fun of the fair?

[jm...@wanadoo.nl]

Can anyone explain what this expression means in this context?

It comes from a documentary, we see people drinking bear and having a
good time, then the commentator says:

"Roll out the barrel and all the fun of the fair."

Some word play of course,

thanks,
Jan

[Einde O'Callaghan]

Harlan Messinger schrieb:

> jm...@wanadoo.nl wrote:
>
>> Can anyone explain what this expression means in this context?
>>
>> It comes from a documentary, we see people drinking bear and having a
>> good time, then the commentator says:
>>
>> "Roll out the barrel and all the fun of the fair."
>
>

> "Roll out the barrel and we'll have a barrel of fun" is the first line
> of the refrain to the Beer Barrel Polka, a song evidently translated
> from Czech (roughly, I presume). See
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Barrel_Polka
>
> "All the fun of the fair" is an expression with which I'm not familiar,
> but it seems to be in use on UK websites.

A fair in this sense is what the americans call a carnival with swings
and roundabouts and dodgems etc. So "all the fun of the fair" means a
lot of fun.

Regaards, Einde O'Callaghan

[Harlan Messinger]

We do call it a fair, and more frequently than carnival I would say. We
have state fairs and county fairs, typically held at a dedicated
fairgrounds; we speak of book fairs and street fairs and so on. I was
just unfamiliar with the fixed expression.

[jm...@wanadoo.nl]

Given the context 'a lot of fun' fits perfectly, the song seems to
have a Dutch equivalent,

Thank you both,
Jan

[Frans T.Stoks]

jm...@wanadoo.nl schreef:

Indeed:
Rosamunde, schenk me je hart en zeg "ja"
Rosamunde, vraag het niet eerst je mama
Rosamunde, geloof me, ik blijf je steeds trouw
Want m'n lieve Rosamunde, ik wil jou, jou als m'n vrouw

Seems to be a quite litteral translation from German. In Dutch it is
sung by Dennie Christian.

The German version is Rosamunde, :
Rosamunde, schenk' mir dein Herz und dein "Ja!"
Rosamunde, frag' doch nicht erst die Mama.
Rosamunde, glaub' mir, auch ich bin dir treu,
Denn zur Stunde, Rosamunde,
Ist mein Herz grade noch frei.

The original is indeed Czech, called 'Škoda lásky' (Too bad about love),
written in 1934 by Jaromír Vejvoda. Recently it was voted the most
popular song of the Czech Republic.
>
> Thank you both,
> Jan