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Thursday, September 16, 2004
No longer shall I call Dan Rather "Gunga Dan"
Prompted by a question in a comment from MaDr, after thinking the matter through and re-reading Kipling's poem "Gunga Din," I've concluded that I won't continue to use the nickname "Gunga Dan" for Dan Rather:
You may talk o' gin an' beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,
An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;
But if it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.
Now in Injia's sunny clime,
Where I used to spend my time
A-servin' of 'Er Majesty the Queen,
Of all them black-faced crew
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din....'E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean.
'E put me safe inside,
An' just before 'e died:
"I 'ope you liked your drink," sez Gunga Din.
So I'll meet 'im later on
In the place where 'e is gone —
Where it's always double drill and no canteen;
'E'll be squattin' on the coals
Givin' drink to pore damned souls,
An' I'll get a swig in Hell from Gunga Din!Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Tho' I've belted you an' flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
It's true, as my commenter pointed out, that Rather has long been a "water carrier" for the political left. But I've concluded that it's demeaning to the image of the noble water carrier from the poem to call Rather by a corruption of his name.
Posted by Beldar at 06:45 PM in Humor, Mainstream Media, Politics (2006 & earlier) | Permalink
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Comments
(1) Dan made the following comment | Sep 16, 2004 6:54:57 PM | Permalink
That's a good call. Personally, I've always liked Dan Blather when I've heard it.
Blather: To talk nonsensically.
n. Nonsensical talk.
(2) Al made the following comment | Sep 16, 2004 7:06:02 PM | Permalink
Baghdad Dan. Sorry, no offense Dan.
Brings to mind both 'Baghdad Bob' and Dan's trip to Baghdad.
Although, frankly, I'd like to recommend him for TIME's 'Man of the Year'. That isn't even ad hominem. Normally.
(3) Insufficiently Sensitive made the following comment | Sep 16, 2004 7:38:21 PM | Permalink
Actually, one needn't go across the Atlantic to find a more suitable song commemorating Old Dan Rather. Here in America we have a fine paean to one Old Dan Tucker, which needeth but a small tweake:
Old Dan Rather gets on the tube,
reads fake faxes from a slimy rube,
I don't care if they is all lies,
I don't never apologize
Git out the way, Old Dan Rather
you won't never fool no blogger,
crooked memos, awful lookin'
Old Dan Rather's goose is cookin'
(4) Justthisguy made the following comment | Sep 17, 2004 2:40:17 AM | Permalink
Dan, Dan, Dan,
I'll juldee you this minute!
(5) Justthisguy made the following comment | Sep 17, 2004 2:54:33 AM | Permalink
Oops, sorry, serves me right for counting on my aged memory when I had the text available one hyperlink away!
Try this:
It was "Dan! Dan! Dan!
You 'eathen, what's the mischief you have done?
You put some *juldee* in it,
Or I'll *marrow* you this minute,
If you don't stop tellin' whoppers, Gunga Dan"
(6) davod made the following comment | Sep 17, 2004 4:15:45 AM | Permalink
Rather's obsession with this defies logic - unless it's personal. I remember reading somewhere that a few years ago he attended a democratic fundraiser arranged by his duaghter. He took some flak for it at the time.
Is he protecting his daugher.
(7) Annie made the following comment | Sep 17, 2004 3:48:31 PM | Permalink
Well, it just goes to show how much culture there is in the blogosphere, that I am exposed to "Gunga Din," which I had never read before, and then get to sing a fresh-minted version of "Old Dan Tucker!" Keep up the ejjicating, friends!
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