JILSON (jill-son) n: American slang for a modern day Rip Van Winkle
Although this word never reached a high degree of popularity, you can still find it used in some parts of the United States. It’s one of those words whose origin is based on the name of a real person, Jilson Setters.
Jilson Setters, an obscure but talented optician, became a world famous fiddle player and songwriter in his later years. He apparently suffered from culture shock as a result of his exposure to modernity and it is thought that these brief but traumatic encounters were what drove him over the edge resulting in a dramatic career change. This spectacular event also provides credence to the adage that you can in fact “teach an old dog a new trick” and that “past experiences” can have some redeeming value.
The inspiration for the words of his most famous of all songs “Up On An Inselberg” was most likely based on his own peculiar past experiences. Sadly, not all of his tunes made it into the top 10, some of which never graced a single ear. “If I Only Had A Pal” faded into audio obscurity as one of the most dismal failures of all time.
UP ON AN INSELBERG
(to the tune of “Drunken Hiccups” which can be traced back
to even older variations of the same in the British Isles)
I tune up my fiddle, I rosin my bow
I make myself welcome wherever I go
I eat when I’m hungry, I drink when I’m dry
If hard times don’t kill me, I’ll earn ‘til I die
Hiccup, oh lordy, how safe here I feel
Hiccup, oh lordy, how safe here I feel
I bought my own poly, I made my own lens
If I didn’t get it right, I’d make em again
You myops, you presbops, you were all friends of mine
You killed my competitors, but you don’t trouble my mind
Hiccup, oh lordy, how clever I feel
Hiccup, oh lordy, how clever I feel
But all those picky myops refusing to budge
Insisting on perfection no matter my nudge
Those vain presbyopics, wanting tiny little glasses
Starting me thinking they all must be asses
Hiccup, oh lordy, how crazy I feel
Hiccup, oh lordy, how crazy I feel
So way up on an inselberg, I now wander alone
I’m drunk as the devil and a long ways from home
Let the evil empire have them for all that I care
My profits all gone, no more of them to share
Hiccup, oh lordy, how goodly I feel
Hiccup, oh lordy, how goodly I feel
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