A Comic Advertisement

The Painter and the Pianist
Were walking hand-in-hand,
“Suppose we try,” the Painter said,
“To give a one night stand,
With me to write the dialogue,
And you to be the band!

“Suppose we gave six Matinees,”
Replied the Pianist,
“And cater for the young and old
In ways they can’t resist.”
“Do you suppose,” the Painter said,
“That we should both be hissed?”

“I doubt it,” said the Pianist,
“I’ve got the recalls,
And you have got pretty wit,
A wit that never palls.”
“We’ll give a week,” the Painter said,
“In Steinway’s pillard Halls.”

Now don’t forget on Boxing Day,
From three to nearly five,
For just a week this merry pair
Will keep the game alive;
Son on that day jump on a ‘bus
And tell it wjere to drive.

And if the driver says he’s got
To go to London Wall,
Or Parsond Green or Shepherd’s Bush,
You answer “Not at all,
The only place that people go
This week is – Steinway Hall!”

Prose, Poems & Parodies of Percy French, 1980, Helicon Limited, Dublin.