An Englishman in Taipei II

This was petty and silly, but after a year of pretending to be an American in Taipei, I needed to exact some kind of revenge. Stand up for my fellow Englishman.

It was parents' evening at the school and i had had to teach the kids some good American folk songs to perform tonight.

The boss of the school was perpetually afraid her American English teacher – that she knew wasn’t - was going to be found out. “You talked to your friends, yes? You learn some good American nursery rhymes. You know the parents want to hear some American songs for the competition today,”she asked.

“No problem. These are good mid-western folk songs…My friend is from Mississippi.”

First team up.

“Where be that blackbird be.
I be after 'e
E be up that blackbird tree and I be after 'e.
E sees I, I sees 'e,
Buggar if I don’t get him,
With a gert big stick I’ll knock ‘im down
Blackbird I’ll ‘ave 'e.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!
Blackbird I'll 'ave 'e.

I found the idea of kids singing the wurzels - a west of England comic group - to their mother, father and grandparents extremely funny, but I forgot the wurzels were so obscure I would never be found out…And without a hint of suspicion, or doubt there really was no joke.