Yahoo: Band Banned From Performing 'Louie Louie'

[Bleacher Creature]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/no_louie_louie

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. - A pop culture controversy that has simmered for decades came to a head when a middle school marching band was told not to perform "Louie Louie."

Benton Harbor Superintendent Paula Dawning cited the song's allegedly raunchy lyrics in ordering the McCord Middle School band not to perform it in Saturday's Grand Floral Parade, held as part of the Blossomtime Festival.

In a letter sent home with McCord students, Dawning said "Louie Louie" was not appropriate for Benton Harbor students to play while representing the district — even though the marching band wasn't going to sing it.
<SNIP>
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So let me get this straight, evolution is on trial again, kids can't play what really is a tame song at a school band event, and George Bush is President. If we're really going backwards in time, why aren't I getting any younger!!!!!

[Richard Steele]

1. Un-f*ckink-believable!

Who the hell even KNOWS the lyrics to 'Louie, Louie'?

And do HS kids even know that it was ever more than a marching-band song?

This Superintendant must have WAAAAAY too much free time!

[Lisa]

44. it has lyrics?!

That shows how much I know! I've always heard it as an instrumental.

[merh]

2. If your age altered in unison with the backward trends the neo-cons

are promoting, you would not be younger, you would be non-existent, not even a twinkle in your parents' eyes. :freak:


These people scare the hell out of me! :scared:

[struggle4progress]

81. They're recycling their old ideas because they really don't have new ones.

[KurtNYC]

3. Are these the lyrics they are talking about?

Louie, Louie, oh, oh, me gotta go
Louie, Louie, oh, oh, me gotta go

/ A D Em D A D Em D / :

Fine little girl she waits for me
Me catch the ship for cross the sea
Me sail the ship all alone
Me never think me make it home

Louie, Louie...

Three nights and days me sail the sea
Me think of girl constantly
On the ship I dream she there
Me smell the rose in her hair

Louie, Louie...

Me see Jamaica moon above
It won't be long, me see my love
I take her in my arms and then
Me tell her I never leave again

http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/louielou.htm

[UpInArms]

6. OMG! Those are terribly RAUNCHY lyrics

:sarcasm:

:wtf:

[KurtNYC]

7. Yes - I should have warned you

There is a whole website dedicated to the song and variations on the lyrics but I didn't see any that were obscene or even very suggestive.

(warning: this link is in pop-up city)
http://louielouieweb.tripod.com/lyrics.htm

Smoking Gun has a page on the FBI investigation. The "Are these the Offensive Lyrics" link has someone's version of what they thought they were hearing. Now 'scuse me while I kiss this guy...

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/louie/louie.html

[UpInArms]

18. thanks - apology accepted

I find myself humming "Puff the Magic Dragon" and wondering how I can obtain some of that :smoke: :rofl:

[quaoar]

29. I like this alleged version

[Carni]

36. LOL! *Scuse me while I kiss this guy*

My husband actually thought those were the lyrics to purple haze
(he also thought Billy idol's "Eyes without a face" was "How's about a date" LOL)

[proud2BlibKansan]

72. I had a friend in college

who thought 'another one bites the dust' was really 'another one rides the bus', the Wierd Al version. LOL

[Carni]

79. LOL That's a good one! EOM

[Carni]

35. Jesus! THAT is raunch?

WTF?

[truthisfreedom]

41. and here's the lyrics to My Sharona, which bushco used for campaigning!

Artist: The Knack Lyrics
Song: My Sharona Lyrics

Ooh my little pretty one, pretty one.
When you gonna give me some time, Sharona?
Ooh you make my motor run, my motor run.
Gun it comin' off the line Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up.
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona...

Come a little closer huh, ah will ya huh.
Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona.
Keeping it a mystery gets to me
Running down the length of my thighs, Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up. Such a dirty mind.
Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona...

When you gonna give it to me, give it to me.
It is just a matter of time Sharona
Is it just destiny, destiny?
Or is it just a game in my mind, Sharona?
Never gonna stop, give it up.
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona...

