The Wonders of the One Pound Note
Brothers!
You .... with but a sixpence in your pocket, and you with half a 'quid,' and
you with a solid bank balance, and sundry others;
Let not the cares of money e'er oppress you.
Today I would address you
Upon the wonders of the one pound note
And in the words that someone one day wrote
Across its face,
I trust my words will not be out of place.
Have you e'er given our pound note a glance -
When you have had a chance?
Artistic, ain't it?
I wonder what aesthete they got to paint it?
Doesn't its face attract you, and its smile
Lure you to love and fondle it a while -
The brief while that 'tis with you? Don't you feel
It has a certain - shall we say - appeal?
And, have you ever
Marvelled at all that intricate and clever -
That wonderful arrangement of the 'ones'
That pop up in tne most unexpected places?
There are so many there
That, just to count them, makes you feel almost a millionaire.
And have you ever noticed how its face is
Adorned with divers writings in quaint style?
Brothers; those writing often make me smile.
Is it indeed a sin to copy such?
It doesn't matter much.
But, as a writer, I'm interested in the subject, and up to the time those few
lines were indited
I've never heard that note was copyrighted.
But, still, why need we quarrel
About that matter? But what I have been trying to say all this time is that I
consider that the pound note, beloved though it be by all classes of the
community, is, in some senses, highly immoral
For why?
It tells a lie.
What does it say?
'I (the Commonwealth treasurer) promise to pay
'One pound in gold' -
(Oh brothers! How can such vain things be told?)
'Upon demand' (he prints DEMAND in 'caps.')
But will he pay? . . Perhaps!
Why, brothers? Why?
Go up and try,
Go up into the lordly treasuree
And ask to see
The Treasurer, and there and then unfold
The tale of your dire need for gold.
The man won't dare to look you in the face.
Demand (as he invites you to), insist, reason, argue, shout, yell your demand
at him, and he'll probably have you kicked out of the place.
Now, brothers, is that fair?
I know there was a catch in there somewhere.
So next time that you Bills and Bens, and Hals and Toms amd Dicks and Timothys
and Thomases
Kid yourselves that you are well off, consider, it is not wealth, splosh,
spondulicks, brass, beans, dough that you possess; but merely a pocketful of
worthless promises.
The man won't recognise that note: he hates it;
Yet gaols the flatterer who imitates it.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Brothers
Lets get to the point now
Just because weve got the same mum and dad
That dont mean im your keeper
That dont mean I owe anything to you
You dont care for me
And man I dont think that much of you
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
I dont approve of anything you do
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
Cain and abel and me and you
You drove my car when we were young boys
And you tore it up too
You never paid to get it fixed
And you got me beat up a time or two
I know I should forgive and forget
But man I still hold a grudge against you
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
I dont approve of anything you do
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
Cain and abel and me and you
It is as normal as it can be
This sibling rivalry
We should have dropped it at 22
But man I cant stand the things you do
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
Youre always want something from me
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
It was so much fun having you in the family
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
Now that were grown it aint helped nothin? at all
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
On my birthday, please dont bother to call
Cause were brothers brothers brothers
Brothers brothers brothers
Yeah, youre my brother brother brother
Brothers brothers brothers
Yeah, were brothers brothers brothers
Yeah, were brothers brothers brothers
Brothers brothers brothers
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Demand
Demand a ball of the year
That bounces when your sight
Has spent a pound.
Demand it out of luck for your body and mind.
This pound I spend, do not condemn it,
As the thief has been committed to praise.
My left wounds are the right,
As coins are like pains to collect.
We are indebted to your efforts
As many as there are in the world.
My options are sacred, my options are banned,
For the torture of the day is solid
And worse troubles may sway, for the only
Trouble has limited my life.
poem by Naveed Akram
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Half Blooded Brothers
You my blood half or full were brothers, regardless of what you do to each other, you my brother half or full, .
We keep each other good, you my brother half or full. We take care of each other, because we brothers half or full.
Imma stop trippin, it'll take a while, because im use to bullshittin and prickin, but you my brother half or full.
Stick together we will stay alive, all the bullshit I said, I've been a asshole, shit who hasn't, but you my brother half or full and I guess that's what family does.
Arguments and verbal brutality towards one another is what we do, because we will always be brothers half or full. Blood half or full, it doesn't matter, because we are brothers till the end of time, your my brother half or full.
poem by Arthur V. Miller III
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There never was a five-pound note but there was a ten-pound road for it.
Simple Sister Goes To Sydney
When Flo resolved to go to town from brothers three a yell went up,
Predicting ruin and distress. Bill in his horror dropped a cup.
