Julia Moore, The Sweet Singer of Michigan

The Julia Moore Pages ^ | Not Applicable | William Blair

[parsifal]

The Sweet Singer's verse is concerned to a large extent with total abstinence and violent death -- the great Chicago fire, the railway disaster of Ashtabula, the Civil War, the yellow fever epidemic in the South. She sings death by drowning, by smallpox, by fits, accidents by lightning-stroke and sleigh. "Julia is worse than a Gatling gun," wrote Bill Nye; "I have counted twenty-one killed and nine wounded, in the small volume she has given to the public." She also greatly relishes normal infant mortality, especially in cases where the little victim possesses blue eyes and curling golden hair; but in her celebrations of the centenary of American independence she strikes the sterner Kipling note more than once. Observe that our first specimen is a tonic antidote to the dithyrambs of T. Baker and Poet Close, and that the study of Byron is illuminated by the generous sympathy (Byron's bad character notwithstanding) of one misjudged poet for another.

The following lament on the death of Willie won national approval, and is still remembered by those who cherish good song:

Willie had a purple monkey climbing on a yellow stick, And when he sucked the paint all off it made him deathly sick; And in his latest hours he clasped that monkey in his hand, And bade good bye to earth and went into a better land.

Oh! no more he'll shoot his sister with his little wooden gun; And no more he'll twist the pussy's tail and make her yowl, for fun. The pussy's tail now stands out straight; the gun is laid aside; The monkey doesn't jump around since little Willie died.

[parsifal]

I hope this will leave many of you ROTFLYAO! You have to work around the site to find some of this, but it is worth it. On the serious side, I hope this will help those of you who get mad at the "Anti-Orly" folks (like me) understand we are laughing at her and her antics and it isn't personal. One could love poetry, and still laugh at the Sweet Singer.

parsy, who thinks birthers are freepers, too.

[parsifal]

Ping! You may enjoy this.

parsy, who has had much fun for years with Julia

[mrs. a]

Thank you for that!

The critics had a lovely turn of phrase back then...