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Don't we all have a song, not necessarily our favorite, the lyrics to which we've never understood even when sung in our native tongue? For many of us it's LOUIE, LOUIE, purportedly written by a man named Richard Berry in 1955 or 1956. He performed a calypso version; many people are familiar with The Kingsmen's version (president of their fan club, please raise your hand!), and I discovered recently that Frank Zappa, too, had a morbid fascination with the song. I've yet to hear a violin-ized elevator version of LOUIE LOUIE, but if you've never seen the tuba section of a marching band boogie to the marching band version, you simply must make the effort. The opening chords give me chills when gusted out by tubas: Da-da-da, DA-DA; da-da-da, DA-DA (Huah!)… But I digress. I say "purportedly" because, as I sat here staring into space dreaming of book signings and fawning fans (laugh and the world laughs with you… ) I noticed Willy sitting on my desk. He's hard to miss, being furry and cute and all, but don't tell him I said that. He's a cat, he's already skilled in the art of self-aggrandizement. Willy wasn't simply sitting and blinking at me, though. He was basking under the desk lamp. Sitting up straight, his nose aimed toward the sun, -- I mean light bulb -- his eyes closed in lamp-worshipper's bliss. He looked serene, content, bulb-tanned. I wondered what he was up to. Wondering what he was up to led me to recall how he embarrassed me by editing a comment I made once on another writer's work, insisting I put in a cat word, something like, "oiiiiiiiiiuuuuu". When I initially refused, he stepped on the keys anyway. That's when it hit me. A cat composed "Louie Louie". Look at that: the title is 80 percent vowels, not to mention, so are the lyrics as sung by the Kingsmen. And see, the L is right under the O on the keyboard. Richard Berry's words, if you take a look (link to web site provided below), are actually quite romantic. I am certain: "Louiee Louaiiiiy oooooooh babeeeeenahweeeegahddagaw aiaiaiaiaiayayayayaaaaaiiiiiiii" is the work of a cat. And anyone who has a cat and a piano in the same house will believe, now that we're on the subject, that those spine shivering da-da-da-DA-DA opening chords must also be the midnight work of a cat. What I want to know is, how did the cat sneak his Yowl Vowel version into the Kingsmen's recording session? And what happened to the cat's royalties? (Willy and Jessie made me write that last question - hold on a minute, they're trying to get my attention… No, I am NOT going to go back and capitalize the word "cat" each time it appears. Now go away and leeeeeeeeeeeaveeeeee meeeeeeeeeeeea aaaaaaaaaaaaloooooooooooneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. SHOO!oooooo geeeeeeeeeez.) I suppose it's time to feed them … as usual. *********************************************************************************** Web sites for further research in the event your cat calls her lawyer: Click to take a side trip to a site about Richard Berry. Find out by example why it's important to retain as many of the rights to your work as possible.
Clickety cliiiiiick on this link to see the reeeeeeaaaaaaaadfghjkll (stop that right now, Willy) ahem, *real* lyrics, possibly for the first time in your life (it was for me!). |