Talk:The Unicorn (song)

missing culture of pantomime to go with song

What's in the article is quite nice. No lyrics though -- but perhaps you're not allowed to give lyrics. What is missing that should be in there is a fun little bit of sociology or culture associated with this song: when performed live (though I guess you & friends/relatives could do it at your home), the listeners pantomime a symbol for each animal of the chorus: green alligators, and long-neck geese, some humpty-back camels, and chimpanzees; some cats & rats & elephants; and sure-as-you're-born, the loveliest of all was the unicorn. Alligator = extend arms out & do the obvious long-mouth chomping motion; long-neck geese = one arm up vertically & curl your wrist down; camels = with arms & fingertips, make arches above each shoulder; chimpanzees = scratch sides of your torso; cats = make "whiskers" off sides of cheeks with fingers; rats = ditto, but have "whiskers" closer to your mouth and forward-facing; elephants = kind of like for geese but arm way out in front of you instead of vertically (need not have arm exactly horizontal) with somewhat curled-down wrist; unicorn = put index finger so it is jutting out from forehead (this I find so funny). One pantomime is not for an animal, but for the phrase "sure as your born": pantomime rocking a newborn baby in your arms. The catch, of course, is to do all these pantomimes in-sync with the music.

All the above may seem a triviality. How could it not? But actually, done live in a pub & witnessing others do it, I think it NOT a triviality. I find that KNOWING that others are enjoying something -- a play, art or music -- but especially music -- is a very moving experience. All the more so when you're having the same feelings at the same time. True dancing MAY be such an indication, but not everyone dances as a way to enjoy the music more (more often, it is vice versa: the music serving a need to dance). With the unicorn song, all the folks engaging in the pantomimes, however silly, really shows a group of people all feeling happy with the music and the song. To go further into what I'm getting at, one time, to a live Marine Band performance of "Stars and Stripes Forever", people were actually "singing" the refrain -- even though there were no words! They were moved to "sing". I found that very fact INCREDIBLY moving. With this cute catchy little tune, "The Unicorn", the pantomiming indicates pure joy -- experiencing it and knowing others are too. I'm a big analytical & philosophical person, so if I even enjoy pantomiming to "The Unicorn" you KNOW it is not just for folks who love any excuse to act silly. They were ADULTS doing the pantomiming at the pub, not kids. So there's definitely a need to write about this pantomiming thing in an article about "The Unicorn" song.