Skip to main content

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.  

Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.   
     Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries,
     There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too
     There was nutmeg, cloves and berries
     And a crust that was nailed on with glue
     There were caraway seeds in abundance
     Such that work up a fine stomach ache
     That could kill a man twice after eating a slice
     Of Miss Fogarty's Christmas cake.
By the end of the song, there is no doubt that an entire Christmas party could be flattened by a slice of Miss Fogarty's fruit cake. 
     Maloney was took with the colic,
     O'Donald's a pain in his head
     Mc'Naughton lay down on the sofa,
     And he swore that he wished he was dead
     Miss Bailey went into hysterics
     And there she did wriggle and shake
     And everyone swore they were poisoned
     Just from eating Miss Fogarty's cake
Another of the Christmas cake songs I want to mention is one which is just called "Fruit cake" - often a performance piece by a capella groups. This performance is such fun....  
And here are the lyrics, just in case you missed some of the words Chocolate cakes and butter cakes and cakes with lots of spice. Layer cakes and angel cakes I think are very nice. But when it comes to Christmas time can anyone dispute, That when you bake a Christmas cake, It really should, be surely could be, Yes it would be positively absolutely Must be made with fruit - Fruitcake! Sift the flour and pour in eggs. Now you add some lemon peel, I would say a cup or two. Then some raisins, dates, and figs, just how much is up to you. Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts. Almonds, and all other crazy nuts . Cinnamon, cinnamon, don't forget the cinnamon. Cloves and spice will make it nice but don't forget the cinnamon. Now you add some cherries. Glistening like the Christmas berries. Add some rum but just a drop. Then it's time to...stop … Have a bite of fruitcake! Mmmmmmmm
These are just two of my favourite Christmas cake songs . Perhaps you prefer " Demon Fruitcake",
"Grandma's Killer Fruitcake" or "Ode to a Fruitcake"? Or do you like another song I haven't heard
of? I would love to hear about it in a comment below.
Tomorrow - Let's browse the Guinness Book of Records.







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Connecting and Interpreting : Story #3 from the ATASDA Collaborative Golden Cape

  Connecting and Interpreting : Story #3 from the ATASDA Collaborative Golden Cape  Background : The Golden Cape is a collaborative project for ATASDA members and it celebrates the 50th Anniversary of ATASDA in 2024. 50 present day members have  received  an image of one of 50 yesteryear members artworks, to use as a muse, to create new artwork based on the past. Inspiration can come from textures, colours, style, design, subject, culture or history of the original artwork.  The new artworks have become panels stitched together to create a Golden Cape - an anniversary art wearable .   The Golden Cape will be displayed at various venues around Australia from May 2024.  Vine  (Exotica 2009 ATASDA exhibition ) : Norma Warnecke Meg Buchtmann chose Norma Warnecke's 2009 artwork shown in the ATASDA  exhibition "Exotica" as her inspiration for her contribution to the golden cape project .  Golden Cape panel 2023 : Meg Buchtmann Taken with the colour combinations and the 3D natur

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to come.  Follow thi

Gothic Tuesday

 It has been such a long time since I participated in a Tag Tuesday  challenge … This fortnight the theme is ‘Gothic’  and  it really engaged me because I really couldn’t at first think of anything I could create as a tag. I recently have  been playing with photo manipulation and editing so here is one of the results - a double exposed image of the interior of a gothic cathedral and the head of a sculpture I made a few years ago . I also added a few touches of gold leaf and coloured a few areas of the image with Prisma pencil to add some depth. I was thinking the gothic arches created mitred headgear ?  Or is just a spectre of a saint interred in the cathedral crypt? … it’s gothic!