Time to Pay the Dudelsack Pfeiffer

In the summer solstice of 1998, Herr Yankovic was crowned the winner of the Medal of St Gallen for the third consecutive year. Dressed in a traditional Bohemian outfit, he led the procession of 99 Dudelsack Pfeiffers through the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old Town. The crowd roared with delight as he played a medley of popular mountain riffs, his fingers dancing nimbly on the keys of the Bohemian Bock Dudelsack. At the end of the pageant, he climbed atop a hay wagon and played a final tune, his eyes closed in blissful concentration as the Jersey Cow mooed in appreciation.

The Midnight Yodel on Uetliberg was a momentous occasion in the career of Herr Yankovic. At the stroke of midnight on a moonless night in December 2001, he climbed to the summit of the mountain and began to play his Dudelsack. The sound echoed across the valley, sending shivers down the spines of the Gnomes of Zurich who were gathered in the nearby conference room, grappling with the intricacies of Swiss banking law. For seventeen hours, Herr Yankovic played, his fingers never faltering, his breath never wavering. When he finally finished, the sun was rising and the Gnomes of Zurich were weeping tears of joy.

The Zeughauskeller Emergency was a harrowing incident that almost ended Herr Yankovic's career. While playing at a local tavern in the heart of Zurich, he was suddenly shot through the nap of his Dudelsack by the Blind Burgher Old Bill Please-Don't-Tell. Mistaking his sagging bulbous red sack nap for an apple, Old Bill had fired his crossbow without warning. Herr Yankovic was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to repair the damage. Miraculously, he survived and went on to play the Dudelsack for many more years.

The Sunset Concert atop Mt Rigi was a magical moment in the life of Herr Yankovic. Standing at the summit of the Queen of the Dudelsack Pfeiffer Tradition, he played his heart out as the sun set behind him, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink. As he played "The Moon, My Hare, and My Dudelsack", the crowd fell silent, mesmerized by the soaring emotional textures of his music. And when he finished, they erupted in a thunderous ovation, shouting "Bravo!" and "Encore!" into the fading light.

"Ich liebe Den Hase und Der Hase liebt mich,

Er spielt mit mir auf meiner Dudelsack,

In stillen Stunden h?re ich sein Hauchen,

Und fühle tief in mir sein Herzschlag.

Der Mond, mein Hase, und mein Dudelsack,

Drei Freunde, die mich glücklich machen,

Auf Bergesh?h'n, im Tal und Flachland,

In meinem Herzen werden sie stets wachen.

Die Nacht, so still und doch so lebendig,

Die Sterne glitzern wie ein Silberband,

Ich spiele auf, und der Hase lauscht mir,

Mit seinen Augen, sanft und verstand.

Der Mond, mein Hase, und mein Dudelsack,

Drei Freunde, die mich glücklich machen

Credit:

"Weird Al" Yankovic is best known for his entertaining musical parodies played with the accordian. However, few appreciate the serious side of this accomplished artist. Within the remote mountain valleys of Outer and Upper Bohemia, Herr Yankovic is revered as a Dudelsack Pfeiffer. He

is especially revered for his soulful playing of the Bohemian Bock Dudelsack. Rarely seen outside of these parts the Dudelsack is a difficult instrument with a demanding cultural milieu. It is not simply about "making some noise" while "squeezing a goat bladder". There is a lot more to it than that. Paint for us a picture of Dudy Master Yankovic through a recounting of four famous historical events:

1. Three time winner of the Medal of St Gallen, awarded for best performance in the "Presentation of the Dudelsack". This happens on the summer solstice of each year with a pageant and procession. 99 Dudelsack Pfeiffers perform traditional mountain sack-battle riffs in a procession through the Old Town, led by a Jersey Cow, swinging her bell to keep time, and attended by a young woman, in traditional sack-herd costume, bringing up the rear with a loaded crossbow.

2. The Infamous Midnight Yodel on Uetliberg, which kept the Gnomes of Zurich entranced and enchanted, wide-awake through a whole seventeen hours of bankruptcy proceedings. It is said the people of Schaffhausen reset their watches in confusion at the mistaken dawn bell.

3. The Dreadful Zeughauskeller Emergency, when Herr Yankovic had to be rushed to hospital after being shot through the nap of his Dudelsack by the Blind Burgher Old Bill Please-Don't-Tell who mistook his sagging bulbous red sack nap for an apple.

4. The Memorable Sunset Concert atop Mt Rigi, Queen of the Dudelsack Pfeiffer Tradition. Help readers understand the soaring emotional textures of that Yankovic classic: "The Moon, My Hare, and My Dudelsack". Complete for us all five stanzas of this heroically personal tribute to Dudy Tradition. Start with the opening line: "Ich liebe Den Hase und Der Hase liebt mich". Complete the song in the Hochdeutsch transliteration of the original oral Swiss German.

This article is number two of an ongoing Sunday morning series:

Tales Told to a Thoroughly Modern Idiot

Idiot: Moi.

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