The Gnu
Encyclopedia
"The Gnu" is a humorous song
about a talking gnu
by Flanders and Swann
.
The word gnu is consistently pronounced with two syllables as "g-noo", with the g clearly enunciated, and the n unpalatalised
. The song also plays on silent letter
s in other words such as "k-now" and "w-ho", and adds initial g
s to various words beginning with n.
As a prelude, Michael Flanders goes off into a completely irrelevant but very witty monologue about a car — "great big flashy thing, with teeth. Engine at both ends" — that is the bane of his existence since it constantly occupies the one spot in his road where he can comfortably get from wheelchair to car and vice versa. The licence number turns out to be 346 GNU. The song itself then begins, and consists of a brief piano introduction and two quite similar sung verses, each preceded by a verse spoken by Michael Flanders
. Donald Swann
neither speaks nor sings in this item.
In the first verse, the singer is at the zoo
when he meets a man who claims to know all the
animals, but misidentifies a gnu as an elk
; the gnu corrects him. In the second verse,
he has taken furnished lodgings, and wakes up in the night to see a stuffed hunting trophy
above his bed; he is trying to decide whether the animal's head could be a bison
, an okapi
or a hartebeest
, when he seems to hear a voice, asserting indignantly that it is a "g-nu, a-g-nother g-nu".
Flanders and Swann first performed and recorded this song in their revue At the Drop of a Hat
.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
about a talking gnu
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
by Flanders and Swann
Flanders and Swann
The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....
.
The word gnu is consistently pronounced with two syllables as "g-noo", with the g clearly enunciated, and the n unpalatalised
Palatalization
In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
. The song also plays on silent letter
Silent letter
In an alphabetic writing system, a silent letter is a letter that, in a particular word, does not correspond to any sound in the word's pronunciation...
s in other words such as "k-now" and "w-ho", and adds initial g
Voiced velar plosive
The voiced velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is g. Strictly, the IPA symbol is the so-called "opentail G" , though the "looptail G" is...
s to various words beginning with n.
As a prelude, Michael Flanders goes off into a completely irrelevant but very witty monologue about a car — "great big flashy thing, with teeth. Engine at both ends" — that is the bane of his existence since it constantly occupies the one spot in his road where he can comfortably get from wheelchair to car and vice versa. The licence number turns out to be 346 GNU. The song itself then begins, and consists of a brief piano introduction and two quite similar sung verses, each preceded by a verse spoken by Michael Flanders
Michael Flanders
Michael Henry Flanders OBE, was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known to the general public for his partnership with Donald Swann performing as the duo Flanders and Swann....
. Donald Swann
Donald Swann
Donald Ibrahím Swann was a British composer, musician and entertainer. He is best known to the general public for his partnership of writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders .-Life:...
neither speaks nor sings in this item.
In the first verse, the singer is at the zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
when he meets a man who claims to know all the
animals, but misidentifies a gnu as an elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
; the gnu corrects him. In the second verse,
he has taken furnished lodgings, and wakes up in the night to see a stuffed hunting trophy
above his bed; he is trying to decide whether the animal's head could be a bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, an okapi
Okapi
The okapi , Okapia johnstoni, is a giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the Ituri Rainforest, located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa...
or a hartebeest
Hartebeest
The hartebeest is a grassland antelope found in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It is one of the three species classified in the genus Alcelaphus....
, when he seems to hear a voice, asserting indignantly that it is a "g-nu, a-g-nother g-nu".
Flanders and Swann first performed and recorded this song in their revue At the Drop of a Hat
At the Drop of a Hat
At the Drop of a Hat is a musical revue by Flanders and Swann, described by them as "An After-Dinner Farrago". In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano...
.
In popular culture
- Richard StallmanRichard StallmanRichard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
mentions "The Gnu" in connection with the naming of the GNUGNUGNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
project in a 2002 interview. - The song is performed in episode 115 of The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
(with guest Chris LanghamChris LanghamChristopher "Chris" Langham is an English writer, actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost...
). - John LithgowJohn LithgowJohn Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
has a recording of the song on his album Singin' in the Bathtub. - The song was the basis of the character Gary Gnu from The Great Space CoasterThe Great Space CoasterThe Great Space Coaster is a children's television show that ran from 1981 through 1986. The series was directed by Dick Feldman, and distributed by Sunbow Productions.-Show summary and history:...
. Gary Gnu even performed the song on one episode of the show.
External links
- "The Gnu" on the Flanders and Swann website