As we prepared for our annual Lessons & Carols service a weekago, a fellow chorister shared this reminder from Allan Sherman, one of my favorite commedians from the past.
Because it's sometimes hard to understand the words, here's a visual aid.
We would now like to salute all of the beautiful singing groups all over the world.
When the Norman Luboff Chorus
Sings a song like this (like this, like this, like this),
Every single note is gorgeous,
But they sometimes miss.
No one's perfect, no one's perfect, no one's perfect, and
That includes Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, and The Ray Charles Singers who were made famous by their frequent appearances on The Perry Como Show, and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and The Robert Shaw Chorale.
When the chorus sings behind you,
All they do is hum (hum).
Every hum is like an angel,
Then one hum goes bumm!
Far above the other singers,
In the treble clef,
A soprano sings in B flat,
But the key is F.
No one's perfect, no one's perfect,
We have learned tonight.
So you'll be astounded
When we hit this last note right.
For the record, it's not easy to sing so beautifully discordantly.
