The Bricklayer's Lament

[ellenkushner]

Gerard Hoffnung has long been a family favorite, and my dad proudly just sent me the complete text of his "Bricklayer" letter, which he'd managed to unearth online. I was going to post it here for you, but on mature consideration realized that it isn't all that funny unless you're reading it remembering Hoffnung's own rendition, with its masterful comic timing.

Which someone has had the grace and courtesy to post online in Quicktime.

May it cheer your Monday morning! (If you're in the office, be sure to listen with headphones & a bag over your head to hide your guffaws.)

Comments

[shannachie.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! I love Gerard Hoffnung. have been looking for this for ages. All I have is an old 60s record.

[calimac.livejournal.com]

Thanks! All I'd known Hoffnung for were his musical cartoons and the records of the three Hoffnung Concerts, which I cherish. The "Leonore Overture No. 4" has permanently bent my appreciation of No. 3.

[trillian42.livejournal.com]

I could swear someone made this into a song at one point.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

If you find it, you must tell us!

[trillian42.livejournal.com]

http://susie1114.com/BrickLayersSong.html

My mom reminded me that I originally heard it on NPR's Thistle and Shamrock. Not sure if that's the guy I heard singing it.

One more comment on Gerard Hoffnung

[stephan-laurent.livejournal.com]

Hoffnung was a tuba player. And come to think of it, nearly all of my orchestra friends who happened to be tuba players had a superb sense of humor...
Guess that comes from having to hold a heavy thing on your lap, caress it gently, purse your lips, and BLOW like the dickens!

The funniest story ever told

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the kind word and for linking to my site. The bricklayer's letter was a family favorite in my family too.

All the best,

Rodger Morrow (This Isn't Writing, It's Typing)