Oh, well

[Darla Wells]

I think a study of misinterpreted song lyrics would be kind of cool; you
know, like Dave Barry often talks about in his columns and books, but by
linguists.
Darla

2011/3/31 Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com>

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> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Oh, well
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>
> Whilst indulging in my pastime of searching out my favorite music from
> back in the day, I came across a song by one Tammy James, otherwise
> unknown to me, who, in 1968(?), released a song called
>
> "That's _Fat_, Jack"
>
> Y'all know what I immediately thought: a link between the _phatt_ of
> 1950 and the _phat_ of today, except that it uses the normal spelling!
> And, by some miraculous stroke of luck, someone has posted it to YouTube!
>
> I've listened to this record several times: through the built-in
> speakers, through the external speakers, and through two different
> sets of headphones using two different kinds of headphone amps.
>
> There is a jpg of the the original 45 on YouTube. The title clearly
> reads, THAT'S FAT JACK, *written," as well as recorded, on the New
> World label, by Tammy James.
>
> Nevertheless, I assert that what Tammy sings is
>
> "That's _right_, Jack"
>
> You could write it in eye-dialect as "Dass _rat_, Jack," but I'd bet
> money that, by *no* means, is the singer singing _fat_.
>
> Well, it looked as though it might be useful.
>
> Youneverknow.
>
> FWIW, it was often the case that a piece would be given its title by
> the producer of the record, whether or not the singer-songwriter had
> already supplied a title.
>
>
> A. What's the name of this? "You Got Me Doing What You Want Me."
>
> B. Uh, "Baby, Why You Wanna Let Go."
>
> A. No. "Baby, What You Want Me To Do"; "Baby, What You Want Me To Do."
>
> B. "Baby, Why You Wanna Let Go." You could even make it "Why Let Go,"
> wanna make it short.
>
> C. Here we go: 59-211.
>
>
> Aficionados know how this discussion worked itself out: the title
> supplied by the producer is the title of the record, leaving thousands
> to wonder why it is that the refrain and the title are distinct,
> despite what you would expect.
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
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--
If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible
warning. -Catherine Aird

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org