@mrquackadoodlemoo Listen to the rest of his readings. Too bad he wont do more. I asked a while back. I wanted to hear him read "The Quitter" Guess I'll need to do it myself.
Mr. Service's ending is a kind of jack-in-the-box (the fire wakes up a corpse) that pops out at the listener to humorous effect.
It seems to me that your options are to reword the ending while retaining the jack-in-the-box, or to dispense with it and strike off in a different mood direction entirely.
For example, instead of humor, it could be a bleak reflection on death on the cold frontier of the Yukon, no supernatural happenings at all.
Free your mind and express yourself, is my advice.
beautiful poem. i don't really find it that chilling though. i memorized this poem when I was 12 for my grandfathers memorial since this was his favorite poem. i have it memorized to this day :)
@leiwolf27 Download the video with RealPlayer. Once its downloaded, right click on it in your library then click on "convert to" from that window you can click on another "convert to" box, then "create custom" . In the custom window, click "Audio Only" in the video section and "MP3" in the Audio section. This will allow you to save an MP3 of this entire audio in your Windows Media Player and download it to your MP3 player or burn a CD. It sounds complicated but its not..
@leiwolf27 Download the video with RealPlayer. Once its downloaded, right click on it in your library then click on "convert to" from that window you can click on another "convert to" box, then "create custom" . In the custom window, click "Audio Only" in the video section and "MP3" in the Audio section. This will allow you to save an MP3 of this entire audio in your Windows Media Player and download it to your MP3 player or burn a CD. It sounds complicated but its not..
I have to memorize this poem, we are not aloud to "sing" it so this was good to recite it along. Very good. I fought myself singing a couple of times so this video helped me fix my mistakes, Thank You!
Wow, that's an awesome bit of work! Well read and well done! I read this poem years ago in school, but you sure brought it to life....er.....death. LOL
I love this poem, and this is a beautiful reading of it.
I was actually already planning to do a similar reading, although not quite as dark. More as if the narrator was simply telling the tale as it had happened to him.
I think I'll do mine outside, to satisfy a request of a friend of mine.
I found a recording of the author reciting it and it's like 25 minutes long!
It's not THAT long! Hell, I did it a long time ago when the Earth was green, in Fifth grade. I'm relearning it for a campfire chat in Death Valley in a couple of weeks.
love it! We wacht your video today in class because we are learning about poems and our teacher choose this one! You have a really good voice by the way. Just Awesomeed
thank you so much! a co-worker recited this poem to me (at work), and i decided to look it up. May as well hear it again... here i go commenting before it even loads. :-P
thank you so much! a co-worker recited this poem to me (at work), and i decided to look it up. May as well here it again... here i go commenting before it even loads. :-P
wow.... that was a great poem... beautiful, not, but moving. i had to watch this for a drama assignment, and i have to say, that was 8 minutes of my life well spent.
WOW! Really good recitation! I have to say though, I always thought that the poem's ending part (We he looks in and sees Sam) should be read in a more humorous way instead of the creepyish way you read it. But that's much my opinion, GOOD JOB!
Every teen boy should read Service as required reading. I gave my grandkids Service in the hopes it will give them a moral compass and an enjoyabe.experiance.
I just watched and listened once again Urgelt. RWS was a kind of genius, and so are you for your perfect rendition. RWS is applauding you I am sure. Perfect.
@niecie9991 Mr.Hendrix of Culleoka school? It's a 1 in 6,000,000,000 chance,but I might as well guess.He teaches 7th grade Reading/English and loves this poem.
I just stumbled upon this reading after seeing it a couple years ago when it was first posted. My mother originally introduced me to this poem and I loved it. This reading was especially good and and definitely added something to an already very great poem. two thumbs up, urgelt.
Over 30 years ago i was coming home from work .Caught in rush hr traffic, I heard Burgess Meredith Reciteing The Cremation of Sam McGee over the radio. I loved it so much that it has been on my mind for years. I never ever heard it again. I have read it hundreds of times but never stoped looking for the reciteing by Burgess. Can someone please help me in my 30 years + quest?
