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Turn on the TV here in Britain these days and it’s non stop Election coverage.

Opinion Poll after Opinion Poll contradicting each other.

Who’s up? Who’s down?

Leaders debates (but not including all the leaders)

Interviews, Hustings. Meet The People. Manifestos.

Dreadful, heart sinking phrases :

’We have been very clear about our policy ….’

‘We inherited a terrible situation …’

’We have had to make some very hard choices …’

Every time I hear one of these phrases I take out my trusty Air Horn and give it a long, loud blast.

 

Somehow it makes me feel better!

A friend said that an Election Campaign heralds an avalanche of Nonsense sure to bury us all.

I disagree.

Election campaigns herald Evasions, Elisions, Diversions, Fantasies, Fakery and outright Lies rather than Nonsense.

I’m in favour of Nonsense :

Give me plenty of that kind of Nonsense!

I find that the best defence against the political pollution relentlessly assailing me is to combine regular blasts on the Horn with loud declamations of The Jabberwocky swiftly followed by my own take on an all time Nonsense Classic, ‘Surfing Bird’ by The Trashmen.

Turn your volume controls to Max and sing along with gusto!

 

Roll over Tristan Tzara tell Roland Barthes the news!

Notes :

Surfing Bird was released in November 1963 and surged to No 4 on Billboard.

Clearly it owes much to two tracks by The Rivingtons : Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow and The Bird’s The Word. Hence the songwriting credit to Al Frazier, Carl White, Sonny Harris and Turner Wilson.

However, i salute Trashmen drummer and vocalist Steve Wahrer for taking the raw material  of two fine songs and through an act of crazed creativity producing an immortal record.

In addition to Steve Wahrer The Trashmen comprised guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow and bassist Bob Reed.

 

A-well-a everybody’s heard about the bird!
Bird bird bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a bird bird bird, bird is the word
A-well-a bird bird bird, well-a bird is the word
A-well-a bird bird bird, b-bird’s the word