[ti:Swan Song] [ar:I'm Christopher Cruise.] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more... [00:09.81]Now, the Special English program [00:12.52]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:15.15]The white swan ¨C with its long, [00:19.21]graceful neck [00:20.71]¨C is among the most [00:22.25]beautiful of birds. [00:23.94]The swan is mostly silent [00:26.58]through its life. [00:28.27]It floats quietly on the water, [00:30.63]unable to sing sweet songs [00:33.85]like most other birds. [00:36.20]In ancient times, however, [00:38.64]people believed that the swan [00:41.14]was given a special gift of song [00:43.73]at the end of its life. [00:46.38]They believed a swan sings [00:49.01]a most beautiful song... [00:50.47]just before it dies. [00:53.05]The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates [00:56.69]talked of this two thousand [00:59.81]three hundred years ago. [01:02.10]Socrates explained that the swan [01:05.35]was singing because it was happy. [01:08.77]The bird was happy because it was [01:12.29]going to serve the Greek God Apollo. [01:15.53]Swans were holy to Apollo, [01:18.12]the god of poetry and song. [01:21.62]The story of the swan's last song [01:24.95]found a place in the works [01:27.21]of other writers, including [01:29.72]the early English writers [01:31.47]Chaucer and Shakespeare. [01:34.01]And, the expression swan song [01:37.52]has long been a part of [01:39.46]the English language. [01:41.21]At first, swan song meant [01:44.06]the last work of a poet, [01:46.05]musician or writer. [01:48.19]Now, it means the final effort [01:51.43]of any person. [01:52.57]Someone's swan song usually [01:56.55]is also considered that [01:58.60]person's finest work. [02:00.59]A political expression [02:04.09]with a similar meaning [02:05.64]is the last hurrah. [02:08.23]The expression may be used [02:10.82]to describe a politician's [02:12.56]last campaign, his final attempt [02:16.20]to win the cheers [02:17.79]and votes of the people. [02:20.09]The last hurrah also can mean [02:23.24]the last acts of a politician, [02:25.43]before his term in office ends. [02:28.31]Writer Edwin O'Connor [02:31.61]made the expression popular [02:33.30]in nineteen fifty-six. [02:35.64]He wrote a book about [02:37.89]the final years [02:39.13]in the political life [02:40.92]of a long-time mayor of Boston, [02:44.02]Massachusetts. [02:45.32]He called his book, The Last Hurrah. [02:48.31]Some language experts say [02:53.21]the expression came from a name [02:55.05]given to noisy supporters [02:57.34]of Andrew Jackson... [02:59.28]America's seventh president. [03:01.67]They cheered hurrah so loudly [03:05.98]for Andy Jackson during [03:07.62]his presidential campaign that [03:10.26]they became known [03:11.50]as the hurrah boys. [03:13.89]Jackson's hurrah boys also played [03:17.98]a part in the election to [03:19.62]choose the next president. [03:21.26]Jackson's choice was his vice [03:24.86]president, Martin VanBuren. [03:26.85]A newspaper of the time reported [03:30.68]that VanBuren was elected president, [03:33.57]in its words: "...by the hurrah boys, [03:37.01]and those who knew just enough [03:39.66]to shout hurrah for Jackson." [03:42.60]So, President Jackson really [03:45.09]heard his last hurrahs in the campaign [03:48.58]of another candidate, the man would [03:51.51]replace him in the White House. [03:53.66](MUSIC) [04:04.03]This VOA Special English program [04:06.52]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES was written [04:09.47]by Marilyn Christiano. [04:10.86]I'm Christopher Cruise.