Five True Remarkable Occurrences

Song Cycle by Elizabeth Walton Vercoe (b. 1941)

1. Eating Democrats
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Alfred Packer ate five prospectors whom he was guiding 
over a high Colorado plateau in 1874.

The judge who sentenced Packer to hang indignantly pointed out 
that "There was only six Democrats in all of Hinsdale County 
and you ate five of them."

The Department of Agriculture startled the official community 
by dedicating its cafeteria to Alfred Packer. Then the General
Services Administration removed the plaque and accused them 
of "bad taste."

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, from True Remarkable Occurrences

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "En mangeant des démocrates", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

2. Vera Czermak
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Vera Czermak jumped out of her third story window 
when she learned her husband had betrayed her. 
Mrs. Czermak is recovering in the hospital after 
landing on her husband who was killed, the newspaper 
Vecerny Pravda reported today.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit) , "Vera Czermak", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Note: this is a prose text. Line breaks have been added arbitrarily.


Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

3. Traffic
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
In 1895 there were only two cars in the whole state of Ohio. 
They collided.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Circulation", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit) , "El tráfico", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

4. Wheeler‑Peelers
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Grand Rapids Michigan. 
A local striptease joint must build ramps 
to accommodate handicapped strippers, 
state officials have ruled.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit) , "Les éplucheurs à roues", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit) , "Los peladores rodantes", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Note: this is a prose text. Line breaks have been added arbitrarily.

Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

5. Other Engagements
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Taipei. A young Taiwanese man has written 
seven hundred love letters to his girlfriend 
over the past two years — trying to get her to marry him. 
His persistence finally brought him results. 
A newspaper reported yesterday the girl has 
become engaged to the postman who 
delivered all of those letters.

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "D'autres fiançailles", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Note: this is a prose text. Line breaks have been added arbitrarily.


Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]
Total word count: 194