Some Questions About "Camping In"

[Very Young Mr Grace]

I was watching this episode last night and had a couple of questions. I'm hoping my fellow AYBS fans can assist....

1) When Mr. Grainger leaves his tent and Mr. Lucas jokes about his flap being opened, Mrs. Slocombe makes a remark along the lines of "It's amazing what you see when you haven't got your gun." What does that phrase mean? I've heard it in other britcoms and wondered what to make of it.

2) What was the song they were all singing when gathered around the "campfire"?? Is it some kind of British war ballad? I can't tell what all of the lyrics are but it has a nice melody.

Hmmmm............... :?

[Tiddles]

I was watching this episode last night and had a couple of questions. I'm hoping my fellow AYBS fans can assist....

1) "It's amazing what you see when you haven't got your gun." What does that phrase mean? :?

It means you've just seen something so shocking or potentially dangerous that you wish you had a weapon to protect yourself.


2) What was the song they were all singing when gathered around the "campfire"?? Is it some kind of British war ballad? ?

It is indeed. "Keep The Home Fires Burning"

Keep the Home Fires Burning



Verse
They were sum-moned from the hill-side,
They were called in from the glen,
And the Coun-try found them read-y
At the stir-ring call for men._____

Let no tears add to their hard-ship;
As the Sol-diers pass a-long
And al-though your heart is break-ing,
Make it sing this cheer-y song.___

Chorus
Keep the Home-fires burn-ing,
While your hearts are yearn-ing,
Though your lads are far a-way
They dream of Home;
There's a sil-ver lin-ing
Through the dark cloud shin-ing,
Turn the dark cloud in-side out,
Till the boys come Home.

Verse
O-ver seas there came a plead-ing
"Help a Na-tion in dis-tress,"
And we gave our glo-rious lad-dies;
Hon-or made us do no less._____

For no gal-lant Son of Free-dom
To a ty-rant's yoke should bend,
And a no-ble heart must an-swer
To the sa - cred call of "Friend".___

Chorus
Keep the Home-fires burn-ing,
While your hearts are yearn-ing,
Though your lads are far a-way
They dream of Home;
There's a sil-ver lin-ing
Through the dark cloud shin-ing,
Turn the dark cloud in-side out,
Till the boys come Home.

[Greg WibblyWobbly]

Thank you very much for the "KTHFB" lyrics Tids, never knew the whole song.:thumb:

[Pamela]

Thank you very much for the "KTHFB" lyrics Tids, never knew the whole song.:thumb:


Amen, Bruvaaaah Wibbly!

[frankdicer]

I was watching this episode last night and had a couple of questions. I'm hoping my fellow AYBS fans can assist....

1) "It's amazing what you see when you haven't got your gun." What does that phrase mean? :?

It means you've just seen something so shocking or potentially dangerous that you wish you had a weapon to protect yourself.


I understood it to be (and this is by no means to be taken as definitive)
derived from old hunting experiences. Men out and about the countryside would come back and tell the stories of the great trophy buck (deer, elk, and what-have-you) that they saw, but of course they couldn't produce it because you only saw that kind of game when you were NOT actually hunting( didn't have their gun). Or if a man was hunting, the game was said to appear at the most inopportune time(bathing, drinking at a stream, doing bodily functions, etc.); at a time his gun was away from him and there was no way to obtain it w/o scaring off the game.
As such it became an exclamation of surprise or amazement at seeing something unexpected.

It does seem that context plays a big role in the meaning.

I tried to google it but without much success.

[minki]

I understood it to be (and this is by no means to be taken as definitive)
derived from old hunting experiences. Men out and about the countryside would come back and tell the stories of the great trophy buck (deer, elk, and what-have-you) that they saw, but of course they couldn't produce it because you only saw that kind of game when you were NOT actually hunting( didn't have their gun).[/size]

That's how I've always heard it, as a hunting reference.

Alternatively, I've also heard the very similar "the sights you see when you haven't gotten your camera" :D

[Tiddles]

As such it became an exclamation of surprise or amazement at seeing something unexpected

Essentially how I saw it, and used in the way my Granny used to say it. :D

[Very Young Mr Grace]

Great stuff! Thanks everyone for the information.

[Mr. Harmon]

I can definately second Franks explaination of the phrase "It's amazing what you see when you haven't got a gun".

In fact, I've not only heard the expression since I was a baby, but have used it all my life as well, and you don't know how true it is until you go out into the woods and fields without a gun! You see all sorts of game, but the minute hunting season opens and you'r all geared up... nothing. :)

[frankdicer]

......
Alternatively, I've also heard the very similar "the sights you see when you haven't gotten your camera" :D

I think that's one of the PC versions.

[John Inman Fan]

Found this link:

http://ingeb.org/songs/keeptheh.html

Neat little melody and was wondering who wrote it. It turns out it's written by Ivor Novello in 1915.

Marlies