Which Do You Prefer?

An Australian critic writes:—

"I find Mr Lehrer's lyrics seldom live up to the promise of the theme. While they aspire to the level of Hilaire Belloc and Harry Graham, they usually get no higher than the average lyrics that turn up in the Cambridge Revue.

Compare, for example, the following verses on roughly the same subject. The first is Mr Lehrer's parody of an Irish ballad:

One day when she had nothing to do,

Rickety, tickety, tee She cut her baby brother in two. And served him up as an Irish stew,

And invited the neighbours in.

Now here is a Ruthless Rhyme of Harry Graham's:

"There's been an accident," they said,

"Your servant's cut in half; he's dead!"

"Indeed!" said Mr Jones, "and please

Send me the half that's got my keys."

All those who prefer the first verse to the second will undoubtedly enjoy themselves at Mr Lehrer's public soiree. For my taste he is rather obvious, jejune and, in spite of a heavy reliance upon psychiatric jargon, remarkably unsophisticated."