From the recording Family Portraits (Volume 3)
A Northern Soul inspired love-song to my French nephew Antoine, who as part of an exchange programme for engineering students, spent some time in Ottowa, Canada, where few folk on his course were able to pronounce his name.
Lyrics
I had a beer with an engineer, who
queried me on my quantum theory, but
With no malice or one-upmanship
Only smiles that folded dips into his cheeks
“Le cieil est blue et le chien est dans L’eglise”
“And where is Keith?
He’s in the kitchen, of course, Wherever else would you think he’d be?”
Few Quebecoise in Ottawa,
They can’t pronounce your name, Antoine
But with that brain, and natural charm
Everyone knows Tony
Writing lyrics for a physicist
I used
Artificial intelligence
And put
Love and laughter in the algorithm
A tiny dose of scepticism too
“Can we for just a moment, please,
be serious and think?
Through the magic tricks of quantum physics while we sip our drinks?
Few Quebecoise in Ottawa,
They can’t pronounce your name, Antoine
But with that brain, and natural charm
Everyone knows Tony
T-O-E
K-N-double E-E
Head
Shoulders
Knees
And
TOE KNEE
X2
Few Quebecoise in Ottawa,
They can’t pronounce your name, Antoine
But with that brain, and natural charm
Everyone knows Tony