The Gnu
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"The Gnu" (sometimes known as "A Gnu", "I'm a Gnu" or "The Gnu Song") is a humorous
song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
about a talking
gnu GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...
by
Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo. Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and composer and pianist Donald Swann (1923–1994) collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a scho ...
. The word ''gnu'' is consistently pronounced in the song with two syllables as "g-noo", with the ''g'' clearly enunciated, and the ''n'' unpalatalised in contrast to the traditional "noo" or "nyoo". The song also plays on
silent letter In an alphabetic writing system, a silent letter is a letter that, in a particular word, does not correspond to any sound in the word's pronunciation. In linguistics, a silent letter is often symbolised with a null sign . Null is an unpronounc ...
s in other words such as "k-now" and "w-ho", and adds initial '' gs to various words beginning with ''n''.


Synopsis

Michael Flanders Michael Henry Flanders (1 March 1922 – 14 April 1975) was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known for his stage partnership with Donald Swann. As a young man Flanders seemed to be heading f ...
introduces the piece with a humorous monologue explaining how he came to write it. He tells the story of a car – "great big flashy thing, with teeth; engine at both ends" – that is the bane of his existence, since it constantly occupies the one spot in the road outside his house where he can comfortably get from wheelchair to car and vice versa. The licence number, he explains, is 346 GNU, although registration marks using "GNU" in reverse format were not actually issued until 1958 indicating a degree of
poetic license Artistic license (alongside more contextually-specific derivative terms such as poetic license, historical license, dramatic license, and narrative license) refers to deviation from fact or form for artistic purposes. It can include the alterat ...
being used in this tale. The song itself then begins, and consists of a brief piano introduction and two similar sung verses, each preceded by a verse spoken by Flanders.
Donald Swann Donald Ibrahim Swann (30 September 1923 – 23 March 1994) was a British composer, musician, singer and entertainer. He was one half of Flanders and Swann, writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders. Life Donald Swann was born ...
accompanies Flanders on the piano, but neither speaks nor sings during the song. In the first verse, the singer is at the
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
when he meets a man who claims to know all the animals, but misidentifies a gnu as a "h
elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
"; the animal corrects him. In the second verse, he has taken furnished lodgings, and wakes up in the night to see a stuffed hunting trophy above his bed; he is trying to decide whether the animal's head could be a
bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
, an
okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species i ...
or a
hartebeest The hartebeest (; ''Alcelaphus buselaphus''), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an African antelope. It is the only member of the genus ''Alcelaphus''. Eight subspecies have been described, including two sometimes considered to be indepen ...
, when he seems to hear a voice, asserting indignantly that it is a "g-nu, a-g-nother g-nu".


Recordings

Flanders and Swann first performed and recorded this song in their revue '' At the Drop of a Hat''. It was released as a single on the
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
label in 1957 under the title "A Gnu", and produced by future
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
producer
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
.


Legacy

The jocular mispronunciation of "g-noo" in the song has led, through familiarity, to this becoming a widespread pronunciation of the word "gnu" in English.
Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman (; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to ...
mentions "The Gnu" in connection with the naming of the
GNU GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...
project in a 2002 interview.


In popular culture

* The song is performed by a gnu and some British Whatnots in episode 519 of ''
The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...
'' (with guest
Chris Langham Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC sitcom '' The Thick of It'', and as presenter Roy Mallard in '' People Like Us'', first on B ...
). *
John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...
has a recording of the song on his album ''
Singin' in the Bathtub "Singing in the Bathtub" is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film ''The Show of Shows''. ''The Show of Shows'' was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', ...
''. * The song was the basis of the character Gary Gnu from ''
The Great Space Coaster ''The Great Space Coaster'' is a children's television show that was broadcast in first-run syndication from 1981 to 1986. Production The series was co-created by Kermit Love (original Muppet designer and builder for Jim Henson) and Jim Martin ...
''. Gary performed the song on one episode of the show. * The song was adapted (with changed lyrics) for a series of 1970s animated TV adverts for
Typhoo Typhoo (sometimes stylized as Ty•Phoo) is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1903 by John Sumner Jr. of Birmingham, England. History In 1863, William Sumner published ''A Popular Treatise on Tea'' as a by-product ...
tea, featuring an anthropomorphic gnu, with the tagline "For the tea that picks you up, pick up Typhoo". * Scottish-Australian rock singer
Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...
was inspired by this song to write and record a different song, "I'm a G'Nu", for his ''
Och Aye the G'nu ''Och Aye the G'nu'' is a 2017 children's album credited to Australian singer-songwriter, Jimmy Barnes and the Wiggles. It was first mentioned by Anthony Field in the Wiggles' 25th anniversary feature interview. The album was released in March ...
'' children's album.


References


External links


"The Gnu"
on the Flanders and Swann website {{DEFAULTSORT:Gnu, The Flanders and Swann songs Year of song missing 1957 songs