The Colour Purple

Eighteen year old Billy Perkin
was in the laboratory, working.
He aimed to synthesise quinine
so took some boring aniline,
dissolved it in a drop of booze
and that was that. He’d lit the fuse!
In his test-tube, this strange solution
would prompt a colour revolution!

What was that shade? He couldn’t think!
It wasn’t red, or blue, or pink.
It was some shade sort of in-between,
an obscure hue, seldom seen;
a colour only worn by kings
for gowns and stuff - the types of things
that normal people couldn’t buy
so Billy Perkin thought he’d try
to manufacture it as dye.

The year was eighteen fifty six
and Billy Perkin, just for kicks
took a tiny portion of his dye
and made the world’s first purple tie,
discovered it was colour fast
and that was that, the die was cast!
And Perkin’s purple, ever since
has pleased us all. Yes, even Prince,
falsetto screaming, hips a-jerkin’,
owed it all to Billy Perkin.

I hope I’ve cleared up any mystery
‘bout Perkin’s purple and its history.
I’ve tried to tell it factually
although he called it mauve, actually.