The Lusty Month of May

[aprilstarchild]

Somewhere at my parents' house is a mix CD given to me six years ago by singswithtrees called "Beltaine Ballads." I've had this one pop into my head several times the last few days:

Tra la! It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That lovely month when ev'ryone goes
Blissfully astray.
Tra la! It's here!
That shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts
Merrily appear!
It's May! It's May!
That gorgeous holiday
When ev'ry maiden prays that her lad
Will be a cad!
It's mad! It's gay!
A libelous display!
Those dreary vows that ev'ryone takes,
Ev'ryone breaks.
Ev'ryone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May!

Whence this fragrance wafting through the air?
What sweet feelings does its scent transmute?
Whence this perfume floating ev'rywhere?
Don't you know it's that dear forbidden fruit!
Tra la la la la! That dear forbidden fruit!
Tra la la la la!

Tra la! It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That darling month when ev'ryone throws
Self-control away.
It's time to do
A wretched thing or two,
And try to make each precious day
One you'll always rue!
It's May! It's May!
The month of "yes you may,"
The time for ev'ry frivolous whim,
Proper or "im."
It's wild! It's gay!
A blot in ev'ry way.
The birds and bees with all of their vast
Amorous past
Gaze at the human race aghast,
The lusty month of May.

Tra la! It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That lovely month when ev'ryone goes
Blissfully astray.
Tra la! It's here!
That shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts
Merrily appear.
It's May! It's May!
The month of great dismay.

When all the world is brimming with fun,
Wholesome or "un."

It's mad! It's gay!
A libelous display!
Those dreary vows that ev'ryone takes,
Ev'ryone breaks.
Ev'ryone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May!

---

I've still never seen the musical. I just know this song!

Dang. I should've looked for that cd when I was at my parents' house last time.

Julie Andrews, yo

Comments

[singswithtrees.livejournal.com]

Oh god, was that really 6 years ago?!? I ended up getting "Cup of Wonder" stuck in my head today, myself.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

that one too!

[mudita88.livejournal.com]

I like Jonathan Coulton's "First of May":

I woke up this morning
I had a scone and a large house blend
And then a little conversation with my squirrel and chipmunk friends
I said I’m sick and tired of winter
And I wish that it was spring
And then a little fellow named Robin Redbreast
Began to sing

And he sang
Ooh ooh child, what’d you think the cold winter’s gonna last forever?
Ooh ooh child, now’s the time for all the people to get together
Outside

Cause it’s the first of May, first of May
Outdoor fucking starts today
So bring your favorite lady
Or at least your favorite lay
The water’s not cold baby dip in your big toe
Maybe I’ll see you in flagrante delicto
Grass below you, sky above
Celebrate spring with a crazy little thing called fucking outside

I thanked him for the information
I cried a little when he flew away
I watched an episode of The People’s Court
And I tried to plan my day
I called up my old lady
She wasn’t home so I called my girl
I asked her if she’d like to join me as I
Entertain the world

And I said
Ooh ooh child, I’ll bring a blanket and I promise I will brush the ants off
Ooh ooh child, you’re gonna like it when we’re taking each other’s pants off
Outside

Cause it’s the first of May, first of May
Outdoor fucking starts today
So bring your favorite lady
Or at least your favorite lay
The water’s not cold baby dip in your big toe
Maybe I’ll see you in flagrante delicto
Grass below you, sky above
Celebrate spring with a crazy little thing called fucking outside

So we went to the park together
We were walking in the midday sun
We met all kinds of people and we
We fucked everyone
We fucked a lady who sells ice cream
We fucked a man with a tan Shar Pei
Everyone who needed fucking well they
They got fucked today

So come on
Ooh ooh child, open your mind and your heart, feel the spirit moving through you
Ooh ooh child, you’ll feel the warmth of the love when I stick it to you
Outside

Cause it’s the first of May, first of May
Outdoor fucking starts today
So bring your favorite lady
Or at least your favorite lay
The water’s not cold baby dip in your big toe
Maybe I’ll see you in flagrante delicto
Grass below you, sky above
Celebrate spring with a crazy little thing called fucking outside


(you can hear it at http://www.jonathancoulton.com/primer/listen/ under "4 Funny Ones")

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

hahaha!! I'll have to listen to it another time, but I do love the words.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

I've listened to it, and I love the contrast between that folk/pop kinda voice (admittedly, not my usual thing) and the words. Ha!!

[joeyfalconetti.livejournal.com]

That is one of my favorite songs - I always get it stuck in my head this time of the year....the musical is great - I wouldn't recommend the movie version, though - it leaves out the good Mordred bits.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

Do you think I should just get the Broadway recording on CD? Or was there a video recording of the musical other than the movie?

[joeyfalconetti.livejournal.com]

I have never seen a good video recording other than the movie - I have the Broadway recording and I love it - I guess it would be good to watch the movie to get more context, if you've never seen it at all....I'm just picky because (as always with musicals) the movie seems to leave out my favorite songs and portray the story differently than I'm used to seeing it on stage.
We saw the Broadway touring company with Lou Diamond Phillips as King Aurthur...that was a kick!

[seams-unusual.livejournal.com]

Really, it's all about The seven Deadly Virtues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNyw9eXVvqs
watch this!!!

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I wanna see *that* production!!

Did I ever tell you that you can watch a re-creation of the original choreography to The Rite of Spring, online?!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjX3oAwv_Fs

Yupp! Not the best video quality, but WOW.