"The most forgettable..."

Dear P.D.Q,

Christmas is coming! Hooray! I don't know why (at least, I haven't thought about why), but that always makes me think of old childrens' movies, like the animated Peter Pan. And the best thing about the animated Peter Pan, of course, is the Crocodile. And the best thing about the Crocodile, of course, is his delightful musical theme!

Have you ever noticed that there is some music that just have to be sung, and others that seem more to suffer from the imposition of words and human voices? The former is definitely the case with, for example, any part of Mozart's setting of the Requiem propers --- I can say this with confidence because I heard a reduction of it for string quartet as I was looking through a local record shop. But I'm pretty sure the Crocodile falls into the latter category. I mean, the song is cute and all, but there's something inimitable about the bassoon's chuckling waddle. And the little rippling glimmers of string and flute... they sound like the dazzling sunlight reflecting in odd ways off the submerged croc's wake, oh so precious, and Oh! so alarming!

Hmmm... come to think of it, I can only find tenors (or mock-tennors) singing it, and very much poppishly, too. It really wants a bass voice... I'm looking for examples singing other stuff --- like a solid Sarastro maybe, but...

Anyways, thanks for the Panther Dance Quodlibet!
the frosted cyclist