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Song of a Nightclub Proprietress -- John Betjeman

       
(Poem #1865) Song of a Nightclub Proprietress
 I walked into the nightclub in the morning,
 there was Kummel on the handle of the door,
 the ashtrays were unemptied,
 The cleaning unattempted,
 And a squashed tomato sandwich on the floor.

 I pulled aside the thick magenta curtains
 So Regency, so Regency, my dear
 And a host of little spiders
 Ran a race across the ciders
 To a box of baby 'pollies by the beer.

 Oh sun upon the summergoing bypass
 Where ev'rything is speeding to the sea,
 And wonder beyond wonder
 that here where lorries thunder
 The sun should ever percolate to me.

 When Boris used to call in his Sedanca,
 When Teddy took me down to his estate,
 When my nose excited passions,
 And my clothes were in the fashion,
 When my beaux were never cross if I was late,

 There was sun enough for lazing upon beaches
 There was fun enough for far into the night;
 But I'm dying now and done for,
 What on earth was all the fun for?
 I am ill and old and terrified and tight.
-- John Betjeman
Notes:
  Kümmel: a sweet, colorless liqueur flavored with caraway seed, cumin, and
  fennel

  The "box of baby 'pollies" appears to be a bit of a mystery:
    http://www.antimoon.com/forum/2004/5409.htm

This is one of Betjeman's bleaker pieces, and, I think, one of his most
memorable. Nearly all Betjeman's poems show a keen insight into humanity,
and an enviable ability to share that insight with his readers, but it is in
his 'serious' poems that that gift shows up to its best advantage, and
today's poem is an exquisite illustration of that fact.

Another thing I really like about Betjeman is the way he handles
first-person poetry - he paints extremely sympathetic, engaging characters,
and gives them powerful, haunting voices. Even a poem as superficially
lighthearted as "Indoor Games Near Newbury" [Poem #1098] is poignant and
moving; today's poem, with its theme of explicit despair, is far more so.

martin

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Anonymous said...

A passing thought from a reformed smoker for those who might still be searching for "a box of baby 'pollies by the beer" - visit this site:
http://www.famous-smoke.com/cao+cameroon+napoleon+cigars/item+13921

Anonymous said...

Actually, on reflection, this is a more plausible explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollinaris_(water)

Anonymous said...

Baby Pollies

Before World War 2 there was a popular German fizzy mineral water calle Apolinaris, it was used in the UK as a mixer with alcoholic drinks. It was considered rather 'smart' at the time. The nickname for Apolinaris was "Polly" so a box of baby Pollies shows that the proprietoress has some slightly old-fashioned mixers for drinks and she aspired to run a 'smat' establishment

Unknown said...

That upmarket Apolinaris mixers matches with the "oh so Regency" curtains to create the picture of the smart establishment, I guess. Can anyone help me out with the meaning of 'tight', right at the end? The rest it clear but this is such a mystery to me!

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Anonymous said...

apparently "baby 'pollies" is referring to small bottles of german bottled water called Apollinaris (http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/baby-pollies.512/)

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