Bawdy Song: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

''When my Lulu's dead and gone?''|Ribald song from '''[[Robert A. Heinlein]]''''s ''To Sail Beyond the Sunset''}}

 

* Surprisingly (or not so much, if you're one of those surprised that this is supposed to be a children's film), ''[[Coraline (animation)|Coraline]]'' has one in the form of Other Spink and Other Forcible's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGuJXsBqLRA&feature=PlayList&p=DCD67CE98D531DCE&index=6 stage play], in which they argue over whether the ass or the boobs is a more important seduction figure.

{{quote|

To present an alluring display.

}}

* The [[Jukebox Musical]] ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' included a version of the folk song "Christmas Day In The Cookhouse" where the dirty rhyming words are [[Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion|blatantly dodged]].

* In the 2010 ''[[Robin Hood (2010 film)|Robin Hood]]'' movie, there was a scene in which a lute-playing member of the Merry Men started to sing this song:

 

== [[Literature]] ==

** A version of "A Wizard's Staff" appears on the ''From The Discworld'' CD (words by Heather Wood, music by Dave Greenslade).

** Pratchett deconstructs this kind of song in ''[[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'', including a scene where the squad of [[Sweet Polly Oliver|female soldiers]] criticize the numerous [[Double Entendre]]-laden songs treating as humorous [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|a man]] [[My Girl Is Not a Slut|seducing a woman and then abandoning her when she's pregnant]].

** Then there's this from ''[[Discworld/Eric|Eric]]'': "- vestal virgins, Came down from [[Overly Long Name|Heliodeliphilodelphiboschromenos]], And when the ball was over, There were -" which alludes to "The Ball of Kerrymuir". Google at your leisure, [[Not Safe for Work|preferably at home.]] The verse in question, the only clean one in the entire (extremely long) song:

{{quote|

There were four and twenty less.

}}

* There's a passing mention in ''[[The Once and Future King]]'' of an old song about an Old King seeing with each verse more and more of a fair maiden. We only hear the (heavily-accented) first verse:

{{quote|

Ee could'ernt elp it, / ee Ad to.

}}

* In [[Neil Gaiman]]'s novella ''The Monarch of the Glen'' (printed in his ''Fragile Things'' anthology) the Norse god Odin is singing one of these (drunkenly, if that needs to be said) when Shadow meets with him. To the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean":

{{quote|

My God how the money rolls in!

}}

* The [[Dune]] series has the slightly bawdy song that is not explicitly given a title in the series, focusing mainly on prostitution:

{{quote|

Try a Caladanin daughter!

}}

* [[The Wheel of Time]] ("The Dragon Reborn", to be precise) has a song about an easy girl from Lugard sung in a rowdy Illianer tavern. The beginning is given and sounds rather innocent:

{{quote|

she snagged a boy or three, or three.

}}

** She wrote more of these just for fun. Such as ''[http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13887&whichpage=14#351427 The Elf Lover]'' ("The Wild Rover" tune).

* In [[Diane Duane]]'s ''[[Star Trek]]'' novel ''The Wounded Sky'', "a bawdy ballad about the (improbable) offspring of the marriage between an Altasa and a Vulcan" is mentioned.

''[http://www.thebards.net/music/lyrics/The_Orange_And_Green.shtml My mother, she was orange and my father, he was green...]'' }}

** In that same book, we learn that "the filthiest spacers' song" that Captain Kirk knows is called "The Weird-Looking Thing With [[Extra Eyes|All The Eyes]] And The Asteroid-Miner's Daughter".

* In an episode of ''[[Hi-de-Hi!]]'', there is panic at the news that Old Partridge, the Punch-and-Judy man who hates children, is singing ''Eskimo Nell'' in front of the dear ickle kiddiwinks.

* In an episode of ''[[Dad's Army]]'', there is reference to Godfrey singing a song about a monk while in the pub.

'''Private Frazer''': (rolls eyes meaningfully) It wuznai' rrreligious! }}

* [[Monty Python]] had a few of these, such as "Sit On My Face" (to the tune of "Sing As We Go") and "The Lumberjack Song".

