Remember Mad magazine? It was the rage for many years, especially when I was in high school. Ah, Alfred E. Neuman -- nowadays he'd be too smart to be President. I believe one of the main guys behind Mad was actually a graduate of my high school. It figures -- there were many deranged geniuses produced at that place.
Anyway, Mad comes to mind today because I have stuck in my head one of that publication's many great, goofy song parodies -- one that addresses the issue of the day. Sung to the tune of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," the lyrics began:
They come on April 15th, dear, To take away our gold...
The rest of the song is lost in the mists of history, but extra special bonus points to any reader who remembers it. Even if you can't, heck, make up some of your own lyrics and share them in the comments to this post.
Comments (7)
They come on April 15th dear,
To take away our gold.
Tax men unmoved by plea or tear,
It makes your blood run cold.
Oh income tax! You break our backs,
The government takes all.
A thief by any other name
Would never have such gall.
I can take no special credit. Google knows all. It's the first hit (IRS Jokes) in the Google search for the two lines you posted. The second hit is this very post. Google works fast.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
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Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
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Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
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La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
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Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
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Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
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Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
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14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
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Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
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La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
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Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
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Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
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Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
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J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (7)
They come on April 15th dear,
To take away our gold.
Tax men unmoved by plea or tear,
It makes your blood run cold.
Oh income tax! You break our backs,
The government takes all.
A thief by any other name
Would never have such gall.
I can take no special credit. Google knows all. It's the first hit (IRS Jokes) in the Google search for the two lines you posted. The second hit is this very post. Google works fast.
Posted by Jud | April 15, 2008 7:36 AM
Did you say Alfred E. Neuman would be too smart to be president? Someone's ears are burning.
Posted by none | April 15, 2008 8:34 AM
And then there were the other inane verses....as much as I can remember:
Rub you belly with linseed oil
wrap your head in aluminum foil
play gin rummy with Faye and Skitch
scratch you head where it may itch
and....
It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
Posted by veiledorchid | April 15, 2008 9:25 AM
During the years 1970-1975 Mad Magazine was always at the top of my heap of reading materials. Sad Sack comic books were in the pile as well.
Posted by jimbo | April 15, 2008 10:11 AM
Well the other link worked earlier, but doesn't seem to be showing the photo now.
Here's another one...
Posted by none | April 15, 2008 12:53 PM
It's the first hit (IRS Jokes) in the Google search for the two lines you posted.
Now, you see that? I Googled only the first line, which was not nearly as productive.
Now that there's no need to commit the full lyrics to memory, of course I will...
Posted by Jack Bog | April 15, 2008 11:35 PM
"It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide"
Yes, yes, so so so yessssssss
Posted by Tenskwatawa | April 16, 2008 10:40 PM