The Merry Boomer
poem by Sandy Garner (67) music by Anthony Ritchie (65), for SATB a cappella, Opus 235
The song sets a poem by Sandy Garner entitled OK Boomer written in 2019 in the wake of the 'Chlöe Swarbrick incident' in New Zealand’s Parliament. The poem was intended as a light-hearted acknowledgement and critique of the Boomer generation against a backdrop of global warming and stress on younger generations.
The Merry Boomer was commissioned by Auckland choir Viva Voce for a concert entitled 'ReImaginings' in August 2026. The brief was to re-compose an existing piece of music to create something new and re-imagined. The Merry Boomer uses Schumann’s Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit Zurückkehrend (The Merry Peasant, returning from Work) from the composer’s cycle of piano pieces Album für die Jugend (Album for the Young), written in 1848.
In The Merry Boomer the peasant is replaced by a Boomer: a term that refers to a generation of people born post-World War 2, up until the early 1960's. The refrain of OK Boomer is grafted onto the end of Schumann's cheerful tune, and takes over the musical content by the end of the song. In between there are variations on the tune in the minor mode, followed by a pseudo-baroque texture using the main motif from the tune that describes the Boomer demographic bulge and the desire to indulge. The music slows on the words 'Now we are older' before regaining urgency at the prospect of a limited life-span and the earth under threat.
Dedicated to Boomers everywhere
Duration: about 5 minutes.
First performance Viva Voce: Sunday, 2 August at 4pm St Matthew-in-the-City (Auckland)