Jackie, you may be missing out on a cultural reference here.

Michael Flanders and Donald Swann were very successful stage performers in the UK. Their act consisted of light-hearted chatter punctuated by witty songs, or witty chatter punctuated by light-hearted songs, if you prefer.

See http://timothyplatypus.tripod.com/FaS/ for more details. Particularly Madeira M'Dear and the Gnu Song.
Thank you. I have now looked them up on the web and found this site I would otherwise never have known about!