Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Whistling song in The Bridge Over The River Kwai

1,381 views
Skip to first unread message

Bun Mui

unread,
Sep 24, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/24/99
to
What is the whistling song in The Bridge Over The River Kwai
called in English usage?

Is there a name for it? Title?

Comments?

Bun Mui


Robert Lieblich

unread,
Sep 24, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/24/99
to
Bun Mui wrote:
>
> What is the whistling song in The Bridge Over The River Kwai
> called in English usage?

Colonel Bogey March.


>
> Is there a name for it? Title?

Colonel Bogey March. Are you deaf?

> Comments?

If you'd searched Alta Vista for "bridge on the river kwai" and "march,"
Bun, you'd have found the answer at the very first site it gave you.

Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.

Bob Lieblich

Charles Riggs

unread,
Sep 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/25/99
to
On Fri, 24 Sep 1999 20:17:21 -0400, Robert Lieblich
<lieb...@erols.com> wrote:


>Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
>lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
>ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.

Followed by:

Himmler, he had two, but very small.
Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.

Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?

Charles Riggs

James Follett

unread,
Sep 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/25/99
to
In article <U5TG3.6572$5i5.2...@typhoon.mbnet.mb.ca>
Bun...@my-dejanews.com "Bun Mui" writes:

>What is the whistling song in The Bridge Over The River Kwai
>called in English usage?
>

>Is there a name for it? Title?

Hallo, Bun! Long time no hear. The title you seek is "Major Bogie"
because the PoWs had jungle fever and runny noses. Always delighted
to help our beloved leader.

--
James Follett -- novelist http://www.davew.demon.co.uk


Beth Thomas

unread,
Sep 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/25/99
to

Charles Riggs wrote in message <38036e6b...@news1.tinet.ie>...


I remember it as "Hitler has only got one ball; Stalin has two, but very
small; Himmler has two quite similar, but poor old Goebbels has no balls at
all." ('Similar' is, of course, pronounced 'simmler' here!!)

Beth.

Robert Lieblich

unread,
Sep 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/25/99
to
Charles Riggs wrote:
>
> On Fri, 24 Sep 1999 20:17:21 -0400, Robert Lieblich
> <lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
>
> >Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
> >lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
> >ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
>
> Followed by:
>
> Himmler, he had two, but very small.
> Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
>
> Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?

Not even close.

There is no official version, of course, but this one approaches
consensus:

Hitler has only got one ball.

Goering has two, but they are small.
Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.

Spelling phonetic, of course. The Himmler-simmler rhyme is essential.

Goebbels had several children, in fact, all of whom he killed when he
and his wife committed suicide in Hitler's Berlin bunker.

[Jimbo -- Why did you demote the colonel?]

Bob Lieblich

John Davies

unread,
Sep 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/25/99
to
In article <38036e6b...@news1.tinet.ie>, Charles Riggs
<ri...@eircom.net> writes

>On Fri, 24 Sep 1999 20:17:21 -0400, Robert Lieblich
><lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
>>lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
>>ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
>
>Followed by:
>
>Himmler, he had two, but very small.
>Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
>
>Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?

Not quite:

Hitler has only got one ball

Goering has two but they are very small
Himmler has something sim'lar
But poor old Goebbels
Has no balls
At all!

The name "Goebels" is not, I need hardly say, given its echt Deutsch
pronunciation in the song.

I believe someone has done some solemn research that proves the Fuehrer
was indeed monorchid, but it's hard to believe that Goebbels, father of
numerous children both in and out of wedlock, was testicularly
challenged.

Not that having one ball is necessarily a bar to parenthood, as my dear
old uncle Jacko amply demonstrated. Wit, raconteur, lecher and drunkard,
he sired 7 children despite the fact that he was only firing on one
cylinder.
--
John Davies (jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk)

Fabian

unread,
Sep 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/25/99
to

Charles Riggs hu kiteb

> >Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
> >lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
> >ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
>
> Followed by:
>
> Himmler, he had two, but very small.
> Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.

Way I heard it,

Hitler.. has only got one ball
t'other's.. in the Albert Hall.
Himmler.. was somewhat sim'lar
And Goebbels.. had no balls.. at all!


--
---
Fabian
If a flying horse ye see, mock ye not if it stays up not.


Mike West

unread,
Sep 26, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/26/99
to

John Davies <jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:mtQbfAAD...@redwoods.demon.co.uk...

>
> Not that having one ball is necessarily a bar to parenthood, as my dear
> old uncle Jacko amply demonstrated. Wit, raconteur, lecher and drunkard,
> he sired 7 children despite the fact that he was only firing on one
> cylinder.


Come now -- he must have had some bad qualities.

Mike

Charles Riggs

unread,
Sep 26, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/26/99
to
On Sat, 25 Sep 1999 09:28:38 -0400, Robert Lieblich
<lieb...@erols.com> wrote:

>Charles Riggs wrote:
>>
>> On Fri, 24 Sep 1999 20:17:21 -0400, Robert Lieblich
>> <lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
>>

>> >Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
>> >lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
>> >ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
>>
>> Followed by:
>>
>> Himmler, he had two, but very small.
>> Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
>>

>> Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?
>

>Not even close.

Well, excuse me, apparently you missed the question mark.

>There is no official version, of course, but this one approaches
>consensus:

Whose consensus?

>Hitler has only got one ball.

>Goering has two, but they are small.
>Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.

That's not it either. The second line needs a "very" to make it fit
the rhythm of the tune and even then it must be sung "ver - ry";
pronouncing his name as Go-balls in the fourth line makes no sense
whatever.

Charles Riggs

Charles Riggs

unread,
Sep 26, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/26/99
to
On Sat, 25 Sep 1999 16:46:11 +0100, John Davies
<jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>In article <38036e6b...@news1.tinet.ie>, Charles Riggs
><ri...@eircom.net> writes

>>On Fri, 24 Sep 1999 20:17:21 -0400, Robert Lieblich
>><lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
>>>lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
>>>ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
>>
>>Followed by:
>>
>>Himmler, he had two, but very small.
>>Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
>>
>>Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?
>

>Not quite:
>
>Hitler has only got one ball
>Goering has two but they are very small
>Himmler has something sim'lar
>But poor old Goebbels
>Has no balls
>At all!

Yes, that's the way I've heard it sung in Dublin pubs, except perhaps
for the "they are" in line two which can be eliminated if "very" is
stretched out, which I like because it emphasizes the "small" part.

Charles Riggs

ma...@juno_spamfilter.com

unread,
Sep 26, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/26/99
to
On Sun, 26 Sep 1999 09:57:23 +0100, "Matti Lamprhey"
<ma...@polka.bikini> wrote:

>Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> wrote in message
>news:U5TG3.6572$5i5.2...@typhoon.mbnet.mb.ca...


>> What is the whistling song in The Bridge Over The River Kwai
>> called in English usage?
>>
>> Is there a name for it? Title?
>

>Bun knew the words all along, you fools.
>
>Wasn't the name /Major-General Snot/ or something?
>
>Matti
>

Returning to the original question regarding the name or title of the
song, my two cents says it is "The Colonel Bogey(sp?) March."

(Or should that be "my two cents say..."?) <grin>


Fabian

unread,
Sep 26, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/26/99
to

K1912 ta' AOL hu kiteb

> Ah, you mean men.

Now, how do I parse that one?

