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Song Parodies -> "Xanadu"

Original Song Title:

"The Blue Danube"

Original Performer:

Johann Strauss

Parody Song Title:

"Xanadu"

Parody Written by:

The Comedian

The Lyrics

DKTOS? Below the parody, there is a link to a page that offers a free MP3 of Johann Strauss's waltz, "The Blue Danube". Also below the parody, there is a link to Samuel Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan", on which this parody's lyrics are based.
[---very long instrumental introduction---]

[---First waltz-theme---]

...In Xanadu...

Did
Ku-
-bla Khan

A
Stately
Plea-sure

Dome
Once
De-cree

Where Alph The Sa-cred

Ri-
-ver
Once ran

Through caves measureless

Down
To
The sea

So twice five miles of

The
Fer-
-tile ground

With walls and tow-ers

Were
Gir-
-dled 'round

With gar-dens bright
With---
---Sin'ous rills!
And with in-cense bear-ing trees!

[---Second waltz-theme---]

And here forests were
Ancient as the hills

Enfolding---spots
Of green-er---y

Oh that deep ro-man-
-tic chasm did slant

Down the
Green hill
A-thwart of a cedary cov'ring!

Holy savage place!
As en-chanted as

Any place e'er
Was en-chanted

'neath a waning moon
By the wailing swoon

Of a
Wo-man
For
Her demon-lover's ra-vish-ing!

[---Third waltz-theme---]

With
Cease-
-less
Tur-
-moil
Seeth-----ing

As
If
This
Earth
Were
Breath-----ing

A
Might-
-y
Foun-
-tain
Flee-----
-tingly was forced to give
Swift intermit-tent bursts!

Huge
Frag-
-ments
Vaul-
-ted
Bound-----ing

Like
Hails
Of
Grain
Re-
-sound-----ing

Be-
-neath
The
Thresh-
-er's
Pound-----ing

And 'mid dancing rocks,
Once ever it did fling!

[---waltz instrumental interlude---]

[---Third waltz-theme again---]

Mo-
-ment-
-ly
Up
The
Ri-----ver

Five
Miles
Me-
-and-
-ered
Thi-----ther

Through
Wood
The
Sa-
-cred
Ri-----ver

Reached caverns and sank
In tumult in the sea!

[---Fourth waltz-theme---]

And 'mid
This
Tu-mult Kubla did hear

An-ces-
-tral
Voices prophesy fear

(The) Sha-
-dow
Of the dome of pleas-ure

Floa-ted
Mid-way
On waves

Where once
Was
Heard the mingled meas-ure

From in
The
Fountain and in the caves

A
Mir----a-cle
Of
Rare
De-vice

A
Plea-sure
Dome
Of
Ice

[---very long lilting waltz-instrumental interlude---]
[---LOUD DRUMBEAT---]
[---Fifth waltz-theme: Swinging-pendulum-rhythm---]

And-with-awe!
Once-I-saw!

Damsel-musician!
An Abyssinian!

On her dul-ci-mer
She'd ren-der
Songs of Mount A-bora --- I wish I could re-vive ---

With-in me,
Sym-phony,
Of her song's delight!
And oh such deep delight,

Would ev-er there be,
With-in me,
If e'er I'd re-vive all of her symphony's delight!

[---long lilting waltz instrumental interlude---]
[---TRUMPET FANFARE---]
[---Sixth waltz-theme: Forceful-percussive-rhythm---]

[---trumpets---] AND-WITH-MUSIC-THAT-IS [---trumpets---]

LOUD - AND - STRONG!

I would build that

DOME - IN - AIR!

Oh that sunny

DOME - WITH - CAVES!

MADE - OF - ICE!

And-all-who-heard-should-see-them-there!

FLASH - ING - EYES!

And awe-some-ly

FLOAT - ING - HAIR!

Weave a circle

'ROUND - HIM - THRICE!

And-close-your-eyes-with-holy-dread-there!

[---lilting waltz instrumental interlude---]

[---Third waltz-theme again---]

A
Cir-
-cle
Weave
'round
Him-----thrice!

Close
Your
Eyes
With
Ho-ly-----dread!

He
On
Hon-
-ey
Dew
Hath-----fed,

And drunk the heav-en-ly milk-of-Paradise!

[---very long waltz instrumental interlude---]

[---First waltz-theme again---]

...In Xanadu...

