Before records, radios and iPods, those who didn't have access to sheet music had to get their tunes by hearing them live. This meant that the number of songs available were generally limited, and many ditties were recycled numerous times with different lyrics. As such, many tunes originally started out as drinking songs. For example, a Swedish drinking tune apparently begat a British sea shanty which begat "John Brown's Body," which we now know as "The Battle Of Hymn Of The Republic." Our very own "Star Spangled Banner" is, originally, the old English drinking song "To Anacreon in Heaven." We don't have a tune for it, but we have Mad Science to thank for the following Corvette ZR1 First Drive drinking game:
1 Drink for: -Every GTR reference -Every Viper reference -Every time the word "torque" is used -Any discussion as to whether or not this will help "save" GM -Every comparison between Wes and a "typical" Vette buyer -A very witty "Also Consider:" section -Any reference to Clarkson On top of the marginal drinks, a complete beverage of your choice for: -Wes admitting to being scared driving it -Anyone of the moto-journo crowd crashing or otherwise damaging one -The car actually getting Wes laid -Any picture of the car airborne
Drink up lads, at midnight plus one! [Photo: Getty Images]