8: He Was Afraid (Uh Oh!)

8. "The Diary of Horace Wimp" by Electric Light Orchestra [Video: The Diary of Horace Wimp.]

Gee, I wonder why I would like this song so much? It's the story of my life. (Actually, it's not the story of my life. Being late for work has never really been a problem for me. The rest of the song pretty much applies to me, but not that part.)

Belly buttons? Not today.

Apparently, the song was released as a single in England and was a Top Ten hit. But in the USA it was only an album cut.

I always like when someone tweaks the chorus of a song, but only if there is a reason to do so. The first two times it is "Horace Wimp, is this your life? Go out and find yourself a wife." But, for the last verse it is "Horace Wimp, is this your wife? Go out and find yourself a life."

I always have wondered, though, what happened to Saturday? I understand why there isn't a "Saturday" verse, because it would throw off the timing with an odd number of verses. But, why couldn't they throw in a "Saturday" at the end when the chorus is listing off the days of the week? It actually fits in nicely, if you give it a try.

Over the course of this whole HondoJoe Top 200 experience, I've tweaked the rankings occasionally as I've gone along. (The last time I did I flipped "You May Be Right" up one to #15, while dropping "Hold the Line" down to #16.)

I almost changed the ranking of this song at the last minute, moving it up two or three notches. Why? Well, the song has a new connection with me. Over the last few weeks I've been singing it, sometimes with the real lyrics and sometimes with altered lyrics, as a lullaby for my baby Charlee. Mostly I change the words to "Close your eyes and go to sleep," but when I first start she will usually give me a good smile when I sing the "doo-bow doo-bow doo-bow doodly-doodly doo-bow" part. (She thinks I'm funny.) (Somebody has to.)

COMING UP NEXT: Our final visit from Australia!