You may know these lines.
A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican,
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week
But I’m damned if I see how the helican!
It is a limerick of some fame. In fact, some consider it one of the best limericks of all time.
Through the years, I have heard several limericks, and some of them have stuck in my mind. There is the one about Nantucket. There is also one I heard in a movie about a young lady from Niger who rode on a tiger.
Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what movie featured that one.
Now, back to the pelican limerick. Most people think it was written by Ogden Nash. Apparently, Nash wrote a bunch of limericks, and, when people do not know who wrote something, they automatically think he did it. Look it up. The name of Ogden Nash is all over The Pelican.
However, here is the thing. Ogden Nash did not write this one. The Pelican was written by Dixon Merritt, who lived in Lebanon, Tennessee.
His name is prominent in our town’s history. There is a building at Cedars of Lebanon State Park that bears his name. He also taught at Cumberland University; edited The Lebanon Democrat and The Tennessean newspapers; served as Tennessee State Director of Public Safety; and was an amateur historian.
On top of all that, he was a poet, and most people did not know it.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
I love limericks, but most of my favorites are “R” rated 🙂
I agree. That’s why I can remember the Nantucket one.
And I’ve got a bunch more which, oddly enough, my mother taught me. Naughty, naughty 🙂
Strange sort of Monday morning. After going low with news of John going into semi-retirement from his blog (thoughtsfromwest5), this one has now redeemed my day.
I was sad to read John’s post. He recounts some interesting stories.
He does. I hope he does continue even if not as frequently. I’m looking forward to the release of his book.
In Harm’s Way?
That’s the one.
Haaa !
The one from Nantucket has a few ribald variations.
That I won’t recite here.
I think you should write an entire post about it.