[d.l.Green]

68. Sharona, the name of *'s cow, er, horse? n/t

[Ian David]

53. OK, I'll read it with a dirty mind

"Me sail the ship all alone"
Obviously, a reference to masturbation.
We all know that masturbation is obscene unless you do it to a horse.


"Me think of girl constantly
On the ship I dream she there"
Again, more masturbation.

Just like some other songs I know of:
"I'll pretend that I'm kissing the lips I am missing"- The Beatles
"Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream"- The Chordettes
"Whenever I want you all I have to do is dream"- The Everly Brothers


Anyway, back to the song in question:

"Me smell the rose in her hair"
This is very clearly a reference to the "fresh as a summer's day" promised in feminine hygiene commercials.

"Me see Jamaica moon above"
Clearly this must show an intent to invite a black man (Jamaican) to join in a menage-a-trois.

"I take her in my arms and then"
Again, sexual contact is dirty and obscene unless it involves the digital stimulation of horse genitalia.

Please, someone contact the marching band and tell them to play the song "I touch Myself," by The Divinyls.
http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/artists/divinyls.htm

[tsuki]

4. What a time machine, warp really. Remember when they

played it on the floor of the House, I think it was, and Reps said that they didn't know if was obscene because they couldn't understand a word.

[alfredo]

49. It was the governor of Indiana that banned the song. They assumed

it was dirty because they couldn't understand the words.

[alfredo]

52. I love that Janice Joplins song "Move Over" was played on the

radio and never got censored.

Right at the end of the song she says, "and you expect me to fuck like a goddamn mule."

the online lyric sheets clean it up a bit, replacing fuck with fight.

[Dr Fate]

5. Are the lyrics about killing, torture & stealing?

What are the lyrics in question here?

[Comicstripper]

9. Actually, none:

This particular controversy has surrounded the song since its release.
Because the lyrics are hard to make out, many people have concocted false lyrics with dirty lines. Often, people mistake the song as being pornographic or have heard fake lyrics presented as real ones. In this case, the problem isn't the lyrics themselves, but the perceived lyrics. My guess is that the person who banned the song from being performed read a lyrics sheet which was not legitimate.

[Dr Fate]

11. Oh-I see- it's allegedly about making love to woman. The horror. n/t

n/t

[Bob3]

46. proof the dirty mind is an infinite feast.

N/t

[RadiDem]

8. Maybe they can play Green Day's 'American Idiot'

[Robeson]

14. Or Holiday.

[Carni]

37. I love this idea! EOM

[dogday]

10. We gotta go

No lyrics, waz up with that, it is just music and fun music too.

[bluedeminredstate]

12. I can't imagine WTF she is talking about

if this is really based on the lyrics - which can't be distinguised anyway. He could be singing every filthy word known to man and you'd never know it, so what's the problem here? It's Not like they'll be singing Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" at a chorus concert! In fact, I went to my son's 6th grade spring chorus concert the other night and I heard more objectionable things than "Louie, Louie" and the concert was reminiscent of Pat Boone albums...
:eyes:

[KurtNYC]

13. A Freeper blast from the past...

Some things change very little.

[TahitiNut]

21. Yes. This is just one of repeated times that music has been banned.

It's really astonishing - and a great example of the "mote/log" syndrome. Paranoid puritannical fundies project their own inner prurience into that harmless music (with playfully garbled lyrics) and react to their own image in the projection.

I can only imagine skulls full of maggots when I view such insane reactions.

It's a great tune.

[Lisa]

45. So people can't spot the flagrant obscenity until it's pointed out to them

... what a surprise.

(One of my favorite Terry Pratchett observations, by the way, from when an overly-prim character tries to redact Christmas carols.)

[Carni]

39. I had NO idea this song had created controversy at any time

I have heard it a million times...drunkenly sung to it (where I got words or what they were I have no idea)

The thing is totally impossible to understand, and these repukes need serious mental help.

[louis-t]

43. "Violins on t.v."

I think violins are a very nice instrument. What's wrong with having them....what? Never mind.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. I've always thought of the song as a sort of auditory projective test,

useful for smoking out potentially dangerous, twisted Calvinists and fundies.

