Why my love for romance is like..... The Swan by Saint Saens

The Swan by Saint Saens is a very beautiful piece of music. You may not think you know it but you do. See below.



See! You do know it, don't you?

It's part of the Carnival of Animals which features many other pieces you also probably know. For example, The Tortoises is the can-can played very slowly indeed and The Aquarium is used in every documentary about tropical fish ever made.

The Swan was the only piece from the Carnival of Animals that Saint Saens allowed to be performed publicly during his lifetime. Apparently he thought no-one would take him seriously if they heard the others.

The Swan is a gorgeous piece of music. But still it is difficult to take seriously. Years ago, I heard someone play in on a saw. It was hilarious and absurd and I've never been been able to forget it.

Annoyingly, the saw player isn't on You Tube but they do have a vid of someone playing it on a bicycle pump and another, even better one, of someone playing it on a theremin. The expression on the face of the therminist(?) is priceless, not to mention her fabulous silver lame turban.

And The Swan is like my love of romance, why?

Beautiful and occasionally absurd.