“Gorstruth!” he said, “in Sydney there what is a simple girl to do?
They took me down. I lost me watch and seven quid. What ‘ope for you?”
Ben turned on her in pale dismay. “Look here, me girl, ain’t you bin told
How one iv them there spieler blokes done me for twenty pound in gold?
He was as nice a gentleman as any in the blessed shops:
He got away with all I had, and took a luner at the cops.”
“Me, too,” said Dave, “that time I went to Sydney town to see the Show
One trimmed me for me bran’ new suit. You stay where we can watch you, Flo.”
Flo packed. “If spieler comes at me his finish will be sharp,” she said;
And when the boys next heard of her she’d got a bloke, and then was wed.
She wrote: “He’s rather nice, I think, and I am putting him to work.
Next Chrissmiss we are comin’ up to see yous people back o’ Bourke.”
And when he came he brought for Bill a silver watch and seven quid,
For Dave a bran’ new suit of check, a ruby tie-pin and a lid.
To Ben he handed twenty pounds, in nice new minted sovereigns, too.
And still the brothers gaped at him, and still their great amazement grew.
He was a natty kind of chap, with gentle manners, small and slim.
And when they spoke ‘twas as one man. “So ‘elp me cat,” they said, “it’s ‘im!”
poem by Edward George Dyson
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Ten Pound Note
I was five when mam left us
But before she passed away
She gave me a ten pound note
For a coat on a rainy day
But there was no coat which could last
The rainy days I had to bear
So I lent my money to my brother
Who looked after me with care
My brother spent the money
Everywhere we went
On things I didn’t care about
Like camping in a tent
On bandages and soap
And fishing in the river
And chips when we were hungry
To warm a bellies shiver
He seemed to spend lots of money
I wanted my money back
I decided ten years later
For I never bought that mac
Brother where’s my money now
I loaned you long ago
For years you’ve spent it carelessly
But I still love you though
He was sad as he looked at me
Then he began to say
I promised mam not to leave you
Until your rainy day
Its time to buy that coat now
I’m leaving you today
You’ve grown to be a fine young man
But I must sail away
Your note has never left me
Its folded in my pocket
It sits so very tightly
In our mams silver locket
Its your turn to keep it now
Your note has kept us near
Goodbye my little brother
Let me wipe away your tear.
Johnny One Note
Johnny could only sing one note
And the note he sings was this
Ah!
Poor johnny one-note
Sang out with gusto
And just overlorded the place
Poor johnny one-note
Yelled willy nilly
Until he was bleu in the face
For holding one note was his ace
Couldnt hear the brass
Couldnt hear the drum
He was in a class
By himself, by gum!
Poor johnny one-note
Got in aida
Indeed a great chance to be brave
He took his one note
Howled like the north wind
Brought forth wind that made critics rave,
While verdi turned round in his grave!
Couldnt hear the flute
Or the big trombone
Evry one was mute
Johnny stood alone.
Cats and dogs stopped yapping
Lions in the zoo
All were jealous of johnnys big trill
Thunder claps stopped clapping,
Traffic ceased its roar,
And they tell us niagra stood still.
He stopped the train whistles,
Boat whistles,
Steam whistles,
Cop whistles,
All whistles bowed to his skill
Sing johnny one-note,
Sing out with gusto and
Just overwhelm all the crowd
Ah!
So sing johnny one-note, out loud!!
Sing johnny one-note
Sing johnny one-note out loud!
song performed by by Ella Fitzgerald
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Come Back, Brother
I have brothers
Yet I know them not
They live far away
In the hearts of Americas
Down the lanes of London
In the far east sunshine
Seeking for the golden fleece
I have many brothers
Yet they are invisible
I am not acquainted with them
Yet they wire currencies to me
Vide the Western Union
I cannot touch them
Because they are far removed
I longed to see my brothers
I longed to touch them all
Let me embrace them once
Let me see them face to face
Come back home brothers
Come home to roost
Come home to rest
Come and take your deserted thrones
poem by Babatunde Aremu
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Mailbox Opens By Itself?
How does a mailbox open all by itself?
No, it needed a human’s help.
You opened it, then looked in,
you saw the note,
you were caught again.
So you played Sherry
with your stupid little lie,
your made up false alibi.
“All the mailbox doors
open just like M.D’s.”
“I” tried your game
this morning
it didn’t budge or
even squeak.
I could sit there all day
long opening mailboxes
till I’m blue in the face,
NO movement from my
mailbox not even a trace.
See last week you were
in my mailbox
and you took the 1st note out,
you were scared
without a doubt.
See the mailman put
mail in after that,
so this week you went
on your little rant.
