For the Benefit of Mankind

If I ran a game store I would play the song For the Benefit of Mankind by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

"Meanwhile, beneath a bench in the laboratory their lurked a man whose body language openly displayed a larger than average carbon footprint. He was dressed in a white coat and strapped to a portable xylophone. Dot, dot, dot."

The quoted prose really explains For the Benefit of Mankind quite nicely: the man in the white coat sings about his scientific accomplishments while playing the xylophone. It's a kooky song with a kooky sound sung by a guy with a kooky accent who uses kooky words. There's a strong Gilbert and Sullivan vibe here. Quite honestly, this is such a fun song that I put it on most all of my playlists and not just the ones I'd play if I ran a game store (although gamers have a thing for mad science).

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band is a 1960s English band that have played off and on over the decades. For the Benefit of Mankind is from their 2007 album, Pour l'Amour des Chiens, although there are hints than an earlier version with one less verse exists.

Note: "aubergine" is a British term for an eggplant.

I was unable to find a streaming version of the song to link.



For the Benefit of Mankind lyrics

Meanwhile beneath a bench in the laboratory their lurked a man whose body language openly displayed a larger than average carbon footprint. He was dressed in a white coat and strapped to a portable xylophone. Dot, dot, dot.

Ever since I was knee-high to a bandy dragonfly
I've been asking questions, "Why?"
For the benefit of mankind
(For the benefit of mankind)

I compared the monkey's tail
To the flipper of the whale
And the Buddhist's fingernail
For the benefit of mankind
(For the benefit of mankind)

For the benefit of mankind
For the benefit of mankind
For the anthropological technicalogical benefit of mankind

I've seen pandas on the wing
Heard the brontosaurus sing
And I've measured balls of string
For the benefit of mankind
(For the benefit of mankind)

I've untangled tambourines
Disinfected aubergines
Looped a loop in submarines
For the benefit of mankind
(For the benefit of mankind)

For the benefit of mankind
For the benefit of mankind
For the abracadabrical polysyllabical benefit of mankind

For the purely statistical theosophistical characteristical man in the street
My proper reality universality fundamentality cannot be beat
(His fundamentality cannot be beat)
My fundamentality cannot be beat
(His fundamentality cannot be beat)

For the benefit of mankind
For the benefit of mankind
For the simply omnivorous wholly vociferous benefit of mankind

I've familiarized the strange for the homeless on the range
Not to mention climate change
(Climate change?)
Shoosh
(Sorry)

For the benefit of mankind
For the benefit of mankind
For the anthropological technicalogical abracadabrical polysyllabical simply omnivorous holy vociferous benefit of mankind
Hey