Monday, 26th October 2009.

Intermezzo

“It’s funny, really,” Jessica was saying. “How different people ask you to do things.”
“Go on,” I said.
“Well, let’s say I get an email from Stephen, and he says ‘Would you like to do this’, which generally means ‘I would like you to do this’. But then as a contrast, I’ll get an email from Paul saying ‘Can we also do this?’, which again means ‘I would like you do this’.”
“I know what you mean. It’s the power of suggestion. It’s like when the song says ‘Would you like to swing on a star?’. Is that a genuine question, or a veiled command?”
“Exactly,” said Jessica.
“Actually,” I went on, “the chorus of that song always bugged me. It goes ‘Would you like to swing on a star’, which would be downright dangerous even if it were scientifically plausible. Then ‘Carry moonbeams home in a jar’, which is again impossible. Or you can have more money, or would you rather be a pig? I mean, it’s pretty much a given, isn’t it?”
“Makes you think, though.”
“What? That some people really shouldn’t be writing lyrics?”
“Or that they just need a rhyming dictionary.”