---
Fabian
May this missive repay the kindness of my patrons.
May it mitigate the sufferings of the lost and the damned.
May all that read it find their hearts turned towards Truth and Honour.
and in so doing, repay me for the ardours of my labour.

a1a5...@sprint.ca

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
On 26 Sep 1999 21:21:20 GMT, k1...@aol.com (K1912) wrote:

>John Davies wrote:
>
>>I can't verify the details from the books I have at hand, but I think
>>I'm right in saying they were all poisoned just before their parents
>>themselves committed suicide in Hitler's bunker below the Reichs
>>Chancellery in the ruins of Berlin. Hitler and Eva Braun killed
>>themselves soon afterwards.
>>
>>A grim thought for a rainy autumn Sunday.
>
>And for a sunny autumn Sunday. Start out murdering countless children and end
>up poisoning your own. The slaughter of the innocents continues apace. It is to
>be hoped that the children were mercifully tricked into taking poison and not
>forced.

Of course they were tricked. What sort of a Nazi do you think he
was?

Charles Riggs

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
On Sun, 26 Sep 99 12:07:12 GMT, ja...@marage.demon.co.uk (James
Follett) wrote:

>In article <38036e6b...@news1.tinet.ie>


> ri...@eircom.net "Charles Riggs" writes:
>
>>Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
>

>Odd, that line. Goebbels had, IIR, six daughters whose names all
>began with "M". I saw a group photograph of them and extraordinarily
>pretty kids they were, too. Wonder what happened to them.

I don't know but they probably have no balls either.

Charles Riggs

Charles Riggs

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
On Sun, 26 Sep 1999 09:40:51 -0400, Robert Lieblich
<lieb...@erols.com> wrote:

>Charles Riggs wrote:

>> >There is no official version, of course, but this one approaches
>> >consensus:
>>
>> Whose consensus?
>

>That of the people who sing it. I've heard it many times over the
>years, and we did have a previous thread on this song right here in AUE
>(as I believe I mentioned first time around).

But I wasn't able to add my two pence worth because I didn't see it.

> The evidence suggests
>that there is no one "fight" version, but there is a broad consensus.
>And this is one version that conforms thereto:

>> >Hitler has only got one ball.

>> >Goering has two, but they are small.
>> >Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>> >And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.

This might be another of those pondian things. I also have heard it
sung many times, so the right pond consensus may well differ from your
left pond one.

>> That's not it either. The second line needs a "very" to make it fit
>> the rhythm of the tune and even then it must be sung "ver - ry";
>> pronouncing his name as Go-balls in the fourth line makes no sense
>> whatever.
>

>I regret to inform you, Charles, that I didn't write it. I'm reporting.
>There are variations, but from what others have posted (and, again, from
>what I have heard over the years), it *is* Go-balls. Real life is so
>cruel in the way it disappoints our expectations.

It is *not* Go-balls. Not here.

>And if you think the second line needs an exaggerated "very," you're as
>musical as you are grammatical. Your complete version verifies this.

Thank you. I am, indeed, a pretty good musician: I sing and also play
the violin. More seriously, I am just an engineer and never have
claimed to be especially good at grammar; Neil Coffey's posts
generally leave me dizzy. Being a good listener and having lived in a
number of different English speaking places, I am pretty good at
shades of word meanings. FWIW, *my* version goes something like this:

Hitler has only got one ball.

Goering has two but they are very small.


Himmler [pause] is very simmler,

But Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels has no balls at all.

Now, try singing this, if you can, and you will find that the "very"
in the second line is absolutely essential unless you sing it they,
chop, are, chop, which isn't nice to the ear. The tune won't fit the
verse without it in other words. Our (Irish) final line is also more
singable than yours, which must be sung in jerks and spurts to make it
fit the tune. Ireland is a more lyric nation than American so maybe
that explains the differences.

Charles Riggs

Peter Moylan

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
Charles Riggs <ri...@eircom.net> wrote:
>On Sun, 26 Sep 1999 09:40:51 -0400, Robert Lieblich
><lieb...@erols.com> wrote:

>>I regret to inform you, Charles, that I didn't write it. I'm reporting.
>>There are variations, but from what others have posted (and, again, from
>>what I have heard over the years), it *is* Go-balls. Real life is so
>>cruel in the way it disappoints our expectations.
>
>It is *not* Go-balls. Not here.

Quite right. It's Joe-balls. Illogical, I know, but that's the way
we used to sing it.

--
Peter Moylan pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au
See http://eepjm.newcastle.edu.au for OS/2 information and software

Donna Richoux

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
Charles Riggs <ri...@eircom.net> wrote:

>Robert Lieblich <lieb...@erols.com> wrote:

[snip discussion]


>
> >And this is one version that conforms thereto:
>
> >> >Hitler has only got one ball.
> >> >Goering has two, but they are small.
> >> >Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> >> >And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.
>

> shades of word meanings. FWIW, *my* version goes something like this:
>
> Hitler has only got one ball.
> Goering has two but they are very small.
> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> But Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels has no balls at all.

[snip]

The problem here is the *rhythm*, which is not conveyed adequately
merely by reporting the words. The break (or pause or rest) after the
first two notes in each line is quite distinctive, in the tune. So
Robert's version works for me:

Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
Goering (rest, rest) has two but very small (rest)
Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest, rest)
And poor old Goebbels (rest) has no balls (rest) at all.

I have trouble making Charles' fit:

Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
Goering *has* *two* but they are very small (rest)
Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest rest)

-- and then it breaks down as I can find no way to cram all the
remaining syllables into one line.

The tune for the fourth line the *first* time through the march is
different from the tune the *last* time through the march. Maybe that
has something to do with it. Maybe Charles is using that bridge phrase,
da dee DAH dee da-da-da-da, for the last six words?

Best --- Donna Richoux

Truly Donovan

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
On Sun, 26 Sep 1999 22:13:22 GMT, maxc@juno_spamfilter.com wrote:

>Returning to the original question regarding the name or title of the
>song, my two cents says it is "The Colonel Bogey(sp?) March."

You mean it *isn't*

"My beer (rest, rest) is Reingold extra dry (rest)"?

Whaddaya know 'bout that!

--
Truly Donovan
tr...@lunemere.com
*Chandler's Daughter* [Write Way Publishing, Jan 1999]

Robert Lieblich

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
Donna Richoux wrote:

<snip>

> The problem here is the *rhythm*, which is not conveyed adequately
> merely by reporting the words. The break (or pause or rest) after the
> first two notes in each line is quite distinctive, in the tune. So
> Robert's version works for me:
>
> Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
> Goering (rest, rest) has two but very small (rest)
> Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest, rest)
> And poor old Goebbels (rest) has no balls (rest) at all.
>
> I have trouble making Charles' fit:
>
> Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
> Goering *has* *two* but they are very small (rest)
> Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest rest)
>
> -- and then it breaks down as I can find no way to cram all the
> remaining syllables into one line.

There is a MIDI file of the march (Colonel Bogey) at

http://midistudio.com/midi/MW_AGES.htm

Rests aside, there are exactly eight notes in the phrase that
corresponds to the second line of the verse. You can diddle that line
and fit in both "they are" and "very," but it requires adding notes that
aren't in the original.

I realize that as with any folk music, there is no "official" version of
the lyric, but there is a tune that was copyrighted at one point, and
that tune fits some lyrics better than others. And vice versa.

