High on a mountain top,
A badger bit a squirrel…

Also, my husband grew up wondering what a “Welcome Doll” was. You know – The land who welcome doll who wanted to be free.” Why was the doll a prisoner? And why were we singing about it?

Sometimes when I feel the pain of the length of “I Believe In Christ”, instead of the words, “I raise my voice in praise and joy, in grand amens my tongue employ”, I think of my own alternate lyrics for relief of boredom. “You sing it once, then repeat again, it cycles back and never ends.”

All of you that went to missions in Japan surely know of the famous botched lyrics to “Beautiful Zion built up Above”.

Zion, Zion; lovely zion
Beautiful Zion;
Zion, City of our God

Shion, Shion, uruwashi
Akegare no
Shion, Kami No Machi

substitute Shimai for Shion (“sister” as in Sister missionary)
substitue urusai for uruwashi (loud)

I know it’s terrible, but it was a sister missionary who dared to share this tradition with me.

words written, “there is no end to race”

different words, “there is no end to grace”

—-

(Primary Song) – Still Small Voice

words written, “Through a still, small voice, the Spirit speaks to me, to guide me, to save me, from the evil I may see.”

words I learned to sing, “Through a still small voice, the Spirit speaks to me, to guide me, to save me, from the evil ivory sea.” I imagined drowning in an ocean of elephant tusks.

Springsteen wrote “Blinded by the Light” after most of the others on Greetings were finished and is also one of the few songs for which Springsteen wrote the words before arranging the music. The song itself contains many lyrical (and therefore obscure) references such as:

* “Madman drummers bummers” – Vinnie “Mad Dog” Lopez, the first drummer in the E Street Band.
* “Indians in the summer” – Bruce’s little league baseball team as a kid.
* “In the dumps with the mumps” – being sick with the mumps.
* “Boulder on my shoulder” – a “chip” on his shoulder.
* “Some all hot, half-shot, heading for a hot spot, snapping fingers clapping his hands” – Being a “know it all kid growing up, who doesn’t really know anything.”

The song is notable for lead vocalist Chris Thompson’s garbled enunciation, especially of the phrase “revved up like a deuce” which has led many fans to interpret it as “wrapped up like a douche”. The original Springsteen lyric is neither of the above, instead being “cut loose like a deuce”.[1] Springsteen once attributed the popularity of the Manfred Mann version partially to Thompson’s enunciation.[2]

From the official site:

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin’ kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin’ for the hot spot snappin’ his fingers clappin’ his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover’s knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers daddy’s within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band

And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she’ll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says: “Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that’s where they expect it least”
And some new-mown chaperone was standin’ in the corner all alone watchin’ the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin’ with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he’s gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager’s mister told me I got what it takes
She said I’ll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break,
And go-cart Mozart was checkin’ out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride,
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin’ backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
he said, do what you like, but don’t do it here
Well I jumped up, turnedaround, spit in the air, fell on the ground
Asked him which was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep goin’ straight until night, and then boy, you’re on your own

And now in Zanzibar a shootin’ star was ridin’ in a side car hummin’ a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we’re gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon

And some kidnapped handicap was complainin’ that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night,

Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw
a gap but figured he’d be all right

He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that’s where the fun is

Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)

The reference to a “deuce” in “Blinded by the Light” is not to gambling. A “deuce” is a marijuana reference, which explains the subsequent line, “you know the roller in the night”. A roller is a tool used to roll joints. See here: http://www.smokingwithstyle.com/roller.htm

From the Urban Dictionary:

“deuce: The second hit off of a new bowl or joint of marijuana.”

See just about any Snoop Dogg song or album for verification.

Deuce is also short for taking a #2, which offers additional comedic interpretations.

Gotta run. In just a half hour its 4:20 my time.

On the mission we changed the words of En el pueblo de Zion (In the town of Zion, which I think is In Our Lovely Deseret in English) to En el pueblo de Jamon (in the city of ham)

As a child I always thought that Ere was a person in Did you think to pray?. You know Ere when you left your room this morning did you pray? And in I Am a Child of God, so my knees are grate. Kind of like grated cheese. Never understood why that would be the case.

The primary song Follow the Prophet, in the verse about Jonah and the Whale my kids sing Swallow the Prophet.

And last, one that isn’t exactly the same, but funny nevertheless and which Hawkgrrl might recall. A certain companionship of Sister missionaries serving on the Island of La Palma in the Canary Islands changed the lyrics of the Madonna song La Isla Bonita (The Beautiful Island, rumored to have been written about La Palma) to La Isla Maldita(The Damned Island) after a particularly rough day of tracting. I still laugh thinking about it. Although, I do not recall the Sisters’ finding it as amusing at the time, but imagine they do now.

And in Spanish Oh how lovely was the morning (Que hermosa la manana) becomes “Oh how lovely is your sister” (Que hermosa tu hermana).

Has anyone else heard the rumor that the Church is currently working on a new hymnbood edition? It’s been almost 25 years (!) I hope they go back to the embossed covers that (as a kid) I’d cover with a piece of paper and scribble with a crayon to make the tabernacle organ magically appear. Now THAT was great sacrament meeting entertainment.

1) Have I Done Any Good (#223) was changed in 1985 from “Only he who does something is worthy to live/the world has no use for the drone.” to “Only he who does something helps others to live/ To God each good work will be known”

2) Up Awake Ye Defenders of Zion (#248) was written my a member of the 1st Presidency (C.W. Penrose) but was radically toned down in the recent edition. The “wrongs of Missouri” became the “trials of Missiori” and the “fate of Nauvoo” became the “courage of Nauvoo.” Even more dramatic, they eliminated the entire 3rd verse (the current 3rd is the original 4th) that begins, “Shall we bear with oppression forever? Shall we tamely submit to the foe?…”

#12 already noted the change in “Praise to the Man.” (although I think this change is more than a century old.)

As a child, I was confused with Joseph’s First Prayer. Why would God the Father and the son appear to heavenly beings? Aren’t they the heavenly beings? It was college before I read the words and realized the correct lyrics are “While appeared two heavenly beings–God the Father and the Son.”

That’s awsome. I think I just found a new favorite song for family home evening!

What is it with them anyway?

Some adult in my ward when I was growing up got tired of singing “As thy days may demand, so thy sucker shall be.” So they decided that the pronunciation of succor should be soo-sher and got a fair chunk of the congregation to go along with that.