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The Jeely Piece Song

11 am August 14th, 2007 by Quixote · 10 Comments

To continue my skyscraper hating, here’s a humorous song quoted in A Pattern Language to allow the children of Glasgow to explain why tall buildings are less than ideal. Note that “to fling a ‘piece,’ a slice of bread and jam, from a window down to a child in the street below has been a recognised custom in Glasgow’s tenement housing…”

The Jeely Piece Song

by Adam McNaughton

I’m a skyscraper wean, I live on the nineteenth flair,
On’ I’m gaun oot tae play ony mair,
For since we moved tae oor new house I’m wastin’ away,
‘Cos I’m gettin’ wan less meal ev’ry day,

Oh ye canny fling pieces oot a twenty-story flat,
Seven hundred hungry weans will testify tae that,
If it’s butter, cheese, or jeely, if breid is plain or pan,
The odds against it reachin’ us is ninety-nine tae wan,

We’ve wrote away tae Oxfam tae try an’ get some aid,
We’ve a’ joined thegither an’ formed a “piece” brigade,
We’re gonny march tae London tae demand oor Civil Rights,
Like “Nae mair hooses ower piece flingin’ heights.”

So, next time you think about building the world’s tallest building in your city: Think of the Children!

Tags: architecture · urban planning

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