Bob Lieblich

Matti Lamprhey

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
Charles Riggs <ri...@eircom.net> wrote in message
news:37ff0dc3...@news1.tinet.ie...

> On Sun, 26 Sep 1999 09:40:51 -0400, Robert Lieblich
> <lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
>
> >Charles Riggs wrote:
>
> >> >There is no official version, of course, but this one approaches
> >> >consensus:
> >>
> >> Whose consensus?
> >
> >That of the people who sing it. I've heard it many times over the
> >years, and we did have a previous thread on this song right here in AUE
> >(as I believe I mentioned first time around).
>
> But I wasn't able to add my two pence worth because I didn't see it.
>
> > The evidence suggests
> >that there is no one "fight" version, but there is a broad consensus.
> >And this is one version that conforms thereto:
>
> >> >Hitler has only got one ball.
> >> >Goering has two, but they are small.
> >> >Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> >> >And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.
>
> This might be another of those pondian things. I also have heard it
> sung many times, so the right pond consensus may well differ from your
> left pond one.
>
> >> That's not it either. The second line needs a "very" to make it fit
> >> the rhythm of the tune and even then it must be sung "ver - ry";
> >> pronouncing his name as Go-balls in the fourth line makes no sense
> >> whatever.
> >
> >I regret to inform you, Charles, that I didn't write it. I'm reporting.
> >There are variations, but from what others have posted (and, again, from
> >what I have heard over the years), it *is* Go-balls. Real life is so
> >cruel in the way it disappoints our expectations.
>
> It is *not* Go-balls. Not here.
>
> >And if you think the second line needs an exaggerated "very," you're as
> >musical as you are grammatical. Your complete version verifies this.
>
> Thank you. I am, indeed, a pretty good musician: I sing and also play
> the violin. More seriously, I am just an engineer and never have
> claimed to be especially good at grammar; Neil Coffey's posts
> generally leave me dizzy. Being a good listener and having lived in a
> number of different English speaking places, I am pretty good at
> shades of word meanings. FWIW, *my* version goes something like this:
>
> Hitler has only got one ball.
> Goering has two but they are very small.
> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> But Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels has no balls at all.
>
> Now, try singing this, if you can, and you will find that the "very"
> in the second line is absolutely essential unless you sing it they,
> chop, are, chop, which isn't nice to the ear. The tune won't fit the
> verse without it in other words. Our (Irish) final line is also more
> singable than yours, which must be sung in jerks and spurts to make it
> fit the tune. Ireland is a more lyric nation than American so maybe
> that explains the differences.

I agree about the /very/, but I can only assume you use a different tune
because your last line has six superfluous syllables for mine. Which goes
"But Goebbels, chop, has no balls, chop, at all."

But we can't be talking about a different tune, because it's in the film!

Matti

Mike Barnes

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
In alt.usage.english, Robert Lieblich <lieb...@erols.com> wrote

>Donna Richoux wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>> The problem here is the *rhythm*, which is not conveyed adequately
>> merely by reporting the words. The break (or pause or rest) after the
>> first two notes in each line is quite distinctive, in the tune. So
>> Robert's version works for me:
>>
>> Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
>> Goering (rest, rest) has two but very small (rest)
>> Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest, rest)
>> And poor old Goebbels (rest) has no balls (rest) at all.
>>
>> I have trouble making Charles' fit:
>>
>> Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
>> Goering *has* *two* but they are very small (rest)
>> Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest rest)
>>
>> -- and then it breaks down as I can find no way to cram all the
>> remaining syllables into one line.
>
>There is a MIDI file of the march (Colonel Bogey) at
>
> http://midistudio.com/midi/MW_AGES.htm
>
>Rests aside, there are exactly eight notes in the phrase that
>corresponds to the second line of the verse. You can diddle that line
>and fit in both "they are" and "very," but it requires adding notes that
>aren't in the original.

I know it as:

Goering (rest, rest) he has his two but small

which adds up to eight OK.

--
-- Mike Barnes, Stockport, England.
-- If you post a response to Usenet, please *don't* send me a copy by e-mail.

John Dean

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
If I may pick a small nit (and if I'm not in the company of pedants here
where the f*** do I have to go?)
The film, like the book, is 'Bridge On (*not* Over) the River Kwai'
Check the IMDb ( http://us.imdb.com/ or http://uk.imdb.com/ ) for the
film title
Go to Waterstones ( http://www.waterstones.co.uk/ ) , search for 'Pierre
Boulle' and you get not only the book title but also a copy of the
dust-jacket
The book was originally in French called 'Le pont de la riviere Kwai'.
Pierre Boulle spoke no English so was unable to offer an opinion which was
the better translation (His lack of English was the reason there was great
upset about his being awarded the Oscar for best adapted screenplay when he
clearly had no habd in it. The Academy retrospecively gave the Oscar to the
real writers (Michael Wilson & Carl Foreman) in 1984
My French is rusty but I think Bridge *Over* ...' would have to come from
'Le pont *sur* ....'
'Le pont *de* ...' is, I think, properly translated as 'Bridge On ...'
Even if it isn't, that's what they did.
I theng yow
--
John Dean -- Oxford
I am anti-spammed -- defrag me to reply
john...@msn.com

James Follett

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
In article <nFQhTPAB...@redwoods.demon.co.uk>
jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk "John Davies" writes:

>Bloody hell, what a nonsensical ragbag of obscenities my memory is, to
>be sure.

Please, John -- stick to Mog's love letters to his beloved Meg, written
from his emporium on the hill where the money hums on wires, and each
love letter ending with a rubber-stamped: "Shop at Mog's"

Walter A. Cole

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to

James Follett (ja...@marage.demon.co.uk) writes:
> In article <38036e6b...@news1.tinet.ie>
> ri...@eircom.net "Charles Riggs" writes:
>
>>Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
>
> Odd, that line. Goebbels had, IIR, six daughters whose names all
> began with "M". I saw a group photograph of them and extraordinarily
> pretty kids they were, too. Wonder what happened to them.
>
> --
> James Follett -- novelist http://www.davew.demon.co.uk
>


Historians say he shot them and his wife before shooting himself, all
in Hitler's bunker. I read he had seven children.

--
Walter A. Cole
ai...@freenet.carleton.ca

Joseph C Fineman

unread,
Sep 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/27/99
to
ri...@eircom.net (Charles Riggs) writes:

>I don't know but they probably have no balls either.

Right!

So she obeyed the good doctor's advice:
She screwed with the man who delivered the ice,
And a bouncing big baby was born in the fall,
But the poor little bastard had no balls at all.

What? No balls at all?
No! No balls at all!
She married a man who had no balls at all.

Incidentally, the line about Hitler was widely believed to be true;
but I recently read that not only is it false, but, astonishingly, it
is _known to be_ false. It seems that Hitler's boyhood family doctor
was Jewish, and when Hitler came to power he saw to it that the doctor
had safe passage to America, where he settled in New York City.
During the war, a reporter took the trouble to interview him about
this myth, and was assured that Hitler's genitals were normal.

I suspect that this thread would become even more bizarre if it were
transferred to rec.music.folk.