I just googled 'Burgess Meredith Cremation of Sam McGee' and the first result that came up seemed pretty legit, although I can't confirm it was the one you are looking for, but my be worth checking out
My father and his friends from Outward Bound used to sit around and read to us Robert Service poems! Listening to you recite this beloved poem warmed my heart! Thank You for preserving such an important piece of literature!
This poem was read to me by my father. And i read it to my children. They still remember it;...so much that my daughter is doing her Heritage Fair on Robert Service. My father father passed the love of this poet from him to me and I now pass it to my children. And Urgelt...you're rendition is close to my father's. I have sent this video to other friend's after discovering it from my sister.
This is great. It has the feel of an old-timer telling a story from days long past. A real classic. Five stars! I first heard this three and a half, four years ago. Still good stuff!
absolutely fantastic work on this poem, thank you for not reading it sing-song but instead telling the tale as though it were real. This is exactly how this poem should be read and I guarantee mr. Service would have done the same. Your bushy northern looks didn't hurt either!
I post your vid every Christmas. Love Robert Service and you did a GREAT job on this one. I did it in grade school for public speaking. I wish I could have heard your version at the time...Oh, that was pre-home computer and pre-internet.
A 70 year old hunting buddy would recite this too us every year at the camp. Great memory. He had to memorize it in school back in the dai...say 1950? Love it.
I memorized this poem in 1958 when I was a fifth grader in Fort Greeley, Alaska....this was soooo much better than my reading of it and just brought back wonderful, cold memories of nights of 70 below and warm fires and fine friends.
This has been in my favourites for over a year now. I often listen over again. Just felt that another "thankyou Urgelt" was called for. Fabulous reading..
That was really good man ive heard that poem before but i really didnt enjoy it till i heard it told like this telling it like a horror mission acomplished
Geat rendition. Probably in th emood that Service would have done it. Although I don't think that I ever heard a reading by him, though. When I was a small lad my dad used to recite that poem and several others. I suppose he lost interest when we moved on, but I credit it for my own writing and likely my son's. It should be required duty for all parents rather than subjecting children to so much mass media.
Would be tough to legislate, I'm afraid. Or enforce. But yes, reading to kids is important to their development. Very important.
It turns out that Robert Service *didn't* read it in any way remotely like I did. If you search, you can still probably find a video here on YouTube of him reading this poem. It's audio-only with a dark screen. He treated the poem as a joke - which it is - with exaggerated silliness.
It's a fun poem, and I don't think he'd mind us having fun with it. :-)
Tis the truth I fear, if you'll pardon my sneer, no justice TV'd do the likes of McGrew and the woman named Lou, nor photo out shine that image that comes to mind of Sammy in his furnace all snug. Sure he would shudder at the sight of... his mug, Legends of the Youkon would cry, "If I weren't already, surely I'd die if ever I did see old Blasphemous Bill on the TV." It's enough to make the dead nervous, they'd even suggest such disService.
I did find Service's readings and it did remind me that I had heard them long ago as well as My father's recitings and those of Hank Snow. The great thing about Service's renditions is that you can almost hear him telling it about a bunk hous eor campfire at night after a long day of moiling for gold, which was of course from his experience.
This is one reason I love his poetry. This isn't the stuff you hear from the lecterns of academia. It's a man talking to people using the plain language you might expect to hear around a campfire. Plain... but gloriously fitted into exquisite and evocative shapes.
Service didn't arrive at the Yukon Territory till 1904, 5 years after the klondike gold rush was over. he never actually went out for gold. he was just a brilliant writer of ficticious poems.
If you have any interest in cleaning up with a second career, consider sending some of your stuff in as an audition for voiceover work. I think you'd be perfect as a narrator of movies and cartoons.
why does everybody watch this one? type in the cremation of sam mcgee and the third video is a recording of the author himself reading the poem! thats as close to the original as possilble!
I read this to hubbie last month. Your background music and cover picture is fabulous. I don't think it was meant as hilarious. It has always conveyed homesickness, isolation and similar to Byrd's autobiography....a self-imposed burden........of courage and honour...the horror is from our pitiful fragilities and self-deluding imaginings.
Excellent work! I hadn't heard that read aloud since my uncle read it to me years ago. He has since passed away and you brought a tear to my eye tonight. Thank you sir.
