I wrote this in the car this morning (traffic was bad, as you can tell)... I'm sure it's a parody to something, but I can't think of what song it fits.  If anyone can think of a tune, please let me know as then I'll be able to post it on amiright; instead I might just have to think one up myself and record it.  Whatever.

Please read and enjoy, and if you don't get the joke, then I guess you've led a very sheltered existance so far ;)
The bits in parentheses between the verses are spoken ad lib, rather than sung.


My daddy, well, he'd say to me
When I was very young
You might like Coke or Lemonade,
But they don't cut it, son
'Cause you'll find out when you are grown
And you're as old as me
That the best taste ever on your tongue
Is Trans World Airline tea
(leastways, that's what I think he said)

Well I grew older, got a job
As well you'd guess I might
I took my first week's wages
And I booked myself a flight
To nowhere in particular
'Cause I just had to see
What was so damn special
'Bout that Trans World Airline tea
(I was kind of looking forward to trying it, you see)

I saw the stewardess pushing
Her trolley up the aisle
"Would you like anything to drink?"
She asked me with a smile
And so I looked her in the eye
I knew what it had to be, I said
"I'd like to sample some o'
Your famous Trans World Airline tea"
(well, she didn't bat an eyelid at that)

"OK, young man", she replied
"But I hope you've some spare lolly
For that's a hidden delicacy
That isn't on the trolley
Nip back into the kitchen
And we'll see what we shall see"
So off I went, hoping I'd get
Some Trans World Airline tea.
(well, it sure left a smile on my lips, I can tell you)

So now I'm grown, and older
I know dad's advice was sound
I've partaken of it near and far
Aloft and on the ground
I've found it's even better
When it's been stirred, by me
And best when taken nice and hot
My Trans World Airline Tea

very good Philbo.

I can hear a sort 'country' feel to the style of song it might have been.  I can hear the tune in my head as well but not the original lyrics

Phil...

Try singing it to "Shelter from the Storm" by Bob Dylan....from the Blood on the Tracks  album.....

Phil...

Try singing it to "Shelter from the Storm" by Bob Dylan....from the Blood on the Tracks  album.....


Yup, that's it, "Shelter From The Storm" by Bob Dylan!

Pacing doesn't match perfectly, but if you sing-speak it the way Dylan does, you can get it to fit close enough.  Or, you could rework the wording slightly to match the pacing of "Shelter From The Storm" exactly, if you wish.

http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/shelter.html

"Shelter From The Storm" by Bob Dylan

'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved.
Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Brilliant suggestion, Martha - especially the way the last line is repeated in the same way

...and the chords are easy, too ;)

All I'd need to do is double the length of it (I'm not sure I can string out the TWA tea joke for five more verses, though)

I DKTOS, but I've found a midi file which I'll listen to as soon as the MD has taken the bunch of visiting Nigerians away ;)

Great .. I would like to hear a recording!

I think JD's right, that it would probably need tweaking to scan properly: funny thing is I now find myself singing it to the tune of Desolation Row, but only 2/3 of the verse... if you see what I mean.

I think JD's right, that it would probably need tweaking to scan properly: funny thing is I now find myself singing it to the tune of Desolation Row, but only 2/3 of the verse... if you see what I mean.


Wow, yeah, I see what you mean..... it DOES work with "Desolation Row", far out!

Wow, yeah, I see what you mean..... it DOES work with "Desolation Row", far out!








That's so weird...I was totally "singing" it to "Desolation Row" as I was reading!

BTW, Phil, I really hate that word. 

Sorry, Ash... I didn't really think of it in those terms (if you see what I mean), just as a comic idea that I felt I jsut had to run with...

Sorry, Ash... I didn't really think of it in those terms (if you see what I mean), just as a comic idea that I felt I jsut had to run with...


Don't worry, honey.  It's not like I was offended or anything.  The song is totally clever!

Thank you :-)

Hmm... I didn't think I'd led a sheltered life so far, but I'm not sure I get the joke. I could of course think of a handful of jokes it could be, but I have no way of knowing which one of them, if any, is what you're thinking of.

Hmm... I didn't think I'd led a sheltered life so far, but I'm not sure I get the joke. I could of course think of a handful of jokes it could be, but I have no way of knowing which one of them, if any, is what you're thinking of.


What do the first letters of each word in "Trans World Airline Tea" spell ?

I think JD's right, that it would probably need tweaking to scan properly: funny thing is I now find myself singing it to the tune of Desolation Row, but only 2/3 of the verse... if you see what I mean.


that's alright, i was singing it to the tune of "maggie's farm"...but Im just weird like that...


dang all those Dylan songs for sounding the same!

I'm quite tempted to submit it to amiright as a parody to "Just about anything" by Dylan...

I went to try recording it last night but my guitar pickup's dead: the tiny thread of a wire that comes out of the piezo bit has broken :(  Had a go at soldering it back together (first time I've tried my new temperature-controlled iron), but it melted too much of the plastic by the time it got hot enough to melt the solder, and I'll be very surprised if it works again.  Sigh.

I do have another pickup, but the quality is dire in comparison.  Time to scout ebay, I guess...

Nice take on the old quickie I heard in college, about the passenger being served breakfast in flight:

"Would you care for some of our TWA coffee?"  "No, but..."  8)

What do the first letters of each word in "Trans World Airline Tea" spell ?


Hehe...shame on me!  That's what I thought it was.

If anyone wants a listen, I've uploaded it to soundclick (along with The Genome Song) after finding a couple of hours for recording last night.

Have a look here

...I'm nearly out of space on the website, 50MB doesn't go very far, does it?