Mr. Lear - Al Stewart

How pleasant to know Mr. Lear
How pleasant to know at the end of the day he's near
With a portfolio that daily features diverse creatures

You open the book and it's true
The world is a lot more mysterious than we knew
Round every corner unusual things are prone to wander

When I was a young man I was oft-times at the zoo
To trace the visages and forms of parrots and cockatoos

It's over the hill now he goes
Pausing a while with the Pobble who has no toes
For your perusal, Victorian days are so unsual

Oh my aged Uncle Arly, sitting on a heap of barley
On his nosehis faithful cricket
In his hat a railway ticket
But his shoes were far too tight
How pleasant to know Mr. Lear

In Egypt, the first day of spring
You're painting a watercolor,hoping the light will bring
Guided by pens and inks, the pyramids and palms and sphinx

When I was an old man, I had a cat named Foss
Now he's gone I wander on
With this unbearable sense of loss

How pleasant to know Mr. Lear
How pleasant to know at the end of the day he's near
And if you should find him
His world is dancing close behind him

Edward Lear エドワード・リア(1812 - 1888) ２１人兄弟の末弟としてロンドンに生まれる。 １５才で鳥の絵を描く職業画家になった。 １９才にしてロンドン動物園の設計を任される(1831) １８４６年に「ノンセンスの歌」を発表しノンセンス詩人としても知られるようになる。 この本のイラストは鳥の絵とはまったく違っている。 同年王室に招かれてビクトリア女王の美術教師を努める。 その後ヨーロッパ放浪の旅に出かける。 風景画・動物画、自然誌・韻文・小説など多くの作品を残した。 緻密な鳥の絵 ユーモア溢れる挿絵 「ナンセンスの絵本」

"a beach full of shells" の2曲目 "Mr.Lear" はイギリスの詩人・画家エドワード・リアの事です。

エドワード・リアの後年の詩に"How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear"というのがあり、
アル・スチュアートはそれを引用しています。次の詩はリアの詩ですが
アルは一行目をそのまま使っています。

How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear - Edward Lear

How pleasant to know Mr. Lear,
Who has written such volumes of stuff.
Some think him ill-tempered and queer,
But a few find him pleasant enough.

His mind is concrete and fastidious,
His nose is remarkably big
His visage is more or less hideous,
His beard it resembles a wig.

He has ears, and two eyes, and ten fingers,
(Leastways if you reckon two thumbs)
He used to be one of the singers,
But now he is one of the dumbs.

He sits in a beautiful parlour,
With hundreds of books on the wall
He drinks a great deal of marsala,
But never gets tipsy at all.

He has many friends, laymen and clerical,
Old Foss is the name of his cat
His body is perfectly spherical,
He weareth a runcible hat.

When he walks in waterproof white,
The children run after him so!
Calling out, "He's gone out in his night- Gown,
that crazy old Englishman, oh!"

He weeps by the side of the ocean,
He weeps on the top of the hill
He purchases pancakes and lotion,
And chocolate shrimps from the mill.

He reads, but he does not speak, Spanish,
He cannot abide ginger beer
Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish,
How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!

さてやっと猫の話になります。アルの詞にもリアの詩にも出て来るフォスです。
エドワード・リアが飼っていた猫の名前がフォスです。
"a beach full of shells" の裏ジャケットに載っているのがリアとフォスです。

エドワード・リアはフォスをとても可愛がっており新しい家に引っ越す時もフォスの為に、
なるべく元と変わらぬ設計にさせた程。リア自身の書く挿絵によって
シッポの短いフォスは知られる様になります。
フォスは1887年11月に亡くなりますが、リア自身もそのわずか2ヵ月後の
1888年1月に亡くなります。

「ナンセンスの絵本」

五行詩リメリック。言葉遊び。
リア独特のユーモアに富み韻を踏んだ文章。
詩のノンセンスさはもとより、注目すべきはリア本人による挿絵です。
緻密な鳥類の絵と同じ作者とは思えない程の軽さ、がいいです。

エドワード・リアのHPのこちらでも全編見れます。