My Favorite Parodies
Posted at 5:30 AM on October 20, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(27 Comments)
Radio Heartland has tickets to give away to a concert by Chris Smither and Loudon Wainwright III at the Cedar Cultural Center on Saturday, October 31st.
We'll take names until 1pm on Wednesday, October 21.
Enter the drawing.
Obey the rules.
Best of luck.
This will be a great show. Chris Smither is fantastic and Loudon Wainwright III's latest recording "High Wide & Handsome - The Charlie Poole Project", is delightful. And Loudon is a pretty funny guy.
Speaking of funny music, yesterday a kind Radio Heartland listener sent an e-mail about Julie Andrews singing a hilarious parody of "My Favorite Things" at her 69th birthday party at Radio City Music Hall.
Unfortunately, the story is false. Snopes.com points out that Julie Andrews lost her singing voice as a result of a botched throat operation in 1997. That is very sad indeed.
I initially bought this story because I liked the idea of Ms. Andrews doing a send-up of a famous song from "The Sound of Music". I think she would have enjoyed doing it for two reasons:
1) It would mean she can sing again, and
2) the lyrics are pretty funny.
Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.
When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.
I wish Julie Andrews had sung this one simply because I have a soft spot for funny take-offs - pasting new words over existing tunes.
And it raises the following question - what's your favorite parody?
I'm not saying we have that many in the library, but if we do have them, and they're clean, I'll play them!
Comments (27)
good morning, All - great idea, Dale - i love the cleverness of parodies. but i'm not clever enough to think of one this early morning.
all these "home" songs are making me miss Spot and Opie, boo hoo. maybe something goofy like Loudon III's dad's "Dead Skunk?" not a parody, but there should be one.
thanks, Dale
Would music from A Mighty Wind count, since the movie is a parody in itself?
Dale and Mike - between the two of you, you must know a motherlode of parodies - let's hear a few of your faves!
Barb, I am afraid I am as unclever as you this morning.
Greetings! I love song parodies and that one is particularly funny -- unfortunately I'm feeling like that with a few too many injuries lately.
Danged if I can think of one, though. How about that "Lime in the Coconut" song to make you feel better. My boss had food poisoning yesterday, so I was called into work at 7:30am.
I had to be in to work extra early for a stressful upgrade, which is finishing now, so I am brain dead. I Googled for parodies of songs, but my tired eyes can't face the pages of results, so...
Wishing everyone a lovely Tuesday.
How about Ann Reed from the fair singing about Betty Crocker and Pat Donohue's Sushi Yucky?
Greetings to all at RH especially those with slow brains this early morn :)
"Their Way" is the one that comes to mind first for me.
There was a parody of "Okie From Muskogee" called "A**hole From El Paso" recorded by Kinky Friedman - probably unplayable on the radio even if you did have it in the library; I seem to recall it was funnier in concept than execution anyway.
Johnny Cash parodied himself in a video called "Chicken in Black" in which his brain is transplanted into a chicken - a curiosity that is archived at YouTube...as everything is....
Flanders and Swann had some great parodies. I like the one about the lost French Horn.
Hmm - all I can think of at this early hour isn't truly a parody, but it made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it, many years ago on the old Morning Show (probably at least 10 years ago - so who knows if it's still in the library) - somewhere in the deep recesses of the MPR music library you (or Jim Ed) found a version of the Charlie Daniels' Band tune "Devil Went Down to Georgia" only it replaced the fiddle the the CDB version with an accordion. It was a hoot. And has stuck with me 'lo these many years.
Happy Tuesday all - Elinor, I hope the upgrade finishes soon, and uneventfully, so you can go home and nap.
Can't hear RH this morn. Not even on iTunes.
BTW, why aren't there a "Listen to RH" link on the blog and DC Show pages?
As a teacher, "Their Way" is my favorite parody, though Tom Lehrer has some gems.
Ken, the regular 'Listen' button didn't result in streaming this morning for me either, but it's working using the Windows Media Player link.
There was a parody of "Livin La Vida Loca" (probably spelled wrong) called "Living in Minnesota" that was pretty funny and well executed. A quick check of YouTube didn't result in a hit unfortunately.
Wishing all a productive day, hope you get to go home early Elinor.
This if fun. Remember that You Tube Hockey Mom singing "Don't Speak for Me Sarah Palin" last fall? Found it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh9BmNuqeiQ
And there are a couple of good opera people, Anna Russell and a very funny woman I think I heard on The Morning Show doing folk or country songs in Opera. And I’m sure PDQ Bach would have some, but that’s another station!
And to add to Ken's query, why isn't there a Listn to RH button on MPR NewsQ home page?
