Custard The Dragon

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) was an American poet best known in his time as the country’s most loved producer of humorous poetry. I grew up hearing his name tossed around the house always with a chuckle of admiration.

“I think in terms of rhyme, and have since I was six years old,” he once stated. I believe him. Looking through his clever and often hilarious works, I found myself wondering what it might be like to spend a day inside this man’s mind.

If called by a panther / Don’t anther
or…
The Lord in His wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.

This is his ode to the llama:

The one-L lama, he’s a priest
The two-L llama, he’s a beast
And I would bet a silk pyjama
There isn’t any three-L llama

Similarly, in Reflections on Ice-Breaking he wrote:

Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker.

He also commented:

I often wonder which is mine:
Tolerance, or a rubber spine?

Also:

People who work sitting down get paid more
than people who work standing up.

For his children he wrote a poem that has become a Children’s Classic for nearly 40 years – Custard The Dragon. I’ve had the great fortune to spend the last six weeks with the late Mr. Nash coursing through my head while producing a delightful (and most smartly composed) musical rendition of this wondrous tale.

Composed for full orchestra by NY composer, Brad Ross, and sung radiantly by our own Julia Wade, Custard The Dragon, a 7 minute musical romp through the imagination of Ogden Nash, is a Christmas gift for the whole family.

Don’t let your children grow up without experiencing this classic tale.

Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

To learn more about 'Custard the Dragon,' or to listen to the album, click on the blog entry title and be redirected to our website.