Uke-Song: "NESSUN DORMA", operatic aria, as might be sung by James Taylor

PASTICHE with PARODY-LYRICS, inspired by the author attending a James Taylor concert at the North Charleston Coliseum, May 15, 2018.

ORIGINAL SONG#1(music): "Mexico", James Taylor 1975.

ORIGINAL SONG#2(lyrics): "Nessun Dorma", aria from the 3rd act of "Turandot" composed by Giacomo Puccini, first performed after his death in 1926. Translation of the libretto can be found on the Wikipedia link.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, September 2015, updated 2018. 

To return to the corresponding post on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" (and to see the lyrics without the chord-chart indications) click HERE. 

Singing along with the famous arias brings the crowd out to the opera. You don’t have to know much Italian to understand the libretto here however; ‘ciao’, pronounced like ‘chow’, means ‘so long’. As the mythical princess-character was reinvented by a French author, her name is usually pronounced French-style with the final ‘t’ silent.   

JAMES TAYLOR SINGS ‘NESSUN DORMA'

(to the tune of "Mexico")

SONGLINK:  Click here to view a parody based on Another James Taylor favorite

UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT (and guitar, too!)

(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

Specifics for C-tuned ukulele:

 Bb = 3321;  Eb = 0331;  Bb6 = 0221;
F* = 5558; C* = 9787; these *chords are used for colour in the brief moment where the theme from the aria asserts itself. (I wish I could sing like Pavarotti!)

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Related Palindromes

A reposition? No, it is opera.

Renoted ami made tenor.

Lost sopranos; sonar post, Sol.

Air an aria.

Semi-mimes. 

ORIGINAL SONG-LYRICS
(click on any verse-slide to enlarge)

WHAT NOW?

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Uke-Song: "THUNDER BAY (not CONSTANTINOPLE)", as might be sung by The Four Lads

 PARODY LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: "Istanbul (not Constantinople" a jazz-band style concoction recorded by The Four Lads in 1953. 

PARODY COMPOSED: Dr.G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, May 2023.

To see additional photos, and the song-lyrics alone (without chord indications) on the blog "Edifying Nonsense", click HERE.

EXPLANATION: In 1930, "Istanbul" was designated as the official name of the largest city in Türkiye (Turkey), known in earlier periods as Byzantion, Byzantium, Constantinople, and primarily as Istanbul since the fall of the Byzantine empire in 1453.

In 1949, Newfoundland joined Confederation as Canada's tenth and newest province; in 2001, the Canadian Constitution was amended to revise the province's name to "Newfoundland and Labrador" (the mainland area of Labrador included less than 5% of the province's population but the majority of its landmass). The island of Newfoundland (NEW-found-land) is known by its inhabitants as "the Rock". 

In 1953 (the 500th anniversary of the "fall of Constantinople"), the Four Lads, a Canadian singing quartet who had moved from Toronto to the United States, acquired their first gold record with the release of the jazz-band styled "Istanbul (not Constantinople)". Other hit recordings by this group include "Standing on the Corner" and "Moments to Remember". BTW, the original members of the Four Lads attended the St. Michael's Choir School in downtown Toronto, on a small street well known to the authors.  

In 1970, the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario (current population about 110,000), at the western end of Lake Superior was formed by the merger of the two smaller communities of Fort William and Port Arthur.  

THUNDER BAY (not CONSTANTINOPLE)

(to the tune of "Istanbul, not Constantinople")

Intro theme, mid-Eastern, on kazoo

"The [Am]Lakehead" was Fort William and Port Arthur
Now it's Thunder Bay, not Willi-am and Arthur
It's a [E7]wondrous town with name that's far superior --
Like [Am]Turkish delight, [Dm]on a [E7]stormy [Am]night.

Every [Am]dame today, 'round Lakehead way,
Stays in Thunder Bay, not with William or with Arthur
You've a [E7]rainy date in Fort William or Port Arthur?
She'll be [Am]waiting in [E7]Thunder [Am]Bay.

