A few hundred years ago,

In Rome and in Greece, you know,

A type of cuisine appeared

Which at the time likely seemed weird

To help their digestion progress

The Greeks decided it was best

For vegetables to come first

Before even quenching their thirst

Others would argue in time

That the dressing they used spoiled wine

And so they should serve the greens last

After the wine had been passed

In Rome they used plants as a cure

For illness but you can be sure

The Greeks weren’t the only to eat

Vegetables along with meat

After the collapse of Rome

Europe was the idea’s home

Traders from Italy and Spain

Introduced it all back again

The roman phrase herba salate

Which was used to describe this new plate

Was transformed into French as salade

And that’s pretty much how it stayed

In the nineteenth century here

In the United States it was clear

A food this unique must be sold

But the stuff needed to be controlled

Chefs found mixed greens needed order

They even used Jell-O like mortar

To keep the components apart

And turn salads into an art

Over the years it has changed

And the types have become much more ranged

But the history of the humble salad

Is at least long enough for a ballad.

We had to write a ballad for Lit II. I don't really like salad that much.