Ahfowler-- I guess we all understand it in our own way-- that's what makes the great ones (literary works) so great! However i am 'not' trusting my own thoughts ion this one! HA!
whoa, great job!One of my faves I was creeped out by as a kid because I didn't undersatnd it...but now it's funny but I was always angry at Samn for pulling such a stunt in the end.
Very Well read: However if you learnt the poem you would not have to read it,you would not need the eyeglasses, which are a distraction from seeing eyes.
Wow, I loved it. Nice job. You captured the feel of the poem. The first time I read it, I didn't know how it would end and the last lines came as a surprise, turning it to tragic comedy. Wonderful. I like the creepy sound affects as well.
You do an excellent job of the reading!
hazatude 1 day ago
My father passed away 7 months ago, and it was his favourite recital.
tomaskinsellagraigue 4 days ago
You have an unbelievable voice for reading Frost. Thank You.
dudethekids 1 week ago
This is an excellent reading of this poem. Kudos, to you sir.
wizkid91us 2 weeks ago in playlist Favorites
This is Sparta!!!!i like it!
stressstress99 2 weeks ago
I love Service's poems. Used to know this one by heart. Will relearn it. A part of "real" history.
MsJude1971 1 month ago
Hey, I was inspired to write a poem but I don't know how exactly... anyone wanna introduce me to poetry?
RayAngeloRamilo 1 month ago
@RayAngeloRamilo Start with Robert Frost. Stopping by Woods On A Snowy Evening, A Considerable Speck - You will be hooked.
MsJude1971 1 month ago
I recited this once in front of my entire high school. Forgot the lines halfway through and stood up there muttering fuck to myself for ten seconds
After experiencing shit like that, most embarrassing situations in life do not seem as important or nerve racking anymore
gengar250 1 month ago
this dude does the sam mcgee poem the best
maybe ts the beard
mrquackadoodlemoo 2 months ago
@mrquackadoodlemoo Listen to the rest of his readings. Too bad he wont do more. I asked a while back. I wanted to hear him read "The Quitter" Guess I'll need to do it myself.
mandelbrot5 2 months ago
i need to write a different ending to this for a homework grade..its hard to come up with a good enidng for a poem like this
shucom95 2 months ago
Mr. Service's ending is a kind of jack-in-the-box (the fire wakes up a corpse) that pops out at the listener to humorous effect.
It seems to me that your options are to reword the ending while retaining the jack-in-the-box, or to dispense with it and strike off in a different mood direction entirely.
For example, instead of humor, it could be a bleak reflection on death on the cold frontier of the Yukon, no supernatural happenings at all.
Free your mind and express yourself, is my advice.
Urgelt 2 months ago
@Urgelt SPOILER WARNING would be nice. This being at the top ruins the ending.
icharlesbell 2 weeks ago
@shucom95 Have him marry a kardashian and the rest of his life is a pure hell.
flycentro123 1 week ago
okay now i have to memorize ALL of this to bring up my grades..... wish me luck!
marinanciferri 2 months ago
Luck! :-)
Urgelt 2 months ago
@Urgelt
haha thanks ... oh FYI i like how you did this video its nice:)
marinanciferri 2 months ago
beautiful poem. i don't really find it that chilling though. i memorized this poem when I was 12 for my grandfathers memorial since this was his favorite poem. i have it memorized to this day :)
lenalena111 2 months ago
This, my friend, is by far the best recitation of this fine work I have had fall upon my ears.
mandelbrot5 3 months ago
im reading this book in my class :)
cupcake5548 3 months ago
Shit! I bricked a house!
PBM4EMAPAHCNMDHSRNW 3 months ago
Very well done...I got a chill up my spine.
DrunknShooter 3 months ago
happy holloween
adventurequest125 3 months ago
@adventurequest125 you spelled halloween wrong
577deanna 2 months ago
Wow, so powerful. I couldn't help but let my mind wander into darkened realms. Thankyou. The beard, the b/w, all wonderful.
dizzypsyclops 5 months ago
My favorite recitation to this day after years and years of loving this poem.
