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| BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events and the social condition... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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One of the things that makes the music of the boomer years so special is the goofy songs. Yes, we had our share of serious songs, protesting all sorts of social ills. But many of us did not take ourselves too seriously. We had plenty of time to laugh. That came through in our music. We had so much fun with our music.
I have a collection of oddball boomer songs. Every now and then, when I am feeling down, I pull some of them out and play them. I offer some of them to you today to remind you to stop being so serious all the time... and just laugh.
My all-time favorite goofy boomer song is "Does Your Chewing Gum Loose its Flavor on the Bedpost Over Night?" by Brit Lonnie Donegan:
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Oh me, oh my, oh you. Whatever shall I do? Halleleuah, The question is peculiar. I'd give a lot of dough, if only I could know, the answer to my question, is it yes or is it no. Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost over night? If your mother says don't chew it, do you swallow it in spite? Can you catch it on your tonsils, and you heave it left and right? Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost over night? |
Every time I hear it, I sing along. It just cracks me up! Every time.
"Please Mr. Custer, I don't wanna go."
Roger Miller had a string of silly songs in the 60s. My favorite was "Dang Me":
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They say roses are red, and violets are purple; sugar's sweet and so is maple surple. I'm the seventh out of seven sons; my pappy was a pistol, I'm a son of a gun. I say dang me, dang me; they ought to take a rope and hang me high from the highest tree, woman wouldja' weep for me? |
BBHQ members can play "Dang Me" in the BBHQ JukeBox.
Johnny Horton's first hit was "The Battle of New Orleans":
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In 1814 we took a little trip Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip'. We took a little bacon and we took a little beans And we caught the bloody British in a town in New Orleans.
We fired our guns and the British kept a-coming |
Country & western hillbillies Homer & Jethro responded with "The Battle of Camp Kookamonga":
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In nineteen and fifty-nine we took a little hike With our scout master down to Lake Oneeganite We took a little pizza and we took some sourkruats and we marched along together till we heard the girl scouts
We're the boys from Camp Kookamonga |
"My friend the witch doctor
He taught me what to say.
My friend the witch doctor
He taught me what to do.
I know that you'll be mine
When I say this to you"
Jim Stafford recorded a bunch of goofy songs. This is from "Spiders and Snakes":
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I remember when Mary Lou said, "You wanna' walk me home from school?" Well I said, "Yes, I dooooo." She said, "I don't have to go right home, and I would kinda like to be alone some, if you would." I said, "meeeee, toooooo."
I don't like spiders and snakes, |
BBHQ members can play "Spiders & Snakes" in the BBHQ JukeBox.
"Chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom,
Dontcha' just love it?"
Ray Stevens is the king of goofy songs. I always loved "A-hab the A-rab":
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Let me tell you about Ahab, the Arab The sheik of the burning sand He had emeralds and rubies just drippin' off 'a him And a ring on every finger of his hand He wore a big ol' turban wrapped around his head And a scimitar by his side And a- every evenin', about midnight He'd jump on his camel named Clyde, and ride... |
"Elizabeth Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks
And when the job was nicely done
She gave her father forty-one!"
Of course, in many cases the lyrics do not do the songs justice. One of the goofiest was "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow," by the Rivingtons:
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Funniest sound I ever heard And I can't understand a single word. Is he serious, is he playin'? "Papa-oom-mow-mow" is all he's saying. Papa-oom-mow-mow Papa-oom-mow-mow Papa-oom-mow-mow Papa-oom-mow-mow |
In 1964, an artist named Major Lance had a big hit with a song called, "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um." Yep; that was the title.
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Walking through the park, it wasn't quite dark There was a man sitting on a bench Out of the crowd as his head lowly bowed He just moaned and he made no sense He'd just go
Um, um, um, um, um, um |
(I should note that a year earlier, he had a hit with a song called "The Monkey Time.")
And then... in the mid 70s, Piero Umiliani recorded a song called "Mah Na Mah Na." That is not only the title, it is the lyrics, too. Over and over and over again. So silly, you had to love it. (You younger boomers might remember the Muppets using it in a show. It was a wonderful!)
BBHQ members can play "Mah Na Mah Na" in the BBHQ JukeBox.
"You'll see green alligators and long-necked geese,
Some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees,
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born,
You're never gonna see no unicorn."
(We have the lyrics to most of these songs, and this week we are featuring some of them in our JukeBox.)
I suppose they are still recording goofy songs today. But the only one that comes to my mind right away is a response song to Cindy Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." A group called Exude recorded "Boys Just Wanna Have Sex." Clever... but the innocent silliness is missing.
Dickie Goodman, Alan Sherman, David Seville.... there are so many of them. (We have a collection of goofy song titles listed in the Music Room at BBHQ.)
It was just fun... just pure fun.
I am so glad that I have these great, goofy songs in my collection.
Still.... I miss the fun.
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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