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Menu:
Site Intro
- Script Intro
Album Tracks:
- Script for a Jester's Tear
- He Knows You Know
- The Web
-
Garden Party
- Chelsea Monday
- Forgotten Sons
B-Sides:
- Charting the Single
- Margaret
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Script for a Jester's Tear - Garden Party
 Introduction:
Fish (The Funny Farm Interview - July
'95, Dick Bros) said: "Diz and I moved
down to Cambridge where I had a girl friend who was an archaeology student
at the time. So we were actually living in this all female block down in
Cambridge; I think it was Newlands College or something, having to sneak
during the day through the windows because there were no males supposedly
allowed in the college. Funnily enough that was the first place I ever
painted my face; we got invited to this party so, seeing as how we were rock
and roll people, we decided to be very outrageous. And we got all this Boots
#7 stuff etc., I remember Diz did his face up like a cat, and I'd painted my
face up as something. We gone down to this little party, and drunk this
wonderful wine and being quite outrageous. And that period actually inspired
the track Garden Party [...] We couldn't get the band started; we didn't
have any money, so we just wandered about being very involved in the
Cambridge student scene and punting and all that sort of stuff."
(I’ve still included Torch’s stuff here, but I must say that
his whole explanation is wrong as far as I’m concerned. Obviously sexual
escapades are referred to but not to the extend that Torch seems to
believe -Ed.)
Torch said:
"Okay, we know what 'Garden Parties' are
etc., but I feel the crucial point was overlooked on the FAQ, that here
Fish is turning the whole thing into a gross and grotesque satire by
caricaturing the occupants and making it be invaded by sexual
escapades... the LAST thing one would see on such an occasion. Hence the
dirty schoolboy puns of 'please do come they say'
etc.
A few other points to add to the FAQ comments...
'Social climbers polish ladders' because
the device they use to climb, e.g. soukie (sic. - Ed)
conversation and crawling flattery they are brushing up on, but also
they are perhaps washing their penises like medals before the orgy
begins... ladders... ?" (Far more
likely, I feel, to refer to social climbing, one of the recurring images
of the song. - Ed)
"'Wayward sons
again have fathers' - How's yer father...?"
(an English slang euphemism for having sex.- Ed.)
"or just that this is the day their
parents come to see them graduate so it's remembering your best
behaviour.
Eggs and cumbers... yes yes yes... Crumbling eaves, a nice pun on
eaves dropping... Chaucer mentioned again as in Cinderella Search... a
writer greatly into cultured carousing.
The ultimate defeat of the classes Fish hates happens when they
are caught on film shagging by 'pressmen'.
'Society columns now ensured, Oh what a crowd!'"
(No, no, no! They're just ensuring that their pictures get in the
society pages of the newspapers by sucking up to royalty, and once
that's done, they sod off again - Ed)
"Maybe Fish was bitter because he
went for an interview for Sandhurst and told the guy he was a pompous
prick... they are the kind of folk he curiosities in GP.
Also the early bits of the song were penned when Fish was in
Cambridge looking for a band with Diz Minnit as his girlfriend was a
student there... it may have been Kayleigh. (It wasn’t; see Fish's
explanation at the top of the page - Ed.) He spent most of the time
sleeping on floors and pretending to be a student... jealousy?
Marvellous song, whatever, and very imaginative, typically
Fish-bitterness!"
'debs'
Geoff Parks said: "'Deb' is short
for debutante. By tradition, the daughters of the `ruling class' in Britain
are presented at court (i.e., introduced to the king or queen) when they
reach the age of 18 - they make their debut in social circles, hence the
term `debutante'. Over the summer which following this these debutantes
attend all the `essential' social events and each host a `coming out' party.
The object of all this is to find a husband. It is all a very elaborate
mating ritual! By extrapolation, the term deb is applied to any girl from
the upper classes whose main purpose in life seems to be to find a rich (or
potentially rich) husband. There are lots of these at Cambridge!"
(Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
Sarah Lanel said:
"It's a practice which still continues
amongst the British upper class, although not as widespread as it was say 20
years ago."
'cumbers'
Geoff Parks said: "'Cumber'
is short for cucumber (the salad vegetable). Two of the most common
delicacies at garden parties are cucumber sandwiches and egg sandwiches. In
Britain the construction of a sandwich is much simpler than here in the US -
it is: slice of bread, butter, filling, butter, slice of bread. At the
`best' garden parties such sandwiches will have had the crusts removed and
be cut into little triangles. Many hundreds of these will be consumed hence
`The Great Cucumber Massacre' sub-title."
(Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
In addition to the pun on ‘cucumber’, Wayne
Bloschichak said: "Cumber Bun= an
American term for the cloth strip around your waist usually found only with
a Tuxedo." (Surely 'cummerbund'? -
Ed) "Maybe then, 'eggs' refers to
'egg heads'?"
‘Cam’
The River Cam is a 64km feeder tributary of the River Ouse which
flows through Cambridge. The Ouse flows into the Wash at King’s Lynn in
Norfolk.
‘swallows’
Swallows are migratory birds which return to Northern Europe in the
late Spring and Summer. This is the season of the Garden Party. There is an
expression; ‘One Swallow does not make a spring. ’
‘Straafed’
Brewer’s: "(Ger.
Strafen, 'to punish') A word borrowed in good-humoured contempt from the
Germans during WWI. One of their favourite slogans was ‘Gott strafe
England!’ The word applied to any sharp and sudden bombardment, and also
used by Americans in WWII for the machine-gunning of troops or civilians by
low-flying aircraft."
‘Strauss’
Pear’s Cyclopedia: "Strauss.
