I put my hat upon my head
Dr. Samuel Johnson wrote this verse.
I put my hat upon my head
And walked into the Strand,
And there I met another man
Whose hat was in his hand.
Thus demolishing, as he thought, the appeal of ballad-derived poetry. I don't like Johnson much. But somewhere, I've read a continuation of the poem, and something called it to mind recently. I can't find it in any of my anthologies of humorous verse, which is probably where I first saw it, and it isn't available anywhere on the Internet, as far as I can see.
I have a great memory for poetry. Sometimes this is a blessing, as I can learn lines quickly for performances, and I always have poetry to recite when I get bored. At other times, it's a torment to me, as when I get rubbish running through my head on an unbreakable tape loop. My point is that I saw this poem only once or twice, but I'm sure I memorized it fairly accurately. Does anyone know the author? I'd love to know who came up with this.
I said, "Dear sir, why don't you place
Your hat upon your head?"
He said, "Be quiet, impious fool,
And may God strike you dead!"
I paused a moment, wondering,
Balked by his accents rude,
When of a sudden, lightning flashed
And killed him where he stood.
And from the dark clouds overhead
There came a mighty roar:
"I missed you, Johnson--damn it all,
I ought to practice more."
Shaken, I went upon my way,
Perturbed by what I'd heard,
And even Boswell, when we met,
Would not believe a word.
I put my hat upon my head
And walked into the Strand,
And there I met another man
Whose hat was in his hand.
Thus demolishing, as he thought, the appeal of ballad-derived poetry. I don't like Johnson much. But somewhere, I've read a continuation of the poem, and something called it to mind recently. I can't find it in any of my anthologies of humorous verse, which is probably where I first saw it, and it isn't available anywhere on the Internet, as far as I can see.
I have a great memory for poetry. Sometimes this is a blessing, as I can learn lines quickly for performances, and I always have poetry to recite when I get bored. At other times, it's a torment to me, as when I get rubbish running through my head on an unbreakable tape loop. My point is that I saw this poem only once or twice, but I'm sure I memorized it fairly accurately. Does anyone know the author? I'd love to know who came up with this.
I said, "Dear sir, why don't you place
Your hat upon your head?"
He said, "Be quiet, impious fool,
And may God strike you dead!"
I paused a moment, wondering,
Balked by his accents rude,
When of a sudden, lightning flashed
And killed him where he stood.
And from the dark clouds overhead
There came a mighty roar:
"I missed you, Johnson--damn it all,
I ought to practice more."
Shaken, I went upon my way,
Perturbed by what I'd heard,
And even Boswell, when we met,
Would not believe a word.