplay, but also with some photo-collages and parody song-lyrics. 

Most of these key elements of our work are assembled here on "Edifying Nonsense" in topic-based collections.

The "Daily" format, a formidable mix of genres has the advantage of including song-lyrics, videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.