I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General by Gilbert & Sullivan

Album: The Pirates of Penzance (1879)

Get the Sheet Music License This Song

The Pirates of Penzance is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. This comedic patter song from the work is perhaps the most famous song in Gilbert and Sullivan's oeuvre. It is sung by Major General Stanley at his first entrance, towards the end of Act I.
The song lampoons the "modern" educated British Army officer of the later 19th century, a man with a well-rounded education in all subjects but the military.

I'm very good at integral and differential calculus
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General

Despite being very well-educated, this "modern" major-general has very little knowledge about military matters, favoring obscure facts about math and science.
The character who sings "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" was said to be modeled on the real-life Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. Rather than being offended by the caricature, Wolseley would sing the song to amuse his friends.
Because of a tide of unauthorized Gilbert & Sullivan productions in America, the British pair opened The Pirates of Penzance in New York - their only premiere outside London.

Please sign in or register to post comments.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Dean PitchfordSongwriter Interviews

Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony." "Crimson and Clover." "Draggin' The Line." The hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."