Bus Driver's Prayer
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This, also known as the Busman's Lord's Prayer, was a parody of the Lord's Prayer that takes the bus driver around Britain. The words are apocryphal and have been around since 1970 at least. The wordplay, making extensive use of puns on British place names, is typical of British humour.
It was recorded by Ian Dury on The Bus Driver's Prayer and Other Stories (1992), who used just those placenames which referred to London locations.
Below is a version predating Dury's recording, with alternate versions given in Notes.
- Our Farnham,[1] who art in Hendon
- Harrow be Thy name.
- Thy Kingston come; thy Wimbledon,
- In Erith as it is in Hendon.
- Give us this day our daily Brent [2]
- And forgive us our Westminster
- As we forgive those who Westminster against us.[3]
- And lead us not into Thames Ditton[4]
- But deliver us from Yeovil.[5]
- For Thine is the Kingston, the Purley and the Crawley,[6]
- For Esher and Esher.[7]
- Crouch End.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Our Father
- ^ Give us this day our Berkhampstead / our Leatherhead
- ^ Forgive us our bypasses,
As we forgive those who bypass against us - ^ And lead us not into Temple Station
- ^ But deliver us from Ewell
- ^ For Thine is the Kingston, the Powys and the Goring
- ^ for Iver and Iver
[edit] External links
- This gives and describes the locations in Dury's version BBC The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything.
