“The Horn of the Hiram Q”
Description
Singer describes a whaling trip -- he was the best man aboard, and the "worst of them was you." Cho: "With a yo ho and there she blows; Steer for her tail and you'll fetch her nose, with a la-de-da, and a how d'ye do, and hark for the horn of the Hiram Q"
Long description
Mostly nonsense, written in dialect. Singer talks of a whaling voyage -- he was the best man aboard, and the "worst of them was you." Cho: "With a yo ho and there she blows; Steer for her tail and you'll fetch her nose, with a la-de-da, and a how d'ye do, and hark for the horn of the Hiram Q"
Notes
I'm just guessing that this is a piece of composed poetry because it is in the section of Harlow's book where he's including things like excerpts from the Wizard of Oz (see "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay"). The author is given as L.E. Richards and I couldn't make any further determination who that might be. However, it does *not* appear to be Laura E. Howe Richards (daughter of Julia Ward Howe). She wrote a good bit of poetry, but this piece doesn't seem to be one of hers. -SL
References
- Harlow, pp. 227-228, "The Horn of the Hiram Q" (1 text)
- Roud #9155
- BI, Harl227