Frequently Asked Questions

Limericks are nonsense rhymes meant to be silly, amusing and often a bit raunchy.
The first, second, and fifth lines all rhyme with each other and may have between 7 and 10 syllables.
The shorter third and fourth lines also rhyme with each other and have 5 to 7 syllables.

Here's a popular and delightfully wacky example of a valid limerick:
A canner exceedingly canny [9 syllables]
One day remarked to his granny [8 syllables]
A canner can can [5 syllables]
Any thing that he can [6 syllables]
But a canner can't can a can can he? [10 syllables]

Do I have to stick exactly to these rules when composing a limerick?
A pedant might say so, but remember there is something called poetic licence.

Here's an anonymous, explicitly invalid, yet chucklesome limerick:
There was a young man from Japan
Whose limericks would never quite scan.
And when they asked why,
He said "I do try!
But when I get to the last line I try to fit in as many words as I can."

The Limericks on Page 1 were all written by Lord Dynamite.
Those on Page 2 were penned by Raftery the Poet.

"Lord Dynamite" is a pseudonym, as well as his anagramific name.
Is "anagramific" a real word?
It is now! 😀

Raftery the Poet has been writing and performing his own poetry for many a year.
You'll find his website at qi5.co.uk/rafterythepoet

All of Raftery's limericks mention a Yorkshire town or village.

Why waste your precious time writing these silly limericks?
They were written to help keep our chins up during the coronavirus pandemic.
But as Voltaire once said "Le sens commun n'est pas si commun" which means "Common sense is not so common."
This could be a more fitting answer to the question.

A scholarly French fellow, Voltaire
Had an intellect remarkably rare
But he was brought down to earth
By a femme of some girth
Who asked, “Monsieur, d'you like a good pair?”
Voltaire limerick by Raftery the Poet

What does "tambala" mean?
Totally Awesome Meanwood Ballad And Limerick Alliance.
Does this really exist?
Anything can exist in our dreams!

The tune was resurrected from this lovely old Pocket Book of Folk Songs published by Francis Day and Hunter. It was bought for 5 bob way back in the 1960s when I was nobbut a lad. The tune, arranged by Dudley Bayford, appears on page 19 but now seems to have vanished into the mists of time and disappeared from use.

Here's a pseudo Santa using the tune to play the Ukulele Limerick about his elves.

Is there any other tune I can use to sing limericks?

The most popular one borrows the famous Mexican tune Cielito Lindo commonly known as "Aye Aye Aye Aye".

Who are the Meanwood Intitukes?
The band of the Meanwood Institukes
Are devoted to playing their ukes
Their mellifluous sound
Just simply astounds
But sometimes they get funny looks.

We are a cheery, plucky, upbeat group of ukeists who meet weekly in the Meanwood Institute, a meeting hall in the Meanwood district of Leeds. We play a smorgasbord of songs, do charity concerts in and around the Leeds area and are available for all sorts of other functions.

What about A minor 7 and C major 6?
1) I'd love a ukulele musician
To give me a little tuition
Then I'll be up there in heaven
Mastering A minor 7
With my talent so close to fruition.

2) I found a ukulele tutor in Devon
Spent a week grasping A minor 7
Then my very next trick
Was mastering C major 6
So at last I'm in ukulele heaven.

A minor 7 (or Am7) is properly pronounced "A minor seventh".
C major 6 (or C6) is "C major sixth".
The joke here is that these are the easiest chords to play on a ukulele. A two year old child running his or her fingers across the open strings of a uke would be playing Am7 or C6.

A more nerdish explanation
In music theory, a minor triad is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.
On the A minor scale these would be the notes A, C and E.
The minor seventh chord is the minor triad plus the seventh note on the scale, which for A minor would be a G.

Regarding C6, a major sixth chord is the major triad, C, E and G plus the sixth note on that scale, which for C major would be A.

The strings of a ukulele are tuned to these same four notes: G C E A, so both these chords are simply played by strumming the open strings.

A ukulele's tuned G , C , E , A
Or "Good Cats Eat Anything", we say
Get this tuning wrong
And you'll finish your song
With the audience frightened away.

Who are The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain?
A uke group that's got us all smitten
Inspired this poem to be written
We're completely enthralled
Can you guess what they're called?
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

They're amusing, inspirational and brilliant! The Royal Conservatory of Music said, in February 2021, that their concerts are a "funny, virtuosic, twanging, awesome, foot-stomping obituary of rock-n-roll featuring the bonsai guitar".
You'll find their website at www.ukuleleorchestra.com

Why does this limerick sound familiar?
A smart ukulele playing lass
Strums a uke while sitting on her ass
It's not soft round and pink
As some of you may think
But has long floppy ears and eats grass.

We borrowed the fun from an old, anonymous and slightly rude limerick:

There was a young maid from Madras
Who had a magnificent ass;
Not rounded and pink,
As you probably think
It was grey, had long ears, and ate grass.