[mcscajun]

16. If the Benton Harbor Supervisor has an e-mail address...

...she ought to get flooded with copies of the real lyrics (entered above by another poster - post #3) and mentioning they are Not, repeat NOT obscene. All perceived obscenity is in her own mind.

Moran.

[LisaM]

17. Correction. The band didn't USED to sing the lyrics

they will be now, mark my words.

What's going to happen at Seattle Mariners games? They play that song every seventh-inning stretch.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

51. Seventh inning stretch, for example

What I can't figure out is how the Troggs' "Wild Thing" ever got to be so popular at baseball games. I'm not griping about the song, but why that one? I mean, it's not exactly dripping with family values. Dripping with something, though....

[TahitiNut]

60. "Major League" and Charlie Sheen (he's "Wild Thing")

It's spit-take funny.

[eridani]

74. And the Huskies at half time?

This is a major crisis!

[Beel2112]

19. Ai ai ai....

:shrug:

[Gregorian]

20. STOP! No more limmericks!

There once was a man from Nantucket... STOP! You're under arrest!

[spooked911]

22. Since when does a marching band sing lyrics anyway???

[Fire Walk With Me]

23. These people could find innuendo in a box of Rice Crispies

Could be too much repression??

[democracyindanger]

24. Wanna know the real story?

The lead singer of the Kingsmen had visited the dentist before their recording session. They didn't have any more money to pay for more studio time, so they laid down the track in one take. You can even hear an error ("Me see...Me see Jamaican moon above")

Again, you can't understand him because he had just come from the dentist

Hope Benton Harbor's taxpayers are getting their money's worth. Morans.

[yorkiemommie1]

33. snopes.com

talks about this too.

[mikelgb]

25. OMG

Louie Louie is rudimentry Marching Band fare. these things make my brain hurt trying to fathom logic (or lack there of) of this kind....

[ThoughtCriminal]

26. What about the Star Spangled Banner?

The tune was taken a popular English drinking song “To Anacreon in Heaven.”

[Brooklyn Michael]

27. Do they even KNOW?

Does this "supernintendo" Dawning or the parent who complaned even KNOW what those "allegedly raunchy" lyrics ARE? Can they quote them? If so, could they please tell the rest of us who can't understand a @#$%^&! thing IN that song?

Her email address and contact info can be found here: http://dev.bhas.org/dept/dept1.htm

Someone in the area should call and ask her....in a respectful manner, of course.

[Ian David]

58. You can listen to an MP3 sample of the song here

http://www.mp3.com/index.php?type=1&arid=4003§=songs&pg_track=2

And this is the phone number for Dr. Paula Dawning, Superintendent
[phone]

They're currently out of the office, but her answering machine is on.

http://dev.bhas.org/dept/dept1.htm

[ALago1]

61. LOL.

Sorry, I'm just writing to tell you that your subtle Simpsons reference cracked me up.

[Brooklyn Michael]

80. Glad you liked that one!

:toast:

[olddad56]

28. I think banning Louie Louie is a good idea.

but only because it is a it was never that great a tune. Maybe they can play Country Joe and Fish's 'Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die Rag' instead.

[MO_Dem]

55. Yeah, Man!

Nothing more I can add!

[Robworld]

30. Is this the same school from Foot Loose?

http://www.dumdumgoestothecircus.com/

[Catch22Dem]

47. That was my first thought too!

NOOOOO DANCING!

[Fleshdancer]

31. ALL marching bands play Louie Louie.

My middle school band played it as well as the high school band. It's just one of those songs that every band plays because it sounds good but isn't too difficult.

People suck.

[Ian David]

56. They played it in Reagan's inaugural parade

Maybe

[la la]

66. in the '80s -

*My Sharona* was CONSTANTLY being played at the family pizza place we went to ---and ---

*Whip it* ( whip it good!) was a great song = played at every football game for the cheerleaders to perform to----my goodness ---where were all the complaints them? These baby boomers are prissy, prissy !!

They can't remember what they did and listened to as young people!

Whip it, whip it good!!!

