Mary Jo and David Shapiro will host the Open Sing on Friday, November 5, starting at 8:30PM . The topic is Mungo. No, we don't mean Mongo (humongous). In case you haven't run across this oddball word, here are some definitions we like:
mungo
1. Scrap copper wire.
2. Usable items retrieved from trash.
3. The original meaning, according to Michael Quinion of World-Wide Words), ". . .another name for shoddy, an inferior cloth made from recycled fibres taken from old woven or felted material. The Oxford English Dictionarypoints in turn, very cautiously, to the origin of that in mung for ?a mingling, a mixture, a confusion, or a mess? (a definition that ought to be set to music, it has such rhythm); in turn this may be from ymong, a company of people, which is a precursor of among. The OED retells an old tale that tried to explain mungo: when the first sample of the cloth was made, a Yorkshire foreman said 'It won?t go' (it?s inadequate, it won?t fill the need), to which the master replied 'But it mun go' (it must go).'"
So sing about your favorite company of people, a big mess, a magic potion, or somewhere "Ye mun go"...or about a dog named Mungo, for that matter. The goal is simply an interesting mixture of voices and songs.
For directions, please call 301-699-8833
