This week for Reading and Writing Electronic Text I wrote a Python script to combine lines of text from two text sources, to create a digital cut-up of sorts. The script interweaves each line into a single text source. For the sake of nostalgia, I used two Shell Silverstein poems test the script: Early Bird and Somebody Has To.
Oh, if you’re a bird, be an early bird Somebody has to go polish the stars, And catch the worm for your breakfast plate. They’re looking a little bit dull. If you’re a bird, be an early early bird— Somebody has to go polish the stars, But if you’re a worm, sleep late. For the eagles and starlings and gulls ~Shel Silverstein Have all been complaining they’re tarnished and worn,
Here are the originals:
Early Bird
Oh, if you’re a bird, be an early bird And catch the worm for your breakfast plate. If you’re a bird, be an early early bird— But if you’re a worm, sleep late. ~Shel Silverstein
Somebody Has To
Somebody has to go polish the stars, They’re looking a little bit dull. Somebody has to go polish the stars, For the eagles and starlings and gulls Have all been complaining they’re tarnished and worn, They say they want new ones we cannot afford. So please get your rags And your polishing jars, Somebody has to go polish the stars. ~Shel Silverstein
Visit my Github repo for the code.