“Surrogate Grundy, sold on a Monday, to Richard and Judy”
– Mars Ultras, You’ll Never Make The Station
So… what do we know about Surrogate Grundy?
The A to Z of HMHB
The A to Z of HMHB
“Surrogate Grundy, sold on a Monday, to Richard and Judy”
– Mars Ultras, You’ll Never Make The Station
So… what do we know about Surrogate Grundy?
CHARLES EXFORD
So far most of the A-Z entries for things that aren’t proper nouns have come about as the result of adjectives (or initial words of compound nouns in some cases) which are rightly capitalised at the beginning of song lines but shouldn’t really have made it into an A-Z of unique things: authentic celtic band, balding senators, bogus official, bubble perm, bus drivers, bus replacement service, camp TV chefs, carbon monoxide alarm, cartoon ducks, children’s zoo, comedy grandad, etc. There are dozens and dozens and hundreds of examples, with ‘c’ being a particularly fecund page or these impostors, for some reason.
But the list where the capitalisation of the initial adjective has lead to the proper noun being filed elsewhere in the A-Z is much shorter than you think (stop wait a minute Mr. Spokesman…). Grundy joins an illustrious list containing …well arguably just Grundy and Neubaten, because they may be the only indisputable examples. Or probably Grundy, Neubaten, Breton shirt, Liberals and Coombes, which are all strong cases. ‘Old Boney’ is an arguable one too for other reasons.
(I’d apologise but I know a lot of Projectistas only come on here for lists and the kind of playful, bitchy meta-pedantry for which other sites try to charge a fee)
2 February 2017
this leaden paul
Once got John Lydon to swear at him, by making disparaging remarks about Lydons corporate shilling for a dairy product. Also invented Australia for the benefit of daytime TV.
2 February 2017
GOK WAN ACOLYTE
Surrogate Grundy is a lesser known member of the Grundy family in The Archers. He’s believed to the father of Henry Archer-Titchener.
@Charles Exford. I disagree in this case. “Surrogate Grundy” is clearly meant to be the name not a description (otherwise the line would be “A surrogate Grundy…”)
2 February 2017
CHARLES EXFORD
Not at all – the lyrics are written to scan and so articles are often omitted.
This is 1990-1992 when surrogacy was a burning issue in the news; the baby is sold to Richard and Judy the day after being born.
2 February 2017
CHARLES EXFORD
Sorry I meant the same day as it was born, obviously, that would be in the contract – which that American couple famously enforced in court around the time this song was penned. A surrogate baby is very unlikely to be called ‘Surrogate’, except maybe by playground bullies or later in life to publicise a memoir.
2 February 2017
CHARLES EXFORD
Course Bill Grundy used the same studio as R&J.
2 February 2017
paul f
Robson (qv) and Jerome?
2 February 2017
hendrix-tattoo
In the last verse of the song Billy’s bones by the pogues. They also use the english nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy.
4 February 2017