W S Gilbert knew what is wrong with today's politics: "I always voted at my party's call, And I never thought of thinking for myself at all. I thought so little, they rewarded me By making me the ruler of the Queen's Navy.
Gilbert gets a lot of credit for his witty libretto and humor both sly and broad in his characters, but Sullivan's no slouch in that department either. I trust you've all noticed that the five-note figure at the end of each verse in Sir Joseph's signature tune-- "Of the Queen's Na-vee"-- is also the first five notes of "The Sailor's Hornpipe." Sir Joseph has a thing for hornpipes: he's dismayed that Rafe can't dance one for him on deck, and we later hear of him obliging the Captain to perform one on his table below, much to Josephine's chagrin. I'll never be able to prove it, but I am convinced Sullivan started out with that five-note figure and built his entire song around it.