--- Joe Fineman j...@world.std.com

||: Many are born impatient; the lucky ones become cabdrivers. :||

Charles Riggs

unread,
Sep 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/28/99
to
On Mon, 27 Sep 1999 09:59:39 +0200, tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux)
wrote:

>Charles Riggs <ri...@eircom.net> wrote:
>
>>Robert Lieblich <lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
>
>[snip discussion]
>>

>> >And this is one version that conforms thereto:
>>
>> >> >Hitler has only got one ball.
>> >> >Goering has two, but they are small.
>> >> >Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>> >> >And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.
>>

>> shades of word meanings. FWIW, *my* version goes something like this:
>>
>> Hitler has only got one ball.
>> Goering has two but they are very small.
>> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>> But Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels has no balls at all.
>

>[snip]


>
>The problem here is the *rhythm*, which is not conveyed adequately
>merely by reporting the words. The break (or pause or rest) after the
>first two notes in each line is quite distinctive, in the tune. So
>Robert's version works for me:
>
> Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
> Goering (rest, rest) has two but very small (rest)
> Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest, rest)
> And poor old Goebbels (rest) has no balls (rest) at all.

Ah, but you inserted my "very" into the second line of Robert's
version and that made it work, as I originally said. :-)

Shouldn't there be two rests after Goebbels?

>I have trouble making Charles' fit:
>
> Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
> Goering *has* *two* but they are very small (rest)
> Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest rest)
>
> -- and then it breaks down as I can find no way to cram all the
>remaining syllables into one line.

It may require a bit of slurring but I've heard it done and have sung
along. You'll admit, no rests are required!

>The tune for the fourth line the *first* time through the march is
>different from the tune the *last* time through the march. Maybe that
>has something to do with it. Maybe Charles is using that bridge phrase,
>da dee DAH dee da-da-da-da, for the last six words?

I tried this, Donna, and got lost in the dee dahs, but perhaps that's
it.

Charles Riggs

Charles Riggs

unread,
Sep 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/28/99
to
On Mon, 27 Sep 1999 07:17:16 -0400, Robert Lieblich
<lieb...@erols.com> wrote:

>Donna Richoux wrote:

>> I have trouble making Charles' fit:
>>
>> Hitler (rest, rest) has only got one ball (rest)
>> Goering *has* *two* but they are very small (rest)
>> Himmler (rest, rest) is very sim'lar (rest rest)
>>
>> -- and then it breaks down as I can find no way to cram all the
>> remaining syllables into one line.
>

>There is a MIDI file of the march (Colonel Bogey) at
>
> http://midistudio.com/midi/MW_AGES.htm
>
>Rests aside, there are exactly eight notes in the phrase that
>corresponds to the second line of the verse. You can diddle that line
>and fit in both "they are" and "very," but it requires adding notes that
>aren't in the original.

Why? Eight words for eight notes; sounds right to me. The "very" must
be there for both musical and for insult reasons.

>I realize that as with any folk music, there is no "official" version of
>the lyric, but there is a tune that was copyrighted at one point, and
>that tune fits some lyrics better than others. And vice versa.

True enough; we just don't agree on which is which.

Charles Riggs


Donna Richoux

unread,
Sep 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/28/99
to
Charles Riggs <ri...@eircom.net> wrote:

> tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
>
> >The tune for the fourth line the *first* time through the march is
> >different from the tune the *last* time through the march. Maybe that
> >has something to do with it. Maybe Charles is using that bridge phrase,
> >da dee DAH dee da-da-da-da, for the last six words?
>
> I tried this, Donna, and got lost in the dee dahs, but perhaps that's
> it.

Yeah, I figured it was hopeless. I now classify talking about fitting
words to tunes, in this silent medium, as inherently unsatisfying as
talking about vowel sounds. I'll save my musical discussions for real
life.

Best wishes anyway --- Donna Richoux


Cissy . Thorpe

unread,
Sep 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/28/99
to

This is the version of the words that has been circulating:

> >> Hitler has only got one ball.
> >> Goering has two but they are very small.
> >> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> >> But Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels has no balls at all.
> >

Am I alone in remembering one from my all-girl Catholic school daze that
goes:

Horace, what have you done to me?
Horace, you'll have to marry me.
Horace, there'll be a Doris.
There'll be a Horace, a Doris and me!

Cissy


R. Fontana

unread,
Sep 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/28/99
to

The version that my older brother taught me, which he learned in his
coed public elementary school daze (but which was no longer current
by the time I attended the same school and reached the likely age at
which he learned the song, i.e. about six years later) goes:

Comet, it makes your teeth turn green
Comet, it tastes like gasoline
Comet, it makes you vomit
So drink some Comet, and vomit, today.

The reference is to the Comet cleaning product. (They didn't ever use
the tune in their commercials, did they?)

When I was in sixth grade, the march tune was used in our graduation.
A number of the kids from classes other than mine (my school segregated
the "intellectually gifted" from the non-gifted) sang a version which
began:

Rejects, they cost a dollar ninety-nine ...

But that's all I remember.

Richard


Evan Kirshenbaum

unread,
Sep 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/28/99
to
"R. Fontana" <re...@columbia.edu> writes:

> The version that my older brother taught me, which he learned in his
> coed public elementary school daze (but which was no longer current
> by the time I attended the same school and reached the likely age at
> which he learned the song, i.e. about six years later) goes:
>
> Comet, it makes your teeth turn green
> Comet, it tastes like gasoline
> Comet, it makes you vomit
> So drink some Comet, and vomit, today.

That was common in Chicago in the early '70s. There may have been a
causal link between it and Wacky Packs[1] trading cards, but I'm not
sure which way the vector pointed. "Teeth" in the first line doesn't
sound right, though. I think we used "lips" (or perhaps "hair", which
makes no sense, but it's a kid's song).

[1] For those who weren't there, take a look at

http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/davidfun/19frvlth.htm
http://members.theglobe.com/brentb/wacky/w1.html

or, more generally,

http://www.snap.com/directory/category/0,16,-34815,00.html

Looking at the first of the sites, I see that the "Comet" parody
didn't actually have to do with the song. Oh, well. Since I've
already gone to the trouble of typing this in, I think I'll leave
it.

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Yesterday I washed a single sock.
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |When I opened the door, the machine
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |was empty.
| Peter Moylan
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com
(650)857-7572

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Evan_Kirshenbaum/

Abfou

unread,
Sep 29, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/29/99
to
Anthony Hecht and John Hollander, in their introduction to
"Jiggery-Pokery," proposed a project to set all of "Remembrance of
Things Past" to the tune. As I recall, the first stanza was:

Swann's Way,
A book by Marcel Proust,
Tells how
Its hero took to roost
Racy
Odette de Crecy
Who to his friends could
Not be in-
Troduced.

Abfou


Peter Moylan

unread,
Sep 29, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/29/99
to
Evan Kirshenbaum <ev...@garrett.hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>"R. Fontana" <re...@columbia.edu> writes:
>
>> The version that my older brother taught me, which he learned in his
>> coed public elementary school daze (but which was no longer current
>> by the time I attended the same school and reached the likely age at
>> which he learned the song, i.e. about six years later) goes:
>>
>> Comet, it makes your teeth turn green
>> Comet, it tastes like gasoline
>> Comet, it makes you vomit
>> So drink some Comet, and vomit, today.
>
>That was common in Chicago in the early '70s. There may have been a
>causal link between it and Wacky Packs[1] trading cards, but I'm not
>sure which way the vector pointed. "Teeth" in the first line doesn't
>sound right, though. I think we used "lips" (or perhaps "hair", which
>makes no sense, but it's a kid's song).

