I think my sister hates me

[oldr_n_wsr]

And we all remember, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini by Brian Hyland.

[dales]

Many songs such as "the itsy-bitsy yellow polka-dot bikini" can be found on Dr. Damento collections.

[Econoline]

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I stand corrected. Gimme a break...it was 3:45am and I was tired and my brain went blank. (Particularly odd, since I had heard "Gimme Three Steps" on the car radio just a couple of hours earlier--yes I know the artist, but I'm not sure I can spell it. )

And (referencing "the other side of the water") I'm surprised no one mentioned any of the truly, intentionally humorous songs by the Beatles. And the Stones had others besides "Something Happened to me Yesterday"; I immediately thought of "Monkey Man" and "Dead Flowers", but a lot of their best songs had that "sly silent wink" I alluded to. And of course that applies to Dylan, too.

My point stands, though, that as funny as Weird Al can be, because he's almost exclusively a parodist he's not a very good example of "humorous rock songs".

[Joe Guy]

I was going to mention 'You know my name, look up the number' and 'Hey Bulldog' but I thought my list was long enough.

Weird Al is very good but he's only making jokes out of other people's serious songs.

Also, this is probably the wrong thread for these things, but I'm easily distracted. Like that spider over there....

'Look he's crawling up my wall, black and hairy very small....'

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Crackpot]

[RayThom]

But the truly memorable ones are country tunes... IMHO.

[oldr_n_wsr]

The Monster Mash

[Econoline]

Ray -- I agree.

oldr -- Jim already mentioned that one. (It was a video, which explains why you probably didn't see it.)

[Long Run]

If That Ain't Country Lyrics
The old man was covered with tattoos and scars
He got some in prison and others in bars
The rest he got workin' on old junk cars in the daytime
They looked like tombstones in our yard
And I never seen him when he wasn't tired and mean
He sold used parts to make ends meet
Covered with grease from his head to his feet
Cussin' the sweat and the Texas heat and mosquiters
And the neighbors said we lived like hicks
But they brung their cars for pa to fix anyhow
He was veteran-proud tried and true
He'd fought till his heart was black and blue
Didn't know how he'd made it through the hard times
He bought our house on the GI Bill
But it wasn't worth all he had to kill to git it
He drank pearl in a can and Jack Daniels black
Chewed tobacco from a mail pouch sack
Had an old dog that was trained to attack sometimes
He'd get drunk and mean as a rattlesnake
And there wasn't too much that he would take from a stranger
There were thirteen kids and a bunch of dogs
A house full of chickens and a yard full of hogs
I spent the summertime cuttin' up logs for the winter
Tryin' like the devil to find the Lord
Workin' like a nigger for my room and board
Coal-burin' stove no natural gas if that ain't country I'll kiss your ass
If that ain't country it'll hairlip the pope
If that ain't country it's a damn good joke
I've seen the Grand Ole Opry and I've met Johnny Cash
If that ain't country I'll kiss your ass
[ steel ]
Mama sells eggs at a grocery store my oldest sister is a first-rate whore
Dad says she can't come home anymore and he means it
Ma just sits and keeps her silence
Sister she left cause dad got violent and he knows it
Mama she's old far beyond her time
From chopping tobacco and I've seen her cryin'
When blood started flowin' from her calloused hand and it hurt me
She'd just keep workin' tryin' to help the old man
To the end of one row and back again like always
She's been through hell since junior went to jail
When the lights go out she ain't never failed
To get down on her knees and pray because she loves him
Told all the neighbors he was off in the war
Fightin' for freedom he's good to the core and she's proud
Now our place was a graveyard for automobiles
At the end of the porch there was four stacks of wheels
And tires for sale for a dollar or two cash
There was fifty holes in an old tin roof
Me and my family we was livin' proof
The people who forgot about poor white trash
And if that ain't country I'll kiss your ass
If that ain't country...
I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes concerning the great speckled bird
I didn't know God made honky tonk angels and went back to the wild side of life

[Long Run]

I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
The friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen

It was all downhill for Austin City Limits when they dropped London Homesick Blues as their theme song.

[RayThom]

Another blast from the past... who can forget this toe tapper? A fun tune if only for the sax.

[Sue U]

There are lots of rock and pop performers who have humorous songs in their catalog, but the problem is mostly in the marketing end of the industry: if you're going to make a career in rock/pop, you don't want to get pegged as a novelty act. (Unless of course your aim is to be a novelty act.) Some have done pretty well walking that fine line: Frank Zappa, The B-52s, Dead Kennedys, The Cramps, Meghan Trainor, and Weezer all pop into my head. And every band that's ever played a bar has some jokey songs to entertain folks who didn't necessarily come for their music. Heck, even Justin Bieber put out (You Can Go) Love Yourself this year. Rap and hip-hop have also had lots of songs intended to be humorous, going way back to early P-Funk. Whatever genre of music you're into, everyone likes a good joke. But not everyone has to be Spike Jones or Allan Sherman or Tom Lehrer, either.

[Bicycle Bill]

But not everyone has to be Spike Jones or Allan Sherman or Tom Lehrer, either.

Econoline would probably put Spike Jones and Allan Sherman alongside of Weird Al, Pinkard and Bowden, and Homer and Jethro as merely 'parodists' as well.
Tom Lehrer, on the other hand...... now there was an original, although even he put new words to existing melodies once in a while.



-"BB"-

[Gob]

[oldr_n_wsr]

Ray -- I agree.

oldr -- Jim already mentioned that one. (It was a video, which explains why you probably didn't see it.)

Sorry for the repeat.
They did the MASH!!!