William Shakespeare and The Quills
Britain's best-known playwright, William Shakespeare, gave the English language hundreds of new phrases - here are but a few you may recognise...
IN THE STYLE OF
Big band music
MUSIC BY
Richie Webb
FROM
Series 4 Episode 11
LYRICS:
My name is Shakespeare, William
I owned a feather quill, I am
The writer most familiar to you.
My way with words amazes me
Came up with so many phrases me
That still the number dazes me too.
Oh, "You've got to be cruel to be kind"
"If truth were known", "Love is blind"
Yeah each of these quotes you will find
It's what I do.
"Seen better days" (That's one of his)
Ah, "Salad days" (He is the biz)
"All the world's a stage"
They call me Billy Whizz.
May seem kind of scary
I'm a walking dictionary
Sturdy with the wordy Shakespeare.
"Quality of mercy is not strained"
"Such stuff as dreams are made"
"Off with his head"
My phrases you'll note.
"This is the short and long of it"
"Brevity is the soul of wit"
"As good luck would have have it"
You can quote.
Oh you suffered "Green-eyed jealousy"
Please do not "Stand on ceremony"
I wrote "The Queen's English"
Queen's English I wrote.
"It's Greek to me" (That's a Shakespeare line)
"Meat and drink to me" (He was the first to combine)
"Infinite variety"
Yeah, that was one of mine.
Don't call me flake-y
I'm William Shake-y
Not lazy with the phrase-y
Shakespeare.
I was the greatest, I was ace
To find a better writer, that's "A wild goose chase"
I was truly brilliant which is why I sing
"You can't have too much of a good thing".
​
"If music be the food of love, play on".
"Et tu, Brute" (Did you ever know?)
"Forever and a day" (From a Shakespeare show)
"Good riddance", "Fair play"
"Pure as the driven snow".
"High time", "Lie low"
"Wherefore art thou Romeo"
The nation's favourite bard
Shakespeare.
Dooby, dooby, dooby
"To be or not to be?"
Schooby, dooby, dooby
Shakespeare.