Ooohh, and Michael Cooney had a couple, one of a Gilbert & Sullivan song, really fast words about the periodic table... and he did not exactly a parody, but some pretty funny verses to Give Me that Old Time Religion.
There are lots of good parodoies, but they are not coming to mind. I wonder if you have any recordings of ones done by Garison on the Prairie Home Companion show. One I know is: "Oh say can you see any bed bugs on me? If you do take a few because I got them from you."
Hi Dale
I know this is late for parody suggestions today but one of my favorites is a song you wrote: "Don't Take Your Guns to Church". I'd love to hear it, if possible. Thanks. Your show is the best way for me to start my day.
Larry
Morning Heartlanders... glad a few brains are awake this morning, but I have to admit, I'm w/ the rest of the group. Nothing coming to mind. I did enjoy checking out the Evita/Sarah Palin send-up! (I'm also enjoying the Monty Python-a-thon that's showing on TV this week - very funny.)
Love the French Horn song. Thanks!
The streaming worked about half an hour after I sent my earlier note. In such a complex system, who knows where the fault was?
Hey Dale & Mike - this is off-topic, but I noticed on the Main RH page the announcement of the new schedule and new shows coming in November. I even hear ads for RH on the Classical Station! Cool stuff!
Can you give us a description of "Thistle & Shamrock" and "Mountain Stage" and other new shows? I haven't heard of them and am curious what they're about. Thanks!
Hello Everyone,
I heard about the mixed reviews of Bob Dylan's Christmas album, so I had to hear for myself and went on iTunes. Sadly, though I enjoy his other music, this one is hard to listen to. Thinking about it, he probably shouldn't sing about happy things. He can sing about social injustice, and creepy guys in long black coats, but not so much about sugar plum fairys and jingle bells. It just doesn't fit. BUT, props for going out on a limb and trying something different; and we will always appreciate his other music.
Have a great morning!
Couldn't find a performance of "Livin' in Minnesota" parody but I found a site w/ the words. If you sing to yourself (quietly if you're in a cube farm like I am), it's pretty funny! http://www.amiright.com/parody/90s/rickymartin52.shtml
Have a great day Heartlanders!
Not that you could have played these on the show, but my favorite parodies are movie parodies. "Airplane" was a parody of the disaster movie (which, in my memory, started them all in the 70's) "Airport" (filmed partly at our own airport in Minneapolis, I believe). It's responsible for so many people my age responding to a sentance starting with the word, "Surely,..." with "Don't call me Shirley." Then of course, "Young Frankenstein" is one of my favorite movies of all time. Mel Brooks specializes in parody. "Blazing Saddles" was good, too.
There are lots of parodies of Holiday songs. A local composer, J. David Moore, did one for MPR called "Be Careful, Don't Tear the Paper" to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." My chorus performed it in our last concert which was about living green. I don't know if there is a commercial recording of it anywhere, though. Maybe Dare to Breathe or Vocalessence? Ah well, too late for today, anyway.
Speaking of Dare to Breathe, Dale, could you fit them into the show one day this week? Maybe "Bright Morning Stars" or "How Can I Keep From Singing?" or "Jigs" or anything really. I adore them.
Happy Tuesday, All!
Dale -
Thanks so much for the "Devil Went Down to Georgia" accordion style! I'm catching it on the archived show link (which I often listen to once i get to work) - it still just makes me giggle. It's so silly and just fun. Makes up for the cruddy morning I was busily having until now...thanks for the opportunity to grin and bop around at work.
Dale, you've really started something -- I'll be thinking about this all day! Just found this in my tape collection: Joan Baez parodying the pop rock genre: She's a Troublemaker (I probably first heard it here).
And on the Prairie Home Companion 25th Anniv. Album, Red Maddock doing the Minneapolis Blues is not to be missed! Could you play it sometime this week?
I know I'm too late to request for today, but one of my favorite parodies is by Patty Lupone, "I Regret Everything." So funny!
Maybe tomorrow? I don't even know if anyone reads blogs after 10 am, but I'm never able to get to my computer before then.
Jane in Stillwater - yes, a lot of us check into the blog periodically throughout the day -- I know I do most days. Just hate to miss out on any fun stuff or interesting tidbits from fellow RH listeners and bloggers!
I rarely read or post between 6 and 9. Those of us who post late are like foam on a good beer! A scoop of vanilla on fresh apple pie! Gravy on smashed potatoes!
well, today i'm smashed taters AND gravy - it took me til about 2:15 this afternoon, driving home from Duluth, to realize that "Dead Skunk" is Loudon Wainwright III's song and his son is named Rufus. uffda. sorry. and i wasn't even smashed too much this morning when i wrote that just after six a.m. :-)
Jane, I love Patti Lupone, will try looking up that song. :)
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