Protean213 6 months ago
Bravo to the reader, would love to have a copy of this on mp3
leiwolf27 7 months ago
@leiwolf27 Download the video with RealPlayer. Once its downloaded, right click on it in your library then click on "convert to" from that window you can click on another "convert to" box, then "create custom" . In the custom window, click "Audio Only" in the video section and "MP3" in the Audio section. This will allow you to save an MP3 of this entire audio in your Windows Media Player and download it to your MP3 player or burn a CD. It sounds complicated but its not..
ohtoseemusic 4 months ago
@leiwolf27 Download the video with RealPlayer. Once its downloaded, right click on it in your library then click on "convert to" from that window you can click on another "convert to" box, then "create custom" . In the custom window, click "Audio Only" in the video section and "MP3" in the Audio section. This will allow you to save an MP3 of this entire audio in your Windows Media Player and download it to your MP3 player or burn a CD. It sounds complicated but its not..
ohtoseemusic 4 months ago
Bravo! An incredible reading. Thank you
journey2oz 8 months ago
this is the best reading of this poem ive ssen on videos.
ErinRRR 9 months ago
I have to memorize this poem, we are not aloud to "sing" it so this was good to recite it along. Very good. I fought myself singing a couple of times so this video helped me fix my mistakes, Thank You!
RainbowificNinja 9 months ago
this kind of creeps me out, but it put me too sleep last night
JakeStrangeFishing 9 months ago
I dont get it,,he came alive? D:
MirroTea 9 months ago
This is a very "unique" poem... :D Nice work! It's very well written
awesomeperson2999 9 months ago
Wow, that's an awesome bit of work! Well read and well done! I read this poem years ago in school, but you sure brought it to life....er.....death. LOL
Seriously. Great job, sir. I commend you.
SeanaLPurvis 10 months ago
dude you look like sam mage
pancakes198 10 months ago
I love this poem, and this is a beautiful reading of it.
I was actually already planning to do a similar reading, although not quite as dark. More as if the narrator was simply telling the tale as it had happened to him.
I think I'll do mine outside, to satisfy a request of a friend of mine.
firefly4f4 10 months ago
@firefly4f4 Mind you, I had planned my reading before coming across this one -- I just thought I'd check to see if there was a similar one done.
firefly4f4 10 months ago
we watched this in english class because we have to memorize this freaking poem
cartman1675 10 months ago
@cartman1675
It won't hurt you.
lostburro 10 months ago
@lostburro its long as hell though
cartman1675 10 months ago
@cartman1675
You'll live!
I found a recording of the author reciting it and it's like 25 minutes long!
It's not THAT long! Hell, I did it a long time ago when the Earth was green, in Fifth grade. I'm relearning it for a campfire chat in Death Valley in a couple of weeks.
lostburro 10 months ago
BRILLIANT!
stereodreamer23 11 months ago
..you are the michael jackson of poems..
supergalunk 11 months ago
this is awesome i love it the poem is great whoever reading it is amazing and i mean AMAZING
AlexRandomness658 11 months ago
love it! We wacht your video today in class because we are learning about poems and our teacher choose this one! You have a really good voice by the way. Just Awesomeed
cooldudebailey 11 months ago
LoveIt ! .
locita881 11 months ago
Great reading!!!
woodenninja 11 months ago
Check out my channel for a song/ballad version of this poem.
ducttape5030 11 months ago
"Robert Service Mix" - 1 Video
lol :D
SnIkLeeT 11 months ago
LOL keep tapping 4 on the video he makes a funny sound!!!!!!LOL!!!!!!!!!!
CURRYKING21 1 year ago
awesome.
harveydeadman 1 year ago
Brilliant! Bravo.
verbalista2 1 year ago
Well spoken, sir.
pablothegoatmarez 1 year ago
God bless from Sweden!
HATTEN8301 1 year ago
Comment removed
casperquinn 1 year ago
wow! this is awesome!
