“The shot heard round the world.”

 

THE ORIGINAL THING HEARD ROUND THE WORLD: “The shot heard round the world.”        Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)        American poet, essayist and lecturer        This famous line is from Emerson’s poem commonly called the “Concord Hymn.” (Full title: ““Hymn: Sung at the Completion of the Concord Monument.”)It’s the last line of the first verse:               “By the rude bridge that arched the flood,                Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,                Here once the embattled farmers stood                And fired the shot heard round the world.”        Emerson wrote the poem in 1836 for a ceremony to celebrate the completion of a monument to the American “Minutemen” who fought at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. These skirmishes between rebellious Americans and British troops on April 19, 1775 are generally regarded as the beginning of the Revolutionary War.        That morning, some 700 British Army regulars were marching through Lexington toward Concord to confiscate an illegal weapons arsenal stored there by the Massachusetts militia. When the “Redcoats” got to Lexington, their way was blocked by about 80 local militiamen. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the Americans to disperse, which they actually began to do. Then, suddenly, someone fired a shot. Nobody knew who it was. But, when it rang out, both sides started firing at each other and the American Revolution was underway.         At the official dedication of the Concord Monument on July 4, 1837, Emerson’s poem was sung to the tune of a hymn called “The Old Hundredth,” a.k.a. “The Old 100th” or “The Old Hundred.” (Hence the use of the word “hymn” in the title.)        His memorable phrase “the shot heard round the world” created a phrase formula that has since been used to refer to various other things that generate wide attention or notoriety. The lists things said to have been heard or seen “round the world” or “around the world” are enormous. You can see more than a million examples that use “heard” in the posts shown in the Google search at this link. You can see over a million examples using “seen” in the posts at this link. Undoubtedly, there will be many more in the future. (For more background on the Emerson quote, see the post on my This Day in Quotes blog here.)

THE SLAP SEEN AROUND THE WORLD: “What bothered me most, after The Slap Seen Around the World, was how the giants of Black Hollywood immediately circled to protect Will Smith...Will anyone famous who stood and applauded Smith after his acceptance speech be asked to explain their actions? Will the Academy or Oscarcast producers explain why they allowed someone to hit a performer — a friend sent me a text joking that Ricky Gervais is lucky he’s not still hosting the Golden Globes — and then collect an award?”                     Eric Deggans        NPR TV critic and author        Deggans named actor Will Smith’s controversial public assault on comedian Chris Rock “The Slap Seen Around the World” in a post on the NPR website the day after actor Smith’s gave an open-handed sucker punch to Chris Rock at the March 27, 2022 Academy Awards. The words Smith yelled at Rock after the slap are at least a temporarily famous quotation: “Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!”

THE CELEBRITY “NEWS” VARIATION: “The divorce heard round the world.”        Perez Hilton        American celebrity news blogger and “television personality”        This was Hilton’s description of “reality star” Kim Kardashian’s 2013 divorce from NBA player Kris Humphries. The divorce came just ten weeks after their obscenely lavish, apparently made-for-TV wedding brought joy to the hearts of millions of celebrity-obsessed people—and to the pocketbooks of TV shows and tabloid magazines and websites that cover such stuff, like Hilton’s site.

THE BRAIN FART VARIATION:         “The brain fart heard round the world.”        Jon Stewart        American comedian and host of The Daily Show        Stewart’s description, in a November 2011 episode The Daily Show, of Rick Perry’s “oops moment” during the November 9, 2011 Republican presidential candidate debate, when Perry said he would abolish three federal agencies if elected but was unable to name all three. Some commentators called it “the oops moment heard round the world.”

AN OLDER POLITICAL VARIATION: “The blooper heard round the world.”        TIME magazine’s, October 18, 1976        This was the headline of a TIME article about the huge gaffe made by President Gerald Ford during the October 6, 1976 presidential debate with Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. During a part of the debate about the Soviet Union, Ford claimed “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.” In fact, the Soviet Union clearly dominated a number of countries in Eastern Europe at the time, including East Germany, Yugoslavia, Rumania and Poland. The remark made Ford seem clueless about international politics. He later admitted he’d misspoken. Carter won the election.

