After the night in the Leprechaun Hotel when she became a limericist, Laetitia has written hundreds of limericks. She has also written lyrics set to public domain tunes that she and her cousins performed at Uncle Milt’s famous parties. What follows is a set of lyrics she wrote about comedienne, Mae West, set to Antonin Dvorak’s Humoresque No. 7. With a career that spanned much of the 20th Century, Mae West was a star of film and stage known for her witty repartee. What follows is Verse 1 of The Ballad of May West. Although not in limerick form, each verse will appear under the heading of “Limerick” in weekly posts.
The tune is Dvořák’s Humoresque
This is a song about burlesque
A comic style that flourished long ago
And of a woman who had fun
With double meaning and with pun
And battled with the censor’s toe to toe.