VisionWiz1978 1 year ago
I had to read this today for my eighth grade English class. Really good! :D
GuitarMasterizer 1 year ago
ppeterb`s reading of `Cremation` will be too intellectually demanding for the YouTube audience.
ppeterb 1 year ago
I defer to the brilliant rendition on YouTube by
ppeterb.
ppeterb 1 year ago
thank you so much! a co-worker recited this poem to me (at work), and i decided to look it up. May as well hear it again... here i go commenting before it even loads. :-P
returnofbeaux 1 year ago
thank you so much! a co-worker recited this poem to me (at work), and i decided to look it up. May as well here it again... here i go commenting before it even loads. :-P
returnofbeaux 1 year ago
are u irish urgelt ?
costy6002 1 year ago
You have like, the most soothing voice ever.
thearthippie 1 year ago
wow.... that was a great poem... beautiful, not, but moving. i had to watch this for a drama assignment, and i have to say, that was 8 minutes of my life well spent.
TheHoboist 1 year ago
WOW! Really good recitation! I have to say though, I always thought that the poem's ending part (We he looks in and sees Sam) should be read in a more humorous way instead of the creepyish way you read it. But that's much my opinion, GOOD JOB!
PwnageMewsic 1 year ago
Great stuff man. Please do a reading of March of the Dead by Service, it would make my day.
nbamford03 1 year ago
sam really hated cold weather!
alday1255 1 year ago
Dougleman
Every teen boy should read Service as required reading. I gave my grandkids Service in the hopes it will give them a moral compass and an enjoyabe.experiance.
DougLeman 1 year ago
@DougLeman Reading isn't much fun when it's "Required".
IIxHoll0WxII 1 year ago
I just watched and listened once again Urgelt. RWS was a kind of genius, and so are you for your perfect rendition. RWS is applauding you I am sure. Perfect.
normalil 1 year ago
Thank you, sir, for bringing this epic poem to life for us.
Appropriate visual aids, understated sound effects bring us that much closer the the Yukon Territories and Lake Lemarge
DonQuixote109 1 year ago
This is my favorite poem! I have a friend who reads this really well.
agrijag 1 year ago
I had an English Teacher who recited this to us in 7th grade!
niecie9991 1 year ago
@niecie9991 Mr.Hendrix of Culleoka school? It's a 1 in 6,000,000,000 chance,but I might as well guess.He teaches 7th grade Reading/English and loves this poem.
IIxHoll0WxII 1 year ago
@niecie9991 Oh,sorry he's younger than you,it was a shot in the dark,though.
IIxHoll0WxII 1 year ago
I just stumbled upon this reading after seeing it a couple years ago when it was first posted. My mother originally introduced me to this poem and I loved it. This reading was especially good and and definitely added something to an already very great poem. two thumbs up, urgelt.
Law742 1 year ago
The summer before I went into grade 5 (I think) I memorized this, and I recited it for the class in the Fall.
vikidobe 1 year ago
WOW WEIRD
waterlilly96 1 year ago
Have you ever read Maurice Ogden's The Hangman? I think you could do pretty nicely at that one. Perhaps next Halloween...
thekkl 1 year ago
Over 30 years ago i was coming home from work .Caught in rush hr traffic, I heard Burgess Meredith Reciteing The Cremation of Sam McGee over the radio. I loved it so much that it has been on my mind for years. I never ever heard it again. I have read it hundreds of times but never stoped looking for the reciteing by Burgess. Can someone please help me in my 30 years + quest?
45dartagnan 1 year ago 4
Plug in the search terms "Burgess Meredith" and "Cremation of Sam McGee" into a search engine. I'm confident you will find what you are looking for.
Urgelt 1 year ago 2
@45dartagnan You can find it here....
blog(dot)wfmu(dot)org/freeform/2010/04/burgess-meredith-songs-and-stories-of-the-gold-rush-pt-1.html
replace (dot) with a period.
kevin0323 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@45dartagnan
I just googled 'Burgess Meredith Cremation of Sam McGee' and the first result that came up seemed pretty legit, although I can't confirm it was the one you are looking for, but my be worth checking out
hypem(dot)com/#!/item/119k9/Burgess+Meredith+-+The+Cremation+of+Sam+McGee
mrskillz001 8 months ago
My father and his friends from Outward Bound used to sit around and read to us Robert Service poems! Listening to you recite this beloved poem warmed my heart! Thank You for preserving such an important piece of literature!
jennypin1007 1 year ago
5 stars well read Urgelt :)
LokiV 1 year ago
This poem was read to me by my father. And i read it to my children. They still remember it;...so much that my daughter is doing her Heritage Fair on Robert Service. My father father passed the love of this poet from him to me and I now pass it to my children. And Urgelt...you're rendition is close to my father's. I have sent this video to other friend's after discovering it from my sister.
likeswine68 1 year ago
we watched this video and read the poem at school today its creepy
mario65613 1 year ago
Great Poem "And there sat Sam looking cool and calm" pure quality.
kneerash 1 year ago
ROBERT W SERVICE one of Scotland's many great exports to Canada.
SANGEO212 1 year ago
As a Florida boy who worked the Alaskan salmon run for a few years this poem has special meaning and this is the best reading I have ever heard.
GruntTGH 1 year ago
This is great. It has the feel of an old-timer telling a story from days long past. A real classic. Five stars! I first heard this three and a half, four years ago. Still good stuff!
bongrocker 1 year ago
Best Halloween video on You Tube!!
Titurel 1 year ago
i have a book with this poem in it i love it
naruto6183 1 year ago
Best damn reading of this poem you'll come by...
Hedningfaen 1 year ago
Wonderfully read and very creepy. I always like to think of this poem as a spooky story, though as you say most treat it as a humorous one.
Well done and thank you.
Ecapsora 1 year ago 8
Excellent.
TravGetsDeep 1 year ago
Still feeling the shivers! thank you for that great reading!
joshuamcguirefencer 1 year ago
Great poem and reading.
bigrab 1 year ago
i hope i will have a beard as epic as you some day.
zachcow 1 year ago
Wow. Awesome.
shanertoogood 1 year ago
beautiful reading of this poem!
theman119119 2 years ago
Wow! You made this poem absolutely horrifying!!!!
sora127link 2 years ago
my two year old son loves this (as read by you, and reciting parts of it himself). thank-you!
joulis2000 2 years ago
Thank you Urgelt
spurned1969 2 years ago
favorite poem ever! Great job reading it!
theman119119 2 years ago
This was my Dad's party piece, when drunk enough, would recite the whole lot,cheers!
willgonow 2 years ago
Fantastic reading ......
Radio2Folk 2 years ago
you are wonderful!
Rangerett 2 years ago
Very well done on this poem. One of the best readings that I have heard.
steve101008 2 years ago
absolutely fantastic work on this poem, thank you for not reading it sing-song but instead telling the tale as though it were real. This is exactly how this poem should be read and I guarantee mr. Service would have done the same. Your bushy northern looks didn't hurt either!
1st1anarkissed 2 years ago 15
My name is sam magee!!!!
HQMichaelJackson 2 years ago
AWESOMENESS!!!
TheMaSh625 2 years ago
Really cool! You're very good at this.
Amused67 2 years ago
yeah i totally agree !!
ThePKscene 2 years ago
Wonderfully done!!!
Rangerett 2 years ago
Well done!!
SANDEREEYORE 2 years ago
I remember this poem when I was a little kid. Amazing readings, Urgelt :)
Sodacan2735 2 years ago
very well done
hlblade57 2 years ago
I post your vid every Christmas. Love Robert Service and you did a GREAT job on this one. I did it in grade school for public speaking. I wish I could have heard your version at the time...Oh, that was pre-home computer and pre-internet.
kathannon 2 years ago
well done
cillian1983 2 years ago
A 70 year old hunting buddy would recite this too us every year at the camp. Great memory. He had to memorize it in school back in the dai...say 1950? Love it.
674367436743 2 years ago
Fantastic job! I haven't read that since around 1979, and loved your rendition. Thank You!
johnlebl 2 years ago
By far one of the best videos on YT. Everything just falls into place.
VanFrikschoten 2 years ago 2
I memorized this poem in 1958 when I was a fifth grader in Fort Greeley, Alaska....this was soooo much better than my reading of it and just brought back wonderful, cold memories of nights of 70 below and warm fires and fine friends.
chsangels1 2 years ago
This has been in my favourites for over a year now. I often listen over again. Just felt that another "thankyou Urgelt" was called for. Fabulous reading..
normalil 2 years ago
this was one of my fav poems in school.
Kreaden 2 years ago
this is awesome. you did really good at interpreting it into a horror feeling, i could watch this all day.
