PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. VOL. 102. March 5th, 1892. POPULAR SONGS RE-SUNG. Great is the might of the Meaningless! Especially in a rattling refrain or a rousing chorus. Big drum effects are always popular. What wonder clever Miss LOTTIE COLLINS'S "_Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay_!" is all the rage? "Her greatest creation" (_vide_ advertisements), "sung and danced with the utmost _verve_," has taken the town. Will it "mar its use" to attach a meaning to it? Let us try:-- No. VI.--THAT'S HOW WE BOOM TO-DAY! [Illustration] I. A SMART "mug-lumberer" one must be To-day, to "fetch" Sassiety; Not too strict, of swagger free, And as "fly" as "fly" can be. Ever pushing, ever bold, (Else one's left "out in the cold") Thus Success you grasp, and hold. And may sing, though Pecksniffs scold,-- _Chorus._ Tra-la! We "boom" to-day! That's how we "boom" to-day! Bra-va! We "boom" to-day! Hoo-rah! We "boom" to-day! [_And so on, six times or more._ II. All want to "Boom." But don't be shy, For modesty is all my eye. Shun all reserve, if you would try For "paying" notoriety. If you would "make your pile" in haste, You must not bother about "taste." _Every_ chance must be embraced, If you would sing when fairly "placed," _Chorus_--Tra-la! We "boom" to-day! [_Over and over again._ III. Art's a good game. 'Tis easier far Than 'twas of old to be a Star. Hit on some trick crepuscular, Like smudge or smoke, and there you are! They'll mouth, and call you "Master." So You're sure--in time--to be a go. You will catch on, and sell, although Your meaning not a soul may know,-- _Chorus_--Tra-la-la! "Boom" to-day! [_Ad libitum._ IV. If Humour is your little line, Coherent sense you must resign, Cry, "Paradox alone's divine! LAMB had _his_ manner, _this_ is Mine!" Try strain and twist; gnaw the dry bone Of mirth till all the marrow's gone; And crowds, who first stared like a stone, Your "subtle genius" soon will own. _Chorus_--Tra-la! We "boom" to-day! [_Ad nauseam._ V. Is the Dramatic "biz" preferred? There you may "boom" it like a bird. Turn on the Absolute-Absurd; By that strange tap the mob is stirred. Be dismal, deathly, dirty, dim; Grovelling, ghastly, gruesome, grim, Anything meaning morbid whim; Quidnuncs will cry, "What treuth! what _vim_!" _Chorus_--Tra-la-la! "Boom" to-day! [_As long as you like_! VI.