Assumptio (as-sump’-ti’o): The introduction of a point to be considered, especially an extraneous argument.
See proslepsis (When paralipsis [stating and drawing attention to something in the very act of pretending to pass it over] is taken to its extreme. The speaker provides full details.)
A: I don’t understand your obsession with “Oh Susana.” You don’t even own a banjo and never travel anywhere. But most important: you don’t know anybody named Susana who is your “true love.” I don’t think you even know what a true love is. The closest you come is petting the dog. So, next time you’re taking a shower why not sing “The Who” song about rain? It will help preserve my sanity.
B: Well, I’m not going to respond to your criticism, but you don’t know very much about music, “Oh Susana” was number one on the “Freaky 50 Song List” for 70 years. It was knocked off by “Incense and Peppermint” in the late 1960s. The line “the sun was so hot I froze to death” is a definitive piece of psychedelia, fascinating trippers for 100s of years. The band “Cream” claimed it as their primary inspiration with its spaced-out lyrics and wah wah banjo—an innovation rivaling the fuzz box and the pedal steel guitar. Little Stevie Foster, who wrote the song, was known for his use of controlled substances. He would sit down by the Swanee River with his minstrel buddies smoking pot and fishing for catfish. It is said he wrote “Hard Times Come No More” after he caught a 50 pound catfish on a trot line. He also coined “wow man” as a response to things that moved him. In fact, he died at his desk composing a song titled “Wow Man.” From what we can gather, and what musicologists assert, the song was inspired by a ladybug that had crawled up Little Stevie’s pant leg when he was reading the Bible as he sat on a log in the woods.
Well, there you have it. There is no good reason to criticize my frequent singing of “Oh Susana.” It is a classic. It has mind-bending psychedelic overtones. And, I did’t go into depth on the exemplary image of love it portrays, which alone should give you pause and open your heart.
A. I never realized how mentally disturbed you are. Your rationale for singing “Oh Susana” all the time is grounded in looney musings that completely evade the facts. You defame Stephen Foster. I don’t know what to do.
B: Let’s sing “Oh Susana.”
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
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