On Writing & Storytelling: I Write the (Occasional) Parody Songs, or: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at ‘Boy of Harvard’ from Reunion: Coda

Late Morning/Midday, Tuesday, February 6, 2024, Madison, New Hampshire

Hi, everyone. It’s late morning on a frigid but otherwise nice winter day here in New Hampshire. The current temperature is 34°F (1°C) under sunny skies. With humidity at 55% and the wind blowing from the north-northeast at 4 MPH (7 Km/H), the feels-like temperature is 49°F (9°C). Today’s forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 40°F (4°C). Tonight, the skies will be mostly clear. The low will be 13°F (-11°C).

I’m still not thrilled with the cold winter weather, mind you. But I am determined to become accustomed to the climate here in “Almost Canada” or “Almost Maine,” and I try hard to go outside, even on days when we get a light dusting of snow. Madison is, regardless of how much I sometimes miss either one of my last two Florida cities, home now, and it doesn’t do me – or anyone else – any good wishing I was somewhere else.

Besides, human beings are highly adaptable creatures – over time, we get used to almost everything. Even cold temperatures.

On Writing & Storytelling: Making Progress with Reunion: Coda

If you are a regular visitor to this space, you might have noticed that one of my two posts from yesterday showcased my take on Men of Harlech, a marching song described in Wikipedia thusly:

“Men of Harlech” or “The March of the Men of Harlech” (Welsh: Rhyfelgyrch Gwŷr Harlech) is a song and military march which is traditionally said to describe events during the seven-year siege of Harlech Castle between 1461 and 1468, when the castle was held by the Lancastrians against the Yorkists as part of the Wars of the Roses. Commanded by Constable Dafydd ap Ieuan, son of the Baron of Hendwr, the garrison withstood the longest known siege in the history of the British Isles. (“Through Seven Years” is an alternative name for the song.) The song has also been associated with the earlier, briefer siege of Harlech Castle about 1408, which pitted the forces of Owain Glyndŵr against the future Henry V of England.

“Men of Harlech” is important for Welsh national culture. The song gained international recognition when it was featured in the 1941 movie How Green Was My Valley and the 1964 film Zulu.[1]

I am not, by training or inclination, a professional lyricist, and my two extant song parodies (I also wrote one, The Longest Days, for a project that my friends Juan Carlos and Adria Hernandez worked on a few years ago. It’s my spin on Paul Anka’s theme song for the 1962 war film The Longest Day, and even though it pales in comparison to, say, Weird Al Yankovich’s The Saga Begins, it’s a decent little parody song) are, at best, passable.

For me, the toughest part isn’t the basic idea of the parody; I knew more or less what I wanted to accomplish when I chose Men of Harlech so I could adapt it for a dream that Jim has during his commencement ceremony in the chapter Goodbye, Farewell, and Adios. (In essence, I wanted the lyrics to restate, musically, Jim’s internal conflict over his feelings for his lovely high school classmate, Martina “Marty” Reynaud.)

No, dear friends, the tricky part of writing the lyrics to Boy of Harvard was getting two elements of the lyrics right: the rhyming scheme – which is based on John Oxenford’s 1873 version of Men of Harlech – and matching the words to the rhythm of the music.

Here’s the original draft of the “song within a dream”:

Boy of Harvard

(To the tune of Men of Harlech)

Boy of Harvard, what’s your story?

Tell her now or you’ll be sorry.

Gorgeous lass stands before ye,

Hear ye not her call?

At your pause, she seems to wonder;

Rend your teenage fears asunder,

Let your heart’s deaf’ning thunder

Answer her love’s call.

Kisses now exchanging

Passions loudly waking;

Till your young hearts beat as one,

The morning light the dark is breaking;

Your fears on every side assailing

Onward march with heart unfailing,

Till Martina sees your love prevailing,

Cobras never yield!

When I finished writing this version, I wasn’t thrilled with how the lyrics didn’t quite match the beats of Men of Harlech, at least not without some dodgy singing gymnastics.  However, I was somewhat satisfied with the rhyming scheme – except for the last bit, which I admit I bodged because I was in a rush to finish the damn song and send it to my buddy Juan Carlos in New York City

With a Little Help from My Friend….

Juan’s a professional actor and has a good “ear” for language and rhythm, so I figured, if anyone can fix these lyrics, he can.

In less than 20 minutes, Juan emailed me the revised and edited version of Boy of Harvard:

Boy of Harvard

(To the tune of Men of Harlech)

Lyrics by Alex Diaz-Granados, with advice from Juan Carlos Hernandez)

Boy of Harvard, what’s your story?

Tell her now or you’ll be sorry.

A gorgeous lass stands before ye,

Hear ye not her call?

At your pause, she seems to wonder;

Rend your teenage fears asunder,

Let your heart’s a-deaf’ning thunder

Answer her love’s call.

Kisses need exchanging

Passions loudly waking;

Till your young hearts beat as one,

The mourning soul is breaking;

Fears on every side assailing

Onward march with heart unfailing,

Make her see your love prevailing,

Cobras never fall!

The new version of the song keeps the gist of the first rough draft, but the revised lyrics marry up with the march’s music so much better. (I know, because I listened to a piano rendition of Men of Harlech that I found on YouTube, and even though one line does require some vocal calisthenics, Boy of Harvard works well as an Al Yankovich-style parody.)

Of course, this bit of business was a bit time-consuming; the process lasted – from inception to final edits – about two hours. So, I didn’t start writing Scene Four of the chapter for which Boy of Harvard was “composed” till 2:30 PM. I worked till 5:30 PM on it, thinking that I would only get half of the scene done – dream sequences, I have found, are devilishly tough to write – by quitting time. As it turns out, though, I ended yesterday’s writing session with at least a complete “rough draft” version of Scene Four.

I’ll be doing some revisions on the manuscript after my midday/lunch break; I’m going to focus on fixing the bits of Reunion: Coda that need edits and slight rewrites, so I will not be working on Scene Five today.

Well, that’s all the news I have to share right now, and I am running late as it is, so I’ll take my leave of you here. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay warm. I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.   

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[1] Men of Harlech. (2023, December 24). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_of_Harlech