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#66- Hrumph (1985)
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Puff the Magic Dragon meets Dahl. My most popular of my many warped songs.
folk funny political sixties novelty gentle prolific idiosyncratic lehrer jefferson airplane ochs paxton steve goodman
Artist picture
Tom Paxton meets Jefferson Airplane. Extremely prolific singer songwriter with a wide range of styles from bizarre novelty tunes and surrealistic poetic songs t
With more than 300 songs and counting and for more than 30 years, I have written in a variety of acoustic styles from novelty tunes to love songs to historical ballads to poetic surrealistic songs to retro-acoustic pop. From bizarre to traditional from funny to poignant, whatever style the song is in, the melodies are usually memorable and the lyrics unpredictable. This site will eventually contain rough often first take demos of my entire song catalogue. Many of the earliest songs when I first started writing will of course be shaky. So expect the songs to get better as time goes on. Feel free to come back and browse often as I will constantly be adding songs, one by one in chronological order, starting in 1974. If you are looking for some unusual songs to cover from a little known but unique artist, you have come to the right place. Just e-mail me. If you find a song here that intrigues you, but you don't like a line or two, or you think it needs a bridge, drop me an e-mail and maybe you can earn writer's credit if it gets that song to be recorded or performed.... otherwise just enjoy. You can become a Rob Lincoln fan at no cost to you. I promise that if you keep coming back there will be some real surprises along the way. While mostly acoustic, some original material will veer into folk rock and even 60's pop, but the garage rock and loudest material will also be found in full band arrangement at soundclick.com/abrasiveflowers Eventually some of these 300+ tunes may be rerecorded and make it on to CD, including a novelty CD that would be suitable for Dr. Demento or an historical ballad CD or a political song CD--but until then, this is the only site you can hear most of these songs. (A few of my songs CAN be found on songramp.com/RobLincoln and myspace.com/lessickandlincoln)
Song Info
Charts
Peak #323
Peak in subgenre #50
Author
Rob Lincoln
Rights
1985
Uploaded
June 24, 2007
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.3 MB 128 kbps 3:38
Story behind the song
I first played this to a crowd of young children, one of whom started crying. Older children love it though. I once played it at Godfrey Daniels while John Gorka was in the audience and I got him to sing along. He seemed to enjoy it. (Gorka was at the open mic trying out some new tunes including Silence and I'm Good At Night). Later that summer at the Bethleham Music Fest strangers were coming up to me and yelling "Hrumph." This has always been one of my most requested songs. The final verse is made to be ad libbed, according to whatever situation it is played in. (This is one of two generic versions. The other is in parentheses). Boy were the Mp3 Club listers divided over this one. Some absolutely hated it, while others found it absolutely brilliant. Got lots of "2's" and "5's" The Mp3 Club average is currently at 3.8 out of 5. Comments included: "a freaky kids song I'd teach my son but my wife may consider it a bit macabre. Do you have the chords?" "I don't get it" "This was so bad I couldn't wait for it to end" "So brilliant I should write a treatise on it" "Now this was truly imaginative" "This was a riot!" "simply horrible" "annoying" "certainly a good kids song, silly and fun" "Hrumph!"
Lyrics
T'was back in the 1870's just north of Grover's Bay There lived a slimy creature in his underwater cave With purple scales and a tongue of deepest blue And if your ship did go off course you know he would eat you With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush One day the Oceana was sailing to Newburgh When a gale struck and off course she did turn When the old cook looked up he thought he was insane A great blue tongue picked him up and swallowed him plain With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush Well those days are gone and Hrumph had to go But he invested well and bought a nice condo And he still enjoys his cranium diet But a tasty cranium...oh well you cannot buy it With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush (Ad lib verse) Deep in (your town, neighborhood) where the children play There lives a slimy creature just behind (your street etc) With purple scales and a tongue of deepest blue And if you don't sing along one more time (alt. eat your brussel sprouts) You know he will eat you With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush With a hrumph hrumph Hrumph will take your little brain and turn it into mush Hrumph will take your little bitty brain and turn it into mush HRUMPH
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