[BuddhaGirl]

71. "My Sharona" was a favorite song at

my high school dances for god's sake! And this was a catholic h.s.!!

jesus h. christ - people are so fucking repressed. :wtf:

[Megahurtz]

32. This whole goody-two-shoes-

Fundamentalist-Movement-thing is turning out to be like an episode of the Twilight Zone or something.:wow:

[DulceDecorum]

65. The Twilight Zone, otherwise known as George Bush's America

We are moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. Welcome. We just crossed over into the Twilight Zone, otherwise known as George Bush's America. For it is here and only here that the White House could receive warning after warning of massive attacks that were going to take place on American soil, the attack happens, and both the President and the Vice President, in separate phone calls to TOM DASCHLE, ask that Congress not investigate what happened and why. That could only happen in the Twilight Zone.
Or that an administration battling worldwide perception, as well as a domestic one having come to power in circumstances like Zambia's or Kenya's, could form a shadow government inside the selected government, with no one in the real government knowing about the shadow government except the shadow leaders in it. That could only happen in the Twilight Zone.
Or that this President could propose the biggest hike in defense spending, where his dad stands to make a mint, as long as increased spending does not get lost wherever the $2.3 trillion is that the Pentagon has already lost, and the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, says we can afford it. That could only happen in the Twilight Zone.
Or that Arthur Andersen, who kept Enron's books, could still have contracts to keep the books over at FBI, DOJ, and the Pentagon. That could only happen in the Twilight Zone.
Wake up, America. We are not only in the Twilight Zone, we have crossed the threshold into George Bush's America.
http://cronus.com/zone/

[Barrett808]

34. Didn't some folks think 'Louie Louie' was Satanic?

Like, back in the Stone Age?

[yorkiemommie1]

38. how 'bout we sing this song that my daughter learned in Lutheran school:

to the tune of 'Louie, Louie'


Pharoah Pharoah
Well a burnin' bush told me the other day,
That I should come over here and stay,
Gotta get God's people out o' Pharoah's hand,
And lead them all to the promise land.

CHORUS: I'm singing Pharoah, Pharoah
Oh, baby, let my people go.
OOH, AAH, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (REPEAT)

Well, me and God's people come to the Red Sea,
With Pharoah's army comin' after me,
Well, I raised my rod, stuck it in the sand,
And all of God's people walked across dry land. CHORUS

Well, Pharoah's army was a comin' too,
So what do you think that I should do?
I raised my rod and I cleared my throat,
And all of Pharoah's army did the dead man's float! CHORUS
--------------
www.christianmusic.org

oh, those loony,lefty, LIBRUL, Lutherans!!!

edited to add smartass last line.

[democracyindanger]

40. They should also ban "Jesus Loves The Little Children"

I find its allusion to pedophilia highly disturbing.

[yellowcanine]

42. I didn't know band instruments could play lyrics. Amazing. This raises

all kinds of possibilities. Check out the lyrics to Maryland My Maryland (Sung to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree) and still the Maryland State Song, though I think there may be more peaceful lyrics that are substituted if the song is actually sung.

Maryland, My Maryland

I
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland! My Maryland!

II
Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
Maryland!
My mother State! to thee I kneel,
Maryland!
For life and death, for woe and weal,
Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
And gird they beauteous limbs with steel,
Maryland! My Maryland!

III
Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
Maryland!
Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
Maryland!
Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
Remember Howard's warlike thrust,-
And all thy slumberers with the just,
Maryland! My Maryland!

IV
Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,
Maryland!
Come with thy panoplied array,
Maryland!
With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey,
With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
Maryland! My Maryland!

V
Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,
Maryland!
Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,
Maryland!
Come to thine own anointed throng,
Stalking with Liberty along,
And chaunt thy dauntless slogan song,
Maryland! My Maryland!

VI
Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,
Maryland!
Virginia should not call in vain,
Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain-
"Sic semper!" 'tis the proud refrain
That baffles minions back again,

Maryland!
Arise in majesty again,
Maryland! My Maryland!

VII
I see the blush upon thy cheek,
Maryland!
For thou wast ever bravely meek,
Maryland!
But lo! there surges forth a shriek,
From hill to hill, from creek to creek-
Potomac calls to Chesapeake,

Maryland! My Maryland!

VIII
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,
Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll, Better the blade, the shot, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the soul,
Maryland! My Maryland!

