Song of Eurocrats

Sing a song of Eurocrats
A pocket full of cents,
A multitude of bureaucrats  
Were getting very tense,
Reams of paper had been written
On the price of Brussels-sprouts,
 Which caused some disagreements
And even angry shouts.

The technocrats were busy
  Planning where to go to eat,  
A few were vegetarians
Whilst others liked their meat,
This set off another argument
On where they all should go,
But such preoccupations
Were the daily status quo.

 The Baroness was in the garden
Gaping at a rose,
Van Rompuy ' writing poetry
Though maybe it was prose,
Barroso ' phoning Latsis
About the Greek State aid,
The full approved ten million
To him would soon be paid.

Sing a song of Eurocrats
A pocket full of cents,
The multitude of technocrats
Began to take offence,
Accused of earning fortunes
 For doing nothing much,  
They all stalked off home early
  Which proved that this was such. 

The above doggerel is also obviously a parody of the nursery rhyme Sing a song of sixpence, which dates back to the early 17th century. It's alleged to have originated from various sources including a line from Twelfth Night (c. 1602) by Shakespeare. All of the alleged origins are interesting, but none of them have ever been categorically proven.

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Parody and images © Mirino (with apologies to the august institution and its representatives). Lower vignette from High hopes.         March, 2014