*** And, of course, "Isn't the goblin (gobbling) sweet?" - "YES!!!"

** Plus one that definitely is:

'''Edmund''': It's a lovely old hymn, isn't it. }}

*** [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|Interestingly safe]], as, unless you'd actually heard the song you [[Unusual Euphemism|wouldn't know for sure what a ''dickie di-do'' was]]. It's exactly as bad as you might suspect - the following is a relatively ''tame'' verse;

{{quote|

for the hairs on her dickie-di-do hung down to her knees.

}}

* Period drama ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' has one of these, and it's a [[Theme Tune Cameo]], at that! In her music hall act, Sarah performs the stately march of the opening theme as a rollicking [[Bawdy Song]], "What Are We Going to Do with Uncle Arthur?"

{{quote|

And say it was just an 'armless bit of fun.

}}

* Parodied on ''[[The Gillies Report]]'' with a 'politically correct' version of ''The Good Ship Venus''. The first verse went:

{{quote|

[[Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion|And wasn't shaped like anything in particular!]]

}}

* A few lines of different bawdy songs will appear on [[MASH|M* A* S* H]] every once in a while, most notably one Colonel Potter (a WWII vet) sings:

And swim between their legs }}

* Fran asks Bernard to sing one of these in [[Black Books]] because he is Irish. He refuses, so she attempts one herself, in a very bad Irish accent.

{{quote|

THE ENGLISH ARE ALL... BOLLOCKS.

}}

* The [[Mystery Science Theater 3000|Sir Thomas Neville Servo Consort of the Middle Ages Just After the Plague Singers]] followed up their "Aire On a Delta Knight" with one.

* ''[[Frasier]]'' and Niles:

{{quote|

And we get all the...umpta, umpta, umpta...

}}

* In ''[[Bottom]]'', Richie sings this version of [[wikipedia:The Sailorchr(27)s Hornpipe|The Sailor's Hornpipe]]:

{{quote|

Oh you'll never be a sailor if your balls hang low!

}}

** "[[Double Entendre|Big Balls]]".

{{quote|

Should be held every night.

}}

* ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' used to occasionally publish filk. And limericks:

{{quote|

Now he's wedded a [[Hot Skitty-On-Wailord Action|lurker above]]. <br />

<br />

== [[Theater]] ==

* Richard Brinsley Sheridan's classic play, ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' (1777) features one of these. It sounds mild today, naturally, due to [[Get Thee to a Nunnery|changing language]] and values.

'''Chorus:''' Let the toast pass, Drink to the lass, I warrant she'll prove an excuse for a glass! }}

** Sheridan also wrote a poem titled the [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=180820 Geranium] which is kind of similar to the Pratchett rhubarb example. In both cases, the plant the woman is interested in is likely something else.

* The [[Sound Off]] "quote" upon building a Network Node in ''[[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri]]'' is one of these [[Double Entendre|when you]] [[Unusual Euphemism|think about it]]:

{{quote|

Dig that crazy Gaian witch!

|Spartan Barracks March (Yes sir!)}}

* ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]'' features [http://yafgc.net/?id=546 one] [[Famed in Story]], or in-famed, as the case may be:

{{quote|

(the whole room bursts in laughter)

}}

* In ''[[Life with Lamarr]]'', the Cactus [http://jill-sandwich.com/lwl/index.php?episode=139 sings one].

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** While a rarely-sobered up Barney Gumble manages to cartwheel all the way up through the first verses of the "Major-General's Song" from [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s Savoy Operetta ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]''.

** The same limerick is referred to in another episode:

"Let's just say the stories about him are greatly exaggerated." }}

* In a similar vein, there was a Mouseketeers take-off on ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' where a wheel would be spun to see who would get the next cartoon.

'''Babs''': No, no! The ''other'' song! }}

* [[Dirty Old Man]] Iroh of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' sings a [[Gosh Dang It to Heck|kids' version]] of this trope while panhandling.

 

{{reflist}}