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God’s mysterious ways...

THE USUALLY MISQUOTED ORIGIN: “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.”         William Cowper (1731-1800)         British poet and hymn writer         From his Hymn No. 35, “Light Shining Out of Darkness”         These are the opening lyrics of the hymn, which was first published in Olney Hymns (1779). The first two lines are usually misquoted as “God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform” and often wrongly assumed to be a Bible quote.

THE INSURANCE COMPANY ANALOGY “Insurance companies move in mysterious ways. Much like God...only far less generous.”         The character Standish, played by actor Dan Duryea         In the 1965 movie The Flight of the Phoenix

T.S. ELIOT’S HIPPO ANALOGY “The hippopotamus’s day Is passed in sleep; at night he hunts; God works in a mysterious way The Church can feed and sleep at once.”         T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)         American-born British poet and playwright         In his poem “The Hippopotamus” (1919)

MURPHY’S REVELATION: “Life is mysterious to some, but God does not work in mysterious ways. The things which some consider as mysteries, others consider as revelations.”         Zuriel Ann Murphy         Nigerian-born UK inspirational author and speaker         In her book The Spoken Word (2013)

RACHEL’S REVELATION: “God doesn’t work in mysterious ways. He doesn’t give a shit. Everything doesn’t happen for a reason. Shit happens. Having faith doesn't make any difference. It’s just something to do while you go from point A to point B.”         John Rachel         American novelist and non-fiction book author         The inner thoughts of a character in his novel The Man Who Loved Too Much, Book 1: Archipelago (2015)

ALTERNATIVES TO THE PLATITUDE: “When people are in the middle of the darkest storm imaginable, the last thing they want to be told is that God is working everything together for good, and to trust in God's mysterious ways. It is not helpful. It is not comforting. It does not bring healing...The implication that God has predestined pain and suffering is unloving and can drive people away from the church. Making them a sandwich would be a better plan. Or cleaning their house. Or taking their children for an afternoon. Or just listening to them or sitting with them in silence.”         Natalie Toon Patton         American essayist, blogger and author         In her essay “8 Sayings Christians Use to Let Ourselves off the Hook”         Posted on the Sojo.net “faith in action” website, August 29, 2017

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“Suppose they gave a war and nobody came.”

THE ORIGINAL INSPIRATION FOR THE SIXTIES SLOGAN: “Sometime they’ll give a war and nobody will come.”        Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)        American poet and writer        A line from Sandburg’s epic prose poem The People, Yes (1936)        In the 1960s, several variations of an anti-war slogan began appearing on posters, in print and in songs. The version that became most common (as shown by the comparatively huge number of Google hits it gets) is “Suppose they gave a war and nobody came.” Other variations include “Suppose they gave a war and no one came” and “What if they gave a war and nobody came.” It’s not certain who coined the most familiar version, but this much is clear: all of the various iterations of the saying are ultimately descended from a line in Carl Sandburg’s book-length ode to America and it’s citizens, The People, Yes, first published in 1936.        In the poem, the line is said by a little girl who sees a group of soldiers marching in a parade. It’s from a part of the poem in which Sandburg seems to foresee the potential devastation of a second and possibly a third world war:        “The first world war came and its cost was laid on the people.        The second world war — the third — what will be the cost.        And will it repay the people for what they pay?...        The little girl saw her first troop parade and asked,         ‘What are those?’        ‘Soldiers.’        ‘What are soldiers?’        ‘They are for war. They fight and each tries to kill as many of the other side as he can.’        The girl held still and studied.         ‘Do you know ... I know something?’        ‘Yes, what is it you know?’        ‘Sometime they’ll give a war and nobody will come.’

