“Tis Rhubarb!”

The Rhubarb Tart Song

1. I want another slice of rhubarb tart.
I want another lovely slice.
I’m not disparaging the blueberry pie
But rhubarb tart is oh so very nice.
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A whatbarb tart? A rhubarb tart!
I want another slice of rhubarb tart!

2. The principles of modern philosophy
Were postulated by Descartes.
Discarding everything he wasn’t certain of
He said ‘I think therefore I am a rhubarb tart.’
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A Rene who? Rene Descartes!
Poor nut he thought he was a rhubarb tart!

3. Read all the existentialist philosophers,
Like Schopenhauer and Jean-Paul Sartre.
Even Martin Heidegger agrees on one thing:
Eternal happiness is rhubarb tart.
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A Jean-Paul who? A Jean-Paul Sartre!
Eternal happiness is rhubarb tart.

4. A rhubarb tart has fascinated all the poets.
Especially the immortal bard.
He caused Richard the Third to call on Bosworth Field:
‘My kingdom for a slice of rhubarb tart!’
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb bard!
Immortal what? Immortal tart!
As rhymes go that is really pretty bard!

John Cleese*

A Rhubarb Sauce

• One pound rhubarb, thinly sliced
• One Meyer lemon, or other thin peeled variety, quartered, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup strawberry syrup
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/3 cup water

Place all ingredients in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, stirring occasionally. A perfect topping for Torta al Limone, a pound cake or tea cake, and even vanilla ice-cream. Of course, you can always increase the recipe for a rhubarb tart. A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!

*The Rhubarb Tart song, From the  Illinois State University’s College of Fine Arts World Wide Web (WWW) Server, Sponsored by The Office of Research in Arts Technology (ORAT), The College of Fine Arts at Illinois State, and Illinois State University, “Its a Monty Python Collection”

John Cleese