The Complete Flanders & Swann

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In December 1956, Flanders and Swann hired the New Lindsey Theatre, Notting Hill, to perform their two-man revue At the Drop of a Hat, which opened on New Year's Eve. [3] Flanders sang a selection of the songs that they had written, interspersed with comic monologues, accompanied by Swann on the piano. An unusual feature of their act was that both men remained seated for their shows: Swann behind his piano and Flanders in a wheelchair (having contracted poliomyelitis in 1943). [3] The show was successful and transferred the next month to the Fortune Theatre, where it ran for over two years, before touring in the UK, the United States, Canada and Switzerland. [3] First and Second Law"—a jazzy setting of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. "Heat is work and work is heat..." "Heat won't pass from a cooler to a hotter / You can try it if you like but you far better notter / Cos the cold in the cooler will get hotter as a ruler..." "Heat is work and work's a curse / And all the heat in the universe / is gonna cool down / because it can't increase / so there'll be no more work / and there'll be perfect peace" / [Swann] "Really?" / [Flanders] "Yeah, that's entropy, man." Holimakittiloukachichichi"—another (short) song of implied seduction, this time in the kingdom of Tonga, where the word means "no". Slow Train" is a song by British duo Flanders and Swann, written in July 1963. [1] It laments the closure of railway stations and lines brought about by the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, and also the passing of a way of life. [2] Lyrics [ edit ] Midsomer Norton, a typical country station, whose closure was lamented by the song "Slow Train". The song features idealised scenes such as milk churns on a railway platform. "On the mainline and the goods siding the grass grows high": the Beeching cuts closed many rural lines, such as the Dunstable Branch Lines serving Dunstable Town. In 2004, Canadian classical quartet Quartetto Gelato released a themed album called Quartetto Gelato Travels the Orient Express, celebrating the original journey of Orient Express and featuring music from London to Istanbul. The album begins with a rendition of "Slow Train", with the final lines changed to reflect the route of the Orient Express.

Williams, Michael (2011). On the Slow Train Again. Random House. p.1. ISBN 9781409051244 . Retrieved 5 June 2018. Built-up Area"—a prehistoric inhabitant of Salisbury Plain complains about a new development: Stonehenge. Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo and musicians. Michael Flanders (1922–1975) was a lyricist, actor, and singer. He collaborated with Donald Swann (1923–1994), a composer and pianist, in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a school revue in 1939 and eventually wrote more than 100 comic songs together. [1] Have Some Madeira M'Dear"—an old roué sings to an ingénue about the merits of that wine, hinting that he has seduction in mind, with complex word-play, including three oft-quoted examples of syllepsis. Greensleeves" monlogue explained to death". Beachmedia.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011 . Retrieved 16 May 2011.The Wompom"—a tale about a fictitious all-purpose plant each of whose parts is an excellent raw material of a different kind. a b Williams, Michael (2011). On the Slow Train: Twelve Great British Railway Journeys. Random House. p.1. ISBN 9781848092082 . Retrieved 5 June 2018.

Ill Wind"—Flanders's words sung to a slightly cut version, with cadenza, of the rondo finale of Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K.495. It has to be sung since Flanders's French horn was apparently stolen. In The Desert" (" Верблюды", lit. " camels")—a "traditional Russian" song, performed by Donald Swann. He provides an English-language translation after every line. The haunting music and poignant lyrics are undercut by the dry unemotional tone in which Swann gives the translation. Some of the original words are repetitive, rendering parts of the translation redundant. Bray, Christopher (2014). 1965: The Year Modern Britain was Born. Simon and Schuster. p.80. ISBN 9780857202796 . Retrieved 5 June 2018. Design for Living"—about contemporary furnishings of houses and gardens. "One day we're taking Liberty's in, the next we're down at Heal's".

British singer-songwriter Frank Turner covered "The Armadillo" in his "Mittens" EP. [16] See also [ edit ]

Re-opening of the line through Cheslyn Hay in 1989 included a new Landywood station, half a mile to the south. Tried by the Centre Court"—a Wimbledon match between Miss L. Hammerfest and Miss Joan Hunter-Dunn, as told by an exasperated umpire. "They are bashing a ball with the gut of a cat".P** P* B**** B** D******" or "Pee Po Belly Bum Drawers"—a song comparing the use of profanity among the intelligentsia to playground swearing.