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Song Parodies -> "A Simple Twist of Verse"
Original Song Title:
"Simple Twist of Fate"
Original Performer:
Bob Dylan
Parody Song Title:
"A Simple Twist of Verse"
Parody Written by:
Giorgio Coniglio's Grandson
The Lyrics
Although the original is a Bob Dylan song, the covers by Diana Krall and Sean Costello available on Youtube are recommended so you can appreciate the melody. At Wikipedia you can find a discussion and the appropriate examples for LIMERICKS dealing with the 'man from Nantucket'.
There was a family from Nantuck-
-et; Pa kept cash hid in a buck-
-et; 'Til one day his daughter took
it; Daughter name of Nan.
She ran off with a man.
Pa felt things might get worse,
And watched out for a simple twist of verse.
Pa followed couple to Pawtuck-
-et; - Little Nan, and cash-filled buck-
-et; Just before old Pa retook
it; He said to the man,
"You're welcome to keep Nan."
He uttered a terse curse,
And moved off with a simple twist of verse.
The couple trailed him to Manhass-
-et; (Pa held cash there as an ass-
-et); Pail in question? Now man has
it; They stole cash and ran -
Nan with her new man -
She stuffed it in her purse
And forgot about a simple twist of verse.
They had a neighbor from Nantuck-
-et; On the island he was stuck;
Bad reputation, couldn't chuck
it; Based on body build -
Girls found him too 'strong-willed',
Which fate could not reverse,
Brought on by a simple twist of verse.
A flea and fly within a flue -
Felt flustered, they were in a stew
Didn't know just what to do
And finally they saw -
The flue had a flagrant flaw
To flee or fly - no worse
Than to fuss with a simple twist of verse.
People say it makes them sick
To hear too many limericks.
I fear it has become my shtick
But now I've lost the knack
With no good jokes to crack -
A tendency perverse;
Blame it on a simple twist of verse.
-et; Pa kept cash hid in a buck-
-et; 'Til one day his daughter took
it; Daughter name of Nan.
She ran off with a man.
Pa felt things might get worse,
And watched out for a simple twist of verse.
Pa followed couple to Pawtuck-
-et; - Little Nan, and cash-filled buck-
-et; Just before old Pa retook
it; He said to the man,
"You're welcome to keep Nan."
He uttered a terse curse,
And moved off with a simple twist of verse.
The couple trailed him to Manhass-
-et; (Pa held cash there as an ass-
-et); Pail in question? Now man has
it; They stole cash and ran -
Nan with her new man -
She stuffed it in her purse
And forgot about a simple twist of verse.
They had a neighbor from Nantuck-
-et; On the island he was stuck;
Bad reputation, couldn't chuck
it; Based on body build -
Girls found him too 'strong-willed',
Which fate could not reverse,
Brought on by a simple twist of verse.
A flea and fly within a flue -
Felt flustered, they were in a stew
Didn't know just what to do
And finally they saw -
The flue had a flagrant flaw
To flee or fly - no worse
Than to fuss with a simple twist of verse.
People say it makes them sick
To hear too many limericks.
I fear it has become my shtick
But now I've lost the knack
With no good jokes to crack -
A tendency perverse;
Blame it on a simple twist of verse.
For other nonsense, check out Giorgio's Ukable Parodies .
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User Comments
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Here's another Dylanesque stanza for you, based on a limerick by the mathematician Leigh Mercer. Mercer, of course, is best known for his famous palindrome, "A man, a plan, a canal - Panama" ....... / A gross, a dozen and a score / Plus three times the square-root of four / Divide by seven no whit more / Then add eleven fives / And hope your brain survives; / That's nine squared, per Leigh Merc- / -er; Cited in this twisted limerick verse. /
Going round the corner of a line/lines like that has always been an emergency solution for me - interresting idea to do it so consistent.
And here's another Dylanesque distortion, based on the well-known limerick "Relativity". The original verse was published anonymously in 'Punch' in 1923, eventually attributed to Canadian professor A. Buller. ...... / A lady traveller, named Miss Bright / Exceeded 'c', the speed of light, / Returned fom trips the previous night / She'd started the next day / In a relative way (hardly seemed she'd been away) / That's Einstein's universe / Reflected in a twisted limerick verse.
And yet another, this one based on "Fragonard", a darker vision lurking among the many well-loved poems by humorist Ogden Nash.... / There was a miser name of Clare- / -ence, simonized both of his pare- / ents; found initial cost of care / Immense, but still declared, / He'd save on wear- and tear- / -ance. Humor which emerges / Darkly from O. Nash's limerick verse. /
/ " I love man" - sole exclama- / -tion; Of a young lady high in sta- / -tion; "Isle of Man" her explana- / -tion. "You flatter", men believed. / But, yes, they were deceived. / "No matter", if she flirts / As she relates in this Lewis Carroll verse. /
Another verse modified from Ogden Nash: .... / A brave girl of Connecticut / Flagged the train with her petticut / Some folks deplored her lack of / Eticutte, some more inclined / To laud her presence of mind - / Debate in which immersed / Her critics, in this twisted limerick verse. /
/ An old man from Nantucket / Daughter, bucket, cash. / Such are the issues of life. /
And another Based on Ogden Nash's original../ A young southern belle of Natchez / Whose garments always were in patches - / She divulged she itched but scratches / If the need arose; / Played havoc with her clothes / Which stitching could reverse / Apart from this simple twist of verse. /
This song noted to catch Claude Prez's attention.
I don't know the original, but I'll happily search for it (later, when I have more time) so I can appreciate it, but I have a request: Lately I've been getting annoyed at the widespread practice of regular site users posting under anonymous pseudonyms. It's always happened some (and always annoyed me) but now with so few regulars, it's really undermining the sense of community that used to be so strong here. I'm not asking you to reveal your usual name (I have my guesses), but I would really like for you -- and anyone else reading this -- to consider sticking with just one name when posting. It would really mean a lot to me, and I think that one thing, if most people followed it, would do a great deal to restore the sense of community here. Thanks.
Wow. This is incredibly clever. And I'd only heard the really dirty Nantucket limerick before, that's how uneducatified I am haha
Claude; I know that you have read some of the nasty comments that my submissions (generally 'feel good' parodies) have generated here. That explains why I have fragmented my pseudonymic soul into a family collection of living and former beings. I generally as the senior member of the family, albeit deceased, make comments when required, while parody productivity was left previously to 'Giorgio Coniglio' and more recently to our grandson. My human entity (HE) does appreciate your point. IMHO, the sense of community has been destroyed as well by the race for numbers of submissions rather than quality, and our split-personality approach flies in the face of that bizarre quest. You can find any of our 'group''s modest collection of works by entering 'Giorgio Coniglio' on the author search line.
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