You called the cops
and stated your false case,
then put a note outside my place.
Making me take the note out
before the mailman got there
the very next day,
so that I would think
the mailman took the
first note last week away.
But SEE the mail did come today,
and guess what the note did STAY.
So how did you know the note was
still in my mailbox today
and why would you care?
Because you are GUILTY
and so you dared.
You looked again—what a fool—
Like you think I’m stupid?
No, I’m on to you.
Now take your old dog
and your lying ____
and move out
while you still have
the chance.
Written on March 15,2011 by Christina Sunrise
poem by Christina Sunrise
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Wake Up!
You put your cleanest dirty shirt on
Then you stagger down to meet the dawn
You take a ride upon a bus, its just a fuss
You know it keeps you born
You get to know a morning face
You get to join the human race
You get to know the world
Has passed you by
Who cares? you might be dead
Who cares? you stayed in bed
Who cares? you wrote the note
Who cares? you might have spoke
Wake up!
You take a snack to fill the gap
And then youre ready for another shift
Your attention was diverted
By the girl who smiled and made the lift
The radio is blaring out
Its in one ear and then its out
You didnt notice that the records over
Who cares? you might be dead
Who cares? you stayed in bed
Who cares? you wrote the note
Who cares? you might have spoke
Wake up!
In the road a crowd had gathered
And a man was close to dead
The blood is running down the gutter
While youre yawning, nothings said
His bodys wriggling like an eel
They got no sense, no touch, no feel
Somebody better go and get a blanket
Who cares? you might be dead
Who cares? you stayed in bed
Who cares? you wrote the note
Who cares? you might have spoke
Who cares?
song performed by by Xtc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Gospel (Lk 6: 39-42)
Why note the splinter in your brother’s eye,
And nev’r notice the log within your own?
Why tell, ‘I’ll take the splinter off your eye,
When you can’t see the log in yours? ’
You hypocrite!
‘Take out the log from your eye first,
When only you can see clearly;
Then take the splinter out from brother’s eye! ’
Many a time, we never know
Nor do we ever realize
Our own great faults and blunders made
But always try to give advice
Unto others on flimsy grounds;
A wise man makes himself perfect
Before embarking on preaching;
We note the faults of others fast;
We forget sins of our own past;
We should not try to judge others;
God is the perfect Judge, brothers!
poem by John Celes
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The Goodbye Note
I'm sorry it had to go this way
But I couldn't bear looking at you today
I just miss you so much
You no longer can I touch
I could
But there'd be too much pain
I would
But I'd lose you again someday
I can't be your friend
Because of the pain you put me through
And I can't be your friend
Because I can't bear to see you
I'd cry
And runaway
I'm too scared
To face you another day
Only out of the fear
Of running away
And shedding more than one tear
But there's more than tears to pay
It seems hopeless
Writing you this note
But again nonetheless
This note I wrote
It explains to you
Why I can't be your friend
I'm terrified of you
The note's drawing to the end
I'm so sorry
From the bottom of my broken heart I say
But again
I lost more than my heart anyway.
poem by Mystykka Mysterious
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It Is My Pleasure
It is my pleasure
It is like making love to you
The better the poem
The hotter I get
And my words
Are all I have to make
You feel my passion
Until that day
I will ravage your body
With my vowels
And my pronouns will
Lick you insane
And my nouns will I
Penetrate you with and
Adjectives will pound
And pound and pound
Viciously until you come
And my subjectives
Will drain all
My pretense into you
Hot Hot Words
And all english grammar too
poem by Midnights Voice
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Note You Never Wrote
Later on, the story goes,
A bottle floated out to sea.
After days, when it had found the perfect spot,
It opened up,
And I read the note that you never wrote to me
After all, Im sure you know,
The mayor of baltimore is here.
After days now he can finally appear,
Now at last hes here,
But he never is gonna get my vote,
cause he never is gonna get a quote
From the little note
That you never wrote to me.
Further on, along the line,
I was arrested on the shore,
Holding papers of governments galore.
I was taken in,
But I read the note that you never wrote.
Yes, I read the note that you never wrote.
Oh, I read the note that you never wrote to me.
To me.
To me.
To me.
song performed by by Paul McCartney
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Right Sort
We have hustled that litter in Heatherlie Whin,
Two crouch in the bracken, two dodge in the corn,
But the fifth one as swift as the shadow of sin
Was away when he heard the first note of the horn.
He skimmed the broad meadow in front of us all
With his brush in the air and his mask to the moor,
Looking back with a grin from the top of the wall
Ere he dropped to the heather cool, safe, and secure.
His brothers and sisters will fall by the way;
They'll be harried and headed and chopped in a ride;
But this one will live for a galloping day
And lead us and pound us and scatter us wide.
Let him travel! – a good one. We’ll meet him again
When the fields in the dusk of December are dressed;
We shall need all our courage to follow him then,
When he steals o’er the open, a fox of the best.
poem by William Henry Ogilvie
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Tell Me To My Face
(clarke / hicks / nash)
Will you try to justify the meaning
Of the note you sent this evening
To my door, youre not deceiving me
Id have thought that youd have known much better
Sending round an unsigned letter
Facing me would be much better now
Is it just that you cant face the future with me
Cant you tell me to my face
You just took the cowards way to say goodbye
How would you feel here in my place
If at last I think Im glad to rid myself of you Im sad
To think about the time Ill have to go
Then Ill turn and walk away so please dont beg for me to stay
Cause I know just what I will say to you
Is it just that you cant face the future with me
Cant you tell me to my face
You just took the cowards way to say goodbye
How would you feel here in my place
Tell me to my face youre leaving now
Tell me to my face youre leaving now
Though you try to justify the meaning
Of the note you sent this evening
To my door, youre not deceiving me
Id have thought that youd have known much better
Sending round an unsigned letter
Facing me would be much better now
Is it just that you cant face the future with me
Cant you tell me to my face
You just took the cowards way to say goodbye
How would you feel here in my place
song performed by by Hollies
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Time's Up (Dust Mix)
[spoken style]
wake up, face the future
cause I feel I have to salute you
on the things that's goin on, in this world today
you can run, but you can't hide
you have to find your sense of pride
to let you know, that this world, will never decay
It's later than it's ever been, time's up (time's up)
It's later than it's ever been, time's up (time's up)
It's later than it's ever been, time's up, in this world, today
brothers and sisters, grab a hold
there's a story solid as gold
we must try to stay alive
we must strive, and never slip away
where there's sunshine, there is rain
where there is joy there will be pain
we must move, m?--? move
we must move, and never decay
It's later than it's ever been, time's up (time's up)
It's later than it's ever been, time's up (time's up)
It's later than it's ever been, time's up, in this world, today
yo yo my brother my brother
let me lay it on the downstroke
I want you to know that I will provoke
anything that life will bring
because within these words I have a antidote
the time is comin' for the song that I'm hummin'
to let you know it's later than it's ever been
your time is up, you sad faced clown
now here's da breakdown (da breakdown, da breakdown, da breakdown)
[sung vocals]
It is later, than it's ever been
the life you livin', try not to sin
it is later, it is later, it is later, than it's ever been
keep on movin', and grab a hold
the life you livin', must have control
we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, if we try
It is later, than it's ever been
the life you livin', try not to sin-a
song performed by by Moby
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Suicide Kid
As she read the note aloud
Her voice clear and loud
'This is what she wrote
Her suicide note'
There were gasps all through the air
For everyone seemed to care
They said she was so great
But their compliments were too late
Her note read like this
'Nothing in my life is bliss
And no one sees the tears I cry
You will only care once i die
Perfection was only a minor concern
Love is what I yearn
This pain you say you now feel
Is probably not even real
As you sit there and moap or gloat
What you just read was my suicide note'
No words were spoken
No silence broken
No child whined
And no one shined
They were all put down to dirt
To see how much she hurt
This was her master plan
To hurt the common man
To feel the way she did
Little baby suicide kid
poem by Laura Kelly
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Solomon To Sheba
SANG Solomon to Sheba,
And kissed her dusky face,
'All day long from mid-day
We have talked in the one place,
All day long from shadowless noon
We have gone round and round
In the narrow theme of love
Like a old horse in a pound.-
To Solomon sang Sheba,
Plated on his knees,
'If you had broached a matter
That might the learned please,
You had before the sun had thrown
Our shadows on the ground
Discovered that my thoughts, not it,
Are but a narrow pound.'
Said Solomon to Sheba,
And kissed her Arab eyes,
'There's not a man or woman
Born under the skies
Dare match in learning with us two,
And all day long we have found
There's not a thing but love can make
The world a narrow pound.'
poem by William Butler Yeats
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Democracy
You took my brothers for interrogation
a long time ago.
During this period
You built the longest Bridge, Tallest Tower, fastest Train
and supersonic Jets,
And shown so many miracles.
But my brothers did not return.
I went to a district Magistrate and explained the matter.
He was simply disappeared.
At last you said brothers were on a pilgrimage.
I searched them in Kathmandu, Bethlehem and Mecca
all over the world.
but there is no any trace of them.
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
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