Even [Am]old Newfoundland hooked up with Labrador.

[Bm7+5]Ask a Newfie, he might say,

"They [E7]thought, on the Rock, we'd like that more, eh?"

"So, [Am]take me back: Fort William and Port Arthur."
No, you can't go back in time, it's so much farther;
Been a [E7]long while past, since Willi-am and Arthur.

Why the [Am]name-change? Here's the crux:
[E7]  It's no one's business but Ca-[Am]nucks.

Thunder Bay. 

(kazoo)

Thunder Bay.

WHAT NOW?

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Uke-Song: "CAROLINA WINTER MORNING" (a snowbird's lament)

PARODY-LYRICS

MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS: "Carolina in the Morning" written 1922, best-known version is by Al Jolson.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, January 2014, in response to an unusual weather phenomonon.
You can view these lyrics and commentary (without images or chords) by returning to our blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" by clicking HERE. 

Southern subdivision

Ravenel Bridge, SC,
from Mt Pleasant to Charleston
closed due to ice

Near Charleston harbor, Jan 2014

CAROLINA WINTER MORNING

(to the tune of "Carolina in the Morning")

Yankees call us whiners -  snow in coastal Carolina! ice-storm warning

Heat pumps, 'lectric stripping, so the breakers flip, they're tripping in the morning.

Where is global warming when we need it most? 

Weathering this month's storming, our palmetto trees are toast.

Bridges closed confine ya', snow in coastal Carolina; cancel meetings. 

Sleet looks so much neata' when you're cozied near the heata', if you've heating.

Towns don't have no snow ploughs, so just stay home, folks;

View through frosty windows icy Spanish-mossy oaks.

Blame the Great Designer, don't malign the coal strip-miners - no El Niño.

Random variation, polar air mass brings us Fahrenheit nineteen - oh!

If I had some winter treads and I wouldn't skid,

I'd skulk off further south, then boast what I did;

Something could refine the clime of coastal Carolina winter mo-o-orn-ings! 

Performing Notes

GM7 = 0222; G6 = 0202; G#dim7; E5+7 = 1203; Am7 = 0000; Am6 = 2423;

C#dim7 = 0101/3434; D7+5 = 3223; Dm7 = 2213 

[G] Yankees call us [GM7] whiners - snow in  [G6] coastal Caro[G#dim7]lina; ice-storm [Am7] war[D7]ning;

[Am] Heat pumps, 'lectric [E7+5] stripping, so the [Am7] breakers flip [Am6] they're tripping in the [C#dim7] mor[G]ning.

[C] Where is global [G] warming, [C] when we  need it [G] most?  [E7]

[A7] Weathering this month's [D] storming [B7] our pal[Em]metto [Am7] trees are [D7] toast. [D7+5]

[G] Bridges closed [GM7] confine ya' - snow in [G6] coastal Caro[G#dim7]lina; cancel [Am7] mee[D7]tings;

[Am] Sleet looks so much [E7+5] neata' when you're [Am7] cozied near the [Am6] heata', if you've [C#dim7] hea[G]ting.

[C] Towns don't have no [G] snowploughs, [C] so just stay home, [G] folks  [E7]

[A7] View through [D] frosty [B7] windows [Em] icy [Am7] Spanish-mossy [D7] oaks. [D7+5]

[G] Blame the Great De[GM7]signer, don't ma[G6]lign the coal strip[G#dim7]miners -no El [Am7] Ni[D7]ño ,

[Am] Random vari[E7+5]ation, polar[Am7] air mass brings us [Am6] Fahrenheit nine-[C#dim7]-teen, [G] oh!.

[G] If I had some winter treads and [Dm7] I wouldn't [G7] skid, 

I'd [C] skulk  off further south then [A7] boast what I [D7] did                    

[G] Something could re[Em]fine the clime of [G] coastal Caro[Em]lina winter [A7] mo[D7]-o-or[G]nings.

The polar vortex- satellite photo

E7!   A6.

Here is the original song,  lyrics and chords, with the help of Dr Uke and Jim Beloff. You could use my version, transposed to the key of A, to play along with the YouTube video of Al Jolson (capo to Bb). 

The Original: Carolina in the Morning



A                             AM7                A6              A#dim         Bm7   E7
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morn-ing,
Bm                         F+                            Bm7                     Bm6                      Cdim A
No one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her in the morning
D                                   A           D                              A  F#7
Where the morning glories twine around the door,
B7                              E       E7  F#m            Bm7           E7 E7+
Whispering pretty stories   I  long to hear once more.

A                             AM7                       A6                    A#dim           Bm7   E7
Strolling with my girlie where the dew is pearly early in the morn-ing,
Bm                    F+                     Bm7                  Bm6                 Cmin7 A
Butterflies all flutter up and kiss each little buttercup at dawn-ing,
A                                               Em7    A7       
If I had Aladdin's lamp for only a day - , 
D                                     B7                        E7
I'd make a wish and here's what I'd say:
A                               F#m               A               F#m              B7  E7 A 
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morn---ing.

WHAT NOW?

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The Climate-Cynic's Uke-Song: "GLOBAL ROASTING CAN BE SET ASIDE"

PARODY-LYRICS

MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS:  "The Christmas Song" written by Wells and Tormé, 1944; recorded by the Nat King Cole Trio in 1946.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, in response to an early fall snowstorm, November 2014. 

To return to the current post on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" (and to see the lyrics without the chord-chart indications) click HERE.

THE CLIMATE-CYNIC'S SONG
("Global Roasting Can Be Set Aside")

(to the tune of "The Christmas Song")  
 

Al Gore
former U.S. Vice-President

UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT 

A few less common chords are presented here, but they sound beautiful!

Bm7 = 2222;  C#m7 = 4444;  E7 = 1202;  Em7 = 1010;  C#7+5 =2112; F#m = 2120;  Dm6 = 2212;  D#m7 = 3324;  C#M7 = 1113;  CM7 = 0002;
A9= 0102;  DM7 = 2224;  D6 = 2222;  Dm7 = 2213;  CM7 = 0002;  C6 = 0000;  Fdim7 = 1212; G#7 = 1323;  Cdim7 = 2323;  AM7 = 1100;  F#7sus = 6677

 ORIGINAL SONG-LYRICS (double-click to enlarge any slide,

then follow the thumbnails at bottom of the field)

WHAT NOW?

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Uke-Song: "KOOKY PRESIDENTIAL VIEWS", an American carol

A Holiday Season Parodic Pastiche, with UKULELE CHORDS

MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS: "Good King Wenceslas", written by English hymnwriter John Mason Neale in 1853, but often now mistakenly referred to as 'traditional'. Neale's piece (based on accounts of the Bohemian Wenceslas legend and a 13th century 'spring-carol' tune), was highly criticized in the 1920s as "ponderous moral doggerel", but as you all know, has become a seasonal classic.
On You-Tube, you can readily find a spectrum of video recordings of the original lyrics, from the Choir of Westminster Abbey, to Bing Crosby and the Irish Rovers (highly recommended). 

PARODY COMPOSED:  Giorgio Coniglio, February 2019. 

To see the lyrics displayed more concisely without the chord-indications (and to return to the corresponding date's post on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense"), click HERE.  

 BTW, if you play guitar or some other stringed instrument, it should be easy to transpose these charts to the key of your choice (or send us a note in the Comments section). 

KOOKY PRESIDENTIAL VIEWS

(to the tune of "Good King Wenceslas")

UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT (and guitar, too!)

(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

ORIGINAL SONG-LYRICS 

Click on any chord chart to enlarge and enter thumbnail mode (the slides for both the parody and the original versions can then be enlarged and viewed in any order).  

 WHAT NOW?

Choice #1: To leave a comment, click on the comment-'widget' at the bottom of this page (or, if that fails, find an alternate e-mail on "pages").

Choice #2: To find another song-parody, use the listings on the web-version by reverse date in the clickable 'Blog-Archive' at the top of the right-hand column.

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