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THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER
A Poem by Lewis Carroll
"The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright —
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done —
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun."
The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead —
There were no birds to fly.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
'If this were only cleared away,'
They said, 'it would be grand!'
'If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year,
Do you suppose,' the Walrus said,
'That they could get it clear?'
'I doubt it,' said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.
'O Oysters, come and walk with us!'
The Walrus did beseech.
'A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each.'
The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head —
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat —
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.
Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more —
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.
'The time has come,' the Walrus said,
'To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —
Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot —
And whether pigs have wings.'
'But wait a bit,' the Oysters cried,
'Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!'
'No hurry!' said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.
'A loaf of bread,' the Walrus said,
'Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed —
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.'
'But not on us!' the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
'After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!'
'The night is fine,' the Walrus said.
'Do you admire the view?'
'It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!'
The Carpenter said nothing but
'Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf —
I've had to ask you twice!'
'It seems a shame,' the Walrus said,
'To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!'
The Carpenter said nothing but
'The butter's spread too thick!'
'I weep for you,' the Walrus said:
'I deeply sympathize.'
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
'O Oysters,' said the Carpenter,
'You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none —
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.
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THE WALRUS AND THE BEATLES
While skiffling with his 'Quarrymen'
Boy Lennon said to Paul
"Hey, dude, why don't you sing with us?
We're sure to have a ball."
So Paul said 'Yes' and George was next
And Ringo last of all.
A group was formed, the scene was set
They went in search of fame
But soon the boys all realised
They'd have to change their name
So, inspired by Buddy's 'Crickets',
'The Beatles' they became
They learnt their trade in Hamburg's dives
And back in Liverpool
Where they played at The Cavern club
(The kids thought they were cool!)
Said Epstein, "Can I manage you?
"Together we shall rule!"
The rest, of course, is history
Their status quickly soared
They cut a record, 'Love Me Do'
And it reached No. Four
The fans adored these cheeky lads
And they demanded more!
And that's precisely what they got
As 'Please Please Me' hit Two
Then they had their first No. One
A song 'From Me To You'
And then a bigger No. One
The catchy 'She Loves You'.
Those Lennon and McCartney songs
Were truly so unique,
And the added three-part harmonies
Would make your knees go weak!
And when George started to write hits
The fab four hit fresh peaks.
The disc 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'
Would seal their fate the day
That it rushed in to top the charts
In the US of A!
So, sudden worldwide fame arrived
And it arrived to stay!
The Beatles soared from hit to hit
Their music scaled new heights
Of sheer, creative genius
The future was so bright.
When 'Sgt Pepper' was conceived
It reaffirmed their might.
But, ah, another person had
Intruded on the scene
Her name was Yoko Ono she
Was like a figurine
Sad Lennon he was dazzled but
The others weren't so keen...
These were the 'fab four's' golden days
When they were at their peak
But had that vast creative vat
Begun to spring a leak?
And over time, did Yoko break
The Beatles, so to speak?
And was this the defining time,
When history looks back,
The Beatles' base began to shift
It's walls began to crack?
Did they choose wrong directions?
Had they subtly changed tack?
"The time has come, fans," Lennon said
"For an unusual song
I wrote it on an acid trip
The lyrics sound all wrong
'I Am The Walrus' it is called
I hope you sing along!"
I do aver, we loved those words
Ah, I did anyway!
Ooh, the idiosyncrasy!
But, buddies, may I say?
I'd sensed a threat of an adieu,
Some sad and sorry day
In those last topsy turvy years
The boys' success plateaued
Their work it's said, was not their best
(Aside from 'Abbey Road')
The four discussed it and agreed
To end the episode.
Behind them lay achievements that
No one would ever beat
The twists of fate that teamed them up
History can't repeat
We will not see their likes again
Nor duplicate their feats
So, Macca carried on with 'Wings'
And then went off solo
While Lennon scored hits of his own
Or dabbled with Yoko
Harrison wrote new, classic tunes
That always ebbed and flowed.
But now, within our souls we hoped
That, at a future date,
The 'fab four' boys would reunite
So we could hear them play
We had such hopes, but, ah, as usu-
-al, life got in the way...
Or rather, 'death' got in the way
Mark Chapman saw to that.
Then cancer saw off Harrison
And so our dreams were dashed
But their sweet music stayed alive,
And rose out of the ash.
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