The Complete Flanders & Swann

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English folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner included a version of the song on his 2011 compilation album The Second Three Years.

Greensleeves" monlogue explained to death". Beachmedia.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011 . Retrieved 16 May 2011. In December 1956, Flanders and Swann hired the New Lindsey Theatre, Notting Hill, to perform their two-man revue At the Drop of a Hat, which opened on New Year's Eve. [3] Flanders sang a selection of the songs that they had written, interspersed with comic monologues, accompanied by Swann on the piano. An unusual feature of their act was that both men remained seated for their shows: Swann behind his piano and Flanders in a wheelchair (having contracted poliomyelitis in 1943). [3] The show was successful and transferred the next month to the Fortune Theatre, where it ran for over two years, before touring in the UK, the United States, Canada and Switzerland. [3] Although most of the stations mentioned in Flanders's song were earmarked for closure under the Beeching cuts, a number of the stations were ultimately spared closure: Chester-le-Street, Formby, Ambergate, and Arram all remain open, and Gorton and Openshaw also survives, now called Gorton. Some stations referred to in the song have since been re-opened, notably Chorlton-cum-Hardy. It had closed in January 1967, but re-opened in July 2011 as Chorlton tram stop. Re-opening rail line 'too costly' ". Leicester Mercury. 9 September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009.

Bedstead Men", a wry explanation for the rusty bedsteads dumped in ponds and lakes in the UK, including a witty reference to "A Smuggler's Song" by Rudyard Kipling in which "Bedstead Men" are substituted for "Gentlemen". Marshall, Prince (1972). Wheels of London; The story of London's street transport. The Sunday Times Magazine. p.60. ISBN 0-7230-0068-9.

All Gall"—a political satire based on the long career of Charles de Gaulle. At the time of writing, de Gaulle had recently vetoed the UK's first application to join the European Economic Community. Sung to the tune of " This Old Man". At the Drop of Another Hat (produced by George Martin) Parlophone PMC 1126 (mono) / PCS 3052 (stereo) First and Second Law"—a jazzy setting of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. "Heat is work and work is heat..." "Heat won't pass from a cooler to a hotter / You can try it if you like but you far better notter / Cos the cold in the cooler will get hotter as a ruler..." "Heat is work and work's a curse / And all the heat in the universe / is gonna cool down / because it can't increase / so there'll be no more work / and there'll be perfect peace" / [Swann] "Really?" / [Flanders] "Yeah, that's entropy, man."Flanders and Swann's songs are characterised by wit, gentle satire, complex rhyming schemes, and memorable choruses. Flanders commented during the recorded performance of At the Drop of Another Hat, Design for Living"—about contemporary furnishings of houses and gardens. "One day we're taking Liberty's in, the next we're down at Heal's". The Gasman Cometh"—a verse-and-chorus song in which a householder finds that no tradesman ever completes a job without creating another, related job for another tradesman. The melody quotes from " Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron". [7] The title may have been inspired by that of The Iceman Cometh (1946). Between 1956 and 1967, Flanders and Swann performed their songs, interspersed with comic monologues, in their long-running two-man revues At the Drop of a Hat and At the Drop of Another Hat, which they toured in Britain and abroad. Both revues were recorded in concert (by George Martin). The duo also made several studio recordings.

In The Desert" (" Верблюды", lit. " camels")—a "traditional Russian" song, performed by Donald Swann. He provides an English-language translation after every line. The haunting music and poignant lyrics are undercut by the dry unemotional tone in which Swann gives the translation. Some of the original words are repetitive, rendering parts of the translation redundant. Twosome: Kang & Jag" (Kangaroo and Jaguar)—two more animal songs sung as a pair. The title recalls two operas " Cav and Pag" (i.e. Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci) which are often performed together.Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo and musicians. Michael Flanders (1922–1975) was a lyricist, actor, and singer. He collaborated with Donald Swann (1923–1994), a composer and pianist, in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a school revue in 1939 and eventually wrote more than 100 comic songs together. [1] Bray, Christopher (2014). 1965: The Year Modern Britain was Born. Simon and Schuster. p.80. ISBN 9780857202796 . Retrieved 5 June 2018. Suggitt, Gordon. "Chapter 11: Around Selby". Lost Railways of North & East Yorkshire. Countryside Books. pp.124–126.