IX
I hear the distant thunder-hum,
Maryland!
The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-
Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
She breathes! she burns! she'll come! she'll come!
Maryland! My Maryland!

[LiberalEsto]

50. There is a set of nicer Maryland lyrics

on the old but well-loved "Crabs for Christmas" album by David DeBoy.

More info: http://www.daviddeboy.com/crabs.html

[yorkiemommie1]

62. oh. my. gawd.

who wrote this thing?

[LiberalEsto]

63. Southern sympathizers

trying to get Maryland to join the Confederacy. Maryland remained officially Union, but many residents supported the South.

[DELUSIONAL]

48. Damn -- there was a move in Washington State -- to use LL as State

song.

Not that long ago there was a strong movement to nominate LL as the State song.

[eridani]

76. It was supposed to be the state rock song

The plan was to keep the other one. Don't remember how that one turned out.

[Ian David]

54. Fuck it. They should play "American Idiot" by Greenday n/t

[Kelvin Mace]

57. You can find the superintendent's email address

here:

http://www.thoughtcrimes.org and

http://www.thoughtcrimes.org/mt/archives/002229.html

[Parche]

59. ouch

I cant stand that song anyway!!! ha

[GreenArrow]

64. dig the poll in the local rag

http://www.heraldpalladium.com/

Freeped heavily.

They just should play the damn song and say it's "Hang On Sloopy."

[zbird]

69. Yep, that's my neck of the woods.

A little corner of red hell. BTW, local rag is quite an apt description. The staff can't even manage to copy and paste AP articles without screwing something up. A classic is when the font size is changed and therefore the last few sentences are omitted from the article. Grammar and spelling sucks too, including headlines in huge type with obvious spelling errors (an error that spell check would definitely catch.) It's a great paper to use for teaching proofreading skills!

Oh yes... of course the paper endorsed * the last two elections.

[GreenArrow]

70. I'm sorry...

Yikes! I wanted to peruse the site, but they wanted me to register.

[Bigmack]

67. This is the kinda shit...

... that drives teachers nuts.

The Super has managed to whip up a controversy where none existed. Hard enough to keep kids focused on school in May, and now this douchebag throws a grenade into the outhouse.

I taught seniors in high school for 20 of my 30 years in teaching, and I always looked at things like this as a "teachable moment". "Well, guys... what are you gonna do about this? How can you mock and belittle this person and her decision without getting your asses in a jam?"

They were always creative.

I'd suggest the kids start singing "Louie Louie" in the halls as they went from class to class.

[proud2BlibKansan]

73. We're moving backwards

This was hashed and rehashed 40 years ago!! I was in elementary school and our parents were up in arms over this song. It was banned on radio stations all over the country. Then finally, enough newspapers and magazines published the actual lyrics and the naysayers were suitably embarrassed. And The Kingsmen loved it. The controversy must have quadrupled the sales of their record.

Must we revisit these dumb urban legends? Just how stupid are these people?

[BattyDem]

75. I know the lyrics to Louie, Louie ...

there is NOTHING obscene about them! These people need to get a life! :eyes:

[Triana]

77. Jeeeze! Talk about regressive!!

How utterly assinine. There isn't a damn thing in that song that is unsuitable. What IS unacceptable is the American Taliban trying to control people.

[mac56]

78. They backed down!

http://www.bhas.org/news_release.htm

A concern was raised about a song that had been selected for McCord Middle School band of the Benton Harbor Area Schools District. The band director had selected “Louie Louie” for the students to play in the Blossom time parade on May 7th. He was unaware of the sexually explicit lyrics of the song. The parents were invited to give their permission. The parents have granted their permission. There are numerous versions of this song that have come out since the original. The school district operates in collaboration with the parents and based on them granting permission and the multiple versions of the song, the students will march in the parade and play ”Louie Louie”.

[GinaMaria]

82. Venus was banned at my house

growing up because my father thought they said "I'm your fetus".

I found his music to have offensive lyrics. He listened to WWII music "Praise the Lord and Pass the ammunition. Can't afford to sit around a wishin'"

Raunchy lyrics.... Can't tell you what they are but I know them when I hear them :eyes: