Flanders and Swann's songs are characterised by wit, gentle satire, complex rhyming schemes, and memorable choruses. They wrote over eighty comic songs together.
Between 1956 and 1967 they performed some of their songs in their long-running two-man revues At the Drop of a Hat and At the Drop of Another Hat. Both revues were recorded in concert, as well as several studio-based tracks.
The Gnu Song
Flanders and Swann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I met a man who thought he knew the lot
He was laying down the law about the habbits of baboons
And the number of quills a porcupine has got
So I asked him "What's that creature's name?" and he answered "That's a helk!"
And I'd have gone on thinking that was true
If the animal in question hadn't put that chap to shame,
And remarked?"I ain't a helk? I'm a gnu!
The g-nicest work of g-nature in the zoo
I'm a gnu? how do you do?
You really oughtta g-know w-who's w-who
I'm a gnu? spelt G - N - U
I'm not a camel or a kangaroo
So let me introduce, I'm neither man nor moose
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!"
I had taken furnished lodgings down at Rustington-on-sea
Whence I travelled on to Aston-under-lyne
On the second night I stayed there I was wakened from a dream
Which I'll tell you all about some other time
Among the hunting trophies on the wall above my bed
Stuffed and mounted was a face I thought I knew
A bison? An oakpi? Could it be a hearty beast?
Then I seem to hear a voice?"I'm a gnu!
I'm a gnu? a-g-nother gnu
I wish I could g-nash my teeth at you
I'm a gnu? how do you do?
You really oughtta g-know w-who's w-who
I'm a gnu? spelt G - N - U
Call me bison or okapi and I'll sue
Nor am I in the least like that dreadful hearty beast
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!"
The song "The Gnu Song" by Flanders and Swann tells the story of encounters with a strange animal in two different places. The singer first meets a man at the zoo who claims to know everything about the animals there, but when the singer asks about the creature he's pointing at, which the man identifies as a "helk," the animal corrects him and declares himself to be a "gnu." The singer is surprised by this new creature and introduces himself to it. Later, at his lodgings, the singer sees a mounted animal on the wall and wonders what kind of beast it is, until once again he hears the voice of the gnu declaring itself.
The song uses the gnu as a symbol of individuality and eccentricity, as well as a playful challenge to authority and expertise. The man at the zoo represents someone who thinks they know everything and tries to impose their knowledge on others, only to be proven wrong by the gnu. The mounted animal in the singer's room is a hunting trophy, representing a desire for power and domination over nature, but once again the gnu disrupts this idea with its insistence on its own identity.
Overall, the song is a lighthearted and humorous take on the idea of self-discovery and the importance of staying true to oneself, even if it means standing out or being different from everyone else.
Line by Line Meaning
A year ago last thursday, I was strolling in the zoo
I was visiting a zoo one Thursday, around a year ago
When I met a man who thought he knew the lot
I met a man who was very confident in his knowledge
He was laying down the law about the habbits of baboons
He was telling me a lot of information about baboons
And the number of quills a porcupine has got
He was also telling me how many quills a porcupine has
So I asked him "What's that creature's name?" and he answered "That's a helk!"
I asked him the name of a creature, and he confidently told me it was a helk
And I'd have gone on thinking that was true
I would have continued believing his answer if it were not for what happened next
If the animal in question hadn't put that chap to shame,
But the animal himself corrected the man and made him look foolish
And remarked?"I ain't a helk? I'm a gnu!
The animal told us that he was not a helk, but a gnu
I'm a gnu? I'm a gnu
The animal is a gnu, and repeats this fact
The g-nicest work of g-nature in the zoo
The animal is proud to be a gnu, and considers itself the best work of nature in the zoo
I'm a gnu? how do you do?
The animal greets us, still happy to be a gnu
You really oughtta g-know w-who's w-who
The animal thinks it is important for everyone to know who they are
I'm a gnu? spelt G - N - U
The animal spells out the name gnu
I'm not a camel or a kangaroo
The animal is not a camel or a kangaroo
So let me introduce, I'm neither man nor moose
The animal tells us that it is neither a man nor a moose
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
The animal repeats again that it is a gnu
I had taken furnished lodgings down at Rustington-on-sea
I had rented a furnished apartment in Rustington-on-sea
Whence I travelled on to Aston-under-lyne
From there, I travelled to Aston-under-lyne
On the second night I stayed there I was wakened from a dream
One night during my stay, I was woken up from a dream
Which I'll tell you all about some other time
I cannot tell you the details of the dream now
Among the hunting trophies on the wall above my bed
There were some hunting trophies on the wall above my bed
Stuffed and mounted was a face I thought I knew
One of the trophies had a face that seemed familiar to me
A bison? An oakpi? Could it be a hearty beast?
