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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE SECOND FIDDLE by DOUGLAS MALLOCH

First Line: I LIKE THE LITTLE FELLOWS WHO DON'T COUNT FOR VERY / MUCH
Last Line: THERE'S SOME LITTLE SECOND FIDDLE THAT IS CARRYING THE AIR!

I like the little fellows who don't count for very much:
It isn't from the 'cellos that you get the finer touch;
The roaring of the basses and the rattle of the traps
May have their proper places in the harmony perhaps;
But down there in the middle, inconspicuously there,
Is the little second fiddle that is carrying the air.

The crashing of the cymbal shakes the ceiling with its "Blam!";
The piccolo is nimble; "Boom!" you hear the drummer slam;
The trombone slides and screeches; "Tut, tut, tut," the proud cornet
Just a little higher reaches than it's ever tutted yet;
The Main High Diddle Diddle runs his fingers through his hair --
But the little second fiddle still is carrying the air.

We talk about the bosses with the big and busy brain,
Making profits, taking losses -- but the boss would boss in vain
If he didn't have assistance, someone handy he could trust;
He would never go the distance, and the company would bust.
Here's the secret of the riddle of successes ev'rywhere --
There's some little second fiddle that is carrying the air!



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