Scaramouche!

The old saying goes ‘you learn something new everyday’ - and people wouldn’t say it so much if it wasn’t true. I was recently reading a story about the circus that mentioned Scaramouche, who is a commedia dell'arte character (Comedy of Humours), whose companions included Harlequin and Pierrot. These characters are considered the ancestors of the modern clown, but it wasn’t that fact that pleased me. No, it was the fact now I knew what Queen was banging on about in Bohemian Rhapsody!

I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?

Ah-ha!

I’m not totally sure how old I was when I first saw the video to Bohemian Rhapsody, but I do remember being convinced that Roger Taylor was a girl. I was pretty young at the time, and my brother would laugh his socks off.

Cue video…

Cue brother, sitting with friends. “Go on then, which one is the girl?”

Me, confidently: “That one!” (Points to the right).

Sound of laughter for a while. Listen to Freddie giving it his all.

Brother: “You still think it’s a girl playing the drums?”

Me: “Yeap.”

Brother’s mate (that I not-s0-secretly fancied): “Why, his name is Roger?”

Me: “She has long hair.”

Brother: “They all have long hair.”

Me: (a bit confused) “She sings like a girl!”

Brother and his mates go a bit quiet, as that is a definite high note Roger reaches there, so I have a point. Brother checks where mum and dad are and surreptitiously turns the volume up for the rock bit.

Brother: (after the rock bit) "He’s not a girl, you’ll see in a minute."

Me: "Girl."

Brother: (smugly) "Watch the person banging the gong."

Me: (thinking) Gosh that is rude, that girl has her top off…

I may be older and wiser now, but I still say 'girl'. Happy Sunday!