Did anyone else memorize Lewis Carroll's The Jabberwocky when they were younger? Or was I the only nutcase with too much time on my hands?

Never had to memorize that one, Dragonkin. I do remember having to read it, though - but I never really appreciated it until I was mostly an adult.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank this thread for reminding me of childhood verse . Good grief...all day yesterday I had The Owl and The Pussycat torpedoing through my brains after browsing through this. The scary thing is that I still remember it, word for word, after all this time....

<The scary thing is that I still remember it, word for word, after all this time.... >
Not scary Gats, but great.
I am really proud that my English teachers made me learn a poem every fortnight for years...it has been useful and I love saying them over to myself. We even had to learn American poems! (Barbara Frietchie, Paul Revere's Ride, Hiawatha to name but a few) Don't get me started...lol.

The Boy Stood On The Burning Deck? Please tell me you know that one.

My father told me about a poem that my grandmother used to recite to the classes she taught, but neither of them remeber the whole thing! Can anyone help me? This is what I remember of it:

A barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass.

"I see!" Said the blind man,
As he picked up his hammer and saw.

Then comes a section of verses that seem to be related to each other:

The man behind the bar was a woman,
Old and grey.
And the Sexton rang the dishrag,
As the choir rendered lard.

"Holy Smokes!" The preacher said,
In the rain he lost his hair.
Now his head, it is like heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Can any of you guys out there help me?

THE DYING FISHERMAN'S SONG [?...is this:]

It was midnight on the ocean,
Not a streetcar was in sight;
While the sun was shining brightly,
For it had rained all the night.
'Twas a summer's day in Winter,
And the rain was snowing fast,
As the barefoot girl with shoes on
Stood there sitting in the grass.

Glory, glory, what a story!
Glory, glory, tell me more-ee!
Glory, glory, she'll be sorry!
As the barefoot girl with shoes on
Stood there sitting in the grass.

It was evening and the sunrise
Was just setting in the west;
And the fishes in the treetops
Were all cuddled in their nests.
As the wind was blowing bubbles,
Lightning shot from left to right;
Everything that you could see
Had been hidden out of sight.

Glory, glory, I can't find it!
Glory, glory, who's behind it?
Glory, glory, where'd they hide it?
Everything that you could see
Had been hidden out of sight!

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir;
When the sexton rang the dishrag,
Someone set the church on fire.
"Holy Smokes!" the preacher shouted,
As he madly tore his hair,
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Glory, glory, what a shiny dome!
Glory, glory, get that man a comb!
Glory, glory, that's the end of my poem!
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Might be. I'll have to print it out and show it to gram.

"While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir;
When the sexton rang the dishrag,
Someone set the church on fire.
"Holy Smokes!" the preacher shouted,
As he madly tore his hair,
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there."


My father-in-law used to sing just the above-quoted verse (but not the rest of it). Only he said rung (wrung) which makes more sense than rang.

Hi. I was intrigued by your lyrics. On a Google Group Discussion ref - bit.listserv.mla-l I found this which may be of interest?

“The words appear on p. 190 of that marvellous compendium, A Prarie
Home Companion Folk Song Book “