Johnny foreigner would have hated it, almost as much as I cannot abide that ghastly contest. Once the fog in the channel was so thick that the continent was almost completely cut off.
I haven't heard this for about 40 years, and it's the first time i SEE them. That's lovely. I used to listen to the BFN in Germany as a schoolgirl and simply loved this song. I'm missing my favorite verse here: And all the world over each nation's the same, and they've simply no notion of playing the game. They argue with umpires, they cheer when they've won, and they practice beforehand, which ruins the fun...
Also notice how Flanders has to take huge breaths holding the sides of his chair. As a Doctor I will propose he is quite a high level paraplegic and lacks some of the full breathing mechanism. Makes it all the more impressive his abilities to sing !!
I grew up listening to them, my dad used to play them in the car and I would demand that the show 'At The Drop Of A Hat' be played on repeat for long drives. This is the first time I've ever actually seen a video of them and it's quite emotional for me really. They had such an impact on me and my developing sense of humour that I wouldn't know how to thank them enough if I somehow ever had the chance to meet them in person. Brilliant men.
Thanks for posting, great to see them again. People still miss the point of their gentle pointed satire. Regarded as 'quintessentially English', Donald Ibrahim Swann was born in Wales of Russian and Azerbaijani parentage.
Was introduced to these guys on vinyl by an eccentric private school master in 1971. In love with them ever since. Genius like this is not repeated easily
"The Germans are German". An excellent sentiment, often missed as it goes by so fast! And it's so true. (I partially grew up in Germany, and am very fond of it and its people. But they _are_ very German - both irritatingly and endearingly/wonderfully so.)
I love that quote from Willie Rushton, "Where would we be without our sense of humour?" Answer, "Germany!". Someone on here said the English are good at laughing at themselves. True, but not in the same league as the Jews...witness Jackie Mason...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0hz8oCT2HTc.html
These guys are great! I remember sitting with my parents, loving the jokes that I got and watching my parents roar with laughter at the ones I was too young to understand :D.
As a fan of these fellows, I cannot express the joy of seeing footage of them for the first time. I have heard various versions of their songs, but it is almost as much fun to see the interplay. Thank you very, very much!
Reminds me of a plaque in the wireless office on a RN warship, 1983: There are four kinds of people in the UK. Firstly, the Scots who keep the Sabbath - and everythin' else they can lay their bluidy hands on; Then there are the Welsh - who pray on their knees and prey on their neighbours; Thirdly the Irish who don't know what the dickens they're fighting for, but they're willing to die for it, and fourthly and finally the English who consider themselves a race of self-made men, thereby ridding the Almighty of a dreadful responsibility."
marvellous - "it's knowing you are foreign that's driving you mad" Of course even better when you look at Swann's ancestry - Russian Father / Azerbaijani mother and born in Wales
I thoroughly enjoyed the several videos of F & S on my computer. They have a great sense of humor. They are among my favorite comedians. Too bad so little of their work is on DVDs.
We tried to release all the available footage through EMI about 8 years ago, but the original film contracts about who owns which bits are a mess and would be very costly to sort out. The trouble is that the lawyers and agents of 60 years ago had no notion of home distribution.
Thanks for uploading this, I stumbled on to it! My Dad played their tapes over and over when I was a kid, I never thought I'd actually be able to SEE them. :)
@ Elayne Kingston...you are SO right...a simpler and gentler time in a way...as a Scot I find this HILARIOUS...we used to listen to it and 'sing' it ( a tolerance of crows would have done a better job..,..lol ) back in our Uni days....
This is actually the first time I've seen a video of the two of them. Also interesting hearing a more updated version, about Americans. I kinda miss this bit, though: And all the world over, each nation's the same, They've simply no notion of Playing the Game: They argue with umpires; they cheer when they've won; And they practise beforehand, which ruins the fun! Thanks for posting this. :D
Their songs continually evolved over the 11 years they toured the two HAT shows, so variations are bound to occur - yes, I miss the 'Playing the Game' verse too!
A dangerous concentration of anglophilia, such as has been known to induce a terminal condition, was a major ingredient in our childhood growth medium. Tom [my kid brother, who died recently] refused to be mired in it, but did suffer from a lifelong susceptibility to the assorted amusements peddled under the "Monty Python's Flying Circus" banner. We grew up (to a certain extent, eventually) listening to the records (pronounced "rec-ore-ds") of Michael Flanders and Donald Swan. Whilst I was but a lad, I thought this song was our national anthem. Extensive research has determined that the deft humor developed by Michael Flanders as a lyricist is matched only by Noel Coward and Randy Newman. P.S. I notice that here they've left out my favorite verse from the studio recording - a pity putdown of Americans. "They argue with umpires, they cheer when they've won - and they practice beforehand, which ruins the fun."
