Play with Your Food
(published by Walton)
This set of three pieces is my most
performed work. It's not too surprising, since I found three great,
truly clever texts to set. May Swenson gives us a cornucopia of
delicious summer treats, with the compound words all split apart and
reconnected backwards; blueberries become “berries of blue”,
Brazil nuts become “nuts of Brazil” and so on. My favorites are
“rooms of mush” and “puppies of hush”! You might hear a bit
of the music from the overture to “Porgy and Bess” toward the
end, by the way. The text for “Mashed Potato Love Poem” is by Sidney Hoddes, a very cool guy who is now an elderly doctor still practicing in Liverpool--but wayback he was a
friend of the Beatles and caroused with them in Liverpool before they
became famous. The final movement, “Vending Machine”, about a
hungry young lad and his happy to play-along Dad, has some lively
musical hints of Bernsteins' overture to Candide popping up. Yes, I
do like to parody or borrow from other composers or write in their
general style now and then!
TEXT
If I ever had to choose between you
you and a third helping of mashed potatoes
you and a third helping of mashed potatoes
(whipped lightly with a fork
not whisked,
and a little pool of butter
melting in the middle...)
I think
I'd chose
the mashed potatoes
but I'd choose you next
and a little pool of butter
melting in the middle...)
I think
I'd chose
the mashed potatoes
but I'd choose you next
One of my favorite memories from when I led the choral program at the North Carolina Governor's School was surprising the cafeteria staff with a mini-concert each summer with this song featured. We would make the staff stop working and sing to them. You should have seen all the smiles!
Here's a nice performance of the piece (with a bonus track of Vending Machine and an interesting touch they added to that tune) by Oran, a wonderful Canadian youth choir which is part of the Kokopelli Choir organization.
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