I had to Google it to find out the title and artist but I'd assumed it was one of those songs that 'everybody' just grew up knowing and humming. It turns out not to be as old as I'd thought: 1971 or 1972. So I guess I was just exposed to it at the right time to have it stick in my brain as part of the Background Of Childhood.
I have only a very vague memory of the Muppet version, alas, but a few clear memories of other radio and television performances of it, and lots of memories of various people -- children and adults -- quoting it randomly or singing a verse because it got stuck in their heads or something reminded them of it. So I'd gotten the apparently incorrect notion that it was as universal as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (during a lull in a group conversation start singing "a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh," and see how long it takes for someone to jump in with the descant and everybody else to start the chorus), "Mah Na Mah Na" (aka "Mahna Mahna", the title used for the Muppets version), and "Under the Boardwalk".
Now I'm wondering which category "Witch Doctor" (the one with "Ooh, eee, ooh ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang" in it) falls into -- "everybody knows it", folks-of-a-certain-age, or obscure.
Er ... is it safe to assume you've Googled the complete lyrics by now, or should I toss you a URL?
I'm flattered that you have such confidence in my ability to supply info about possibly obscure songs, though I haven't quite that much confidence myself. :-)
(no subject)
I have only a very vague memory of the Muppet version, alas, but a few clear memories of other radio and television performances of it, and lots of memories of various people -- children and adults -- quoting it randomly or singing a verse because it got stuck in their heads or something reminded them of it. So I'd gotten the apparently incorrect notion that it was as universal as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (during a lull in a group conversation start singing "a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh," and see how long it takes for someone to jump in with the descant and everybody else to start the chorus), "Mah Na Mah Na" (aka "Mahna Mahna", the title used for the Muppets version), and "Under the Boardwalk".
Now I'm wondering which category "Witch Doctor" (the one with "Ooh, eee, ooh ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang" in it) falls into -- "everybody knows it", folks-of-a-certain-age, or obscure.
Er ... is it safe to assume you've Googled the complete lyrics by now, or should I toss you a URL?
I'm flattered that you have such confidence in my ability to supply info about possibly obscure songs, though I haven't quite that much confidence myself. :-)