There's nothing intrinsically special about my song, but it holds the distinction of having the largest number-of-times-played-in-my-head to number-of-times-actually-listened-to ratio of any song ever made.
This song has been in heavy-rotation in my subconscious for years and I probably haven't listened to the album since like 2014.
It hasn't been going round and round unbidden. It entered my head once, this afternoon seemingly out of nowhere and at first I didn't recognise it. "Where did that come from?" After a brief moment's consideration, I recognised it as a TV theme from my distant youth. Doctor Finlay's fucking Casebook!
I remember watching it with my parents, maybe 50 years ago, though I was too young then to dig it. I can name the main characters from memory, though; Doctors Finlay and Cameron, and the housekeeper Janet. And the actors names are also lodged securely in the memory: Bill Simpson: Andrew Cruikshank: Barbara Mullen. But I can't now reproduce the theme tune in question.
I could have 50, 40, maybe even 20 years ago. It wasn't just watching the show with my parents—the theme was hugely popular as a piece of light orchestral music in its own right and was played frequently on the wireless, which is probably how I became Pavloved into the habit of naming the TV series whenever I heard the tune, just as I did this afternoon. Yes, I can name the tune when I hear it, but I have lost the knack of going from name to tune.
And no, it hasn't popped into my ear as an unbidden worm since, so this post is pretty much off-topic.
What brought it to mind now? I have an inkling. Right now* it's Festival time in Edinburgh, and several of my friends and contacts on social media have referred to the Fringe and thus put me in mind of my first Edinburgh. Heady days!
We were a student troupe putting on a freshly-translated version of Brecht and Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper in a brand-new venue, a centrally located nightclub called Buster Brown's. We were playing to packed houses every afternoon in the matinee slot, which turned out to be a stroke of either genius or luck on the part of our producer, because though in ordinary life the evening slot is the crowd-puller and matinee audiences are hard to find, at the Fringe there are so many excellent, mediocre, lacklustre, and frankly, dire shows to choose from that the paying punters were very thinly distributed of an evening, but comparatively short of things to see in the afternoon. We made a profit, which even in those days was practically unheard of.
And what of Buster Brown's debut prime evening slot? Well, the show played to half-hearted half houses. I don't remember the title or much about it. But I have never forgotten the leading actor and whenever I recall my adventure in Edinburgh, that show and its star also come to mind, unbidden you might say.
For a fortnight I shared a stage and a dressing room with Doctor Finlay himself, Bill Simpson - IMDb.
* I just checked and it's actually been over for a week.
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... it's just an idea
Last edited by mickthinks; 09-09-2019 at 11:40 PM.
I unwillingly saw that Spotify has a "school run" playlist. Just the titles have thoroughly infected my ears.
Baby Shark
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Row Row Your Boat (Merrily)
Hokey Cokey
The Wheels on the Bus
The Sun Has Got His Hat On
How Much Is That Doggie in the Window
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
and hundreds more of your all time favourites!
You're welcome.
They also have
Everything Is AWESOME!!!
but that is legitimately great and not a problem.
For several days now, I've had an earworm of the song Three Jolly Fishermen except with the words 'membrane of a chicken egg, membrane of a chicken egg, chicken chicken, egg egg egg' as background noise in my head. It's there when I go to sleep at night, it's there in the morning, and all the time in between.
Edit: I guess I got nervous typing that up, but I feel a correction is in order. The version in my head goes, 'membrane of a chicken egg, membrane of a chicken egg, membrane, membrane, chicken egg' not 'membrane of a chicken egg, membrane of a chicken egg, chicken chicken, egg egg egg.' I'm worried that if I pass along an incorrect version, it will not successfully transfer to someone else.
Baby Shark isn't as bad as it could be, and it has the added dimension that almost any 3-syllable phrase can be used. I'm sure the girls are enjoying the extra attention they are getting.
Ripley Dog doo doo doo doo
Ripley Dog doo doo doo doo
Ripley Dog doo doo doo doo
Ripley Dog
Gizzzz....
Mo..............
Dog! doo doo doo doo
Gizmo Dog doo doo doo doo
Gizmo Dog doo doo doo doo
Gizmo Dog
For several days now, I've had an earworm of the song Three Jolly Fishermen except with the words 'membrane of a chicken egg, membrane of a chicken egg, chicken chicken, egg egg egg' as background noise in my head. It's there when I go to sleep at night, it's there in the morning, and all the time in between.
Note to self; remind pea of this in a month or so, when it's definitely gone out of her head.
For several days now, I've had an earworm of the song Three Jolly Fishermen except with the words 'membrane of a chicken egg, membrane of a chicken egg, chicken chicken, egg egg egg' as background noise in my head. It's there when I go to sleep at night, it's there in the morning, and all the time in between.
Note to self; remind pea of this in a month or so, when it's definitely gone out of her head.
There's this old rap, MistaDobalina (1991), and I found that Rudy Juliana fits right in where old Bob is supposed to go. The lyrics are somewhat apropos. It's stuck. RudyGiuliani, Mista RudyGiuliani, MistaGiulani…
I went to an indoor bardic circle and filk sing last week. I sang, after a couple of horns, "The Ballad of Robin Hood" which I wrote. Somebody else sang a version of "Way Down the Road" by Craig Johnson. These lyrics keep running through my head. They're the added ones. Bogarump is a noise made by frogs.
"Don't miss Kentucky though I thought I would,
Way down the Road.
Have to say I never had it so good,
Way down the road.
Eight hour day and I work indoors,
Don't have to do any dirty farm chores,
Don't even have to sweep the floors,
Way down the road.
Bogarump Bogarump through the pines,
Hour after Hour on the production lines,
This is a better time,
Way down the road.
Live in a house and not in a shack,
Way down the road.
Toilet's inside and not in the back,
Way down the road.
Get my groceries without any fuss,
If it's wet I just ride the bus,
Don't have to deal with barnyard muss
Way down the road.
Bogarump Bogarump through the pines,
Hour after Hour on the production lines,
This is a better time,
Way down the road.
Sunday morning I don't have to search,
Way down the road.
I'm at the ball park not in church,
Way down the road.
Got a cold beer in within my reach,
Don't have to hear some damn fool preach,
Don't have to listen to children screech
Way down the road.
Bogarump Bogarump through the pines,
Hour after Hour on the production lines,
This is a better time,
Way down the road."
Usually, I can figure out what triggered my earworms and other things like that, but I have no earthly idea why THIS song has been going through my head the last couple of days. I hadn't listened to that album in about forever, and I don't think any of the phrasing or the themes bubbled up in my life or anything: