Packbawky Serenade
This is a work in progress. The intended final result was to be a song, sung by a packbawky, accompanied by big band of packbawky squawkies. Picture the Glen Miller Orchestra where each of the instruments is replaced by a packbawky of suitable pitch, envelope and timbre. Dream up a crooningly smooth tenor soloist, then lock him in the dressing room and replace him with an articulate packbawky. Dim the house lights. Grab a handful of popcorn. The show opens with the (deliberately anachronistic) Packbawky Serenade*.
My mind still lingers on those bustling city days --
the fading sunshine filtered through the smoggy haze,
when doves were wooing, cooing soft songs of love
and feathers floated from their raunchy nests above...
We walked - as the sparrows squabbled for your cold McFries;
We talked - though the seagulls drowned the traffic with their cries;
We laughed - when the pigeon-strafing found your lemonade;
We found each other in the packbawky serenade.
I still recall the night we stayed out on the beach --
our thoughts of sleeping murdered by the night owl's screech,
then parrots snacking, cracking seeds from dawn 'til dark,
and as we kissed I'm sure that raven muttered "fark!".
We walked - on the sandy shore and stopped at times to snog;
We talked - as the magpies scared the crap out of your dog;
We laughed - at the penguins waddling in their dusk parade;
We found each other in the packbawky serenade.
[Instrumental solo]
We walked - 'til the city crows announced the break of dawn;
We talked - while the early birds found breakfast in the lawn;
We laughed - by the river where the ducklings splashed and played;
We'd found each other in the packbawky serenade.
* Lyrics only. Recording not included.
Comments
This is too lovely for me to profane with an anti-packbawky rejoinder--and believe you me, I tried. So I shall content myself with a nitpick: the fark-muttering raven is a bit of a clanger. It doesn't go with the slightly archaic tone set by the diction and the meter. I would suggest another rhyme, maybe:
...and as we kissed, I'm sure I heard the trilling of a lark,
or
...and as we kissed, a pecker punched the maidenhead of bark!
Okay, not that second one. That was a joke. Just not "fark". I do not like your fark.
Yeah, there are a few words that I should remove to give it more of a period feel.
"McFries" stands out. I toyed with "french fries" instead but it drags the pace and refuses to roll off the tongue.
"snog" dates back to somewhere in the mid-20th century. It doesn't feel natural for a big band era piece.
"scared the crap out" also sounds too recent.
For me, the raven's "fark" joke dates back to some time in the 60's or early 70's when Graham Kennedy got away with dropping the f-word on prime time Australian tv. I left it in there as a bit of a shout out to a great comedian, but it does stand out a bit.