Down under and Up Above

Last night was Day One of cruise #3. Not much of a crowd -- typically, people are tired and retire early on Day One, after a long day of plane travel, dragging suitcases through metal detectors, customs, and other tedious crap…….
…..but there were no less than six Australians sitting at the piano bar. A group of two and a group of four. When the two Australian groups were made aware of each other, there was no excited reaction. NO “wow you’re from Australia too”?
As I realized later on -- why should they get excited? If I’m on a ship touring Australia, would I be excited to meet a stranger from Chicago?
There were four Danish people at the piano also, and they thought that a rousing chorus of “Waltzing Matilda” would be a fitting tribute to the six “Down Unders” -- I was reminded of Derek’s rather “pitchy” rendition of the tune one Halloween back at the JS. Remember when he came in looking like an aged Paul Hogan? I think that was the year I came dressed up as Bob Marley.
Anyway I was not prepared for doing “Waltzing Matilda”, that is to say, I didn’t have any lyrics nearby, on paper or in memory -- but the oldest of the Australians graciously sang a few verses about jumbucks and billybongs.
Everybody jumped in on the chorus of course, and I think we’ll do “Waltzing Matilda” a few more times in the course of this week.
To Marianne: I didn’t know anything about Anne of Green Gables. But now that you mention it, one of the ports on this run is Prince Edward Island. There’s a guided tour that includes “visiting the homestead that inspired Canada’s most beloved fictional character.” So now I’m curious. Up to now I’d thought the most beloved fictional Canadian was Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
Didja ever see that Saturday Night Live spoof of the Wizard of Oz -- substituting a Mountie for the scarecrow, a hockey player for the TinMan, and a reindeer for the Cowardly Lion. Gilda Radner was Dorothy -- at the end, the four then skipped off to find Oz, singing “Follow the Yellow Line in the Snow”
I guess I shouldn’t say that into a microphone, Canadians might take offense, and their dollar is worth more than ours now.
This was a conservative group, susceptible to: (especially with alcohol in bloodstream)
You Are My Sunshine
Goodnight Irene
Blueberry Hill
King of the Road
Catch a Falling Star
Jamaica Farewell
Country Roads
Puff the Magic Dragon
Delilah
And of course Sweet Caroline with the “so good so good so good” etc -- maybe one of you can tell me how this goofy pianobar cliché developed.