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by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Wishful Thinking
Language: English 
I wish I were a 
Elephantiaphus
And could pick off the coconuts with my nose.
But, oh! I am not,
(Alas! I cannot be)
An Elephaniti-
Elephantiaphus.
But I'm a cockroach
And I'm a water-bug,
I can crawl aournd and hide behind the sink.

I wish I were a
Rhinoscerèeacus
And could wear an ivory toothpick in my nose.
But, oh! I am not,
(Alas! I cannot be)
A Rhinocori-
Rhinoscerèeacus.
But I'm a beetle
And I'm a punpkin-bug.
I can buzz and bang my head against the wall.

I wish I were a 
Hippopopotamus
And could swim the Tigris and the broad Gangès.
But, oh! I am not,
(Alas! I cannot be)
A Hippopopo-
Hippopopotamus.
But I'm a grasshopper
And I'm a katydid,
I can play the fiddle with my left hind-leg.

I wish I were a
Levileviathan
And had seven hundred knuckles in my spine.
But, oh! I am not,
(Alas! I cannot be)
A Levi-ikey-
Levi-ikey-mo.
But I'm a firefly
And I'm a lightning bug,
I can light cheroots and gaspers with my tail.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by John Frandsen (b. 1956), "Wishful Thinking", 1987 [ voice and guitar ], from Seven Silly Songs, no. 4, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2024-12-24
Line count: 40
Word count: 177

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