Spike Milligan – Summer Dawn – Have A Nice Day
The Comic Poet Looks on the Bright Side of Life
May 19, 2009
Spike Milligan was an British poet famous for his wit and humor, displayed in his most widely read and cherished poem, On the Ning Nang Nong; just a small excerpt of which displays the wildly creative and odd mind behind the verse:
On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
Spike Milligan's beloved poetry and comic genius was highly influential, particularly in the burgeoning comedy scene in the U.K. during the 1950's and 60's. Mr. Milligan's great contributions to the world of comedy have often been sited by the legendary comedy troupe Monty Python, as a major influence on their work. Monty Python's debt to Spike Milligan was repaid in kind, when the troupe honored their hero with a cameo in their classic 1979 film, Monty Python's Life of Brian.
Of course, less well known, at least internationally, are the more serious and thoughtful poems Spike Milligan wrote. As a life-long sufferer of mental illness, Mr. Milligan expressed the darker, more tragic side of his life, through the art he loved, and created so beautifully.
The following poems are only a small sample of Spike Milligan's deeper work; although, as any student of poetry will explain, even the darkest of poems flourish through the use of contradiction; and as a student of comedy will further explain, contradiction is an essential element in humor.
Summer Dawn
In Summer Dawn, Milligan evokes the imagery of a pastoral Summer's day, with child-like wonder and exquisite lyricism.
My sleeping children are still flying dreams
in their goose-down heads.
The lush of the river singing morning songs
Fish watch their ceilings turn sun-white.
After much appreciation and wanting, Milligan expresses a sentimental longing to be free of human frailty.
All is morning hush
and bird beautiful.
I only,
I didn't have flu.
Have A Nice Day
Have a Nice Day imagines an absurd conversation between two people, who both have less than bright futures, perfectly illustrating Spike Milligan's enormous talent for juxtaposition; brilliantly calibrating the pathos, to create a poignant scenario, on par with Samuel Beckett.
'Help, help, ' said a man. 'I'm drowning.'
'Hang on, ' said a man from the shore.
'Help, help, ' said the man. 'I'm not clowning.'
'Yes, I know, I heard you before.
Be patient dear man who is drowning,
You, see I've got a disease.
After the absolutely fantastic back and forth exchange, continues and builds ever so carefully and craftily, toward the end; Milligan spikes his absurdist dream with a simple and funny refrain.
So the man who was drowning, drowned
And the man with the disease past away.
But apart from that,
And a fire in my flat,
It's been a very nice day.
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