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#120- Alligator Man (1991)
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Upbeat acoustic strange tale from a dream I had about a creature-a peculiar pro-vegetarian song inspired a bit by Dire Wolf
folk funny political sixties novelty gentle prolific idiosyncratic lehrer jefferson airplane ochs paxton steve goodman
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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 #632
Peak in subgenre #59
Author
Rob Lincoln
Rights
1991
Uploaded
January 13, 2008
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.8 MB 128 kbps 4:10
Story behind the song
The Back Story- In June 1991, I left my job in NYC (working for the BSA) and eventually made a career change to teaching. I took a few weeks off, and prior to going back to school for a M.Ed, I had an opportunity to "travel abroad." (Actually my wife took me with her to Paris for a few days when she had to go a conference.) I thought the spirit of the Left Bank would inspire great romantic songs from me. Instead only this song came from it. While in Paris the two things I was most struck by were: 1) how late the sun sets in the summer (It was still light out well after 9PM) 2) how everyone takes their dogs everywhere with them including into all the stores and restaurants. I had a peculiar dream when I returned from Paris. Alligator Man was the peculiar result. It is also one of my more pro-vegetarian songs (of course I hypocritically still eat fish and foul). The musical and lyrical feel of this song was supposed to approximate the Grateful Dead's Dire Wolf, but I do not think most people will hear that, especially w/o a Garcia lead or steel pedal. However, it is a fun strange little tune. Lessick & Lincoln recorded a much slower version on the Other Lives cd. Mp3 Club listeners gave this a 3.5 out of 5.0. Comments included: "A garcia slide guitar would fit in well." "Even though I have a very similar diet to yours, I’ll just give it a 3. The photo you used to depict the song is very disturbing."
Lyrics
I went with the half breed collie Who was definitely incognito I went to the Parisian subway To find the jewel of Toledo The jewel of Toledo Oh the collie he was jumping Down the Metro escalator Our hearts were both pumping We saw the smiling alligator Smiling alligator Oh the reptile man with the sharp teeth He took my best watch band for keeps He said he'd bury Audrey's skin And then he wanted one more thing Then he wanted one more thing Ooo ooo Alligator man Ooo Ooo you got to understand I didn't kill my shoes for pride I didn't know your niece would die "Oh give me Lauren now!" he said "Or your collie friend is dead I will avenge her death today And then I'll let you on your way Then I'll let you on your way" I handed over Lauren McTutt The right foot and then the left foot He preceeded to tie us up And then I thought things would get rough Then I thought things would get rough Ooo ooo Alligator man Ooo Ooo you got to understand I didn't kill my shoes for pride I didn't know your niece would die Oh whoa the metro train was bearing down My collie friend barked very loud The train came round with a frightening scream And then I woke up from this dream Then I woke up from this dream Oh there's no moral here I say My dreams usually end this way But I'll never wear gator on my feet Or search for jewls under a street Or search for jewels under a street Ooo ooo Alligator man Ooo Ooo you got to understand I didn't kill my shoes for pride I didn't know your niece would die Ooo alligator Ooo alligator man Alligator man (4x)
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