A talent to amuse, alright. He was a sort of a genius, really, and he stands in symbolic relation to his age as Jane Austen does to the Regency or Wilde to the 1880s and 90s. He will last forever, no?
Coward was a comic genius of heroic proportions in a period when Britain sent forth others of that ilk, P.G. Wodehouse being one of my favorites. To my mind, no one in Coward's time or since ever sang his songs as well as he did; there was something about his delivery, that wink-wink, nudge-nudge, know-what-I-mean quality that no other human could match. Truly one of a kind.
Noel left out the final verse, because of the censor: "Poor dear Aunt Mary Though it was r-r-r-revolutionary, thought her time had come to take a bow! Poor Uncle Harry looked at her, in whom he had placed his trust, His very last illusion broke and crumbled away to dust, For she'd placed a flower behind her ear- and frankly, exposed her BUST........ Uncle Harry's not a missionary now, HE'S LEFT THE ISLAND! But he's certainly not a missionary now!"
In the vinyl recording I have of this: "Noël Coward at Las Vegas" (cover having the photo of him standing in the very cracked desert drinking a cup of tea), this last verse is included.
Something should b done to get Uncle Harry back off that island. Aunt Mary no better. Off to some far-flug place. They never made a home to my mind. Nice people and all. But about the Picollo Marine?
Class act
Ole Noel would always slyly sneak things into his songs that network censors would not allow other performers to go near in the mid-1950s.
We should all aspire to grow old as disgracefully as Noel Coward.
LOL!
Poor Uncle Harry. The spirit is oh so willing but the flesh is oh so weak. At least he taught some of the native maidens " western ways".
A talent to amuse, alright. He was a sort of a genius, really, and he stands in symbolic relation to his age as Jane Austen does to the Regency or Wilde to the 1880s and 90s. He will last forever, no?
A one off, a talent to amuse
Coward was a comic genius of heroic proportions in a period when Britain sent forth others of that ilk, P.G. Wodehouse being one of my favorites. To my mind, no one in Coward's time or since ever sang his songs as well as he did; there was something about his delivery, that wink-wink, nudge-nudge, know-what-I-mean quality that no other human could match. Truly one of a kind.
So stupendous always, love THE MASTER!!
Absolutely love him.
The Master .. wonder what he would have made of society today .. 'Whats going to happen to the tots' wouldn't have even touched it
Still the greatest.
DITTO
Absolutely brilliant -poor, dear Aunt Mary
Noel left out the final verse, because of the censor:
"Poor dear Aunt Mary
Though it was r-r-r-revolutionary,
thought her time had come to take a bow!
Poor Uncle Harry looked at her,
in whom he had placed his trust,
His very last illusion broke
and crumbled away to dust,
For she'd placed a flower behind her ear-
and frankly, exposed her BUST........
Uncle Harry's not a missionary now,
HE'S LEFT THE ISLAND!
But he's certainly not a missionary now!"
Thanks - I'd forgotten that - and it was censored ! We have come a long way.
In the vinyl recording I have of this: "Noël Coward at Las Vegas" (cover having the photo of him standing in the very cracked desert drinking a cup of tea), this last verse is included.
So wonderful.
So COOL
The best ever.
Brilliant entertainment.
Love him.
Ah yes, as usual the spirit in the moral vanguard but the flesh emphatically bringing up the rear.
Peter Matz is the pianist.
Ab-fab!
Something should b done to get Uncle Harry back off that island. Aunt Mary no better. Off to some far-flug place. They never made a home to my mind. Nice people and all. But about the Picollo Marine?
yes great song by Noel Coward - uncanny similarity . Hitchcock did a film called "Trouble with Harry" but the story was a bit different
Class, class, class. And what do we have today? RAP. What a disgrace to humanity. Animals in heat "singing" How sad.
very hard to understand for a non english mother tongue speaker