Does anyone really know the words to Louie Louie?

[marble falls]

[House of Roberts]

1. Does anyone really care?

No wait, that's Chicago.

[marble falls]

5. Thanks for the kind words. I hope your cat feels better tomorrow!

[House of Roberts]

7. How did my cat get into this?

.

[marble falls]

22. The real question is why is your cat involved at all. I leave the answer to that to you. Chiao!

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. +1

[A Simple Game]

27. I haven't heard a song by Chicago on the radio in ages, and I never missed them.

Liked very few of their way too many songs when they were on the radio.

[ballyhoo]

2. Sweet Jesus, are you kidding me?.........

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Ya know, I looked them up one time, but I'm not sure he was singing those lyrics.

When the song first came out, it was said that there were "naughty words" if you listened just right. Kinda like the backwards masking scare in the 70's.

[TBF]

4. Snopes is your friend -

This one has been debunked -

Claim: The lyrics to the song "Louie Louie" are really dirty.

FALSE

Origins: "Sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll" is more than an Ian Dury slogan; it also neatly encapsulates the three pastimes of America's youth that adults have expended the most effort in trying to control for the last half-century. Films
such as Reefer Madness and Blue Denim have been supplanted by "Just Say No" and sex education programs, and the lyrics of rap songs may concern parents more than Elvis Presley's hips or the Beatles' haircuts once did, but the battle continues.

At this point we should probably make note of the song's true lyrics:

Louie, Louie,
me gotta go.
Louie, Louie,
me gotta go.

A fine little girl, she wait for me;
me catch a ship across the sea.
I sailed the ship all alone;
I never think I'll make it home

Three nights and days we sailed the sea;
me think of girl constantly.
On the ship, I dream she there;
I smell the rose in her hair.

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

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/louie.asp#6mWkBBfEUvQIm95d.99

[malthaussen]

10. Well, they must have been under the influence of *something*

"I sail the ship all alone," and then "Three nights and days we sailed the sea" would seem to be contradictory lyrics.

Didn't they ask Clinton and Bush to recite what they thought the lyrics were during the election, to hilarious results? Or was that just a parody I read in '91? Me forgets, yesss.

-- Mal

[MADem]

11. They're pretending to be Jamaicans, apparently.

Dread, Natty Dread, Now....!

Children, get your culture!

[malthaussen]

13. Sure, but it should be "me sail the sea,"

... which it might well be, no guarantee Snopes has the lyrics right.

And I bet most people on DU think "I Shot the Sheriff" was written by Eric Clapton.

Oh, and have you seen that the Mighty Sparrow is back in action? Concerts in April and May, he's apparently recovering well from his coma.

-- Mal

[MADem]

14. Or, "Me sail de sea mon, and pass de duchy!"

If I am guilty I will pay!!!!

[malthaussen]

16. I always prefered Marley to Clapton.:)

Guarantees me strange looks wherever I go.

-- Mal

[MADem]

21. You're correct, actually.

Clapton wields the ax well, but no one can sing out like Marley.

[tularetom]

19. Here it is in the original French

Just kidding, this was released within the past year or so. I think the vocals were dubbed in over the original instrumental track, because it sure sounds similar.

[MADem]

20. J'ai tué le commissaire!!!!!!!

It works...!!!!

[rhett o rick]

15. You can be "all alone" even with other people around. I think it meant her not being there gave

him a feeling of being alone. What the hell am I doing analyzing Louie Louie?

[malthaussen]

17. It's DU. We argue about anything.

Incidentally, if you play "Kingdom of Loathing," you can create a Pastafarian character.

-- Mal

[cilla4progress]

6. This is an awesome song ...

[99th_Monkey]

8. J. Edger Hoover assigned a task force to cypher these lyrics

I shit you not. He assigned a special team of FBI investigators to
try to figure out what the lyrics "really mean".

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2013/05/24/louie_louie_why_the_fbi_spent_two_years_and_119_pages_investigating_one_song.html

[Zambero]

9. The original 1955 Richard Berry version of the song

Berry's singing of the song lyrics were coherent and understandable. However, it did not climb very high on the charts and faded from the radar quickly. The Kingsmen's smash hit cover version some years later was poorly recorded with the (inebriated?) singer slurring and garbling the lyrics. However, listening to the Kingsmen version while comparing that recording with Berry's words shows no lyrical departure from the original. The so-called "naughty words" theory was contrived and caught fire at a time when validation options were limited compared to today's availability of information. So many people "bought" the story, which was not properly debunked, and the record was even banned in some markets. All the notoriety and ginned up controversy no doubt boosted sales, and ultimately conferred "classic" status on what might have been an otherwise throwaway performance. BTW, bad singing notwithstanding, the somewhat disjointed guitar solo is quite cool!

[louis-t]

23. And some schools forbade their marching bands

to play the song! You can read up on the lead singer of the Kingsmen in his own words online. It was recorded in one take with one microphone overhead, singer had just had his braces tightened and had trouble pronouncing the words, had to sing up at the mic, spent the night before singing the song at a Louie Louie marathon, etc. I think one of the items I just mentioned may not have been true, but I don't think he was inebriated. In any case, he was out of the band before the song made it big.

[Tikki]

12. I'm betting Richard Berry knew the words..

Nice song by Todd Snider by the way...

If you are interested...from the wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berry_(musician)

Tikki

[rhett o rick]

18. I dance to live performances by the Kings Men to Louie Louie in a small teen night club in Portland

a few lifetimes ago. At the time I preferred Rockin Robin Roberts version, if I remember correctly. Also, danced to Paul Revere and the Raiders at D Street.

[Tikki]

24. Whole NW was Louie, Louie, I danced to the Sonics' and Robin Roberts and the Wailers' version...

a lifetime ago, also.

I remember Paul Revere and the Raiders tooling into town driving a gold Valiant pulling a little trailer.

Such great music for my teens...

another Richard Berry great recorded by the Sonics

Tikki

[tularetom]

25. I might have been there

My wife is from Portland and I worked there during the summer between my junior and senior years at Cal. So I guess it must have been 1965 since I graduated in 66.

The place I saw them was on Highway 99E (McLaughlin Blvd) in Milwaukie OR but the name escapes me. It was a real dump and I'm guessing it isn't there anymore.

[rhett o rick]

28. That's the place. I was there about 63ish. I think it was called The Chase after the owner

Ken Chase, a KISN DJ.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

29. Just for THAT....

http://www.tammy.joealamo.com/lazy_sunday/Jonatha%20Brooke%20-%20War.mp3