SONG OF THE COURT JESTER OF SILLY*
 
Chorus:
I am the Jester in the royal court of Silly;
Since my name is Ryan, you can all call me Willy.
My pickle-hat’s named Sweet, though he’s really a dilly;
Meet my friendly feet – this one’s Pete, that’s Tillie.
 
I was born more than a hundred years ago;
I’m four years old today, so I should know;
I hatched right from an egg out in the snow
Laid there by a flying blue-faced buffalo.
 
Yes, it’s as a jester I am known,
And I like to make gestures of my own:
Here’s how I throw my dinosaur a bone,
And, when he bites my britches, this is how they’re sewn.
 
When tiny, I lived with an Eskimo
And ate rubber bands to help me stretch and grow;
But then ev’ry baby-bubble that I’d blow
Would bounce all the way on down to Mexico.
 
(Say, have you heard?”)
 
After rolling in the mud excitedly,
A piggy crossed the road on bended knee;
He crept right back again, I’m sure you see,
So a dirty, low-down, double-crosser he could be.
 
It makes me feel good when I see you smile;
That’s why I like the wily crocodile;
You can see him and his friends grin all the while,
As they float down the Nile with style file.
 
My older brother’s not as big as me;
I think it’s ‘cause his father is a flea;
But since his mom’s a monkey, he, with glee,
Dawdles long on logs, not dogs, hops high from tree to tree.
 
I’ve often helped a window lose its pane,
And worked to mend a candy’s broken cane;
I’ve been known to get a door out of its jamb,
That’s just the kind of jester that I am.
 
(“How about a puzzle?”)
 
If you say you heard a cow moo very slow,
While zipping down the hills on skis through snow;
Now here’s the thing I’d really like to know:
Did that cow move very fast or very slow?
 
When I grow up, I think that I will be,
A sneaky donkey that you’ll never see;
I’ll creep up close behind you secretly,
And make sure you still get a big kick out of me.
 
 

Terence Anthoney, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Anatomy
 
 

*The Court Jester of Silly is 4-year-old Ryan Bobell. His older brother, Patrick,
is the Knight of Silly (see Scope, Vol. 5[1998], pp. 32-33, for “The Knight of
Silly’s Song”).  When the words are snug, the chorus should follow each verse.
Anyone interested in the melody, costume suggestions, or a set of accompanying
movements may inquire at tanthoney@siumed.edu.