LEExUH6 2 years ago 2
That was really good man ive heard that poem before but i really didnt enjoy it till i heard it told like this telling it like a horror mission acomplished
Rucchify 2 years ago
Geat rendition. Probably in th emood that Service would have done it. Although I don't think that I ever heard a reading by him, though. When I was a small lad my dad used to recite that poem and several others. I suppose he lost interest when we moved on, but I credit it for my own writing and likely my son's. It should be required duty for all parents rather than subjecting children to so much mass media.
pattunes1 2 years ago
Would be tough to legislate, I'm afraid. Or enforce. But yes, reading to kids is important to their development. Very important.
It turns out that Robert Service *didn't* read it in any way remotely like I did. If you search, you can still probably find a video here on YouTube of him reading this poem. It's audio-only with a dark screen. He treated the poem as a joke - which it is - with exaggerated silliness.
It's a fun poem, and I don't think he'd mind us having fun with it. :-)
Urgelt 2 years ago
For the one who thought this grist for a TV show:
Tis the truth I fear, if you'll pardon my sneer, no justice TV'd do the likes of McGrew and the woman named Lou, nor photo out shine that image that comes to mind of Sammy in his furnace all snug. Sure he would shudder at the sight of... his mug, Legends of the Youkon would cry, "If I weren't already, surely I'd die if ever I did see old Blasphemous Bill on the TV." It's enough to make the dead nervous, they'd even suggest such disService.
pattunes1 2 years ago
I did find Service's readings and it did remind me that I had heard them long ago as well as My father's recitings and those of Hank Snow. The great thing about Service's renditions is that you can almost hear him telling it about a bunk hous eor campfire at night after a long day of moiling for gold, which was of course from his experience.
pattunes1 2 years ago
This is one reason I love his poetry. This isn't the stuff you hear from the lecterns of academia. It's a man talking to people using the plain language you might expect to hear around a campfire. Plain... but gloriously fitted into exquisite and evocative shapes.
Urgelt 2 years ago
Service didn't arrive at the Yukon Territory till 1904, 5 years after the klondike gold rush was over. he never actually went out for gold. he was just a brilliant writer of ficticious poems.
tep1003 2 years ago
man that was cool. you are a realy good story teller
ooohhhshiny 2 years ago
Fansastic. Have you ever read for voice overs in movies?
jhiramparker 2 years ago
No, no. I'm an amateur, like so many of the posters here.
Urgelt 2 years ago
If you have any interest in cleaning up with a second career, consider sending some of your stuff in as an audition for voiceover work. I think you'd be perfect as a narrator of movies and cartoons.
jhiramparker 2 years ago
No such thing as perfect. I've heard some voice actors that come close, though.
There won't be any auditions. I value my amateur status and have no plans to give it up.
Urgelt 2 years ago
Very atmospheric, indeed! I enjoyed this, thank you!
PennyMichelle 2 years ago
spooky, very spooky
great job!!
TheUndeadMouse 2 years ago
Love your reading of this poem, it's very atmospheric.
hseec1 2 years ago
Have you ever thought of reciting Dangerous Dan Mcgrew?
manwithoutastar 2 years ago
I've given it quite a lot of thought, as it happens. I have a pretty good idea of how I'd like to do it.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to put my hands on the (subtle) sound effects the poem calls for - saloon noises and just the right piano piece.
I haven't had time to make videos lately, but "Dan McGrew" remains a favorite of mine, and one day... perhaps it will come together.
Urgelt 2 years ago
I have read this many times only heard it read once. Your reading is excellent, really sets the mood. Thanks so much.
Robkat3751 2 years ago
Excellent rendition of this poem. The key to good poetry is to read it as natural language, as if you were just sitting around talking with friends.
Excellent sound effects, they didn't overpower your voice.
Nice drama, nice change of voices. I'm certainly going to check out your other posts.
Very good.
blueboyblue 2 years ago
why does everybody watch this one? type in the cremation of sam mcgee and the third video is a recording of the author himself reading the poem! thats as close to the original as possilble!
Anthonyk312 2 years ago
Quite right. The poet's intent is most clearly conveyed by his own presentation.
But there is more to poetry than that. We can enhance our enjoyment of a poem by speaking it aloud; doing so makes a poem come alive for us.