The song had reached Oakland, California, by at least 1979. (My first
son went to school there that year.) The "teeth" reference was an
interesting one; we'd just arrived from a country where Comet was a
brand of toothpaste. It took me a while to realise that the kids
were singing about a drain cleaner.

--
Peter Moylan pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au

Bill Kinkaid

unread,
Sep 29, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/29/99
to
On Mon, 27 Sep 1999 06:28:59 GMT,ri...@eircom.net (Charles Riggs) took it
upon her/himself to inform us, for one reason or another, that:

>
>Hitler has only got one ball.
>Goering has two but they are very small.
>Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>But Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels has no balls at all.
>
>Now, try singing this, if you can, and you will find that the "very"
>in the second line is absolutely essential unless you sing it they,
>chop, are, chop, which isn't nice to the ear. The tune won't fit the
>verse without it in other words. Our (Irish) final line is also more
>singable than yours, which must be sung in jerks and spurts to make it
>fit the tune. Ireland is a more lyric nation than American so maybe
>that explains the differences.
>

"Goering has two but they're too small"
or
"Goering has two but far too small"
both scan perfectly. Neither of the above options scans at all.

As for the last line, it leads me to believe you must be thinking about
some other tune.


Bill in Vancouver
(delete EAT-SPAM-AND-DIE
from e-mail address to respond)


Bill Kinkaid

unread,
Sep 29, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/29/99
to
On Mon, 27 Sep 1999 03:45:53 -0600,Truly Donovan <tru...@ibm.net> took it

upon her/himself to inform us, for one reason or another, that:

>On Sun, 26 Sep 1999 22:13:22 GMT, maxc@juno_spamfilter.com wrote:


>
>>Returning to the original question regarding the name or title of the
>>song, my two cents says it is "The Colonel Bogey(sp?) March."
>
>You mean it *isn't*
>
>"My beer (rest, rest) is Reingold extra dry (rest)"?
>
>Whaddaya know 'bout that!
>

"Comet [1], it makes your eyes turn green
Comet, it tastes like Listerine [2] [3]


Comet, it makes you vomit

So have some Comet, and vomit, today"

[1] abrasive powdered cleanser, similar to Ajax or Vim (non-cream version)
[2] vile mouthwash
[3] alternatively, "it tastes like gasoline"

a1a5...@sprint.ca

unread,
Sep 29, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/29/99
to
On 29 Sep 1999 03:14:34 GMT, pe...@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au (Peter
Moylan) wrote:

>The song had reached Oakland, California, by at least 1979. (My first
>son went to school there that year.) The "teeth" reference was an
>interesting one; we'd just arrived from a country where Comet was a
>brand of toothpaste. It took me a while to realise that the kids
>were singing about a drain cleaner.
>
>--
>Peter Moylan

Think Panshine, Peter, not Liquid Plumber.

rka...@adsl-151-203-22-73.bellatlantic.net

unread,
Sep 29, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/29/99
to
On Tue, 28 Sep 1999 18:04:12 -0400, R. Fontana <re...@columbia.edu> wrote:
>
>When I was in sixth grade, the march tune was used in our graduation.
>A number of the kids from classes other than mine (my school segregated
>the "intellectually gifted" from the non-gifted) sang a version which
>began:
>
>Rejects, they cost a dollar ninety-nine ...
>
>But that's all I remember.

Probably related to the one I learned in 5th grade that started like this:

Bobos, they make your feet feel fine,
Bobos, they cost a dollar ninety-nine

Jack Gavin

unread,
Sep 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/30/99
to

Bill Kinkaid wrote in message <37f192f2....@news.bctel.ca>...
I think we had "makes your mouth turn green".

--
Jack Gavin

Mike West

unread,
Sep 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/30/99
to

Jack Gavin <jackgavi...@home.com> wrote in message
news:ehAI3.1218$Di5....@news.rdc1.nj.home.com...

I can refrain no longer.

"Bullshit.[rest. rest.] It makes the grass grow green.
Bullshit. [rest. rest.] It makes the grass grow green.
Bullshit, yes good old bullshit,
Makes the graaaassss groooowwwww greeeennnnn."

Thank you and good day.

Mike


Barry in Indy

unread,
Sep 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/30/99
to
In article <iBDI3.12948$q8.4...@newscene.newscene.com>,
Hitler, has only one left ball.
Goering, has two but they are small.
Himmler, has something simmler [sic],
But Goebbels has no balls at all.

(Sung by soldiers on Malta?)


Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Mike West

unread,
Sep 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/30/99
to

Barry in Indy <sasc...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:7sveh3$o3j$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...


[Orson Welles appears. To camera:

"And so it begins again ..."

[Fade]

Robert Lieblich

unread,
Sep 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/30/99
to
Mike West wrote:
>
> Barry in Indy <sasc...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
> news:7sveh3$o3j$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> > In article <iBDI3.12948$q8.4...@newscene.newscene.com>,
> > "Mike West" <n...@home.com> wrote:

<snip>

> > Hitler, has only one left ball.
> > Goering, has two but they are small.
> > Himmler, has something simmler [sic],
> > But Goebbels has no balls at all.
> >
> > (Sung by soldiers on Malta?)
>
> [Orson Welles appears. To camera:
>
> "And so it begins again ..."

Everything old is new again. Note that in the latest version Hitler has
only one *left* ball. How many right balls did he have?

Bob Lieblich

John Dean

unread,
Sep 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/30/99
to

Mike West <n...@home.com> wrote in message
news:iBDI3.12948$q8.4...@newscene.newscene.com...

>
> Jack Gavin <jackgavi...@home.com> wrote in message
> news:ehAI3.1218$Di5....@news.rdc1.nj.home.com...
> >
> > Bill Kinkaid wrote in message <37f192f2....@news.bctel.ca>...
> > >On Mon, 27 Sep 1999 03:45:53 -0600,Truly Donovan <tru...@ibm.net>
> took it
> > >upon her/himself to inform us, for one reason or another, that:
> > >
> > >>On Sun, 26 Sep 1999 22:13:22 GMT, maxc@juno_spamfilter.com wrote:
> > >>
> > >>>Returning to the original question regarding the name or title of
> the
> > >>>song, my two cents says it is "The Colonel Bogey(sp?) March."
> > >>
> > >>You mean it *isn't*
> > >>
> > >>"My beer (rest, rest) is Reingold extra dry (rest)"?
> > >>
> > >>Whaddaya know 'bout that!
> > >>
> I can refrain no longer.
>
> "Bullshit.[rest. rest.] It makes the grass grow green.
> Bullshit. [rest. rest.] It makes the grass grow green.
> Bullshit, yes good old bullshit,
> Makes the graaaassss groooowwwww greeeennnnn."
>
> Thank you and good day.
>
> Mike
>
Cool lyrics Mike! If you could set those to music you'd make a fortune

P&D Schultz

unread,
Sep 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/30/99
to
Charles Riggs wrote:
>
> On Mon, 27 Sep 1999 07:17:16 -0400, Robert Lieblich
> <lieb...@erols.com> wrote: <...>

> >Rests aside, there are exactly eight notes in the phrase that
> >corresponds to the second line of the verse. You can diddle that line
> >and fit in both "they are" and "very," but it requires adding notes that
> >aren't in the original.
>
> Why? Eight words for eight notes; sounds right to me. The "very" must
> be there for both musical and for insult reasons.

