Situationism isn't dead. Look, it's still twitching.

[reddragdiva]

Someone has been creating substitute ads on the Tube; the 'Poems on the Underground' series having evidently proven ideal material.

The Tyger

Apols to William Blake (1757-1827)

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright,
On Esso forecourts in the night;
Blushing, burning, bright with shame,
Because Bush and Esso are the same.

In what distant deeps or skies
Can be heard the tyger cries?
With Esso's money - what a perk!
Bush can do their dirty work.

What the hammer, what the chain?
What could Esso have to gain?
Could if ever be that oil
Is the most important thing of all?

When the stars throw down their spears,
Tygers almost drown in tears.
All expressing their regret
In ever being Esso's pet.

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright,
On Esso forecourts in the night;
Blushing, burning bright with shame,
Because Bush and Esso are the same.

 

Not the finest in poetry, but certainly worth at least a double-take. This sort of thing is why I take my camera everywhere.

(Above pic: no flash, high resolution and quality, scaled to 600 pixels wide. I might put up a wider version.)

ali_anarres says there's also a sonnet. Photos welcomed.

(I know the Situationist line is that there is no such thing as 'Situationism'. I do not care.)

Update: From a tubeworker: "The train maintainers know about the fake poems - and think they're funny, so they're leaving them up! Management don't know yet."

Comments

[marnameow.livejournal.com]

uon spotted this a bit ago. Download'n'print your own from http://www.viralmeister.com/files/se_poems1-5.pdf

[reddragdiva]

Aha! Good to see people have been putting them up, then :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

Hahahahaha, that's got style.

Pity they're just obsessing on Esso. They need to provide a blank template and the right font, so I can do my own. Bad filk about telecoms companies might happen if they did.

I'm not actually a loyal follower of the "hate oil companies" fashion.

Nicolai

[patchworkkid.livejournal.com]

Are people just whacking them up, or has someone paid money to place them?

[reddragdiva]

I would guess people are just whacking them up.

Wonder what Tube advertising costs. I once enquired into advertising costs on Melbourne trams, but it was bloody impossible to get a price out of them unless you were an ad agency and they loved you already.

[naughtypixie.livejournal.com]

ask and ye shall receive.

rate card

Not that bad actually for straight cards in cars. cheaper than ads on buses nowdays, and definately cheaper than my companies ads. ;)

[reddragdiva]

I think we can definitely say they're not buying space for these poems!

[nils.livejournal.com]

Saw that on the tube the other week. It looked so convincing, I couldn't work out if it was genuine or not...

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interlock/231592.html

[reddragdiva]

Heh. So it's pretty much been this week?

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

I think I saw it Thursday or Friday last week - def. a recent thing though.

[sarcaustik.livejournal.com]

Biting satire on the tube. Gotta love it.

*cough*photos*cough*

[reddragdiva]

Sorry, photo-nagging should be attached to the next entry.

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! :)

There used to be a guy who had a whole bunch of this sort of stuff he'd done up on cockeyed.com (i think)