AFAIK, British comedy team Flanders & Swann never made the hit parade, but in the early 1960s they released two albums of their live shows, “At the Drop of a Hat” and “At the Drop of Another Hat.” (The live performances were recorded by George Martin, who would go on to produce some albums by an English pop band that achieved a modicum of fame.)
Their songs are all extremely witty and sophisticated, both lyrically and musically, and the subject matters of most are entirely innocent and anodyne. Except, as I noted in this post last year, for the two I referenced there, both of which deal with, in essence, date rape. In that post I wrote that we shouldn’t be sidetracked by that issue. I guess this is finally the place to discuss it.
Madeira M’dear (lyrics) is about a “base” old man who seduces a “pure” 17-year-old girl with the help of the title beverage. Stated like that, it sounds like a horrible song. But in fact, it is one of the cleverest and most erudite tunes you are likely to hear, and its use of zeugma is so extraordinary that it is frequently cited as a crowning example of the technique.
The song is one of F&S’s most popular; it was covered by the folk group The Limeliters in the '60s, and by many others, even up to quite recent times.
The other is “Tonga Maiden,” which is much shorter.
Oh, it’s hard to say "Oly-ma-kitty-luca-chi-chi-chi, "
But in Tonga, that means… “No”!If I ever have the money, 'tis to Tonga I shall go.
For each lovely Tongan maiden there, will gladly make a date.And by the time she’s said, “Oly-ma-kitty-luca-chi-chi-chi,”
It is usually too late!
Today few would consider writing anything that treated date rape so lightly, and anyone who tried would certainly be widely condemned. It is, of course a very good thing that most people are more sensitive to the serious consequences of sexual assault.
Flanders and Swann were both Oxford graduates with many notable achievements beyond the light comedy that brought them their greatest fame. If either were alive today, I’m sure they would be deeply embarrassed by how these songs might be perceived by many today.
But the fact that society’s attitudes have progressed shouldn’t make us lose sight of the talent of the artists or the excellence of their art.