Expert: Harry Hayfield - 10/13/2008

Question
In the song When First My old by Gilbert and Sullivan, the defendant sings "Tink-a-tank." Does this phrase have any major backstory I need to know about. I'm singing this piece in my recital, and I was just curious if theres any thing I should do to play this up and make it make sense.
-Thanks Joey

Answer
If Gilbert and Sullivan are famed for anything, it's nonsense! For instance we have "And I might have lived and died a very decent indiwiddle" from "My eyes are fully open to my awful situation" in Ruddigore, but this is one of those occasions where was appears as nonsense is actually part of the stage directions.

In the orginal stage production, the defendant enters the courtroom carrying a mandolin and the "tink a tank" is him plucking the strings. This means that if anyone can't play the guitar or mandolin as seen in this clip from Texas they can use an imaginary one instead and still use the same words

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fmZhkQvWkaY