favourite verse (modified)

[tony]

....... the garbage burns in a greasy mess and a thousand rats all run.....

I must go down to the city dump for the call of an old shoe fried
Is a wild call, and a clear call, that cannot be denied.......

and a merry yarn from a happy dump prospector....

[Verbivore]

Thanks, Tony. This thread isn't much frequented, so it's good to have a (non-spam) post here.

[Gabriel von Himme3l]

Feb 28, 2018 8:16:09 GMT Verbivore said:

Wow! The first post to this section in nine years!

Wow thanks for the compliment  THIS IS THE BEST I CAN REMEMBER OF GARGAGE FEVER, it's been well over sixty years since i chuckled over this lyrical missive.

GARBAGE FEVER:

I must go down to the city dump,
to the lonely dump and the sky,
all I need is a garbage truck
and a star to steer her by ...

And the coffee grounds, and the apple peels, and the rancid fat shaking,
And the gray smoke from the burning trash
In the grey dawn breaking

Oh I must go to the city dump
to the vagrant gypsy life
To a mountainous pile of orange peels,
Far away from the city strife.

and all I ask is a windless day
when the acrid smoke hides the sun
and the garbage burns in a greasy mess
and a thousand rats all run.

[Neil Lupton]

I must go down to the city dump,
to the lonely dump and the sky,
all I need is a garbage truck
and a star to steer her by ...

And the coffee grounds, and the apple peels, and the rancid fat shaking,
And the gray smoke from the burning trash
In the grey dawn breaking

Oh I must go to the city dump
For the call of an old shoe fried
It is a loud call and a clear call
That cannot be denied
To a mountainous pile of orange peels,
Far away from the city strife.

This is from an early Mad Magazine
"Cracked poetry" segment

[Verbivore]

Thanks, Neil. It appears there are many versions of this old favourite. I didn't know Mad Mag published a version. I wonder if Dorothea Mackellar would be flattered or no.

[Vikram]

Thanks immensely for helping me piece this masterpiece together. But, does anyone have the DEFINITIVE COMPLETE POEM?

GARBAGE FEVER
I must go down to the city dump,
to the lonely dump and the sky,
all I need is a garbage truck
and a star to steer her by ...

And the coffee grounds, and the apple peels, and the rancid fat shaking,
And the gray smoke from the burning trash
And a grey dawn breaking

Oh I must go to the city dump
to the vagrant gypsy life
To a mountainous pile of orange peels,
Far away from the city strife.

And all I ask is a windless day
when the acrid smoke hides the sun
and the garbage burns in a greasy mess
and a thousand rats all run.

I must go down to the city dump
for the call of an old shoe fried
Is a wild call, and a clear call, that cannot be denied.......
And all I ask is a merry yarn
and the quiet sleep of a happy dump prospector....

[Karl E Falster]

As a freshman at St. Benedicks college in Atchison, Kansas, I presented this as my memorised poem (obtained from MAD magazine), While I loved it for its rhythm and reality combined; most found it repugnant. Lets face it there's no accounting for taste in poetry.