The Old Shell Game - Harry Anderson

disneywizard.an...
• "Needle Through Arm" -... The old Shell Game.
• TRV350's Amazing Video... backwards old shell game.
• "Needle Through Arm" -... Needle through arm.
Hustle or Magic Trick? The shell game can trace it roots back to the origin of magic, through Cups & Balls.
Harry's version needs no patter, dialog can only spoil The Wanderer (Solace) the splendid a cappella take on Scott Joplin's "Solace."
Swingle II (The Second Incarnation of the Swingle Singers)
LP: Rags And All That Jazz (1975)
Composer: Scott Joplin (Solace - A Mexican Serenade, 1909)
Lyrics: Tony Vincent Isaacs
Arrangement: Ward Swingle
Singers: Olive Simpson, Catherine Bott (sopranos)
Carol Hall, Linda Hirst (mezzo sopranos)
John Potter, Ward Swingle (tenors)
John Lubbock, David Beavan (basses)
Players: Patrick Gowers, Allan Walley, Tony McVey
Lyrics:
Long ago in the wilderness lived a man, whose journey was endless.
The Wanderer came upon a village in Mexico.
His vision was blurred; he couldn't see quite which way to go.
The blaze of the Sun in the cloudless keep threw shadows on men under brims asleep.
The Wanderer drank, then rested under a shady tree, all eyes upon him.
Who could this golden-haired stranger be?
The children came and gathered close, (while) watching his every move.
He began to play on a little bamboo piccolo insect and bird songs,calls of the wild.
Then the children saw many little creatures, tiny things, flocking around,
entranced by the sound of the music.
He then made the creatures disappear.
The people stood back in sudden fear.
A saint! Or a magician!
Who was he and from where?
Strolling, the Wanderer passed along the alleys and peeling walls.
A crowd followed him, bewildered, on by the market stalls.
He came to a place where a beggar sat with his wooden bowl on a threadbare mat.
The Wanderer gave his piccolo to the beggar,
and he spoke in a tongue that no one knew or could understand.
The beggar blew upon the flute, (and) then he smiled like a child.
Calm days in the village, and the people called him "strange one",
"The prince from nowhere with golden hair like the Sun",
"The strange one, who would care for all men".
And soon they were showing without reason, without knowing,
a change, very small to each other: something like his way.
Then the carnival came and the colors like flame in the purple night sky.
And there was dancing and song, candles moving along, and he watched them go by.
Then the beggar man's flute led the band on its route by the small village square.
And with the coming of dawning, with no one to see, yes, the Wanderer went silently.
And with the coming of dawning, with no one to see, yes, the Wanderer went silently.
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For "The Wanderer" Isaacs imagined a 1960's-like story of a mysterious fellow playing a flute who wanders in and out of people's lives. Most of the story is recounted by a soprano soloist. The tempo is rather slow and Ward Swingle's arrangement is of moderate difficulty. Swingle combined rag and modern pop styles with an accompaniment of piano, bass, and drums.
See en.wikipedia.or... Wikipedia for more information.