Not unless you sing "Goering" on a single note, and "very" on a single
note, which would sound pretty awful, and wrong.

Without the "very," there are eight syllables for eight notes. There's
no place for any "very."

//P. Schultz

Charles Riggs

unread,
Oct 1, 1999, 3:00:00 AM10/1/99
to
On Thu, 30 Sep 1999 21:23:18 -0400, P&D Schultz <schu...@erols.com>
wrote:

Well sir, I just sang it to myself, very quietly since it's seven in
the morning, and it sounded fine to me!

Charles Riggs

Robert Lieblich

unread,
Oct 1, 1999, 3:00:00 AM10/1/99
to

One of two things is going on here: (1) Charles sings "Goering has two
but very small," omitting the "they are" that others sing to the two
notes to which Charles sings "very." (2) Charles is jamming two extra
syllables into that line, which one can do if one isn't too concerned
about the notes that Alford actually wrote

Bob Lieblich

Mike West

unread,
Oct 2, 1999, 3:00:00 AM10/2/99
to

John Dean <john...@msnfrag.com> wrote in message
news:eD0EpC3C$GA.294@cpmsnbbsa02...

>
> Mike West <n...@home.com> wrote in message

> > > >>


> > I can refrain no longer.
> >
> > "Bullshit.[rest. rest.] It makes the grass grow green.
> > Bullshit. [rest. rest.] It makes the grass grow green.
> > Bullshit, yes good old bullshit,
> > Makes the graaaassss groooowwwww greeeennnnn."
> >
> > Thank you and good day.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> Cool lyrics Mike! If you could set those to music you'd make a fortune
> --

Sorry for the outburst.

We sang them while marching in Army basic training. It was the closest thing
to directly insulting our superiors most of us ever managed.

Mike
Melbourne


Charles Riggs

unread,
Oct 2, 1999, 3:00:00 AM10/2/99
to
On Fri, 01 Oct 1999 07:14:19 -0400, Robert Lieblich
<lieb...@erols.com> wrote:


>
>One of two things is going on here: (1) Charles sings "Goering has two
>but very small," omitting the "they are" that others sing to the two
>notes to which Charles sings "very." (2) Charles is jamming two extra
>syllables into that line, which one can do if one isn't too concerned
>about the notes that Alford actually wrote

One of the two alright and I'm not sure which since I am able to sing
it properly only after having consumed a few Guinnesses. I think I may
hurry up the "they are", hardly singing the words at all, so that I
may stretch out the "very" using, as you say, two notes for it. This
heightens my insult to the man so I find it pleasing.

matthew...@gmail.com

unread,
Mar 8, 2015, 5:46:44 AM3/8/15
to
On Saturday, 25 September 1999 17:00:00 UTC+10, Robert Lieblich wrote:
> Charles Riggs wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, 24 Sep 1999 20:17:21 -0400, Robert Lieblich
> > <lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
> >
> > >Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
> > >lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
> > >ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
> >
> > Followed by:
> >
> > Himmler, he had two, but very small.
> > Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
> >
> > Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?
>
> Not even close.
>
> There is no official version, of course, but this one approaches
> consensus:
>
> Hitler has only got one ball.
> Goering has two, but they are small.
> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.
>
> Spelling phonetic, of course. The Himmler-simmler rhyme is essential.
>
> Goebbels had several children, in fact, all of whom he killed when he
> and his wife committed suicide in Hitler's Berlin bunker.
>
> [Jimbo -- Why did you demote the colonel?]
>
> Bob Lieblich

It can also be:

Hitler has only got one ball.
The other is in the Leeds(or any other town) town hall.
Himmler [pause] is very simmler,

John Varela

unread,
Mar 8, 2015, 3:05:36 PM3/8/15
to
On Sun, 8 Mar 2015 10:46:38 UTC, matthew...@gmail.com wrote:

> On Saturday, 25 September 1999 17:00:00 UTC+10, Robert Lieblich wrote:
> > Charles Riggs wrote:
> > >
> > > On Fri, 24 Sep 1999 20:17:21 -0400, Robert Lieblich
> > > <lieb...@erols.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > >Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
> > > >lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
> > > >ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
> > >
> > > Followed by:
> > >
> > > Himmler, he had two, but very small.
> > > Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
> > >
> > > Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?
> >
> > Not even close.
> >
> > There is no official version, of course, but this one approaches
> > consensus:
> >
> > Hitler has only got one ball.
> > Goering has two, but they are small.
> > Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> > And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.
> >
> > Spelling phonetic, of course. The Himmler-simmler rhyme is essential.
> >
> > Goebbels had several children, in fact, all of whom he killed when he
> > and his wife committed suicide in Hitler's Berlin bunker.
> >
> > [Jimbo -- Why did you demote the colonel?]
> >
> > Bob Lieblich

Wow.

> It can also be:
>
> Hitler has only got one ball.
> The other is in the Leeds(or any other town) town hall.
> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all


--
John Varela

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 11, 2015, 1:53:30 PM3/11/15
to
Any other? It would bugger up the meter no end if you tried
Aberystwyth, for example.

> ) town hall.
> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
> And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all


--
athel

GordonD

unread,
Mar 11, 2015, 3:18:04 PM3/11/15
to
>> The other is in the Leeds(or any other town) town hall.

I've never heard this with anything other than the Albert Hall.

--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland

Percival P. Cassidy

unread,
Mar 11, 2015, 4:11:50 PM3/11/15
to
On 03/11/2015 01:53 PM, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

>>>>> Many who don't recall the tune may be helped by the first line of some
>>>>> lyrics written long after the march itself: "Hitler has only got one
>>>>> ball." I believe we had a thread on this a while back.
>>>>
>>>> Followed by:
>>>>
>>>> Himmler, he had two, but very small.
>>>> Goebbels, poor old Goebbels, Goebbels, he had no balls at all.
>>>>
>>>> Was that, aside from the questionable spelling, it?
>>>
>>> Not even close.
>>>
>>> There is no official version, of course, but this one approaches
>>> consensus:
>>>
>>> Hitler has only got one ball.
>>> Goering has two, but they are small.
>>> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>>> And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all.
>>>
>>> Spelling phonetic, of course. The Himmler-simmler rhyme is essential.
>>>
>>> Goebbels had several children, in fact, all of whom he killed when he
>>> and his wife committed suicide in Hitler's Berlin bunker.
>>>
>>> [Jimbo -- Why did you demote the colonel?]

>> Hitler has only got one ball.
>> The other is in the Leeds(or any other town
>
> Any other? It would bugger up the meter no end if you tried Aberystwyth,
> for example.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrynydrobwll-llantisiliogogogoch (sp?)
wouldn't work too well either.

musika

unread,
Mar 11, 2015, 4:38:47 PM3/11/15
to
Two too many Ys and one too many hyp-hens.


--
Ray
UK

Percival P. Cassidy

unread,
Mar 11, 2015, 5:05:13 PM3/11/15
to
OK about the surfeit of "y"s, but I've certainly seen it hyphenated.

Perce


musika

unread,
Mar 11, 2015, 5:32:26 PM3/11/15
to
On 11/03/2015 21:05, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
> On 03/11/2015 04:38 PM, musika wrote:
> Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
>>> Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrynydrobwll-llantisiliogogogoch (sp?)
>>> wouldn't work too well either.
>>>
>> Two too many Ys and one too many hyp-hens.
>
> OK about the surfeit of "y"s, but I've certainly seen it hyphenated.
>
Fair enough, but I believe it to be a mistake.

--
Ray
UK

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

unread,
Mar 11, 2015, 8:10:52 PM3/11/15
to
On Wed, 11 Mar 2015 20:38:39 +0000, musika <mUs...@NOSPAMexcite.com>
wrote:
I've probably told this story before.

During part of WWII we were living in Bangor just across the Menai
Strait from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerych......

The farm or dairy which supplied our milk had an address in that place.
One day the milkman didn't deliver. My mother phoned to ask what had
happened. She had to ask the operator to connect the call. She took a
deep breath and started to carefully recite that placename. When she was
well into it but a long way from the end the operator interrupted and
told Mum the locally recognised short form of the name: Llanfair PG. Mum
relaxed, gave the number, spoke to the dairy and milk was delivered.

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 9:54:16 AM3/12/15
to
I don't recall a y before the drobwll; but it could be that there is
one. Likewise I don't put a hyphen in llll, but I've seen it with one.
I don't know if we have any Welsh experts here -- I think Mike learned
a bit of Welsh when he lived near the Severn Bridge. However, is
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyryndrobwllllantisiliogogogoch big enough
to have a town hall?


> wouldn't work too well either.
>
>>> ) town hall.
>>> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>>> And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all


--
athel

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 9:55:58 AM3/12/15
to
Two too many? I only saw one I didn't like. I agree with you about the
hyphen. (Incidentally, I posted before reading your message.)
--
athel

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 10:22:25 AM3/12/15
to
Apparently not. It has a Community Council which a few years ago was
debating the replacement of the Memorial Hall. This is the English
version of the Council's website:
http://www.llanfairpwll.org/community-council/

Note the variant spellings of "clerk":
http://www.llanfairpwll.org/community-council/environment-property-committee/

"Council Clark" and "Clerc".

This is the name board on the railway station platform with a
pronunciation guide under the name.
http://www.475lidobeach.com/resources/Llanfair.jpg

It is assumed that readers can manage the Welsh "ll" letter.
>
>> wouldn't work too well either.
>>
>>>> ) town hall.
>>>> Himmler [pause] is very simmler,
>>>> And poor old Go-balls has no balls at all

--

musika

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 10:27:41 AM3/12/15
to
"chwyrn" not "chweryn"

--
Ray
UK

musika

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 10:30:38 AM3/12/15
to
Oops.
"chwyrn" not "chwyryn"
--
Ray
UK

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 11:27:00 AM3/12/15
to
Funnily enough I did think something looked odd about that bit, but I
couldn't put my finger on what it was.


--
athel

GordonD

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 11:35:27 AM3/12/15
to
If you turn the nameplate sideways...

James Hogg

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 4:07:26 PM3/12/15
to
That name is better suited to limericks (taking poetic liberties with
Welsh pronunciation):

A man from Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-
gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysil-
iogogogoch thought
he should move, so he bought
a smaller apartment in Rhyl.

--
James

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 4:16:36 PM3/12/15
to
That's good!


--
athel

Sam Plusnet

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 4:26:28 PM3/12/15
to
In article <cmeagv...@mid.individual.net>, acor...@imm.cnrs.fr
says...
> > A man from Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-
> > gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysil-
> > iogogogoch thought
> > he should move, so he bought
> > a smaller apartment in Rhyl.
>
> That's good!
>
>
Really? Have you been to Rhyl?


--
Sam

Peter T. Daniels

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 6:04:15 PM3/12/15
to
On Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 4:26:28 PM UTC-4, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> In article <cmeagv...@mid.individual.net>, acor...@imm.cnrs.fr
> says...
[no, he doesn't. The poem is by James Hogg.]

> > > A man from Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-
> > > gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysil-
> > > iogogogoch thought
> > > he should move, so he bought
> > > a smaller apartment in Rhyl.
> >
> > That's good!
> >
> Really? Have you been to Rhyl?

Maybe if you knew why he had to move out ...

Janet

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 7:14:41 PM3/12/15
to
In article <gp73gadmaj2nru2eq...@4ax.com>,
ma...@peterduncanson.net says...
> ncil/
>
> Note the variant spellings of "clerk":
> http://www.llanfairpwll.org/community-council/environment-property-committee/
>
> "Council Clark" and "Clerc".
>

"clerc" is Welsh for English clerk. Someone forgot to switch
languages.

Janet

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 8:22:48 PM3/12/15
to
Yes. I checked with an online dictionary after I'd switched to the Welsh
version of the page and discovered that it had less information than the
English one. In particular, it didn't have the Council Clerk entry.

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

unread,
Mar 12, 2015, 8:24:49 PM3/12/15
to
<smile>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyl

Once an elegant Victorian resort, there was an influx of people from
Liverpool and Manchester after World War II changing the face of the
town. The area had declined dramatically by 1990, but has since
improved due to a series of regeneration projects bringing in major
investment. European funding, secured by the Welsh Government, has
produced millions for the development of Rhyl's seafront.

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 13, 2015, 2:24:34 AM3/13/15
to
No. I used to live near Manchester and knew plenty of people who'd been
to Rhyl, but I wasn't one if them. I have been to
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, however.
>>>
--
athel

David D S

unread,
Mar 14, 2015, 1:53:19 AM3/14/15
to
Llanfair PG was the name used by Post Offices, as y father, who worked
in
Crewe Postal Sorting Office, and later on, on the Irish Mail Train
thatwent
through Llanfair PG, used to tell me.

In fact, I always understood that the name was originally
Llanfairpwllgwyn
until some publicity stunt to increase its tourist appeal in the
nineteenth
century.

I knew the village well in the early 1970s when I was an undergraduate
at Bangor university (or Coleg y Prifysgol Gogledd Cymru, as t was
then.)

--
David D S: UK and PR China. (Native BrEng speaker)
Use Reply-To header for email. This email address will be
valid for at least 2 weeks from 2015/3/14 13:47:27

David D S

unread,
Mar 14, 2015, 1:57:47 AM3/14/15
to
We used to be taken to Rhyl sometimes on day trips to visit the seaside
when we lived near Crewe. This would be in the late50s and early 60s.
It wasn't too bad then, but it went downhill a lot after that. I agree
that it
has improved somewhat since. If you think its bad now, you can
appreciate
how bad it was at its worse.

--
David D S: UK and PR China. (Native BrEng speaker)
Use Reply-To header for email. This email address will be
valid for at least 2 weeks from 2015/3/14 13:56:06

Lady Mondegreen

unread,
Mar 14, 2015, 4:28:48 AM3/14/15
to
James Hogg graced the interwebs with the following pearls of wisdom:

> A man from Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-
> gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysil-
> iogogogoch thought
> he should move, so he bought
> a smaller apartment in Rhyl.

Hopeless as a limerick. Welsh -ll and -l are different sounds so do not
rhyme.
--
For there's a garden, there's a sad old palm tree,
On and on we'll walk at daybreak,
Again I'll touch the green green grass of home.

