# Shel Silverstein rediscovered **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751 "2006-06-07T15:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/1 "2006-06-07T15:49:12Z")
We’ve been camping a few times this spring. Inevitably, sitting around the campfire, I’ll be compelled to break into a round of crooning to my girlfriend: > [@](#): > > Put another log on the fire. > Cook me up some bacon and some beans. > And go out to the car and change the tire. > Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans. > Come on, baby, you can fill my pipe > And then go fetch my slippers. > And boil me up another pot of tea. > Then put another log on the fire babe, > And come & tell me why you’re leaving me. I honestly can’t remember the first time I heard that song (specifically Tompall Glaser’s version for _The Outlaws_ album) as a child. It seems like I was born knowing it. But it wasn’t untill a few minutes ago that I realized the author of my all-time favorite children’s book, _The Giving Tree_, and written that song. Or that he’d also written _A Boy Named Sue_, or accomplished even a fraction of what Shel Silverstein shared with the world during his life. Or that he could pen such enjoyable romps as _The Perfect High_ and _I got stoned and I missed it_. Even if I had somehow heard his name associated with folk music, I’m sure I just assumed it wasn’t THE Shel Silverstein. Learn something new every day. [http://www.nassio.com/silverstein/bio.html](http://www.nassio.com/silverstein/bio.html) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/2 "2006-06-07T16:01:29Z")
I once read["Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out"](http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/courses/ci407su01/students/north/kristy/Project/K-Poem-Net.html) to a class of second-graders. It was a big hit with the kiddies–I will always remember one boy going “Wow” in a voice of _total awe_ at the description of the garbage pile. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/3 "2006-06-07T16:03:25Z")
I recently pulled out my copies of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic and put them out of my coffee table. Everyone who’s come over has said, “Oh, WOW! I haven’t read these in years!” and starts poring though them. My favorite book by him has got to be The Giving Tree. What a beautiful story. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/4 "2006-06-07T16:05:11Z")
I know there are lots of feeling both ways regarding The Giving Tree… I don’t particularly love it or hate it, but A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends are both wonderfull collections. Got them on the bookshelf right next to me, with scraps of paper sticking out between the pages of poems I particularly like. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/5 "2006-06-07T17:10:01Z")
Silverstein also wrote adult poetry that was published in Playboy, **Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book** , a parody of those kid activity books, and was a cartoonist for Playboy for many years. One of my favorites: a businessman is eating a hot dog he’s just bought from a street vendor, and looking at a sign atop the vendor’s cart. It reads: **Dine and Dance** explains the vendor: “Well, you can if you _want_ to.” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/6 "2006-06-07T17:16:02Z")
There was a thread about him not too long ago… Ah, here [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=370617&highlight=Silverstein](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=370617&highlight=Silverstein) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/7 "2006-06-07T17:23:14Z")
Much of his stuff was definitely not for kids: [http://www.banned-width.com/shel/works/stacy.html](http://www.banned-width.com/shel/works/stacy.html) or > [@](#): > > And some folks love ham hocks > And some folks love pork chops > And some folks love vegetable soup > And Roland the Roadie loves Gertrude the Groupie > But Gertrude the Groupie loves groups! ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/8 "2006-06-07T17:28:08Z")
I love Shel Silverstein. The best song he wrote for Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show couldn’t get on the radio. Too bad. _I’m gonna throw it out the window (someday) Give away my cocaine Bust my spikes and flush a million mikes of acid right down the drain And we’ll be makin’ it natural But don’t you ask me how It’s the cause of all my sorrow but I think I’ll start tomorrow 'Cos I sure could use a hit right now…_ ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/9 "2006-06-07T18:19:16Z")
Regarding the Giving Tree, here’s a [past thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=345252&highlight=giving+tree) with several comments about their hate for the book. I also think it is a horrible message for a children’s book. I do love Shel’s other work however. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/10 "2006-06-07T18:50:51Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Regarding the Giving Tree, here’s a [past thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=345252&highlight=giving+tree) with several comments about their hate for the book. I had no idea it was so universally reviled. It’s been a very long time since I read it. Maybe I should try to find a copy and reread it. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/11 "2006-06-07T20:08:59Z")
While in hindsight I can see the interpretation of the tree as a parental metaphor, being the good Northern California enviro-hippy child that I was, I’ve always interpreted the tree as a metaphor for Nature, and the boy as a metaphor for humankind. Either way, I consider it as a sad cautionary tale, and a very good one. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/12 "2006-06-07T20:13:49Z")
I like **honeydewgrrl** ’s interpretation. Shel was a genius. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/13 "2006-06-07T20:49:49Z")
:smack: I meant to rationalize the Nature metaphor… The boy’s parents would no longer be around when he became an old old man who just needed a place to sit, but Nature would be. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/14 "2006-06-07T20:54:20Z")
By the way, today my son was doing dishes and dropped a glass. Somehow, in cleaning it up, he managed to cut his hand, and since he was already upset about breaking the glass, he began to cry. I cheered him up by reciting from memory: If you have to dry the dishes Such an awful boring chore If you have to dry the dishes 'Stead of going to the store If you have to dry the dishes And you drop one on the floor Maybe they won’t let you Dry the dishes anymore. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/15 "2006-06-07T21:33:17Z")
_The Giving Tree_ is complex and ambivialant–like most literature. It’s the single best way I know to start showing children they should question everything they read, not just accept the narrative view. It hurts to read, but it’s suppossed to. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/16 "2006-06-07T22:01:52Z")
On a less controversial note, I thought Shel’s last children’s book, _Runny Babbit_ (a collection of short poems told in Spoonerism rhyme) was harmless fun, even if some of the anciliary characters can be jerkish at times. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/17 "2006-06-07T23:46:42Z")
I cry every damn time I read The Giving Tree, and I love it. What cracks me up is that Shel was the scariest looking motherfucker ever to grace the inside cover of a children’s book! Seriously! :eek: It was the scariest picture ever (the one that was used for The Giving Tree). Especially since it looked exactly like my best friend’s dad… ---
**Author:** ![ululate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/59ef9b/32.png) [@ululate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ululate)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/18 "2006-06-07T23:52:10Z")
“Cover Of The Rolling Stone” actually manages to take cynicism all the way back around to genuine enthusiasm. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shel-silverstein-rediscovered/359751/19 "2006-06-08T00:16:13Z")
I was reading my daughter’s “Knot Magazine” in the bathroom the other day (why we get them I don’t know, she was married 2 year’s ago :dubious: ) and found this quote about wedding vows: “Consider lightening the tone by sharing passages from books you loved as kids, such as the … or _The Giving Tree_.” :eek: I love me some Shel S., but I hated the Giving Tree, I always wanted to take an axe to the guy in the story. Oh, wait, maybe that was the point. :smack: