Baby Boomers out there will probably remember this gem: "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" performed by Jerry Samuels (billed as Napoleon XIV).
Talk about weird novelty songs -- this 1966 gem hit the mother load rising to #3 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100. It's about a guy who has gone insane because he has been abandoned by a... Friend? / Wife? / Lover?
Not until the very end do we find out who exactly ran out on him:
I cooked your food
I cleaned your house
And this is how you pay me back
For all my kind unselfish, loving deeds
Ha! Well you just wait
They'll find you yet and when they do
They'll put you in the A.S.P.C.A.
You mangy mutt
Even as a (very) insensitive and unaware 6th grader, I sorta realized this song was in bad taste. It was really quite offensive and was eventually pulled from radio stations after an outcry from mental health organizations and the general public.
Be that as it may, the tune was catchy and hypnotic, and the words were sorta clever, and the B-Side was even stranger as this novelty song was recorded in reverse!
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Another one I think of randomly is "Beautiful Delilah" by Chuck Berry
The dingaling song 😀
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"Squeeze Box" is a slang term for an accordion, but it is also slang for the vagina. The band just wanted to see if they could get away with singing about the joys of explicit sex.
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"Squeeze Box" is a slang term for an accordion, but it is also slang for the vagina. The band just wanted to see if they could get away with singing about the joys of explicit sex. Squeeze Box - ( New Window )
You mean the "in and out...and in and out...and in and out" isn't about their excitement over the accordian?
Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw
Wooly bully, wooly bully (yeah, that's right)
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully
All strange but I liked them all.
All strange but I liked them all.
I love the Flying Lizards' version of Money
Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw
Wooly bully, wooly bully (yeah, that's right)
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully
THIS is on my short playlist of tunes when I go out Rollerblading. I love this song!!! Loved it the first time I ever heard it, and still love it over half a century later.
It really messed with me! It was like one of those innocence lost moments when I realized that the children's book version of Alice in Wonderland was bullshit.
My dad had the full CD for that one song .... and ONLY that one song.
The worst song I ever heard came much later... I absolutely hate "You're Beautiful" by J. Blount. That song is 'stick a pencil in your ear' bad!
All strange but I liked them all.
Oh yeah I was obsessed with the B-52's when I was a young gun.
My dad had the full CD for that one song .... and ONLY that one song.
“I get knocked down, but I get up again…”
When it comes to pop music I’m a Baby Boomer cemented in the past, but I do have a place for “newer” songs, and this is certainly one of them. I could play this crazy song over and over again! Alotta fun!
I hear ya! When I first saw him on (I think Johnny Carson — late 1960s?), HE scared the bejesus out of me!
Another song from long ago is The Unicorn song by the Irish Rovers
Whoever woulda thunk we’re on the same wavelength??? (:-)
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Too many 90s singles during my childhood that came and went but hmmm, if I had to narrow it down to one? It would have to be Chumbawamba tubthumping.
My dad had the full CD for that one song .... and ONLY that one song.
“I get knocked down, but I get up again…”
When it comes to pop music I’m a Baby Boomer cemented in the past, but I do have a place for “newer” songs, and this is certainly one of them. I could play this crazy song over and over again! Alotta fun!
Personally I prefer Homer Simpson's cover version
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The worst song I ever heard came much later... I absolutely hate "You're Beautiful" by J. Blount. That song is 'stick a pencil in your ear' bad!
Hey Bama, another one like that was Indian Wants Me. Total cringe...and Run Joey Run. Seriously, just why write that?
The worst song I ever heard came much later... I absolutely hate "You're Beautiful" by J. Blount. That song is 'stick a pencil in your ear' bad!
Too funny! This crazy group had another song about Al Capone! It went something like this:
When a man named Al Capone
Tried to make this town his own
As for “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” I was a beach boy raking seaweed and fetching chairs and umbrellas when this song came out. On overcast days with nothing to do, the radio blasted for hours on end, and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I memorized EVERY single word from this maudlin bubble-gum song.
Not that I ever went out of my way to listen to it or anything but being born in 84 I have very early memories of it being popular.
A few more from my youth.
Three Little Pigs by Green Jelly
Lump and Peaches by The Presidents of the USA
Detachable Penis by King Missile
By the way, all of these had equally as weird videos on MTV.
HUGE fan of “The Israelites!!!” The syncopated reggae beat with weird lyrics like, “I don’t want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde,” had to be one of the coolest things this teenager heard on the radio!!!
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The Tubes.
You can edit out "All You Zombies by" out of your statement and still be correct. The Hooters sucked.
The Tubes.
Good call! I would add their big hit "She's a Beauty", a song about watching a stripper in one of those old Times Square strip joints with individual booths. Not that I would know or anything.
Neither did I, and my two older brothers gave me shit about it for years!
Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw
Wooly bully, wooly bully (yeah, that's right)
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully
True confession here -- this song had (and has) been in my mind for so long that, when my daughter was born, I named her Maddy, almost as though in honor of "Matty told Hatty." In fact, my handle M.S. is actually my daughter's who gave it to me years and years ago after I somehow lost my original handle JonS.
Good call, I haven't thought of that song in years. I remember buying the record, and on the inside sleeve, there were the never record lyrics to Feels So Good. Always thought that it was kind of strange.
Here's another weird song that I love- Hocus Pokus by Focus!
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"The Israelites" by Desmond Deker and "If You Want to Be Happy" by Jimmy Soul.
HUGE fan of “The Israelites!!!” The syncopated reggae beat with weird lyrics like, “I don’t want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde,” had to be one of the coolest things this teenager heard on the radio!!!
Love 'The Israelites' too. It still sounds good today. I may be wrong, but I believe this tune is credited as the first reggae song ever to cross over successfully to the US market. And changing genres, I think 'Wooly Bully' is viewed similarly as to the Tex-Mex sound.
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In comment 15414284 rmc3981 said:
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"The Israelites" by Desmond Deker and "If You Want to Be Happy" by Jimmy Soul.
HUGE fan of “The Israelites!!!” The syncopated reggae beat with weird lyrics like, “I don’t want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde,” had to be one of the coolest things this teenager heard on the radio!!!
Love 'The Israelites' too. It still sounds good today. I may be wrong, but I believe this tune is credited as the first reggae song ever to cross over successfully to the US market. And changing genres, I think 'Wooly Bully' is viewed similarly as to the Tex-Mex sound.
I think you've got that right on both songs.
Paulie caught a bullet but it only hit his leg
While it should have been a better shot he got him in the head
They were all in love with dying they were drinkin' from a fountain
That was pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain
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My New Wave younger colleagues at work introduced me to this song. When I heard it, I was pretty sure the bottom fell out of the barrel! (:-) They told me that I was just an old fart, which was (and still is) true!
Baby Sittin Boogie by I believe Buzz Clifford.
So many.
Ahab the Arab - haha - haven't thought of that song in decades. Yeah, WTF was that all about?
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by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. That song makes me cringe now... I believe it's been a frequent 'top of the charts' for worst songs ever.
The worst song I ever heard came much later... I absolutely hate "You're Beautiful" by J. Blount. That song is 'stick a pencil in your ear' bad!
Too funny! This crazy group had another song about Al Capone! It went something like this:
When a man named Al Capone
Tried to make this town his own
As for “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” I was a beach boy raking seaweed and fetching chairs and umbrellas when this song came out. On overcast days with nothing to do, the radio blasted for hours on end, and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I memorized EVERY single word from this maudlin
It’s called. The Night Chicago Died
Playground In My Mind Clint Holmes. The kid who sang the chorus with him sounded so weird
I was immediately drawn to bizarre stuff. Beatles psychadelic era opened doors for me.
Playground In My Mind Clint Holmes. The kid who sang the chorus with him sounded so weird
Playground In My Mind Clint Holmes. The kid who sang the chorus with him sounded so weird
Playground In My Mind was kinda sappy... make that real sappy. But Family Affair was OK. Not my favorite Sly song, but not too shabby (at least IMO.)
In comment 15414557 jtdukedfw said:
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by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. That song makes me cringe now... I believe it's been a frequent 'top of the charts' for worst songs ever.
The worst song I ever heard came much later... I absolutely hate "You're Beautiful" by J. Blount. That song is 'stick a pencil in your ear' bad!
Too funny! This crazy group had another song about Al Capone! It went something like this:
When a man named Al Capone
Tried to make this town his own
As for “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” I was a beach boy raking seaweed and fetching chairs and umbrellas when this song came out. On overcast days with nothing to do, the radio blasted for hours on end, and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I memorized EVERY single word from this maudlin bubble-gum song.
these were the first two songs that popped into my head (The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace, and Billy Don't Be a Hero).
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but I always hated All You Zombies by the Hooters. Just a stupid, stupid song.
You can edit out "All You Zombies by" out of your statement and still be correct. The Hooters sucked.
Hey, a friend of mine was in the Hooters after one of the original members was in an accident. He got to play in Live Aid.
A lot of people don't know that the Hooters wrote lots of hits for other artist (what if god was one of us, true colors, time after time, ...)
Hey, a friend of mine was in the Hooters after one of the original members was in an accident. He got to play in Live Aid.
A lot of people don't know that the Hooters wrote lots of hits for other artist (what if god was one of us, true colors, time after time, ...)
I knew they wrote a couple of Cyndi Lauper hits, but sorry, I was never a fan. I dated a girl who was going to UDel and they played there all the time. I went once and said no thanks.
That is very cool for your friend though. What a story to tell at parties!
Ooh e ooh a a ting tang walla walla bing bang,
Ooh e ooh a a ting tang walla walla bing bang."
Now that's lyrics we can really relate to!
"Yes I like boobs a lot, boobs a lot, boobs a lot,
yes I like boobs a lot, etc."
This weird, funny, clever song would be massively politically incorrect if released today. All of the campers in the early 1960s were singing Larry Verne's "Mr. Custer." One of the verses went like this:
Please Mr. Custer, I don't wanna go
Listen, Mr. Custer, please don't make me go
There's a redskin a-waitin' out there, just fixin to take my hair
A coward I've been called cuz I don't wanna wind up dead or bald
I went to sleep-away camp on Long Lake in upstate New York. One of the smart locals opened up an ice cream place in town called, "Custard's Last Stand." It's still going 60 years later!
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The Night Chicago Died
The Night the Lights went out in Georgia
I don't like Spiders and Snakes
Boy the 1970's pop charts had some weird stuff looking back on it. These were all serious songs too
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'Wooly Bully' by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs - I mean what is this about?
Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw
Wooly bully, wooly bully (yeah, that's right)
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully
True confession here -- this song had (and has) been in my mind for so long that, when my daughter was born, I named her Maddy, almost as though in honor of "Matty told Hatty." In fact, my handle M.S. is actually my daughter's who gave it to me years and years ago after I somehow lost my original handle JonS.
In case it hasn't been answered yet (haven't gone through all the posts), Wooly Bully is about a dance
Hatty told Matty
Let's not take no chance
Let's not be L7
Come and learn this dance
The Night Chicago Died
The Night the Lights went out in Georgia
I don't like Spiders and Snakes
Boy the 1970's pop charts had some weird stuff looking back on it. These were all serious songs too
Forgot one more:
I've got a brand new pair of rollerskates, you've got a brand new key.
I mean what?
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In comment 15414223 Del Shofner said:
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'Wooly Bully' by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs - I mean what is this about?
Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw
Wooly bully, wooly bully (yeah, that's right)
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully
True confession here -- this song had (and has) been in my mind for so long that, when my daughter was born, I named her Maddy, almost as though in honor of "Matty told Hatty." In fact, my handle M.S. is actually my daughter's who gave it to me years and years ago after I somehow lost my original handle JonS.
In case it hasn't been answered yet (haven't gone through all the posts), Wooly Bully is about a dance
Hatty told Matty
Let's not take no chance
Let's not be L7
Come and learn this dance
So they say ... but then what was it that Matty saw that had "two big horns and a wooly jaw"?
BTW from these lyrics I learned that "L7" was once slang for "square," which in turn meant unhip in those days.
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"Duke Duke Duke, Duke Duke of Earl, Duke Duke, Duke of Earl, Duke Duke, Duke of Earl ....
"Duke Duke Duke, Duke Duke of Earl, Duke Duke, Duke of Earl, Duke Duke, Duke of Earl ....
It was kinda catchy… my eldest brother used to play it and I sorta took a shine to it many decades later!
As I walk through this world
Nothing can stop the Duke of Earl
"Open the door Richard, Open the door and let me in, Open the door Richard. Richard, why won't you open the door?"
Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy a kid will eat ivy, too.
Little Nash Rambler --- The Playmates
And of course, Pachalafaka --- Soupy Sales
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Little Nash Rambler --- The Playmates
And of course, Pachalafaka --- Soupy Sales
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Yowzer -- these really are weird!
Macarthur Park - Richard Harris
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Then there was "Big Daddy," a song about a notorious troublemaker who ran off with the Mayor's wife, who tried to take the Sheriff's life, and so on. Key line is "Big Daddy's Alabam-y bound"
And of course, "I Love Onions," about the vegetable that makes your eyes water when you cut them up.
Charlie Daniels Band - The Legend of Wooley Swamp and Uneasy Rider
Anything from Spike Jones (Cocktails for Two)
LOL, haven't thought about that song for decades either - and for good reason!
"They're coming to take me away" by Napoleon XIV.
Oddest and scariest song that I still remember 50 years later
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"They're coming to take me away" by Napoleon XIV.
Oddest and scariest song that I still remember 50 years later link - ( New Window )
This is the shit nightmares come from:
And I got on my knees and begged you
Not to leave because I'd go berserk?
WELL,
You left me anyhow and
Then the days got worse and worse
And now you see I've gone completely
out of my mind,
AND
They're coming to take me away,
Haha, they're coming to take me away,
Ho ho, hee hee, ha ha,
To the funny farm
Where Life is Beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see
Those Nice Young Men
In their Clean White Coats
And they're coming to take me AWAY,
HA HAAAAA
You thought it was a joke,
and so you LAUGHED, YOU LAUGHED
When I had said that losing you
Would make me flip my lid,
RIGHT?
You know you laughed.
I HEARD you laugh, you laughed
You laughed and laughed
And then you left,
But now you know I'm Utterly Mad
AND
They're coming to take me away,
Haha, they're coming to take me away,
Ho ho, hee hee, ha ha,
To the Happy Home with Trees and Flowers
And Chirping Birds and basket weavers
Who sit and smile and
Twiddle their thumbs and toes
And they're coming to Take me Away,
HAHAAAAAAAAA
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We shared a bedroom and we would listen to the Dr. Demento show on the radio. They started the show up with the song:
"They're coming to take me away" by Napoleon XIV.
Oddest and scariest song that I still remember 50 years later link - ( New Window )
This is the shit nightmares come from:
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Remember when you ran away
And I got on my knees and begged you
Not to leave because I'd go berserk?
WELL,
You left me anyhow and
Then the days got worse and worse
And now you see I've gone completely
out of my mind,
AND
They're coming to take me away,
Haha, they're coming to take me away,
Ho ho, hee hee, ha ha,
To the funny farm
Where Life is Beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see
Those Nice Young Men
In their Clean White Coats
And they're coming to take me AWAY,
HA HAAAAA
You thought it was a joke,
and so you LAUGHED, YOU LAUGHED
When I had said that losing you
Would make me flip my lid,
RIGHT?
You know you laughed.
I HEARD you laugh, you laughed
You laughed and laughed
And then you left,
But now you know I'm Utterly Mad
AND
They're coming to take me away,
Haha, they're coming to take me away,
Ho ho, hee hee, ha ha,
To the Happy Home with Trees and Flowers
And Chirping Birds and basket weavers
Who sit and smile and
Twiddle their thumbs and toes
And they're coming to Take me Away,
HAHAAAAAAAAA
Did you eve play the B-side of this record? It was the song recorded backwards. It sounded like a Russian Space Alien on stimulants!
I described him as a "mean motor scooter and a bad go-getter."
That came from a fun, clever (and weird) 1960 novelty hit song by The Hollywood Argyles that reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The stanza I had in mind went like this:
The cats don't bug him cuz they know bettah (Alley Oop, oop, oop-oop)
Cuz he's a mean motah scootah and a bad go-gettah (Alley Oop, oop, oop-oop)
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It's brutal lol
I had no idea this existed until recently
Even McCall new the song was lame because apparently you can hear the singers at one point singing "this is dumb dumb dumb dumb..."
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It's brutal lol
I had no idea this existed until recently
Even McCall new the song was lame because apparently you can hear the singers at one point singing "this is dumb dumb dumb dumb..." Link - ( New Window )
Wow! Just WOW!
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...but how many remember the sequel he wrote to the song because his record label was looking for another hit, "Around The World With The Rubber Duck"?
It's brutal lol
I had no idea this existed until recently
Even McCall new the song was lame because apparently you can hear the singers at one point singing "this is dumb dumb dumb dumb..." Link - ( New Window )
Wow! Just WOW!
I know, right? That song is offensively terrible on multiple levels lol
For sheer volume, 60's and 70's swamp any other era.
No mention of Sweet Transvestite? Although it prolly didn't get much steady airplay, it's a quite well known tune, as well as Time Warp.
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Most anything from Primus - Wynonnas Big Brown Beaver is a fav
Bugs - Pearl Jam
from the album: Ummagumma
without a doubt
Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict - ( New Window )
That whole Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa FIre Fire part
Mr Crowley - Ozzy Osbourne
That whole Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa FIre Fire part
Mr Crowley - Ozzy Osbourne
For this Baby Boomer where the music world seemed to almost stop around 1972, gotta say I'm a big fan of Talking Heads!
Very weird. And the ukulele was really too much!
“From the Indies to the Andes in his undies.” Still think its catchy and they were ahead of their time as far as videos.
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