Paean

[Stargzer]

The recent word Ecomium reminded me of this word:

Paean: (peen) n. A song of joyful praise or exaltation.


From Etymology Online:

1592, from L. paean "hymn of deliverance," from Gk. paian "hymn to Apollo," from Paian, a name of the god; originally the physician of the gods (in Homer), later merged with Apollo; lit. "one who touches," from paio "to touch, strike."

I most recently heard this word at a Tom Rush concert in Annapolis. Tom was describing an attempt a few years ago by the town of Gillette, Wyoming, to get some publicity by sponsoring a coyote-shooting contest. As Tom said, "They got national, and internation, bad press." He then sang a song from his new CD, Trolling for Owls, called "A Cowboy's Paean." [MP3] [RealAudio] One can rest assured that the double-entendre is intentional!

[gailr]

I'd shoot a thousand coyotes, if I could just only find one...

I can tell you what happened to them, Tom [er, Larry]! I turned a blind eye to coyote-shootin' in my salad days, as the cowboys explained to me--so reasonable-like--that they got their date money from sellin' the furs. Well sir, it was kinda difficult to argue with logic like that. And a dead coyote hangin' from the barn rafters, here and there, is one thing. But the occasional flatbed truck rolling into town, heaped taller'an me with dead coyotes, their tongues hangin' out and their eyes rolled up in their haids, was another matter entirely.

I have fond memories of stalking a stray coyote once with a particular favorite cowboy of mine. He snuck us up on that varmint, a few feet at a time, for nigh onto 20 minutes, until he reckoned he could get a good bead on'im. 'Bout then, it became apparent that this was no ordinary coyote enjoying the moonlight. It was dead stump, a dead ringer for date money. I had the decency to wait until I got home, but then this long-haired, citified, animal-loving, some-time vegetarian just howled with laughter.

Thanks for the link to the song, Stargzer.
-gailr

gailr