Did
Ku-
-bla Khan

A
Stately
Plea-sure

Dome
Once
De-cree

Where Alph The Sa-cred

Ri-
-ver
Once ran

Through caves measureless

Down
To
The sea

So twice five miles of

The
Fer-
-tile ground

With walls and tow-ers

Were
Gir-
-dled 'round

With gar-dens bright
With---
---Sin'ous rills!
And with in-cense bear-ing ---

[---waltz instrumental ending---]

Click HERE for "The Blue Danube" ... Click HERE for "Kubla Khan" ... "Kubla Khan" was first published in 1816 with the sub-heading: "Or, a Vision in a Dream. A Fragment." Coleridge's own notes say that "Kubla Khan" was composed in 1797, while he was under the influence of opium, or, as Coleridge himself put it, "In consequence of a slight indisposition, an anodyne had been prescribed, from the effects of which he fell asleep in his chair...The Author continued for about three hours in a profound sleep, at least of the external senses, during which time he has the most vivid confidence, that he could not have composed less than from two to three hundred lines; if that indeed can be called composition in which all the images rose up before him as things with a parallel production of the correspondent expressions, without any sensation or consciousness of effort. On awakening he appeared to himself to have a distinct recollection of the whole, and taking his pen, ink, and paper, instantly and eagerly wrote down the lines that are here preserved."

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 LittleLots
Matches Pace of
Original Song: 
How Funny: 
Overall Score: 



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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 5.0
How Funny: 4.8
Overall Rating: 4.8

Total Votes: 13

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
 1   0
 0
 0
 
 2   0
 0
 0
 
 3   0
 1
 0
 
 4   0
 1
 2
 
 5   13
 11
 11
 

User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

Rick D - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
Wow. I wanted classical parodies, I knew you'd deliver. I'll have to read up on this Wrath of Khan later.
Guy - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
JD - Simply brilliant.
Mari D - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
I f**king HATE this tune and wouldn't normally check out a parody on it for that reason, but you're a talented writer and I like you. Great job, by the way. Now I'm going to try to forget the tune once again.
Dee Range - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
I didn't need to know this tune to give 5's. This is one of my all time favorite poems. The brilliance showed here ranks right up there with Coleridge...and I bet you didn;t even need the opium
Phil Alexander - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
I thought the ancestral voices prophesised war (rather than fear)... ah well, it was a good quarter-century ago that I had to learn Kubla Khan. But I'd also like to echo exactly what Mari said :-)
Johnny D - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
Thank you, folks!

Rick: Read it while relaxing in a Barco-Lounger upholstered with Fine Corinthian Leather.

Guy: Top marks from a long-time Amiright Superstar like yourself are something special, Guy.....thank you.

Mari: Thanks for temporarily putting-aside your Straussian Revulssian!

Dee: Nope, no opium required. But if I had been recovering from dental surgery and had some prescription painkillers like Percocet on-hand, it might have been fun to see what I would have done with "Kubla Khan" under those conditions!

Phil: Yes, but the word "war" doesn't rhyme with the word "hear", so I took parody-poetic-license and replaced "war" with "fear". And I'd like to echo exactly what I said to Mari above.... ;-D
alvin rhodes - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
well, that was pretty amazing...
Johnny D - August 31, 2004 - Report this comment
Thanks, Alvin.
Sweet Indigo - September 02, 2004 - Report this comment
Now that was great. And I love the tune :D it was bloody brilliant, lovely handling of pacing and everything. And fun to sing. Though I'm humming it quietly because I'm at work :)
Johnny D - September 02, 2004 - Report this comment
Thank you, Sweet Indigo. ;-)
Paul Robinson - January 03, 2005 - Report this comment
"Xanadu" - a piece so well-written that I No-Can-A-Do, and now I am sh*ttin'...nice job, JD...5's...
Johnny D - January 06, 2005 - Report this comment
Thanks, Paul.
Jeff Reuben - January 20, 2005 - Report this comment
I have to thank Warner Brothers for knowing the tune (a musical cartoon note that gets drunk and wanders off the scales...I believe this is playing in the background). Well done!
Know 1 can hear you dream - January 20, 2005 - Report this comment
Well, you win the artsy award...
Adagio - January 20, 2005 - Report this comment
(ABC) Geesh, Johnny! Trying to blow my mind? (no comments all...lol) I THINK I followed it pretty well...know your pacing, so that was a given. 5's
Johnny D - January 22, 2005 - Report this comment
Thanks, Jeff, Peter, and Pat.
Guy - January 27, 2005 - Report this comment
(ABC-X) See above comment - still brilliant.
Paul Robinson - January 30, 2005 - Report this comment
(ABC-X) Add to my above comments this one: "Xantastic!!!"...
Johnny D - January 31, 2005 - Report this comment
Thank you, Guy and Paul.

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