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 14, 2015, 4:32:49 AM3/14/15
to
On 2015-03-14 08:26:36 +0000, Lady Mondegreen said:

> James Hogg graced the interwebs with the following pearls of wisdom:
>
>> A man from Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-
>> gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysil-
>> iogogogoch thought
>> he should move, so he bought
>> a smaller apartment in Rhyl.
>
> Hopeless as a limerick. Welsh -ll and -l are different sounds so do not
> rhyme.

I think if you read the rest of James's post you'll see that he
recognized that.


--
athel

James Hogg

unread,
Mar 14, 2015, 7:12:39 AM3/14/15
to
I think that's why she snipped that bit, hoping no one would notice.

--
James

Charles Bishop

unread,
Mar 18, 2015, 1:09:04 PM3/18/15
to
In article <me151m$a2a$1...@dont-email.me>,
If that is in fact what she did, she's no lady.

--
charles, nor my wife

Sam Plusnet

unread,
Mar 19, 2015, 8:32:10 PM3/19/15
to
In article <xn0jjip8...@news.individual.net>, invalid@m-
invalid.invalid says...
> > >> Really? Have you been to Rhyl?
> > >
> > > Maybe if you knew why he had to move out ...
> >
> > <smile>
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyl
> >
> > Once an elegant Victorian resort, there was an influx of people
> > from Liverpool and Manchester after World War II changing the
> > face of the town. The area had declined dramatically by 1990, but
> > has since improved due to a series of regeneration projects
> > bringing in major investment. European funding, secured by the
> > Welsh Government, has produced millions for the development of
> > Rhyl's seafront.
>
> We used to be taken to Rhyl sometimes on day trips to visit the seaside
> when we lived near Crewe. This would be in the late50s and early 60s.
> It wasn't too bad then, but it went downhill a lot after that. I agree
> that it
> has improved somewhat since. If you think its bad now, you can
> appreciate
> how bad it was at its worse.
>
>
I shall confess my bias on this topic.
As a child we were taken to Rhyll for our 1 week summer holiday.
My father liked the place so we went there, every year, for what seemed
like several decades.



--
Sam

musika

unread,
Mar 19, 2015, 9:09:09 PM3/19/15
to
Yes, a week in Rhyl can seem that long.


--
Ray
UK

Peter T. Daniels

unread,
Mar 19, 2015, 11:29:55 PM3/19/15
to
It might be even longer with the extral l.

Reinhold {Rey} Aman

unread,
Mar 19, 2015, 11:50:52 PM3/19/15
to
"Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:
>
> musika wrote:
>>
>> Yes, a week in Rhyl can seem that long.
>>
> It might be even longer with the extral l.
>
Pounce! Pounce!

--
~~~ Reinhold {Rey} Aman ~~~

Athel Cornish-Bowden

unread,
Mar 20, 2015, 2:42:49 AM3/20/15
to
On 2015-03-20 03:51:03 +0000, Reinhold {Rey} Aman said:

> "Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:
>>
>> musika wrote:
>>>
>>> Yes, a week in Rhyl can seem that long.
>>>
>> It might be even longer with the extral l.
>>
> Pounce! Pounce!

Maybe someone should explain to PTD that writing l as ll doesn't mean
an extra l; it means a different letter.


--
athel

Peter T. Daniels

unread,
Mar 20, 2015, 8:23:18 AM3/20/15
to
On Friday, March 20, 2015 at 2:42:49 AM UTC-4, Athel Cornish-Bowden quoted
his favorite sociopath:
> On 2015-03-20 03:51:03 +0000, Reinhold {Rey} Aman falsified as usual:
> > "Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:
> >> musika wrote:

> >>> Yes, a week in Rhyl can seem that long.
> >> It might be even longer with the extra l.
> > Pounce! Pounce!

?

> Maybe someone should explain to PTD that writing l as ll doesn't mean
> an extra l; it means a different letter.

The comment was on Sam Plusnet's typo, not on anything musika wrote.

Maybe Asshole can't count. <Rhyl> contains 4 characters, <Rhyll> contains
5 characters, and the overplus is an <l>, an extra letter. Mr Plusnet was
not indicating a "different letter."

Maybe someone should explain to Asshole that Doppler doesn't have an umlaut,
and the *Chicago Manual of Style* clearly shows how to style both Acts of the
UK Parliament and bills of that body before they are enacted.

Reinhold {Rey} Aman

unread,
Mar 20, 2015, 6:50:25 PM3/20/15
to
Unethical "Editor" PeteY Daniels lied:
>
> Reinhold {Rey} Aman falsified as usual:
>> "Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:
>>
' "Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:' is NOT a falsification,
you pathological asshole. It's my original text.
>>
musika wrote:
>>
| Yes, a week in Rhyl can seem that long.
>>
PeteY:
>>
>>> It might be even longer with the extra l.
>> ^^^^^
Note: Above, Sneaky PeteY changed his typo "extral" to "extra":

| It might be even longer with the extral l. (3-19-15)
>> ^^^^^^
>>> Pounce! Pounce!
>
> ?
>
Short-time memory shot, senile PeteY? Reminder of his delusion,
repeated here so that he can't weasel out:

PeteY (15 Mar 2015):

> Howcome all you net nannies who are so quick to pounce on my every typo
>
I replied:

"pounce on my every typo" is *delusional* and paranoid. "Editor" PeteY
makes almost as many typos as super-slob & village idiot Steve Hayes --
another "editor" -- but to the best of my recollection, no AUEer has
ever OY!ed PeteY's frequent typos. The few AUEers who still read
PeteY's typo-riddled crap are too busy exposing his many other errors
and idiocies.

Thus I POUNCED on his typo "extral," but he didn't get it, and then
changed it to "extra." Swine!

Peter T. Daniels

unread,
Mar 21, 2015, 12:19:26 AM3/21/15
to
On Friday, March 20, 2015 at 6:50:25 PM UTC-4, Reinhold {Rey} Aman wrote:
> Unethical "Editor" PeteY Daniels lied:
> > Reinhold {Rey} Aman falsified as usual:
> >> "Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:
> ' "Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:' is NOT a falsification,
> you pathological asshole. It's my original text.

When a text, such as yours, contains lies, it is a falsification.

Maybe I'll revise my epithet to "sociopathological liar."

Reinhold {Rey} Aman

unread,
Mar 21, 2015, 3:18:58 AM3/21/15
to
Homosexual Jewish wannabe-goy PeteY Daniels wrote:
>
> When a text, such as yours, contains lies, it is a falsification.
>
In your diseased mind perhaps, but not in reality. Unlike you,
*I* do not falsify the text of other posters.

None of the following is a falsification or contains a lie:

* Unethical "Editor" PeteY Daniels lied:
* "Editor" PeteY Daniels (yimakh shemo!) wrote:
* Jewish wannabe-goy PeteY Daniels wrote:
* PeteY the attention-whore Daniels wrote:
* Projecter PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Linguistician & Published Author PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Nasty little man [TM] PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Bickering bitch PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Slimy weasel PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Masochistic moron PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Crazy bastard PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Habitual liar PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Vicious libeler PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Shameless text-falsifier PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Sociopath & Psychopath PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Faggoty Cocksucker PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Ass-fucker & ass-fuckee PeteY Daniels wrote:
* Etc.
>
> Maybe I'll revise my epithet to "sociopathological liar."
>
That would be just another projection. Typical.
0 new messages