I agree, the lyrics of MF certainly bear comparison with Coward. Modern (-ish) ones include (Victoria Wood of course and) Dillie Keane (and on the US side, though more F&S contemporary, Tom Lehrer, who DK acknowledges as one of her muses). Yes, I miss the cricket verse - but they probably thought the US audience wouldn't "get" it.
I think we all know someone like that.. who pretty much won't stop working to keep themselves alive... thank you for posting this, I wasn't aware there was any actual film of them!.
Brilliant ! I haven't heard this since the 70s. But the words seems slightly different... I remember something about one of nations who "practice beforehand, which ruins the fun" - I'll have to dig that EP of my Mum's out and check !
Yes, this performance was in the US (hence "you'd all be Spanish", and maybe they thought that line wouldn't be "got"? (With "cheer when they've won", which is the preceding line to rhyme, it's obviously a reference to cricket.)
I dont remember ever seeing them . Im 67 in a few weeks and knocking boots with the devil 😂😂😂. Its the first time I've ever heard them as far as I can but I really do like them . I remember. Al Jolson i remember him very well . My dad had every record of his and i used to love listening to him
gm137 (comment Dec08 or Jan09) has it exactly right! In this song F&S were engaged, as they were often, in parody. Poking at the prejudices of the English, and the prejudices of others, as hard as they could.
True. In Bridge on the River Kwai, when he gets released from the jail, Guinness actually based his walk on how his son had walked while recovering from Polio. Ian Dury also had polio. This song, by the way, is wonderful.
The song was pretty controversial when it was coined in 1963. They originally called it 'Anthem Anathema' - but that was too highbrow. Members of the audience would sidle up to them and say "We're so glad you feel this way too". So to make the satire totally explicit they renamed it 'Song of Patriotic Prejudice'. Some right-wingers still don't get it and trot it out as a quasi- national song. Twits!
This is a good fun song a bit of a laugh and put together perfectly i have sung this at rugby matches and it got a laugh and on a St.George day parade... although i thought the organizers were going to cry...its a joke you humorless swines!
Good old days when the wonderfull lack of PC allowed us to laugh at each other without being called racist !......Flanders and Swan only missed out here with a lack of referance to us Welsh and Sheep !
According to the radio special I heard about them, they felt that the times were changing, but if you had asked both of them, Flanders would have been more than likely to continue. Swann wanted to do other things musically and did, such as "The Road Goes Ever On". Their parting was amicable, as far as I can tell. Thanks for the facts about Flanders, Leon!
@2sepgorillas Ha ha ha ha haaaa! I quite agree with you!! I've just discovered Flanders and Swann on RU-vid and am reliving some wonderful memories! I grew up with these songs - they made me laugh then and they make me laugh now!!! Bring back some good honest British (or should I say English??) humour, I say.
Me being English, take what they say into consideration, and do agree that there is a different verse. mainly because my mum told me and she found Flanders and Swann absolutely hysterical when she was younger. XD
This should be compulsory viewing for all foreign nationals as part of their citizenship test. A perfect example of English humour , don't be offended or we'll come and take our flag back!
He only had one working lung because of the polio, plus his weight was by then a strain to his system. Leon Administrator: Thr Flanders & Swann Estates
Well, I love it ... and I've got some Welsh blood flowing through me. I've been trying to find their beautiful version of "Little Drummer Boy" (circa 1955). Anyone got it. Best wishes to Kate, in Perth, Western Australia.
Thanks to youtube &LeonPFB for preserving this for posterity! I am old enough to remember Flanders and Swann and their witty sons, e.g Twas on a Monday Morning the gasman came to call! Mudd Mudd glorious Mud nothing quite like it for soothing the blood! And if my memory serves me well " I'm a Gnu a G N U. I shall google the songs and wallow in nostalgia!
I presume you've found them (and lots of others) by now, but if not, the titles are "The Gasman Cometh" and "The Hippopotamus Song" (also seek "Hippo Encore"). [And this one is "A song pf patriotic prejudice".]
I'm mixed English and Scottish. Born in Scotland, Raised in Scotland, Living in England. If the union breaks up I'm stuffed... And won't have a blanket term to describe myself to curious Americans. Lol.
