Only those born in the fifties will remember the 1967 sweet melodic song by Herman’s Hermits entitled No Milk Today. It was an Age of Innocence before the scourge of drugs brought the demise of many a pop musician. While some like Jimmy Hendrix paid the ultimate price, many like Eric Clapton battled its cloying hold for decades before either beating their demons or failing & ultimately facing their Maker long before their allotted time.This melody has inspired my brother Blaine to write the lyrics of a parody appropriately entitled No Lights Today. Its target is the hapless Eskom.
The lyrics of the original:
No Milk Today – Herman’s Hermits
No milk today, my love has gone away
The bottle stands forlorn, a symbol of the dawn
No milk today, it seems a common sight
But people passing by don’t know the reason why
How could they know just what this message means
The end of my hopes, the end of all my dreams
How could they know the palace there had been
Behind the door where my love reigned as queen
No milk today, it wasn’t always so
The company was gay, we’d turn night into day
But all that’s left is a place dark and lonely
A terraced house in a mean street back of town
Becomes a shrine when I think of you only
Just two up two down
No milk today, it wasn’t always so
The company was gay, we’d turn night into day
As music played the faster did we dance
We felt it both at once, the start of our romance
How could they know just what this message means
The end of my hopes, the end of all my dreams
How could they know a palace there had been
Behind the door where my love reigned as queen
No milk today, my love has gone away
The bottle stands forlorn, a symbol of the dawn
But all that’s left is a place dark and lonely
A terraced house in a mean street back of town
Becomes a shrine when I think of you only Just two up two down
No milk today, my love has gone away
The bottle stands forlorn, a symbol of the dawn
No milk today, it seems a common sight
But people passing by don’t know the reason why
How could they know just what this message means
The end of my hopes, the end of all my dreams
How could they know a palace there had been
Behind the door where my love reigned as queen
No milk today, it wasn’t always so
The company was gay, we’d turn night into day
But all that’s left is a place dark and lonely
A terraced house in a mean street back of town
Oh all that’s left is a place dark and lonely
A terraced house in a mean street back of town
Oh all that’s left is a place dark and lonely
A terraced house in a mean street back of town
No Light Today – Eskom’s Idiots
No light today, Eskom ‘s got its way
The candle burns forlorn, a symbol of the age
No light today, it seems a common thing
But boards passing by don’t know the reason why How could they know just what this message means The end of our hopes, the end of all our dreams How could they know the factory there had been Where long before machines reigned supreme
No light today, it wasn’t always so The country was ok, we’d turn night into day But all that’s left is a place dark and lonely A darkened house when the power is down Becomes a shrine while you sprout baloney Ten hours up, two down
No light today, it wasn’t always so The country was ok, we’d turn night into day As Nero played, the faster bills did rise
We felt it all at once, the start of our demise
Repeat variously