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SIXTIES SLOGAN: “Suppose they gave a war and nobody came.”         Possibly coined by James R. Newman         American mathematician, writer and editor of Scientific American magazine         In the 1960s, several updated versions of Carl Sandburg’s line became popular. They were often used in the context of opposition to the Vietnam War. The most common version, “Suppose they gave a war and nobody came,” was used as a slogan on posters that were sold in Hippie shops in the late Sixties (like the blacklight poster shown at left). It was also used as the title of a comedy movie in 1970, giving it even broader recognition. Some posts on the Internet claim the now familiar words were first written by Bertolt Brecht in the 1930s. However, they give no source and I couldn’t find one, so I deem that claim doubtful. (As Abraham Lincoln said, “The problem with Internet quotations is that many are not genuine.”)         In contrast, the origin of the variation “Suppose They Gave a War and No One Came” is well documented. It was used as the title of a widely-read article written by the American poet and author Charlotte E. Keyes (1914-1980). The article, about her growing admiration for the anti-war activism of her son Gene, was published in the October 1966 issue of McCall’s magazine. Charlotte’s other son happens to be the quote and phrase maven Ralph Keyes. He noted in his excellent book The Quote Verifier (2006) that his mother saw the phrase “Suppose they gave a war and nobody came” in a 1961 letter to the editor in The Washington Post, written by James R. Newman. Newman was referencing, but apparently misremembering, Sandburg’s line. Charlotte cut out and kept the letter for future reference and later adapted the title of her article from it. Newman may or may not have coined “Suppose they gave a war and nobody came.” That paraphrase of Sandburg may already have been floating around at the time. However, I found no use of those words dated earlier than Newman’s 1961 letter in any newspaper archive or anywhere else online. So, he may deserve credit for creating the Sixties slogan (though perhaps inadvertently.)         Another variation, “What If They Gave a War and No One Came,” surfaced in 1968 as the title of a song by the now forgotten "Symphonopop" composer and musician Jonna Gault. And, in 1972, poet Allen Ginsberg echoed her version in his 1972 poem “Graffiti,” which included the lines “What if someone gave a war & Nobody came? / Life would ring the bells of Ecstasy and Forever be Itself again.”

A VARIATION ABOUT A DONALD TRUMP DEBATE NOBODY REMEMBERS: “What if they gave a debate and nobody came?”        Brad Knickerbocker        Staff writer and editor for the Christian Science Monitor         His humorous question in an article about the December 2011 Republican “debate” hosted by Donald Trump, which all but two Republican presidential candidates declined to participate in. (Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were the only candidates who agreed to appear.)

THE VIAGRA VARIATION: “What if You Took Viagra and Nobody Came?”         Double entendre title of an article in the Jan.-Feb. 1999 issue of Mother Jones magazine        The tongue-in-cheek article discussed some non-drug alternatives to Viagra, such as an artificial nylon-polypropylene penis, penile implant surgery — or a Corvette.

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“Carpe diem.” (This one’s for you, Robin…)

THE PLUCKY LATIN QUOTE: “Carpe diem.” [Traditionally translated as “Seize the day.”]        Horace (Quintas Horatius Flaccus, 65-8 B.C.)        Roman poet        The famous phrase from Book I of his Odes (35 B.C.)        “Carpe diem” is one of the two most famous quotations from Horace’s Odes. The other is: “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” (“It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”) Although the usual translation of “Carpe diem” is “Seize the day,” Latin scholars have pointed out that the more accurate translation is “Pluck the day.”          In fact, the phrase does come at the end of a poem that uses several pastoral and harvest-related metaphors. So, “pluck” is probably closer to the original literal meaning. Below is a longer section of the poem, translated to English:        “Ask not — we cannot know — what end the gods have set for you, for me;             nor attempt the Babylonian reckonings Leuconoë.        How much better to endure whatever comes,              whether Jupiter grants us additional winters or whether this is our last,             which now wears out the Tuscan Sea upon the barrier of the cliffs!        Be wise, strain the wine; and since life is brief, prune back far-reaching hopes!        Even while we speak, envious time has passed:             seize [pluck] the day, putting as little trust as possible in tomorrow!”          Regardless of variations in translation, the meaning of the poem and the famous phrase is clear. Live life to the fullest every day and take advantage of the pleasures and opportunities each day offers. Or, as Warren Zevon put it: “Enjoy every sandwich.”

