It is often mistakenly called
"Pomp and Circumstance," which is the title of Elgar's suite which contains the march, "Land of Hope and Glory."
Tonight we have nearly 2,000 graduating students, who are all going to file in while we lock into an endless repeat of the strain.
At rehearsal we played for over thirty minutes. I was taking my turn at the baton and I noticed that the first violins were giggling. I glared at them, which is usually sufficient by itself to stifle any case of the giggles, they stifled, but minutes later they were giggling again.
When it was over I asked them "What was so funny?" The Vietnamese girl who is my concertmaster said "You were singing."
Here are the lyrics I was singing:
This so-onng is bore-ring
This so-onng is longgggg
This so-onng is bore-ring
This so-onng is lonnnggg
This so-onng is bore-ring
This so-onng is loonnggg
This so-onng is bore-ring
This so-onng is loonnggg
If you are blessed to be attending a graduation of a member of your family or close friends, feel free to sing along.
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