A Verbal Fig Leaf · Track 15 · middle
Maypole
Maypole (1620s) — The village erected one every spring and nobody said a word about it. VOLUME: II. THE COINERS, 1600–1699. THE DODGE THIS ERA: The dodge became SPORT. Urquhart translating Rabelais invented dozens in an afternoon; nobody was hiding anything, they were competing. The richest century on the list, and the most useless for actually concealing meaning. Sing the AVOIDANCE, never the anatomy.
No audio yet — generation pending.
Lyrics
[Intro] [Verse 1] Heave it from the wagon, keep it straight. Master Philip's watching from the wall. He’s got his iron ledger and his quill, waiting for the wicked word to fall. But we are only foresters today, hauling up the center of the joke. You feel the blunt noun heavy on the tongue, then pivot in the breath, and praise the oak. [Chorus] So hoist the Maypole, steady as she goes. Look how proud the local timber grows. We bought a shilling’s worth of braided Venice gold, to wrap around the middle and the base, And we have fifty ways to say it to his face. [Verse 2] Thomas calls it 'Captain-of-the-Yard'. William wagers 'Jack-upon-the-Green'. I offer 'The Ambassador of Spring', the stoutest bit of ash the town has seen. It is a sport of dodging in the sun, seeing who can dress the phrasing best. If we spoke plain, he’d have us in the stocks, but metaphor has put him to the test. [Chorus] So hoist the Maypole, steady as she goes. Look how proud the local timber grows. We bought a shilling’s worth of braided Venice gold, to wrap around the middle and the base, And we have fifty ways to say it to his face. [Bridge] He cannot ban the lumber or the leaf. He cannot fine a man for lifting pine. We weave a dozen titles for the thing, dancing right along the dotted line. There is a special glory in the swerve, when every man is in on the charade. [Outro] So tie the ribbons tight. Make sure it stands upright. Master Philip turns around to go. He heard exactly what we didn't show. Just a heavy piece of wood... left standing in the mud.