Exploring The Waste Land
An allusion page linked from The Waste Land, Part III, line 199

Red Wing
Mills and Chattaway

In The Waste Land we have a few words to a song:

199)  O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter
200)  And on her daughter
201)  They wash their feet in soda water

Eliot wrote a note for these lines:

I do not know the origin of the ballad from which these lines are taken: it was reported to me from Sydney, Australia.

The origin of the ballad was a popular American tune named Red Wing. This song was also known by the titles Indian Intermezzo and Indian Fable. The lyrics were written by Thurland Chattaway and the melody was composed by Kerry Mills (who also wrote Meet Me In St. Louis.)


Exploring The Waste Land
File name: aq199.html
File date: Sunday, September 29, 2002
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