Merrick Garland- The Little Man Who Wasn’t There
Antigonish: (The Little Man Who Wasn’t There)
Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there!
He wasn’t there again today,
Oh how I wish he’d go away
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall,
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please
Don’t slam the door…
Last night I saw upon the stair,
A little man who wasn’t there,
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away….
William Hughes Mearns (1899)
(Based on reports of a ghost of a man roaming the stairs in a haunted house, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. See Wikipedia, “Antigonish”.
Wikipedia: Who’s Yehoodi?
Bob Hope had Yehudi Menuhin as a guest (Hope played he violin). Hope’s side kick, Jerry Collona, liked the name and kept repeating it on subsequent programs such that the term evolved in the 1930’s as slang for a person who was mysteriously absent. He’s the guy that turns out the refrigerator light and holds strapless bras up. Wikipedia documents a fascination array of songs and show/ movies using the themes.
I learned about Yehudi, The Little Man who wasn’t there from my dad. When it was not clear who had done some infraction, he would say “Well, I guess it was Yehudi, the Little man who wasn’t there.
Merrick Garland: The Little Man Who Wasn’t There
Last night I saw upon the air
A little man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today
I really think he’s gone away.
Known persons threaten officials everywhere
Our little man just doesn’t seem to care.
He wasn’t there again today
I really think he’s gone away.
For justice he seems to care
But our little man just isn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I really think he’s gone away.
Steve Bannon’s actions are beyond the pail
But still he’s free and not in jail
Our little man wasn’t there again today
I really think he’s gone away.
But Garland’s glacial pace today
Has produced a grand jury that may send Bannon away
An indictment that I must say
Shows Garland has not totally gone away.
But January 6th minor prosecutions we start to see
But the instigators are going free
And not subject to his scrutiny
What makes our little man want to flee?
Howard P. Charman, MD