by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936)
The logical vegetarian
Language: English
You will find me drinking rum, Like a sailor in a slum, You will find me drinking beer like a Bavarian. You will find me drinking gin In the lowest kind of inn, Because I am a rigid Vegetarian. So I cleared the inn of wine, And I tried to climb the sign, And I tried to hail the constable as “Marion.” But he said I couldn’t speak, And he bowled me to the Beak Because I was a Happy Vegetarian. Oh, I knew a Doctor Gluck, And his nose it had a hook, And his attitudes were anything but Aryan; So I gave him all the pork That I had, upon a fork; Because I am myself a Vegetarian. I am silent in the Club, I am silent in the pub, I am silent on a bally peak in Darien; For I stuff away for life Shoving peas in with a knife, Because I am at heart a Vegetarian. No more the milk of cows Shall pollute my private house Than the milk of the wild mares of the Barbarian; I will stick to port and sherry, For they are so very, very, So very, very, very Vegetarian.
Text Authorship:
- by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936), "The logical vegetarian", appears in Wine, Water and Song, first published 1915 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The logical vegetarian", 2014 [baritone and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-11-14
Line count: 30
Word count: 199