GRGR(4) Re: musical prosody

Doug Millison millison at online-journalist.com
Sat Jun 26 19:07:12 CDT 1999


Wiesenburger explicates the "Red Devil lye" reference on p. 67, but does
not mention that the couplet parodies the American folk song, "Sweet Betsy
from Pike":

Now don't you remember Red Malcom up there,
That kid with the Red Devil lye in his hair. . .

(from my earlier post, sorry for the repetition for those of you who
haven't consigned me to the killfile:
Linking the shitstorm to "the rhythm of some traditional American tune" (p.
67) and then having that tune turn out to be one that was sung by American
pioneers as they crossed the continent, fulfilling Manifest Destiny no
matter the human cost, is rich, too:

Oh do you remember Sweet Betsy from Pike
She crossed the wide prairie with her lover, Ike
With two yoke of oxen and one spotted hog,
A tall Shanghai rooster and an old yeller dog.


d o u g  m i l l i s o n  http://www.online-journalist.com



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