It has been a long hot summer for those of us that haven’t fled to cooler climes, siestas have been getting longer, and we tend to do anything aerobic at the start of the day.
OK, it has been a good summer for sport, so for those of us that still have reliable access to UK Television, there has been a lot of distraction and reasons to recline indoors sipping on cool drinks.
Personally, I have spent far too much time in ‘Research’, planning trips, shopping for gadgets on the internet, and building up the aches and pains which used to come with a sedentary desk job.
While sorting through some old papers I came across an envelope containing a copy of the Sydney Herald Rugby World Cup supplement for 2003, in which they admitted that England actually were better than the Wallabies. Watch the last glorious 3 minutes of that match here.
We English are all living on past glories, but that is a side issue. Tucked in amongst the browning leaves of the newspaper I found a single sheet of typed A4 with the word ‘Destroy’ written in the top left hand corner.
This evoked weak memories of distant triumphs. I cannot identify when it was written, why it was written, and whether it ever surfaced in public.
Is it an aspiring Singer/songwriters attempt to capture the history of the 2003 Round the Corner in song? Is it a poem - or is it a historical document?
Of course I know the source, as does at least one other person, but it might pass a few moments in cogitation at the end of this long hot summer. What tune would fit this libretto? Why did it need to be destroyed? What might be the results if it was leaked on Twitter? Why is it ‘Round the Bend’ and not ‘Round the Corner’? Was that a purely artistic decision, or easier to fit to a tune?
Grateful for any conclusions, known facts or wild guesses, especially from those mentioned and given their 30 seconds of fame!
“I can write good songs. I can sing 'em, and I mean it, I mean it deeply, and I pour everything into that. Other than that, I suck.” Adam Duritz on Greatness
If it's a song, what's the tune?
ReplyDeleteThat is what I was asking too!
ReplyDeleteThe only mysteries to me are the vintage of this oeuvre and the writer. From the references in the last verse to me and Joy and Ginny I can only conclude that it predates the round the corner walks. One thing I am sure of is the music. It is almost certainly to the tune of "Lets all go down the Strand " which dates from 1910. Recent versions have a lyric change with "have a banana " inserted where" carapateira " appears in the lyric above. One pure guess as to the author is Gita married to Teal who used to walk with us.
DeleteNow, how is that for a sad display of old age?