[ti:Swan Song] [ar:Shirley Griffith] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00](MUSIC) [00:11.89]Now, the Special English program [00:15.53]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:18.16]Every people has its own way [00:22.44]of saying things, [00:23.39]its own special expressions. [00:26.38]These are the living [00:28.48]speech of a people. [00:29.77]And a story can be told [00:32.24]about each of them. [00:33.88]The white swan ¨C with its long, [00:37.51]graceful neck [00:38.96]¨C is among the most [00:40.45]beautiful of birds. [00:41.79]The swan is mostly silent [00:44.83]through its life. [00:46.07]It floats quietly on the water, [00:48.76]unable to sing sweet songs [00:51.80]like most other birds. [00:54.54]In ancient times, however, [00:57.18]people believed that the swan [00:59.87]was given a special gift of song [01:02.90]at the end of its life. [01:05.64]They believed a swan sings [01:08.43]a most beautiful song... [01:10.97]just before it dies. [01:13.11]The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates [01:16.80]talked of this two thousand [01:19.58]three hundred years ago. [01:21.92]Socrates explained that the swan [01:25.85]was singing because it was happy. [01:29.10]The bird was happy because it was [01:32.58]going to serve the Greek God Apollo. [01:36.27]Swans were holy to Apollo, [01:39.10]the god of poetry and song. [01:42.24]The story of the swan's last song [01:46.62]found a place in the works [01:49.50]of other writers, including [01:51.69]the early English writers [01:53.44]Chaucer and Shakespeare. [01:56.47]And, the expression swan song [01:59.66]has long been a part of [02:01.99]the English language. [02:03.94]At first, swan song meant [02:07.52]the last work of a poet, [02:10.38]musician or writer. [02:12.08]Now, it means the final effort [02:16.12]of any person. [02:17.32]Someone's swan song usually [02:21.35]is also considered that [02:24.09]person's finest work. [02:26.23]A political expression [02:28.62]with a similar meaning [02:30.16]is the last hurrah. [02:32.16]The expression may be used [02:34.85]to describe a politician's [02:37.39]last campaign, his final attempt [02:40.67]to win the cheers [02:42.07]and votes of the people. [02:44.36]The last hurrah also can mean [02:48.39]the last acts of a politician, [02:50.97]before his term in office ends. [02:54.66]Writer Edwin O'Connor [02:58.09]made the expression popular [03:00.13]in nineteen fifty-six. [03:02.12]He wrote a book about [03:04.42]the final years [03:05.76]in the political life [03:07.21]of a long-time mayor of Boston, [03:10.39]Massachusetts. [03:11.94]He called his book, The Last Hurrah. [03:15.57]Some language experts say [03:19.20]the expression came from a name [03:21.79]given to noisy supporters [03:24.18]of Andrew Jackson... [03:26.42]America's seventh president. [03:28.91]They cheered hurrah so loudly [03:32.59]for Andy Jackson during [03:34.73]his presidential campaign that [03:37.96]they became known [03:39.16]as the hurrah boys. [03:41.60]Jackson's hurrah boys also played [03:46.22]a part in the election to [03:48.93]choose the next president. [03:51.07]Jackson's choice was his vice [03:54.46]president, Martin VanBuren. [03:56.84]A newspaper of the time reported [04:01.07]that VanBuren was elected president, [04:04.31]in its words: "...by the hurrah boys, [04:07.59]and those who knew just enough [04:10.95]to shout hurrah for Jackson." [04:14.12]So, President Jackson really [04:17.72]heard his last hurrahs in the campaign [04:21.59]of another candidate, the man would [04:24.87]replace him in the White House. [04:27.56](MUSIC) [04:40.02]This VOA Special English program [04:42.81]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES was written [04:46.29]by Marilyn Christiano. [04:48.08]Maurice Joyce was the narrator. [04:50.98]I'm Shirley Griffith.