Saturday, September 25, 2010

Song Lyrics

After a long hiatus... I mean, okay, after missing a week... I'm finally back. (I know you're shivering with anticipation.) Okay. Let's go! This week's little ditty shouldn't be too familiar:
It was originally titled Cigareets, Whuskey and Wild Wild Women, and it was recorded by Red Ingles and the Natural Seven. It's meant to be tongue in cheek. For a performance of it that makes me smile: Peter Sellers sings.
Chorus: Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane;
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane;

Once I was happy and had a good wife
I had enough money to last me for life
Then I met with a gal and we went on a spree
She taught me smokin' and drinkin' whiskee

(CHORUS)

Cigarettes are a blight on the whole human race
A man is a monkey with one in his face;
Take warning dear friend, take warning dear brother
A fire's on one end, a fools on the t'other.

(CHORUS)

And now good people, I'm broken with age
The lines on my face make a well written page
I'm weavin' this story -- how sadly but true
On women and whiskey and what they can do

(CHORUS)

Write on the cross at the head of my grave
For women and whiskey here lies a poor slave.
Take warnin' poor stranger, take warnin' dear friend
In wide clear letters this tale of my end.

(CHORUS)

  1. Argument - Men should stay away from cigarettes, whiskey, and wild wild women.
  2. Audience - People who listen to country, or people who think it's funny.
  3. Goal - To get people to laugh.
  4. How - Ethos: the persona singing the song, even in the original version, is a tongue-in-cheek band led by an over-exaggerated, evangelistic Southern preacher. The back-ups were choir boys in the original Red Ingles version. The church carries(d) a lot of weight. However, the ethos is also used in a humorous way, in that all of them are so overconfident in their own authority. Probably the best example of ethos is when he's talking about how cigarrettes are "a blot on the whole human race"--he simply asserts this without any evidence, relying solely on ethos. Pathos - Mostly humor. By having the preacher give such an overly sad account of his own life, in such an opposite marching-band-accompanied setting, the tale becomes very funny. He also manages to use the zeal and over-preachiness of the minister to good effect. Logos - The events in the preacher's alleged past do seem to lead to sad consequences. And the consequences of alcoholism and smoking aren't good.
  5. Effective? - I thought it was very effective. I was very entertained and laughed out loud. They accomplished their goal.
WORD COUNT (minus lyrics): 294

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