The spirit of Philip Larkin lives on
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November 7, 2010, 4:19 pm
Filed under: Arts, books, family, humour, life, politics, Rants, Scotland, stories | Tags: parenthood, parenting, philip larkin, they fuck you up, this be the verse, your mum and dad.
Filed under: Arts, books, family, humour, life, politics, Rants, Scotland, stories | Tags: parenthood, parenting, philip larkin, they fuck you up, this be the verse, your mum and dad.
Philip Larkin’s seminal poem, This be the verse, is a cultural icon in the poetry world as it bemoans the difficulty of adolescence.
They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another's throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don't have any kids yourself. Someone I know took a 21st approach on facebook today that made me laugh. I guess I shouldn't have and so I have protected the identity of the individual in question.The latter day larkin
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Andrew Horberry contributed the following on facebook. Outstanding….
One week, The New Statesman (magazine, not tv programme, for the benefit of younger viewers) challenged its readers to fundamentally change the meaning of a well-known piece of writing as economically as possible. The winner wrote: “They tuck you up, your mum and dad”. Genius.
Comment by markgorman November 7, 2010 @ 5:03 pmI was sent this too…
Here be the curse
They fuck you up, your son and daughter
They may not mean to, but they do
They bleed you like a lamb at slaughter
Break your heart and bankrupt you.
But they’ll be fucked up in their turn
By the next cruel generation
For children spend all you can earn
Adjusting for inflation
Kids hand misery up to Man
They grow up, leave and don’t miss you
Abort, adopt – do what you can
Avoid the dreaded issue.
Comment by markgorman November 13, 2010 @ 11:33 am