Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[zeppy]

what's the meaing of the underlines ? thanks all !

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Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.

A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright, was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank, misfortune seemed his lot;
He got into a drifted bank and we got upsot

(Chorus)

A day or two ago, the story I must tell
I went out on the snow, and on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by, in a one-horse open sleigh
He laughed as there I sprawling lie but quickly drove away

[bud]

Miss Fanny Bright - I think this is a metaphor. A woman, Miss Fanny Bright, is introduced to the song to signify that the singer's fanny turned bright red because of the cold weather. The traditional Jingle Bells tells us that a sleigh ride is a very fun adventure. This "take-off" on the song is telling of all the "horrors" of a sleigh ride.

drifted bank - When it snows, banks (or snowbanks) are made by snowplows and by shoveling. A bank is the pile of snow made when clearing it from roads and sidewalks... Drifts (or snowdrifts) are piles of snow (you could also call it a bank) that was made by the wind, similar to a dune in a desert... In this case, it is a very poetic was of saying a 'drift.'

upsot - This is 'poetic license' for 'upset.' The writer chose to misspell the word so that it rhymes with 'lot' in the previous line, and it is close enough to 'upset' that it is easily understood. It's also humorous!.. "We got upsot" means that the sleigh tipped over in the drift, and they got thrown out of the sleigh.

sprawling lie - This is also poetic phrasing. "To be sprawled" (in this case) is "to be lying in an unnatural position." That is , with arms and legs spread out in an awkward way, or how you can imagine a person would be postioned after being thrown from a moving vehicle.

It's a funny song, Zeppy. Thanks.

[zeppy]

Wow ! Bud, you handled this problems with great imagination. many thanks !

[quoted]

Miss Fanny Bright, is introduced to the song to signify that the singer's fanny(butt) turned bright red because of the cold weather.

upsot - This is 'poetic license' for 'upset.' The writer chose to misspell the word so that it rhymes with 'lot' in the previous line, and it is close enough to 'upset' that it is easily understood. It's also humorous!.. "We got upsot" means that the sleigh tipped over in the drift, and they got thrown out of the sleigh.

[bud]

Thank you, Zeppy.

[bud]

Blossom and Group, this is the spoof on Jingle Bells that came up a couple of Christmases ago.