South America Take it Away

A funny song in response to the Latin American music and dance craze is "South America, take it away!" Here are some of the words, as recorded by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. It's laugh-out-loud funny. There were many other recordings, too.

Take back your Samba, ay!, your Rumba, ay!, your Conga, ay-yi-yi!
I can't keep movin', ay!, my chassis, ay!, any longer, ay-yi-yi!
Now maybe Latins, ay!, in their middles, ay!, are built stronger, ay-yi-yi!
But all this takin' to the quakin' and this makin' with the shakin' leaves me achin', olé!

First shake around and settle there
Then you shake around and settle here
Then you shake around and settle there
That's enough, that's enough
Take it back, my spine's outta-whack
There's a strange click-clack
In the back of my Sacroiliac

Take back your Conga, ay!, your Samba, ay!, your Rumba, ay-yi-yi!
Why can't you send us, ay!, a less strenu-, ay!, -ous number, ay-yi-yi!
I got more bumps now, ay!, than on a, ay!, cucumber, ay-yi-yi!
While all those Latin drums are cloppin', like a Jumpin' Jack I'm hoppin' without stoppin', olé!
South America, take it away

First you shake around and settle there (where?)
Then you shake around and settle here (oh, there)
And then you shake around and settle there (why Bing!)
That's enough, that's enough
Take it back, my spine's outta-whack
There's a strange click-clack
In the back of my Sacroiliac
Oh, my achin' back

Take back your Conga, ay!, your Samba, ay!, your Rumba, ay-yi-yi!
Bring back the old days, ay!, of dancing I remember, ay-yi-yi!
My hips are cracking, I am shrieking "Ay-Carumba!", ay-yi-yi!
I got a wriggle and a diddle and a jiggle like a fiddle in my middle, olé!
This fancy swishin' imposition wears out all of my transmission ammunition, olé!
Though I like neighborly relations all these crazy new gyrations try my patience, olé!
South America, take it away

Methodist Conga Line

Oh Harry, you did it again. Just as was about to quit this blog foolishness, go to the senior center and do whatever my fellow old persons do there, you wrote about Carmen Miranda. That reminded me of my early teen years, when the Latin American Music craze swept this country. I listened to "Conga Rhumba Time" on CKLW, hosted by a guy with some kind of Latin American accent. Lots of Xavier Cugat recordings. Before I knew it, the craze got hold of me and there I was, a hormonally supercharged teen, scared to death of girls, snaking around in a conga line dance with other Methodist kids in the church basement. My hands on a girl's hips. A girl's moving hips. I'm fervently praying, "Oh Lord, don't let me enjoy this too much," Did I, in fact, enjoy it too much? I don't want to think about that.

Dardos For Scott

Harry Heuser of the marvelous Broadcastellan Blog has bestowed uoon me the Dardos Award,given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.
Lots of research yields no clue about how it got started or who made up the rule that you should display the logo on your blog and pass the award on to five other deserving bloggers. Most of those to whom I would give it already have it, so it will take some time for me to deal with that part of it. The one to whom I do now offer it is Scott Semester and his blog, "All I'm Saying."
Scott is a brilliant young man, one of Indiana's gifts to the
blogosphere. I think I first stumbled upon his blog when he was rehearsing some songs by Cole Porter, another pretty famous Hoosier.It was Scott's 35th birthday that inspired my blog about poor old Helen Trent, perpetually 35 year old radio heroine. Scott is one of the world's finest uncles, lavishing much love and blog space upon Madelynn and Owen. One thing Scott and I have in common is,we are having far too much fun with our blogs.

Radio Wedding ... Marriage Wisdom

It was on this date in 1954 that radio listeners in Flint, Michigan heard a wedding on WMRP. Deejay Clif Martin married a fan, Freda Shumate. We are still married. I am older than dirt and my child bride is 3 years younger than dirt. You say you want wise words about how to grow old together? OK, here it is. You must both love cats. Even if you have nothing else in common you can spend precious time together in mutual babbling about how cute your cats are and crying together when they cross the Rainbows Bridge. Warning! Highly emotional content. If it doesn't make you blubber, you need a tear duct transplant.
So be advised: If one of you loves cats and the other does not, do not get married. If you are already married, get a divorce. Or if you are a religious type you can seek divine intervention for your partner's conversion. My son married a woman who did not like cats. She now likes cats. You know what they say about mysterious ways. If one of you is allergic to cats, take your pills and live with it. Everything has a price. If sneezing a lot is your worst problem about living with another person, you ain't got it so bad.

2 comments:
Scott S. Semester said...
Great post, Clif!

I don't remember what led our paths to cross internettily, but I'm glad they did.

Anniversary blessings,
Scott

4:27 AM
Clifton said...
Thanks, Scott ... WMRP, Methodist Radio Parish, was owned by the Methodist Church. There are some wild stories about things that happened there.

5:22 AM
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'30s all Over Again

Did anybody else think about Father Coughlin and FDR when President Obama took a public poke at Rush Limbaugh? The nation's most powerful radio talker, on his own network of independent stations, feuding with a popular new President who took office at a time of terrible national problems. I suppose some of Mr. Obama's advisors have told him to ignore Limbaugh and make no further comment. I hope he doesn't listen to them. This could be great fun. The media will love it.
And you thought AM radio was dead!