Doin' the Lambeth Walk

Well, Lambeth '08 began yesterday, so I decided to find out about "The Lambeth Walk." Here is a clip of the song as performed in New York at the Tony Awards in 1987.



For those few readers who don't know, Lambeth '08 refers to the decennial meeting of bishops in the Anglican communion -- named after Lambeth Palace, the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The conference this year is actually being held at Canterbury and not in Lambeth. Nonetheless, it is called the Lambeth Conference. A quick Goodsearch reveals a few references to the Lambeth Walk by bloggers and journalists in connection with Archbishop Rowan or the Lambeth Conference, but I haven't spotted anyone who noted that some of the lyrics of the song seem strangely appropriate to the Anglican Circus.

Lambeth you've never seen,
The skies ain't blue, the grass ain't green.
It hasn't got the Mayfair touch,
But that don't matter very much.
We play in a different way,
Not like you but a bit more gay
And when we have a bit of fun
Oh, Boy.

Earlier this week, MadPriest ran a competition for a caption of this picture of Luiz "He looks gay" Coelho and Allie "the Episcojew" Graham, two blogging Lambeth stewards.

Here's my belated entry:

Ev'ry little Lambeth gal
With her little Lambeth pal,
You'll find 'em all doin' the Lambeth walk. Oi!

Miguel Escobar is a member of St, Mary's and is also on the Presiding Bishop's staff. He is leaving tomorrow for the Lambeth Conference where he will be working. A Google search on his full name turned up a letter he wrote to blogger Lee Davenport on behalf of Bishop Katharine. Thing is, Miguel addressed Lee, who is male, as Ms. Davenport. Here is a picture of Miguel from last year:


Here's a verse and chorus for Miguel:

Ev'rything's free and easy,
Do as you darn well pleasey,
Why don't you make your way there,
Go there, stay there,

Once you get down Lambeth way,
Ev'ry evening, ev'ry day,
You'll find yourself doin' the Lambeth walk. Oi!

And here are Bishop Robinson and Elizabeth Kaeton:

Once you get down Lambeth way,
Ev'ry evening, ev'ry day,
You'll find yourself doin' the Lambeth walk. Oi!

Anytime you're Lambeth way
Any evening, any day,
You'll find us all doin' the Lambeth walk. Oi!

Bishop Gene wasn't invited but he's there. Mother Elizabeth is there for the Episcopal Women's Caucus.

As Dogberry said, God save the Foundation!

We play in a different way,
Not like you but a bit more gay
And when we have a bit of fun
Oh, Boy.