It doesn't matter which reading is best. All that matters is that the poem is not confined to book pages or a single recording.
Urgelt 2 years ago
you are amazing!!!! you made me and my boyfriend have goosebumps
2 thumbs waayyyy up
f0ll0wtheleader 2 years ago
Succeeded in making it spooky.
The way you recited it makes me think that the character was stunned silly at the sight of the cremated body.
quexalcoatl 2 years ago
Oh my gosh, my father used to recite this all the time when I was growing up. LOL Thank you so much for posting this.
svillarial 2 years ago
I read this to hubbie last month. Your background music and cover picture is fabulous. I don't think it was meant as hilarious. It has always conveyed homesickness, isolation and similar to Byrd's autobiography....a self-imposed burden........of courage and honour...the horror is from our pitiful fragilities and self-deluding imaginings.
careoline75 2 years ago
Oh, there's humor in it, make no mistake.
But this is poetry, and poetry is allowed - encouraged, even - to have depths. I think everything you said about the poem is true, too.
Urgelt 2 years ago
That was awesome! What a chilling interpretation !
VERONICA1977 2 years ago
The story that you told, gave me chills on my head to my toes.
The freeze seems to penetrate deep in my soul.
I can't seem to warm my corpse. So help me, put me in something warm.
VERONICA1977 2 years ago
Excellent work! I hadn't heard that read aloud since my uncle read it to me years ago. He has since passed away and you brought a tear to my eye tonight. Thank you sir.
hazatude 2 years ago
Marvellous recitation - unusually sympathetic to the originally poem...
Thank you.
talbothime 2 years ago
Your way of portraying this poem is captivating. Really gives me chills. Great job!
tarheelzzz 2 years ago
Incredible, how listening to that, pacifies ones urge for primitive exploration. Urgelt, your words touch the soul.
twostrokeblusmoke 2 years ago
Ahfowler-- I guess we all understand it in our own way-- that's what makes the great ones (literary works) so great! However i am 'not' trusting my own thoughts ion this one! HA!
kurtnils 2 years ago
I love it!
streetwhereulive 2 years ago
Nice visuals and I like the man's voice. But it needs a shot of adrenalin here and there
piehole23 2 years ago
Once again, Urgelt has brought us a fantastic video. A great poem and a great reader makes one epic video. Thank you, Urgelt
Relakoth91 2 years ago 2
i like this reader ;D
rockbeat009 2 years ago
No bard has rendered this better than you, Ulget.
Powerful dark and enchanting from North Ontario?
Thanks bro
BigHornCanyon 2 years ago
Urgelt--this inspired me to use this poem as a presentation on long-form poetry to my English class.
I didn't nearly do your reading justice, however.
Selachim 2 years ago
I bet you did the job well, Selachim. Being inspired and loving a poem is a great place to start.
Urgelt 2 years ago
A reporter once asked Charles Laughton, who gave public readings, why he never glanced at the text. Laughton said, "I'm afraid I'd lose my place."
ellobo469 2 years ago
Laughton had a remarkable memory, as many actors do.
I'm afraid mine is more ordinary.
Urgelt 2 years ago
well done. I now understand it many years later.
Ahfowler76 2 years ago
whoa, great job!One of my faves I was creeped out by as a kid because I didn't undersatnd it...but now it's funny but I was always angry at Samn for pulling such a stunt in the end.
Drumfire12 2 years ago
One of my favorite poems! I loved how you read it. Your're good!
pamkayvan 2 years ago
Thanks again Urgelt!
spurned1969 2 years ago
Lake Woebegone meets Stephen King!
safehouse123 2 years ago
My favorite poem... good job
Diostal 2 years ago
Excellent really well done.
TheGerryq 2 years ago
gave me chills
masterblaster406 2 years ago
Very Well read: However if you learnt the poem you would not have to read it,you would not need the eyeglasses, which are a distraction from seeing eyes.
Also get rid of background medications?
aintshinbrit 2 years ago
Wow, I loved it. Nice job. You captured the feel of the poem. The first time I read it, I didn't know how it would end and the last lines came as a surprise, turning it to tragic comedy. Wonderful. I like the creepy sound affects as well.
rosieknitter 2 years ago