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Song Parodies -> "The Rhymin' Binomials"

Original Song Title:

"The Elements"

Original Performer:

Tom Lehrer

Parody Song Title:

"The Rhymin' Binomials"

Parody Written by:

Giorgio Coniglio's Grandson

The Lyrics

The music of language is an important element in the toolkit of parodists. In a recent posting, I used Tom Lehrer’s format to sing a nonsense-song about irreversible binomials, focusing on examples where the 2 elements show alliteration e.g. ‘prim and proper’. The current offering highlights pairs in which the 2 elements rhyme, e.g. ‘age and stage’. Specific cases may border on cliché, but delight us with their musical quality.
There’s age and stage, bug in a rug, out and about, and ants in pants
And agony and ecstasy, and amble ramble, ain’ts and shan’ts
There’s bows and arrows, brake and take, more bounce to ounce, and box and cox
Bird is the word, feathered not furred, and claws and paws, cock of the walk.

There’s chips and dip, and chalk and talk, and cruising for a brui-uising
Candy is dandy, liquor’s quicker – it’s your pick and choo-oosing.
And crime and grime, and croon a tune, crumpled and rumpled, (blushing groom)
Cat in the Hat, Dancer and Prancer, dream and scheme, and doom and gloom.

Dennis the Menace, dives and drive-ins, fuss and muss, and eyes on prize
Delicious and nutritious, flotsam jetsam, also Five Alive.
There’s gym and swim, and gap and lap, and grip or slip, Amazing Grace
And shades of Hades! huff and puff, hurry and scurry, haste makes waste.

The hostest with the mostest, hire and fire, and high and dry, haircare
And proud and haughty, health- and wealthy, height and weight, and here and there.
By hook or crook, and grope and hope, and hulk and skulk, and hitch and snatch
Hasten and chasten, hustle bustle, hither thither, itch and scratch.

There’s kneel and squeal, and kitty litter, loose as goose, and keen and mean
Loonie and twonie, life of strife, and lock and stock, and (c)lean machine.
The latest and the greatest, loot and booty, Mod Squad, lie and pry
Lotions and potions, ma-and-pa, musty and dusty, my and thy.

Burns’ ‘Louse’ and ‘Mouse’, and Looney-Tunes, and old cartoons with Mick and Minn
Or Huey Dewey Louie, while the cat is OUT and mice are IN.

There’s make or break, and move and groove, contrary Mary, mash- and mish-
And meet and greet, and meter-feed, and moans and groans, and meat or fish.
It’s my way or the highway, metes and limits, also leer and peer
Obama and Osama, and the news and views, both near and dear.

An ocean of devotion, moon in June - it’s grouped with odds and sods
An Okie from Muskogee, onward upward, also probe and prod
And pedal to the metal, a man with a plan, no pain - no gain
And slump or hump, and scrimp or primp, there’s pump and dump, and planes and trains.

There’s red or dead, and rough and tough, and rude and crude, and rain in Spain
And Seven and Eleven, stash and dash, and stain you can’t explain
And slice and dice, and shake and bake, and surf and turf, and scowl and frown
And shop ‘til drop, and slim and trim, saggy and baggy, town and gown.

There’s twirl and swirl, and thrills and chills, and sine and cosine, twine and line
And use or lose it, wary chary, weed and feed, and wine and dine.
Whale of a tale, wham bam and thank you, upside downside, wheel and deal
And wear and tear, and yeas and nays, and zoot suit, and religious zeal.

There’s likely umpteen others, but so far I can’t imagine them
They’d spread across the alphabet from a-ardvark to zymogen.
Sneak a peek at Giorgio's Ukable Parodies.

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Original Song: 
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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 2.4
How Funny: 2.4
Overall Rating: 2.4

Total Votes: 13

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
 1   7
 7
 7
 
 2   1
 1
 1
 
 3   1
 1
 1
 
 4   1
 1
 1
 
 5   3
 3
 3
 

User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

Al Silver - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
Your oblique reference to Pearl Mesta made me hot to trot. I thought this exercise would go all harum scarum, producing mumbo jumbo. Instead, another 5-star production.
Holy Harry - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
Jeepers creepers, you give me and other holy rollers the heebie jeebies.
Ag+ - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
As usual, not for the hoi polloi.
Al Silver - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
Perhaps some of the previous wiseguys' rhymin' binomials are too cheap and easy, because they were contrived to fill the bill. Willy nilly is an example that comes to mind.
Ag+ - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
I remain true blue, but I'm ready for Coniglio's progeny to return to the old man's jaunty narratives like the War of 1812 and Funiculee Funicular.
Giorgio Coniglio's Grandson - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
@Ag+ and friends: Thanks for sneaking a peek. Although quite musical, your suggestions, "hot to trot" (adj. + v.) and "fill the bill" ((v.+n.) are not true binomials from a grammatical standpoint. I confess to using such scurrillous items as "haircare" to fill in some corners, and the O. Nash aphorism out of whimsy. Other musical phrases like hoi-polloi and jeepers-creepers might be classed as rhyming reduplications; guess what? I have a WIP-song about them. After that, I might return to the Inferno.
Ag+ - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
With luck and pluck, I got it.
GC'sG - July 23, 2015 - Report this comment
@Ag+; "Luck and pluck" is good; I have added it to my blog-version without further adieu. It has that slightly archaic quality that makes so many of these binomials appealing. Thanks for your true-blueness.

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