Noel Coward and Green Carnations

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

In the comments of weaselwoman13's lovely fic "A Touch of Colour", we got on the subject of Noel Coward's song "We All Wore a Green Carnation"-- a song comprised of sekrit gay references that would go over the heads of the contemporary straight audience. And there was much lamentation over the inability to find the whole song on the intarwebs. After nearly 20 days of failed searches and pining, I suddenly remembered the existence of things called books, and buildings called libraries. Long story short, I present you with:

"We All Wore A Green Carnation"
From Noel Coward's Bitter Sweet:


Blasé boys are we,
Exquisitely free
From the dreary and quite absurd
Moral views of the common herd.
We like porphyry bowls,
Chandeliers and stoles,
We're most spirited,
Carefully filleted "souls."

Pretty boys, witty boys, too, too, too
Lazy to fight stagnation,
Haughty boys, naughty boys, all we do
Is to pursue sensation.
The portals of society
Are always opened wide,
The world our eccentricity condones,
A note of quaint variety
We're certain to provide.
We dress in very decorative tones.
Faded boys, jaded boys, womankind's
Gift to a bulldog nation,
In order to distinguish us from less enlightened minds,
We all wear a green carnation.

We believe in Art,
Though we're poles apart
From the fools who are thrilled by Greuze.
We like Beardsley and Green Chartreuse.
Women say we're too
Bored to bill and coo,
We smile wearily,
It's so dreamily true!

Pretty boys, witty boys, you may sneer
At our disintegration.
Haughty boys, naughty boys, dear, dear, dear!
Swooning with affectation.
Our figures sleek and willowy,
Our lips incarnadine,
May worry the majority a bit,
But matrons rich and billowy,
Invite us out to dine,
And revel in out phosphorescent wit.
Faded boys, jaded boys, come what may,
Art is our inspiration,
And as we are the reason for the "Nineties" being gay,
We all wear a green carnation.

Pretty boys, witty boys, yearning for
Permanent adulation,
Haughty boys, naughty boys, every pore
Bursting with self-inflation,
We feel we're rather Grecian,
As our manners indicate,
Our sense of moral values isn't strong.
For ultimate completion
We shall really have to wait
Until the Day ofJudgment comes along.
Faded boys, jaded boys, each one craves
Some sort of soul salvation,
But when we rise reluctantly but gracefully from our graves,
We'll all wear a green carnation.

Comments

[potatofiend.livejournal.com]

I love Noel Coward so much. This song is so ludicrously blatant; it's all hidden in plain sight.

Now, if anyone has the mp3...

[finmagik.livejournal.com]

Amusing.

[weaselwoman13.livejournal.com]

YES! Thank you so much! Oh, man. The guy was such a genius lyricist. It's beautiful simply to read out loud. If only I knew what the tune sounded like...

(Hey, look! Sleek and willowy figures! Reminds me of someone! ;)

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

Well, on Amazon they have soundtrack (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000IH30/sr=1-7/qid=1145906298/ref=sr_1_7/102-0772764-0161741?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=music), and there's a 40 sec sample. The tune is wonderfully dandyish and affectedly blasé. Very appropriate, of course.

[weaselwoman13.livejournal.com]

!! I want this CD. *adds it to her "buy this next time I have money" list along with everything else*

[hoskie.livejournal.com]

I love that I'm not the one who brought up Noël Coward! :)

... by the way, while I don't have the entire track (the Bitter Sweet CD is too expensive for me right now *weeps*), I have a track in which The Master himself sings a bit of it ("Noël Coward Presents") if anyone wants me to upload it (spread the love!).

[cicerothewriter.livejournal.com]

That would be wonderful! Would you, please?

[hoskie.livejournal.com]

Here you are: "Noël Coward Presents (http://download.yousendit.com/8393CE28262CA25A): Tokay, World Weary, Caballero, Green Carnations, I'll See You Again, Poor Little Rich Girl, Zigeuner, Dear Little Cafe, The Call Of Life, Ladies Of The Town"

For Noël Coward stuff, I am the go-to guy. :)

[cicerothewriter.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm downloading now.

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

w00t! Thank you hoskie!

And now, for your convenience, if you would like it on its own, here it is (http://download.yousendit.com/29364B83251086F6)! (in .wma format, becaue I am not quite l337 enough to make mp3s)

[montycrowley.livejournal.com]

Right. We may need to sponsor some sort of fandom-wide music video challenge.

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

Oh so tempting....