h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>> Believe me, I've spared you pain by not quoting the entire thing from memory. <<


I understand there are over 500 known verses to "The North Atlantic Squadron".
Curious that only cl zoomer, a fellow Canadian, mentioned it. Makes me wonder if it is exclusively Canuck in origin. Surely not. Or maybe it's just the fact that we both live in port cities where sailor songs abound.


~jwf~

Back to the Quartermaster's Stores, we used to also sing

There were chips, chips
as big as battle ships...

the next verse used to be the one about the gravy.

As for Ilkley Moor... don't be disrespectful of the Yorkshire National Anthem

from my primary school i seem to vaugely rember one about stale bread.

jwf -

I only know about 10 verses, each more bawdy than the last. *The Captain's mate was Kipper, a right dirty little nipper.* Etc., etc.

There was another chorus I heard once that went *Fr!gg!ng in the rigging, flogging on the docking, ing on the planking, there was all else to do!* Did that one make the rounds on the right coast as well?

What is referred to as North Atlantic Squadran we sang as 'Twas on the good ship Venus'

The Quartermaster's Stores was sung on the coach on school trips - as was 'You'll never get to heaven' with peoples names inserted 'Oh you'll never get to heaven in Jeff Courtois' car, etc'

Later on came 'rugby songs' of which I'm afraid I know hundreds.

My mum brought us up on silly songs (sanitised of course ) such as this from her army nursing days. I remember a verse from The QuarterMaster's Store that went "There were eggs, eggs, walking round on legs " and so on.
Then there was the one in Dutch to the tune of John Brown's body that she was told was innocent and was sung to 3 generations of her relatives before a shocked but trustworthy Dutch friend made her promise never to sing it again...

Anyone else thinking this song sounds like they would like to hear it in it's translated form?

ABSOLUTLEY!


that or give it here in dutch and we can translate it ourselves.


(not that i know dutch, but i have google.)

Twas on the good ship venus
by christ you shoulda seen us
etc etc.
Chorus

Yeah I know that one

I even have the Anthrax EP which they released with their version of it titled Friggin' in the Rigging.

I think perhaps the Sex Pistols or someone may have covered it as well?

I remember "cheese with hairy knees" and "butter in the gutter". Actually it was "bu-er in the gu-er" with a good old glottal stop in the middle!

And as for getting to heaven...

wasn't it 'grieve' my Lord?

We had clean but silly verses such as 'on roller skates... won't go through those Gates' (Pearly, not Gareth)
'in an old Ford car... won't get that far'
sadly the rest seem to have escaped me... but we all used to make up our own verses to these types of songs...


That reminds me of another story. My dad was brought up in Kenya, consequently could speak a sort of 'kitchen Swahili'. So one day on a car journey he amused us by singing 'one man went to mow, went to mow a meadow' in this dialect/patois/whatever.

Only little me thought he was making up words on the spot, so proceeded to imitate him - causing far more amusement to my mum + sisters, and embarrassment to self for years of family gatherings afterwards...

I think the words were something like:

"Mutu moja na kwenda, na kwenda lima shamba,
Mutu moja na umbwa yake
Na kwenda lima shamba.

Mutu mbili na kwenda, na kwenda lima shamba,
Mutu mbili, mutu moja na umbwa yake
Na kwenda lima shamba" and so on.

The numbers after mbili (2) I always get wrong, somthing like tatu, eenay and tanu (either 3,4,5 or 5,4,3!) I don't recall the rest but we only knew up to 10 or so.

According to dad, it actually talks about a man digging his garden so it's a dynamic translation!

rt

I know 'Nobby Hall' too: "...and they put him in a bunk, in a bunk..."

Also: "There were chips, chips, as big as battleships in the stores..."

And even: "You'll never get to Heaven in Akele's car, 'cos Akele's car won't go that far..."

I haven't heard any of these for ten years or more. Ahh, nostalgia just isn't what it was.



F

We had something like 'on a platex bra, cause a platex bra won't stretch that far'

*fondly remembers the brownies*

*fondly remembers the Guides*


or at least two or three of them.

F

Uhmm.. "Fondles Guides"!


~jwf~

The only Guide you'll fondle young man is "The Hitchiker's Guide to The Galaxy." - Rule 42.

Oh, you'll never get to heaven
On a boy scouts knee
'Cos a boy scouts knee
Is to knob-el-ee

Oh you'll never get to heaven
On a jumbo jet
'Cos the Lord ain't built
No runways yet

shazz