I sure would want to be swigging the green. . .
Toss back glass of wormwood,*
Get higher than a chimney,
And feeling mighty good.
I’ve had enough to fill a pail,
No darkness, no travail,
I close my eyes, see a fairy that flies.

I have transcended “tipsy
(Tipsy is in eclipsy),
Decamped from drinkin’ gin down
(Decamped from drinkin’ down),
Graduated to absinthe fare—
I swallow one more round.
As I sip, my thoughts go up,
But when I have come down,
I’m bound to swirl
Another glass around.

I found I was an absinthe boy one night when I had seen
Bans upon the magic sip had been lifted—back the green!
To the booze store for a sale,
And I bought Saint George, of course.
I had five rounds and passed out in the gorse.

The Green Fairy is dandy; I fill up as I please.
I am no more a Rhône man; I have the green disease.
I’m drunk as I can be; green elephants I see.
A dearth of gin I swirl. . .sump up my share of the Fairy.

I sure would want to be swigging the green
(I have transcended “tipsy”)
Toss back glass of wormwood
(Decamped. . .drinkin’ gin down)
Get higher than a chimney
[Follows, more of this round]


*Absinthe is an anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as “grande wormwood.” Absinthe traditionally has a natural green color but can also be colorless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as “la fée verte” (the “green fairy” in French). It originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland and achieved great popularity in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Owing in part to its association with bohemian culture, consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, and Alfred Jarry were absinthe drinkers. The beverage has been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug. The chemical thujone, present in small quantities, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries. It was re-legalized in the States in March 2005.