Songs: Two Dennises The Menaces

notes / gigs / releases

There are two Dennises The Menaces
Both born on the same day
But apart from that these Dennises
Are dissimilar in every way

One is a loveable tyke
By whom adults are charmed
The other is a ruffian who would like
To cause you actual bodily harm

The scamp is an American
While the thug comes from Dundee
And on 12th of March 1951
They were published simultaneously

We call it comics' greatest coincidence!
Hank Ketcham could not know
That G Moonie and D Law would set to write and draw
A brand new character for the Beano

The yankee has a dog called Ruff
And adults love to have them both around
The Britain is despised, adults tell him get lost
And take his Abyssinian Wire Haired Tripe Hound

American Dennis watches television
British Dennis is forced to go outside
American Dennis has whatever he wants
British Dennis has to fight

American Dennis is a glowing view of childhood
British Dennis is the truth
American Dennis sees adults as his friends
British Dennis gets hit with a shoe

There are two Dennises The Menaces
The USA and the UK
And the difference in their Dennises
Show they're dissimilar in every way

Published by Wipe Out Music Publishing

This song was written especially for the podcast version of Data and Doctor Doom.

In the live version I very briefly mentioned that I tested my unified catalogue of transmedia character components on the two characters who share the name "Dennnis The Menace", but didn't really have time to go into it any deeper, so was really pleased to have the chance to do so here.

It's still a very abbreviated version of the research, but if you would like to read more about it, especially the way that the British Dennis has been retconned into three generations, you can download the original journal article from The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics for free.