Family of Viennese musicians. Johann Strauss (1804-49) the Elder, was a
composer of dance music, who with Joseph Lanner established the Viennese
Waltz tradition. His son, Johann Strauss (1825-99) the Younger, although not
so good a violinist as his father, was the composer of over 400 waltzes
including ‘The Blue Danube’ and ‘Tales from the Viennese Woods’"
It is unlikely that the song refers to Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949)
who was the composer of symphonic operas and poems, especially given the
feel of the song.
‘Eaves’
Geoff Parks said: "Eaves are the
part of the roof that hangs over the wall. The area underneath the eaves is
called the eavesdrop." (Taken from
Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘Chaucer’
Pears Cyclopeadia: "Geoffrey
Chaucer (1340? - 1400) English poet. His main work, ‘The Canterbury Tales’,
gives a vivid picture of contemporary life. (Cp.
Cinderella Search for more information about Chaucer. )"
The spoken bit after 'Chaucer'
Mark Kelly said: "As
far as I remember when we remixed it [...], it wasn't 'garble garble garble
my eye spurly spurding my eye,' but 'I say old chap, I've got a squirrel in
my eye!'"
'Please don't lie upon the grass, unless
accompanied by a fellow'
Kim Quamme Miller said:
"In Cambridge there are loads of beautiful
grass lawns that have signs saying please keep off the grass, unless
accompanied by a fellow." (A 'fellow'
is a member of the college - Ed)
'May I perhaps suggest Othello'
Kim also wrote the following summary:
"Shakespeare wrote the play Othello for an
increasingly racist Elizabethan England, making a black man a hero and a
white man the villain. Othello, a Moor, is a fairy tale hero who falls in
love with a white girl, Desdemona. Othello is 'the thick lips' [1.1.66], 'an
old black ram' [1.1.88], 'a lascivious Moor' [1.1.1261 and 'a Barbary horse'
[1.1.111-12], and 'he is making the beast with two backs' (having sex) [cf.
1.1.116-17] with Desdemona. She marries Othello against her father's wishes.
Iago (a low-ranked commissioned officer in Othello's army) tells Othello
that Desdemona's interest in him is nothing more than "foul disproportion
thoughts unnatural" (i.e., white women don't fall in love with black men).
"Iago is the (white) villain who
convinces Othello that his wife is cheating on him, which results in him
killing her and then himself when he finds out it’s untrue."
‘Punting’
Geoff Parks said: "'Punting' is a
leisure pursuit. A punt is long shallow rectangular boat. This is propelled
along the river by standing at one end with a long pole which one pushes
against the river bed. It takes quite a bit of practice to get the thing to
go in a straight line. Usually a bunch of friends go punting. Each takes a
turn doing the `driving'. The others sit in the punt talking, drinking,
trying to catch ducks etc. On a nice day and in the right company it is
actually quite a pleasant way to while away the hours."
(Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘Beagling'
Geoff Parks said: "Beagling is a
low-budget version of fox-hunting. A beagle is a type of dog similar to a
fox hound. To go beagling, one assembles a pack of these dogs and a bunch of
hunters (on foot) and sets off across the fields in search of a hare, rabbit
or some similarly inoffensive creature."
(Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘I’m miming’ (Single release only)
For the single release, the naughty word was replaced with ‘miming’. It was
rather unclear until Fish appeared on Top of the Pops, the UK's long running
chart show. At the point where he ought to be saying the broadcast-able
‘miming’ he shut his mouth and merely pointed at his lips as the words came
over the PA!
‘Rugger’
Geoff Parks said: "Another name
for rugby (the game). The two most important sports played in Cambridge are
rowing and rugby. University sport in Britain has nowhere near the status it
does in the US but the annual rowing and rugby contests between Oxford and
Cambridge (the Boat Race and the Varsity Match) are televised nationally.
`Rugger is the tops' simply means `rugby is the most enjoyable sport'.
Incidentally, the term `rucking' which appears in the song is a technical
term from rugby." (Taken from Jeroen
Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘parson'
A relatively lowly order in the Church of England. See Steve Rothery in the
video to make more sense of this!
‘chalks another blue’
Geoff Parks said: "A 'blue' is a
sporting honour. To obtain a blue you have to represent Cambridge University
against Oxford in a major sport. You could be in the team all year but if
you miss the Oxford game due to injury you don't get your blue. The major
sports are rowing, rugby, football (a.k.a. soccer), cricket, (field) hockey,
boxing + perhaps one or two others. If you represent the university in a
minor sport (e.g.. tennis, squash, badminton, ice hockey, basketball. . . )
you get a `half-blue'. Receiving a blue entitles you to numerous privileges,
such wearing a hideous light blue blazer (dark blue at Oxford), and gives
you considerable status amongst those who consider athletics more important
than academics." (Taken from Jeroen
Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
Paul Irvine said:
"There is a simpler explanation. Here in
England someone who is somehow connected with the royal family, or a Lord,
Peer, etc. , is said to be 'blue blooded'. Hence 'blue' from the song."
(Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
Doug Roach added:
"I took this to mean that the daughter had a
tryst with a Blue-Blood, and mother had previously got lucky with one"
'Society columns'
These are gossip pages found in the newspapers and are lists of which
well-connected, well-bred or well-moneyed people is seeing whom, or whose
party attracted the most fashionable people. It's idle tittle-tattle - one
such is Nigel Dempster in the Daily Mail. I’ll paraphrase so you get the
idea; “Sources tell me that my good friend and confident Baron Haddington
has been seen with the eligible young Lady Nina of Berlin. I wonder if I
shall be buying them a wedding gift soon?” It’s all to do with who’s in
favour and who’s out.
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