Away With Rum -- Theodore Bikel

Guest poem sent in by Vivian

(Poem #1916) Away With Rum We're coming we're coming. Our brave little band On the right side of temperance we now take our stand. We don't use tobacco because we do think That the people who do so are likely to drink. [Chorus] Away, away, with rum, by gum, With rum, by gum, with rum, by gum, Away, away, with rum, by gum, The song of the Salvation Army. We never eat cookies because they have yeast And one little bite makes a man like a beast. Oh, can you imagine a sadder disgrace, Than a man in the gutter with crumbs in his face? [Chorus] We never eat fruitcake because it has rum, And one little slice puts a man on the bum. Oh, can you imagine a sorrier sight, Than a man eating fruitcake until he gets tight? [Chorus] -- Theodore Bikel

Franklin P. Adams' "Prohibition" inevitably brought this to mind. Here, the
song tweaks the temperance movement (there are versions with "Temperance
Union" rather than "Salvation Army") for going to intemperate extremes, but
the underlying message is that anything that seems like a pretty good idea
in the first place (in the specific case, immoderate consumption of alcohol
can lead to disastrous results) when taken to its logical extremes can be
absurd and even violent.

When I first learned this song, I understood the words to the chorus as
"Away, away with rum, buy gum" (rather than "by gum"), possible because we
sang the final chorus as:

  Away, away with gum, buy rum
  With gum, buy rum, with gum, buy rum,
  Away, away with gum, buy rum,
  The salvation song of the army."

Which brings me to the next point: Like many folk songs, this is a kind of
oral poetry that gives license to its "users" to invent verses and
variations of their own. A collection of these - some of them quite funny -
can be seen at http://www.whitetreeaz.com/awayrum.htm.

Vivian

[Links]

The guitar chords are here:
http://www.thetabworld.com/Bikel_Theo__Away_With_Rum_guitar_chord_printable.html

Biography:
  Austrian-born character actor, folk singer and musician (1924-)
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Bikel

Bikel's website:
  http://www.bikel.com/