Thursday, September 6, 2007

Do The Fair Comparison



For the moment we will play Don’t Forget the Lyrics.

Ready?

“You can do it with a trot, you can do it with a gallop, you can do it real slow….”

OK, now finish it. Come on. Sing it out loud, right now.

Chicken.

UPDATE:
So many people have come to this post looking for the lyrics, that I will do my best to provide what I can. They are posted in whole at the bottom. Email me with additions or corrections

Speaking of chickens, if you have been anywhere over the last many years then you know that the song is the jingle which suggests to us that we all “Do the Puyallup!”, the Western Washington Fair, which is one of the half-dozen largest fairs in the world and far surpasses any other event in the state in attendance. You will note that they even have the URL address www.thefair.com.

I will be doing the aforementioned Puyllaup this weekend, as the fair opens and the family has already been promised rides, cows, horses, pigs, art and scones.

However, this year I will be in the unique position of having just visited the New York State Fair in Syracuse this last weekend. How will the two compare? Well let me lay out a few items for comparison.

Will there be a SPAM hut?

And I am not talking about unwanted email or a Monty Python sketch, here but the real thing. The walking SPAM cannister is unfortunately hiding the Free Samples sign. I don’t remember ever seeing a SPAM hut at the Puyallup Fair, but overall I have to admit, the food at the NY State fair was excellent.

Not only that, but the prices were very reasonable. Lot’s of Italian Sausage and pork sandwiches, fresh chocolate milk for a quarter and micro brews at four dollars a pint.



What they did not have was scones.

Will there be a butter sculpture?



It will be hard to top this butter sculpture in the dairy pavilion, they also have competitions in arts and crafts, but this took the cake. And they are life size as well. Click on the image and you can see a spectator in the back for perspective. I will be roaming the aisles of many a students’ work in the Puyallup Fair's arts pavilion, comparing their pieces' impact to that of the butter udders.

Will there be a side show?



The truth is that I didn’t know that these were still common place. Under a long tent awning I was asked to come and see the worlds smallest woman, the worlds largest man, the snake with the head of a beautiful girl (50 cents to take a glance in the display case), and the legendary Chupa Cabra among others.


The snake was actually in a different area of the fair, and I watched as people paid their two quarters and stepped under the canvas roof to glance in the case. They usually only looked for a second or two and frequently walked out with a smirk on their face. I now regret not paying the half dollar to see what that smirk meant. I have no regrets in missing out on the Mongolian Death Worm.

For the Puyallup I think I will just people watch.

Will there be a Fairgaritaville?



If not, I will have to make do with the original Margaritaville when Jimmy comes to the MGM Grand in Vegas in October.

_______________________________________________________________



"Do the Puyallup"
musics and lyrics by Saxon Rawlings, (slogan by Denny Hinton)

Oh you can do it at a trot,
You can do it at a gallop,
You can do it real slow so your heart won't palpitate.
Just don't be late.

Do the Puyallup.



All the people and the animals down at the fair,
They do the Puyallup like they didn’t have a care
And it looks like so much fun to do
I think I’m gonna learn how to do it too.



I saw a duck and a chicken down by the farm,
A kickn' up the hay and a raisn' such a storm,
That I asked the farmer what they were up to
and he said "Puyallup, That's what they do."

You can do it at a trot,
You can do it at a gallop,
You can do it real slow so your heart won't palpitate.
Just don't be late.

Do the Puyallup.



Asked the farmer if he’d show me how to do it
And he said "why son their ain’t nothin to it.
Just move to the music and jump in the air
Like everyone else who comes to the fair"

You can do it at a trot,
You can do it at a gallop,
You can do it real slow so your heart won't palpitate.
Just don't be late.

Do the Puyallup





You can do it in the rain or the sun or the fog
It comes real easy like rolling off a log
Get a partner from Tacoma or Seattle or Fife
Even let you do it with your husband or wife.



It’s a natural thing there isn’t any doubt
Folks do it while they’re sittin’ or walkin’ about
While over on the midway on the merry go round
Kids are doin it in circles going up and down.




Now it don’t matter if it’s rain or shine
When you do the Puyallup you have a good time
So guys grab get gals and gals grab a fellow
If you’re worried ’bout the rain just bring an umbrella.



You can do it with a mouth full of cotton candy
Caramel apples, salt water taffy
Hot dogs, hamburgers, man oh man
Hot buttered scones with strawberry jam



I do the Puyallup cause it feels real neat
Put a smile on my face and a tickle in my feet
Ain’t no way not to do it right
You can do it all day and into the night



you can do it at a trot,
You can do it at a gallop,
You can do it real slow so your heart won't palpitate.
Just don't be late.

Do the Puyallup

Do the Puyallup

Do the Puyallup

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't believe - even with Charlotte's last ditch effort - that they barbecued Wilbur!!

Anonymous said...

Some pig!

Anonymous said...

Udderly preposterous that they have butter but no scones!

Computer|Nerd said...

Hey, I go the Puyallup Fair every year and have since I was just a kid... well I guess that kinda still applies lol. Anyway I thought I'd thank you for the lyrics and give the current link to the page!

For all who care:
http://www.thefair.com/puyallup-fair/fair-experience/song.php

Computer|Nerd said...

One more thing, have you seen the 2008 commercial? All I could think was: "HOW DARE THEY!" All it is is some announcer dude talking over some very very faint background music (yes... the theme song... but not loud enough to tell without really knowing it like me lol). Anyway.... to hear how they ruined it check out this link: http://www.thefair.com/puyallup-fair/fair-experience/video.php

Ruth and Fred said...

we attended for the first time ever...SO MUCH FUN!

Corn dogs!
Mutton busting!
Pig racing!

And people were eating BBQ'd turkey legs. Man, in Canada you don't even SEE turkey legs until Thanksgiving or Christmas.

But almost the whole time I was there, the Puyallup song was running over and over in my head. And when it wasn't, I had "Our state fair is a great state fair...don't miss it, don't even be laaaaate" in there.

Anyway, thanks for the full lyrics, and thanks, computerjnerd, for the link! And yeah, the 2008 sucked. My favorite was the singing donkey...omg I loved that guy...

Second Book of Short Stories Out on Amazon

During the last year I wrote four short read collections called the Three Twisted Tales . Today they are available in aggregate as The Clock...