De Alice's Abenteuer im Wunderland Carroll pic 36

"The Mock Turtle's Song", also known as the "Lobster

Quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...

", is a song recited by the

Mock Turtle The Mock Turtle is a fictional character devised by Lewis Carroll from his popular 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. Its name is taken from a dish that was popular in the Victorian period, mock turtle soup. ''Alice's Adventures in ...

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's 1865 novel ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...

'', accompanied by a dance. It was taught to him at school by his teacher called

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

Context

"The Lobster Quadrille" is a song written by

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its seque ...

(Lewis Carroll). It is a parody of " The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Botham Howitt. It appeared in Chapter 10 of Carroll's book ''

'', and was sung by a character in the book, the

. The poem is very similar to "The Spider and the Fly" in its rhyme scheme, meter, and tone. The first lines of the two songs are as follows: ''Will you walk a little faster said a whiting to a snail...'' (The Lobster Quadrille) ''Will you walk into my parlour said a spider to a fly...'' (The Spider and the Fly) The song fits into the flow of chapters 9 and 10, "The Mock Turtle's Story" and "The Lobster Quadrille", which are about the

's life and schooling under the sea. The whimsical lyrics feature animals such as porpoises, snails and lobsters. The snail is invited to join a dance in which he would be cast into the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

towards France, but he fearfully declines. The reason is left unspoken in the song, but France is known for its consumption of

escargot Snails are considered edible in many areas such as the Mediterranean region, Africa, or Southeast Asia, while in other cultures, snails are seen as a taboo food. In American English, edible land snails are also called escargot, taken from the Fren ...

Lyrics

Settings

The song was performed by

Franz Ferdinand (band) Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band's original line-up was composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals, guitar), Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Bob Hardy (bass guitar, backing vocals), ...

for the 2010 film ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''. The song was featured in the film's

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

. The song was performed by the band

The Four Postmen The Four Postmen are an American rock band from Los Angeles, consisting of Ken Weiler (electric guitar, vocals), Matt Kaminsky (vocals, keyboards), Stefan Marks (acoustic guitar, vocals), Geoff Dunbar (drums), and Brett Pearsons (bass guitar). H ...

on their 1997 album ''Looking for Grandpa'' in an upbeat modern style. The song was performed by the punk rock band Feederz on their 1986 album ''Teachers in Space''. The song was performed by

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

and

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

(with Becker doing the lead vocals) as part of a number of demo songs recorded before they formed the band

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

. The song was set for chorus by

Irving Fine Irving Gifford Fine (December 3, 1914 – August 23, 1962) was an American composer. Fine's work assimilated neoclassical, romantic, and serial elements. Composer Virgil Thomson described Fine's "unusual melodic grace" while Aaron Copland noted ...

in his "Three Choruses from ''Alice in Wonderland''" (1942). The poem was set to music by

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

in his "Nonsense Madrigals" (1988/93). The song is sung by a chorus to the "real" Alice in the 1985 film ''

Dreamchild ''Dreamchild'' is a 1985 British drama film written by Dennis Potter, directed by Gavin Millar, and produced by Rick McCallum and Kenith Trodd. The film, starring Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley, is a ...

''. The song was included on

The Simon Sisters The Simon Sisters was a folk music sister duo consisting of Carly Simon and Lucy Simon. They released three albums between 1964–1969 before Lucy left to get married. Lucy had a minor solo career and released two albums in the 1970s before findi ...

' children's album,

The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children ''The Simon Sisters Sing The Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children'' is the third and final studio album by the Simon Sisters, released by Columbia Records, in 1969. The album features musical settings of classic children's poetry. ...

(1969).

References

* ''

'', chapters 9 and 10, by

, * http://www.online-literature.com/carroll/901/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Mock Turtles Song, The Songs about reptiles Songs about fictional characters Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Poetry by Lewis Carroll 1865 songs

Context

Lyrics

Settings

See also

References