RIP, ROBIN. YOU WERE INDEED EXTRAORDINARY… “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”        Robin Williams (1951-2014), as English teacher John Keating        His advice to his students in the movie Dead Poets Society (1989)        This quote comes at the end of a great sequence in which Keating says to his students:        “‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.’ The Latin term for that sentiment is Carpe Diem... Seize the day. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Why does the writer use these lines?...Because we are food for worms lads. Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing, turn cold, and die. Now I would like you to step forward over here and peruse some of the faces from the past. [Old photos of previous students.] You’ve walked past them many times. I don't think you've really looked at them. They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because you see, gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Carpe. Hear it? Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

STEVE ZAHN’S VERSION: “Carpe poon, man.”        Steve Zahn (as the character Wayne)        In the movie Saving Silverman (2001), after seeing a good looking woman in a bar        Thanks to fans of the movie, “Carpe poon” has now made it into the Urban Dictionary

ERMA BOMBECK’S VERSION: “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.”        Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)        American humorist        Quoted as one of “Erma Bombeck’s 10 Rules To Live By” in David Wallechinsky’s Book of Lists

SKYLER’S VERSION: Question on a school test: “Define carpe diem.” Skyler’s answer: “Fish of the day.”         In the Shoe cartoon strip, by Jeff MacNelly, October 8, 2010

TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S VERSION: “Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.”        Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (1858-1919)        26th President of the United States        Teddy’s advice to his children, quoted in David McCullough’s book Mornings on Horseback (1981)

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“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” (And recount some of the countless variations)

THE ORIGIN OF THE IMMORTAL LOVE QUOTE: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”        Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)        English poet        The famous opening words of Sonnet 43, from her Sonnets from the Portuguese (written 1845-46, published 1850)        Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett fell deeply in love after meeting at her father’s home in 1845. Elizabeth soon began writing a series of poems expressing her love for Robert. Robert was soon calling her by the pet name “my little Portuguese,” a reference to her dark hair and complexion. In 1846, they eloped. Four years later, the love poems Elizabeth had written for Robert before they married were published in an anthology of her poetry, under the collective title Sonnets from the Portuguese. Sonnet 43 is the best known. Its ten opening words are among the most famous — and most parodied — bits of poetry in the English language.

THE GRUMPY CAT MEME: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways... 1. Don’t”         One of the countless Grumpy Cat memes

A PRESIDENTIAL HEADSCRATCHER: “How are Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln similar? Let us count the ways.”         Gene Weingarten         Acerbic American columnist         Headline of his October 11, 2018 column about the “meme spreading earnestly across the right aisle of the Internet contending that Donald Trump is such a great president that the only predecessor he can be fairly compared to is … Abraham Lincoln.”         How do those two presidents compare? Refer to Grumpy Cat's answer above.

A FOOTBALL QUIZ: “Why Do People Hate The Patriots? Let Me Count The Ways... 1. People are tired of them winning... 2. People hate when you don’t care that you're hated... 3. The most legitimate reason is probably the Deflategate investigation... 4. Another reason is because of Brady and Donald Trump’s friendship... 5. People really do not like the Patriots.”         Yasaman Khorsandi         American freelance journalist         In her column in the Elite Daily website, January 30, 2018. Flash forward to 2019. I suspect there are even more reasons.

THE GLEE HATER’S VERSION:           “How do I hate GLEE? Let me count the ways. For starters, this is a saccharine snorefest. And don’t even get me started on gleeks, autotune, the characters…”        Daniel Bettridge        British TV and film critic        In a review posted on The Guardian’s TV & Radio Blog on March 15, 2010

THE MITT ROMNEY VARIATION: “Is Mitt Romney, well-coiffed automobile heir and consulting savant, weird? Let us count the ways.”        Juli Weiner                     American writer now on the staff of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver                     In a post on Vanity Fair’s “VF Daily” blog, August 9, 2011

THE NANCY PELOSI VARIATION: “Ah, Nancy how do I love thee, let me count the ways. You stimulate me to no end. My heart flutters when I think about your passing Obamacare. And of course we all know you come from that wonderful city of San Francisco that so embraces our core American values like a collective hate of the McDonald’s Happy Meal.”        Dr. Richard Swier        Conservative blogger and host of the Dr. Rich Show, a Florida-based radio talk show        In a November 14, 2010 post bashing Nancy Pelosi, on the now defunct “Red County” website

AN HOMAGE TO RYAN GOSLING’S ARMS: “How Much Do I Love Ryan Gosling’s Arms? Let Me Count The Ways. 1. They’re huge. 2. They can envelop a pack of wild animals. 3. They were in Young Hercules. (LOL) 4. He can probably crush a can of spinach with the contents flying directly into his mouth Popeye-style. 5. He could probably grill paninis in between his hands. 6. He can hoist Al Roker up over his head, Dirty Dancing style.”         Michelle Collins         American comedian and talk show host who was Managing Editor of VH1’s now defunct Bestweekever.tv site        Gushing about Gosling in a post on Bestweekever.tv, after seeing him in an appearance on the Today Show.

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Should auld acquaintance — and 2017 — be forgot?

THE AULD FAMILIAR LINES: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.”        Robert Burns (1759-1796)        Scottish poet        The best known lines from his poem “Auld Lang Syne” (1788), which actually mean that old acquaintances should not be forgotten, they should be remembered and thought of fondly.         These lines were popularized by Guy Lombardo's musical version, but most people can’t remember the rest of the lyrics. In case you want to have them on hand on New Year’s Eve or read the backstory on the poem and the song, see this post on my This Day in Quotes site.

THE GOOD RIDDANCE TO 2017 VERSION: “Should 2017 be forgot and never brought to mind?...To start it off right we hired a buffalo chicken drummy that fell into a pile of cat hair to be the captain of the ship. Ok, yes! We let the people around us feel like second-class citizens and inhuman. We let families and children and POC and women wonder if anyone gives a shit about them or if all along we’ve been pretending at some semblance of openness and equality. Great, sounds good! And that was only in January alone! There isn’t enough time in well hey, a year, to write about how it only continued to get more wonderful from there. It was like a scene from a movie after a bomb goes off and everyone wanders around the charred landscape while pieces of burnt wood fall from on high and embers rain from the sky. Just when you thought one more bad thing couldn’t happen, somebody finds a hidden landmine and the whole thing just goes up in smoke again.”        Quinn Angelique        American blogger        Expressing what many people feel about 2017 in a post on the Medium website, December 26, 2017

MICKEY ROONEY’S FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS VERSION: “What bothers me are friends, or perhaps acquaintances, who in rough times turn out to be non-acquaintances. I'm going to write a song about their approach. You probably know the melody:    Should non-acquaintance be forgot    And never brought to mind    Should non-acquaintance be forgot    Or kicked in their behind?”        Mickey Rooney (1920-2014)        American actor        In his book I.E. An Autobiography (1965)

THE TOTAL ABSTINENCE COUNTERQUOTE: “Let drinking customs be forgot And never brought to mind. Come, moderate drinkers, topers, sots, And leave your cups behind.”        Henry Lee (1911-1993)        American journalist and author                      Quoting an old Temperance Movement song in his book How Dry We Were: Prohibition Revisited (1963)

THE ODDLY ANTI-ABSTINENCE TEMPERANCE SONG: “Can abstinence be now forgot, And never brought to mind? Can abstinence be now forgot, And mercy to mankind.”        Lyrics from the song “Poured Out By Hands Divine,” in The Standard Book of Song for Temperance Meetings (1883)

THE JANUARY 1st, MORNING AFTER MEME: “Your new, bed-related acquaintances should probably be forgot, and never brought to mind. Not that you remember them anyway.”         New Year's meme created by WildRumpus on the SomeCards.com site

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