John Reed - Am I Alone And Unobserved (Patience).avi 

One of the best lyrics ever & as relevant today as in the century before last.

The Master of the "Patter" songs. Sorely missed and never replaced.

As a kid I was lucky to see John Reed several times at the Savoy in the early 70s. It set me up for my lifelong love of Gilbert & Sullivan. Thanks for posting.

First saw G&S at about 9years (Golders Green Hippodrome) when parents were let down by babysitter at last minute. After that I was always taken. The excellent Peter Pratt was the star and there was much consternation as we thought him irreplaceable, but the incomparable John Reed took over and is forever in our hearts. Unfortunately, I was too late for Martyn Green but many say he was as good and he does sing well on recordings. What a cast in those heady days - Donald Adams (what a voice), Kenneth Sandford, Thomas Round, Gillian Knight (what a Katisha), Valerie Masterson, Joyce Wright, the list goes on and on. Thank you for posting these recordings, they cast rays of sunshine when I'm alone working on mundane matters. This is one of my favourite patter songs, the lyrics are wonderful and as already stated so relevant still today, even in my advancing years I can still remember all the words and "sing" along. I thought my parents had a complete LP collection but I've never seen this album before, I wonder if I can get a CD of it.

So clear and great diction. Fred Lawson, Edinburgh

'Tis indeed, Gerard. One can almost imagine Reed stealthily peering about, making sure nobody is near. Thanks for commenting! Have a good winter! Best Regards, David

Funnily enough, I initially got into the Gilbert & Sullivan operas because I *thought* they'd be all snobby and sophisticated, and that I'd feel so high-class listening to them. So I feel like this song is making fun of me for that. :D

Delightful.

Agreed, and thanks much for commenting! Quite the legacy he left. Best Regards, David

Hello Bfdidc, thank you for adding your personal note, and--you're welcome! You were indeed lucky to have seen Reed's performances. This album was so enjoyable to post. Best Regards, David

Thank you so much .

@Adrian Fell, Spot on, Adrian! Thanks for visiting, and commenting. Glad you enjoyed it! Best Regards, David

Am I alone, And unobserved? I am! Then let me own I'm an aesthetic sham! This air severe Is but a mere Veneer! This cynic smile Is but a wile Of guile! This costume chaste Is but good taste Misplaced! Let me confess! A languid love for lilies does not blight me! Lank limbs and haggard cheeks do not delight me! I do not care for dirty greens By any means. I do not long for all one sees That's Japanese. I am not fond of uttering platitudes In stained-glass attitudes. In short, my mediaevalism's affectation, Born of a morbid love of admiration! If you're anxious for to shine in the high aesthetic line as a man of culture rare, You must get up all the germs of the transcendental terms, and plant them ev'rywhere. You must lie upon the daisies and discourse in novel phrases of your complicated state of mind, The meaning doesn't matter if it's only idle chatter of a transcendental kind. And ev'ry one will say, As you walk your mystic way, "If this young man expresses himself in terms too deep for me, Why, what a very singularly deep young man this deep young man must be!" Be eloquent in praise of the very dull old days which have long since passed away, And convince 'em, if you can, that the reign of good Queen Anne was Culture's palmiest day. Of course you will pooh-pooh whatever's fresh and new, and declare it's crude and mean, For Art stopped short in the cultivated court of the Empress Josephine. And ev'ryone will say, As you walk your mystic way, "If that's not good enough for him which is good enough for me, Why, what a very cultivated kind of youth this kind of youth must be!" Then a sentimental passion of a vegetable fashion must excite your languid spleen, An attachment a la Plato for a bashful young potato, or a not- too-French French bean! Though the Philistines may jostle, you will rank as an apostle in the high aesthetic band, If you walk down Piccadilly with a poppy or a lily in your medieval hand. And ev'ryone will say, As you walk your flow'ry way, "If he's content with a vegetable love which would certainly not suit me, Why, what a most particularly pure young man this pure young man must be!"

1:41 My favorite part ❤️

David, thanks for your words and offer to provide music, but I think after some research it is available on CD at Amazon (where else!). Happy Christmas. Kind regards Brian

taking the piss out of Oscar Wilde

This sounds like the attitude of a hipster.