William Shakespeare began his comedy “Twelfth Night” with the line “If music be the
food of love, play on!” About a century later, playwright William Congreve opened his comedy
“The Mourning Bride” with the equally famous line “Music has charms to soothe a savage
breast” (almost always misquoted as “the savage beast”).

If music be the food of love, it is also the food of language. Music has charms that teem
our tongues, course through our pens, and stream from our keyboards.

To prove my point, here’s a little quiz. Use the 20 musical terms to fill in each blank that
follows.

1. hop on the _____ 2. in _____ with the times 3. a soap _____ 4. an un_____ hero 5. Don’t
_____ on the subject. 6. You’re just _____ Dixie. 7. a _____ of boos 8. pay the _____ 9. all that _____ 10. laughing to beat the _____
11. all _____ed up 12. Don’t give me a _____ and ____ 13. to co-exist in perfect _____ 14. to
_____ in on the discussion 15. to make an _____ to the opposition
16. _____ up business 17. fit as a ____ 18. blow your own _____ 19. face the _____ 20. an
up_____ attitude

Answers

1. bandwagon 2. tune 3. opera 4. sung 5. harp 6. whistling 7. chorus 8. piper 9. jazz 10. band 11. jazz or key 12. Song and dance 13. harmony 14. chime or horn 15. overture 16, drum 17. fiddle 18. horn 19. music 20. beat

On July 22, 23, and 24, my singing partner, Bill Shipper, and I will be making a number
of stops in San Diego, four of them open to the public. We’ll be performing “Dances with
Words,” a one-of-a-kind folk concert about language play. Bill has set my lyrics and poems to his
melodious music. As we sing, the words will flash up on a screen. I possess Vincent Van Gogh’s
ear for music—but come anyway!

The concerts listed below are free and worth every penny. No need to call. Just show up.
I’d love to meet you at one of them:
For more details, please visit my website, verbivore.com.

7/22 – 11:30am – Rancho Santa Fe Library 17040 Avenida Acacia
7/23, 10:30am – Rancho Peñascitos Library, 13330 Salmon River Road
7/23, 2pm – San Carlos Library, 7265 Jackson Drive
7/24, 12 noon – Mission Hills-Hillcrest Library, 215 W. Washington Street

From Alpha to Omega,
You can bet the alphabet
Like a painting done by Degas,
Will leap and pirouette.
We’re dancing with words,
Prancing with words,
Enhancing, entrancing,
Advancing with words.
It’s Dancing with Words.

If music be the food of love and music has charms to soothe a savage breast, we’ve got
singing, we’ve got rhythm, we’ve got music. Who could ask for anything more?