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Song Parodies -> "The Debt They Left Behind"
Original Song Title:
"The Girl I Left Behind Me"
Original Performer:
Traditional
Parody Song Title:
"The Debt They Left Behind"
Parody Written by:
Patrick McWilliams
The Lyrics
This one's for Rob. He challenged me to write a song about the Greek debt crisis. My brother had just told me a joke he saw somewhere on that very subject. I stretched it out a bit and set it to a popular Irish melody. Along with "Garryowen", "The Girl I Left Behind Me" is frequently associated with Custer's Seventh Cavalry and appears in many films about Custer.
A German tourist came one day
Into a Grecian village
Unlike the Wehrmacht long ago
He wasn't there to pillage
"A room with view, a night or two
While trav'ling on vacation
But I must be sure that your place meets
My strict specification"
A good-faith hundred euro note
He left upon the counter
Then turned around, said, "I'll be back".
As up the stairs he wandered
The innkeep grabbed the bill and ran
As quick as he was able
To pay for last week's groceries
The food upon his table
The grocer said, "This German guy
Is certainly some good news.
For now, at last, I can retrieve
My brand new pair of dress shoes".
The cobbler was a thirsty man
And rather fond of drinking
"My bar tab I will settle now".
He joyfully was thinking
A lady of the evening spoke
All heard her as she said it
"Hey, barkeep, pay up what you owe
I'm through extending credit".
She snatched that hundred euro note
With little time remaining
To pay the innkeep for the room
Where she did her "entertaining"
The German said "Thanks for your time
And the offer to inspect it
But the room just doesn't meet my needs
I'm afraid I must reject it
Then he folded up that hundred note
And jumped in his Mercedes
Took the road straight out of town
Driving fast as Hades
Now everyone was sad the room
Wasn't up to snuff, as vetted
But when the German left that day
There was no one left indebted
Into a Grecian village
Unlike the Wehrmacht long ago
He wasn't there to pillage
"A room with view, a night or two
While trav'ling on vacation
But I must be sure that your place meets
My strict specification"
A good-faith hundred euro note
He left upon the counter
Then turned around, said, "I'll be back".
As up the stairs he wandered
The innkeep grabbed the bill and ran
As quick as he was able
To pay for last week's groceries
The food upon his table
The grocer said, "This German guy
Is certainly some good news.
For now, at last, I can retrieve
My brand new pair of dress shoes".
The cobbler was a thirsty man
And rather fond of drinking
"My bar tab I will settle now".
He joyfully was thinking
A lady of the evening spoke
All heard her as she said it
"Hey, barkeep, pay up what you owe
I'm through extending credit".
She snatched that hundred euro note
With little time remaining
To pay the innkeep for the room
Where she did her "entertaining"
The German said "Thanks for your time
And the offer to inspect it
But the room just doesn't meet my needs
I'm afraid I must reject it
Then he folded up that hundred note
And jumped in his Mercedes
Took the road straight out of town
Driving fast as Hades
Now everyone was sad the room
Wasn't up to snuff, as vetted
But when the German left that day
There was no one left indebted
There are several instrumental versions of "The Girl I Left Behind Me" on youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpG05rLKS_I
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Voting Breakdown
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| 5 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
User Comments
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Das ist sehr gut-555€!!!
Yeah, I heard that one back during the financial crisis of 2008. As my brother pointed out in response to the setup, however, "What kind of hooker has ever been willing to extend credit?"
Reminds me of the song "Pass It Along" from Leonard Bernstein's "Candide". Very well-planned and -executed.
Very clever object lesson on the concepts of money and credit! Interestingly, the characters in your story could have accomplished the same result without the catalyst had they all known of each other's debts and agreed to repay them simultaneously.
Patrick, I did my Greek debt topic as this weeks Fragment. This marks my second time at 8 weeks in a row for Fragments!
The "Candide" song title is "What's the Use?" (if you just have to pass it along) about the circulation of roulette-parlor money.
The Greeks sure have gotten themselves in a fiscal mess. I'm unsure if it would be wise to throw good money after bad to prop up this failing nation. Am worried about America too. What would we do if we crashed too? Who will bail us out?
The Greeks invented democracy and accepted homosexuality. Looks like they just combined the two for a vote to get f*cked!!!
Das war sehr gut! Fünf-fünf-fünf!
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