Life, 1911-11-23 · page 31 of 44
Life — November 23, 1911 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This poem satirizes an incompetent church choir through mockery of Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade." The joke relies on readers recognizing the famous military poem's structure and applying it absurdly to a bungled hymn performance. The satire targets the chaos of amateur church singing: the precentor (choir director) pitches the psalm "too high," sopranos lose control, tenors struggle, and everyone sings off-key while drowning out the church bell. The precentor waves his "pitchfork" in desperation. The punchline comes when he abandons his post entirely, fleeing the "screaming pack." The humor depends on the contrast between the poem's grandiose military language ("Bellowed and thundered") and the trivial domestic setting of a village church service gone wrong—a common source of humor in *Life*, which regularly mocked middle-class American institutions and amateur performances. Modern readers miss the immediate cultural reference to Tennyson.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Village Choir Half a bar, half a bar, Half a bar onward; Choir and precentor hi: Into a mess of pitch, led the Old Hundred. Trebles to right of them, Tenors to left of them, in front of then: Bellowed and thundered. Oh, that precentor’s look, When the so DS took Their own time and hooks From the Old Hundred. Serceched all the trebles here, Bogled the tenors there, Raising a parson’s hair While his mind wandered, Theirs not to reason why This psalm was pitched too hi Theirs but to gasp and ery Out the Old Hundred. Trebles 10 right of them, Tenors to left of them, Basses in: front of them, Bellowed and thundered. Stormed they with shout and yell Not wise they sang nor well Drowning the sexton’s bell While the church wondered. Dire the precentor’s glare Flashed his pitehfork in air Sounding fresh keys to bear t the Old Hundred. The many who have worn Jaeger Underwear do not need to be told of its merits. The few who have not should lose no time in adopting it, as it benefits pocket as well as health in the end. Through “Europe in an Auto - FOR HIRE, the best Open and Closed Motor.Cars ‘for British and Continental Touring, at the most reasonable inclusive tariff in Europe. Literature, getailed | Itineraries, also copy” of “THROUGH EUROPE IN AN AUT bes on request. to do TMINTERNATIONAL AUTOTRAVEL SOCIETY % 1030, Morning Post Buildi OUR ENGINEERING CREED “ E believe when a good engineer designs a car, the basic principles, aside from simplicity and accessibility, are to climinate friction, guard against distortion, reduce wear to a minimum, and deliver the maximum horse power to the driving wheels with the least possible loss. There you have in a nutshell the story of Oakland construction, Add to this mechanical standard, low-hanging, straight-line bodies, with disappearing hinges; luxurious and durable upholstering; positive refinement of finish— and you have an adequate idea of the Oakland product. Oakland cars are made in three chassis sizes; from thirty to forty-five horse power; a wide range of prices and body di The New Model **40"—$1450 (top and windshield extra) OAKLAND CARS FOR 1912 ‘The New Model ‘40"—$1450. 'x434, Schebler carburetor; square tube x O-Lite tank; Other Types of the New Model “40” “Sociable’’ Roadster—$1450, f ee petsons on one seat. “Colonial Coupe—$1900. Seats ts y lighted ‘The New Model **45"—$2100. 7-passeazer, fo + Inside control; motor, st Schebler carburetors full Boating : te tank; wheel base, ‘The New Model **45" ‘The New Model "30°"—$1200. Spamenecr, tore-doot toarlax cys tas motor, 424" Schebler carburetor; Prest-O-Lite tank; wheel base, 106"; tires, 34°x3) The Oakland “Oriole waiee 30b. p. roadster, torpedo oly motor, A"at""s Prest-O-Lite tank; wheel base. 100” 4 ‘The Model *"26"—$1050 (with fore doors); $1009 (open front); 2-passenser, 30. » roadster; motor, 4x4"; wheel base, 1005 tires, 32 A Oakland cars have won 14 firsts in hill climbs and endurance runs so far this scason—in addition to finishing several non-competitive runs with per- fect scores. OAKLAND MOTOR CAR CO., 3600 Oakland Avenue, Pontiac, Mich. Established dealers are incited to make Write for application for opea territory Advance Catalogue ull at til wi rai a ili Strand, London, England, AAT Swiftly he turned his back, Reached he his hat from rack Then from the screaming pack, Himself he sundered. Tenors to right of him, Don't stifle your feet as do the old fashioned Trebles to left of him, cuit the sole of the shor, Trom cold usd dasspy Discords bebind 'VERYBODY NEEDS EVERSTICK Bellowed and thundered Mertate where good sioerare sold” Oh, the wild howls they wrought! ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES. Right to the end they fou THE ADAMS & FORD CO. Some tune they sang, but not, Soumn e Not the Old Hundred. Anonymous, 913 None genuine without THIS cords comicbooks.com