Whiffenpoofs.......

Oh, those priceless moments at 3:00 AM!

As I laid there in my semi-conscious stupor, contemplating the best position for additional sleep, the words to a song came to me from long ago.  Strangely, I remembered the lyrics and tune to the song, which I first heard circa 1964 on an album by the singing group, The Lettermen.

The name of the song is "The Whiffenpoof Song"; and, although I loved the tune and the harmony, I never understood the meaning.

So, after all these years, the question again popped into my mind---What does the song mean?

When I arose I immediately Googled this subject.  Here are the results of my search (and HEY!----I LEARNED SOMETHING TODAY!)

---A Whiffenpoof is an imaginary or indefinite animal, e.g. "The Great Horned Whiffenpoof"

---The Whiffenpoof Fish that forms the subject of a piece of comic dialogue in Victor Herbert's 1908 operetta, "Little Nemo"

---The Whiffenpoofs, the Yale University singing group founded in 1909 and named after the imaginary beast in Herbert's operetta

The A Capella Whiffenpoofs of Yale sing "The Whiffenpoof Song" as a traditional closing number in their performances.  The song was first published in 1909.

"Mory's" refers to Mory's Temple Bar.  "Louis" refers to Louis Linder, a former owner of the bar.

The chorus is from the poem "Gentlemen Rankers" by Rudyard Kipling.

The Whiffenpoofs tour all over the world and sing a variety of A Capella songs.



The Whiffenpoof Song

To the tables down at Mory's
To the place where Louis dwells
To the dear old Temple Bar we love so well
Sing the Whiffenpoofs assembled with their glasses raised on high
And the magic of their singing casts its spell

Yes, the magic of their singing of the songs we love so well
"Shall I Wasting" and "Mavourneen" and the rest
We will serenade our Louis while life and voice shall last
Then we'll pass and be forgotten with the rest

We're poor little lambs who have lost our way
Baa baa baa
We're little black sheep who have gone astray
Baa baa baa

Gentlemen songsters off on a spree
Doomed from here to eternity
Lord, have mercy on such as we
Baa baa baa......