I was not sure if the trophy was a bison, an okapi, or some other hearty beast
Then I seem to hear a voice?"I'm a gnu!
But then I thought I heard the voice of the animal from the zoo telling me it was a gnu
I'm a gnu? a-g-nother gnu
The animal was confirming that it was indeed a gnu
I wish I could g-nash my teeth at you
The animal wants to show its aggression (gnash its teeth) towards someone
Call me bison or okapi and I'll sue
The animal does not want to be called a bison or an okapi, and threatens to take legal action if it is called such
Nor am I in the least like that dreadful hearty beast
The animal is not like the hearty beast I saw on the trophy
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
The animal confirms again that it is a gnu
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
The animal repeats once more that it is a gnu
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
The animal repeats its final affirmation that it is a gnu
Contributed by Muhammad H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jaguar3217
The GNU Song
(to the tune of “At The Drop of a Hat”,
by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann)
A year ago last Thursday, I was in a computer shop
When I met a man who thought he knew the lot
He was laying down the law about copyrights and licenses
And the number of patents large companies have got
So I asked him “What's that creature's name?” and he answered “That's Unix!”
And I'd have gone on thinking that was true
If the animal in question hadn't put that chap to shame,
And remarked—“GNU's not Unix—I'm a GNU!”
I'm a GNU—I'm a GNU
The g-nicest work of g-nature in the zoo
I'm a GNU—how do you do?
You really oughtta g-know w-who's w-who
I'm a GNU—spelt G - N - U
I'm not closed source or cost a buck or two
So let me introduce, I'm neither man nor moose
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a GNU!
I had taken a job coding down at Rustington-on-sea
Whence I travelled on to Aston-under-lyne
On the second night I stayed there I was wakened from a dream
Which I'll tell you all about some other time
Among the thousand programs on the disk in my PC
Installed and mounted was code I thought I knew
BSD? Unix? Could it be a hearty beast?
Then I seem to hear a voice—“I'm a GNU!”
I'm a GNU-a-g-nother GNU
I know I could g-show my code to you
I'm a GNU—how do you do?
You really oughtta g-know w-who's w-who
I'm a GNU—spelt G - N - U
Steal my bison or my octave and I'll sue
Nor am I in the least like that dreadful M$ beast
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a GNU!
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a GNU!
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a GNU!
@jhill74893
Just a quintessentially English pairing. Flanders voice and Swann’s music and piano playing. Perfect combination. I could listen to them for hours
@chiffmonkey
A gnother gnu!
@jeffloewi5632
Still love this after well over 50 years.
@ashtonunderlyn
Living in Ashton Under Lyne i used to love this song when it was played on the radio,it always give me a tingle to hear Ashton mentioned.
@TheAndraLe
Whenever my family went on a road trip we listen to flanders and swann <3
@grolfe3210
The song is full of silent letters in words being pronounced, but then people seem to still think that the Gnu is pronounced "gernoo", it is "noo" the g is silent.
@lisekartakmcdonald
other Beloved song that our Mother played for us as children on her Hi Fi record player..."AT the drop of a hat" We LOVED that album and "At a drop of another hat"..... This and "A Slow Train" were her favorites, and I love anew now, here, in Memory of my Mother, a lover of imagination and all things ...fun <3 Love you, and miss you soo, Mommy, at 52,as if I was 5...<3
@barbaralc2204
I saw At the Drop of Hat in Chicago 52 yrs. ago. They were great. So glad to hear their songs again after all these yrs. Thanks.
@tango4449
That's wonderful that your mom played this for you when you were kids! Our parents played Flanders and Swann for us too (both albums) and we siblings still know the words to many of the songs. You're the first person I've heard say they had the same experience!
@elephantarmy
This was played to me (in car journeys mostly) when i was about 5 in '87 / '88 - only just realised this predates my birth by several decades!