Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts

Posted by: tanstaafl.

Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 17:33

An informal survey of my cow-orkers showed that everybody knew this song. I learned that song before most of you youngsters were born, more than 50 years ago.

Is this strictly a North American phenomenon, or has it made inroads into other continents as well?

It's not like this was ever a top-10 song, or even ever played on the radio at all. How did this song propagate so universally, and what could account for its remarkable staying power?

I suppose some Christmas songs like Jingle Bells or White Christmas might show comparable longevity, but this song is pretty much in the realm of the under-10-year-olds.

A strange business, indeed.

tanstaafl.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 19:04

Do you have any evidence that it was recorded commercially before you knew it? I have no idea where it originated, but I imagine it has more in common with "Ring Around the Rosie" than it does with "Jingle Bells". "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is one that's pretty much an under-10 demographic, too.
Posted by: lastdan

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 19:42

an oldie but a goodie.
I think I learned that in the mid-70's, ~2nd grade. california.

kinda reminds me of 'on top of old smokey, all covered with blood.....'
Posted by: hybrid8

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 19:55

I don't know if it ever made it into Canada as I've never heard (or heard of) that song beforfe (I have a younger brother by 8 years, friends' kids, etc..)

Bruno
Posted by: tanstaafl.

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 21:21

Do you have any evidence that it was recorded commercially before you knew it?

Oh, that's a good one!

Back in those days, it hadn't been all that long since recordings had progressed from Edison wax cylinders to 78 RPM records.

Well, not really... but I don't think 45 RPM records were out yet, circa 1950. Back in those dark ages, making a commercial recording was not the semi-casual process that it is today, and only mainstream audio was likely to be produced.

tanstaafl.
Posted by: tfabris

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 21:28

Isn't that just the standard thing that kids do: chagning the words to a well-known melody, ala "comet" to the tune of Bridge Over the River Kwai?

I don't know the original, but I could swear that those particular lyrics came later.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 21:37

People claim it's the tune of "The Old Grey Mare". I really have to wrench my brain to make them fit together, but I'm pretty sure that's right.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 21:41

Doing some research, it looks like you might want to look into the works of Iona and Peter Opie. They seem to be the leading anthropological scholars in this area.
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 28/03/2006 22:21

Wow- that's a throw-back.
Yah- California in the 70's is my only reference.
Reminds me of 'Bringing home my baby Bumble Bee'.

Nifty site, though. This one I remember from Dr. Demento.
Posted by: tanstaafl.

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 00:01

I don't know the original, but I could swear that those particular lyrics came later.


If you google for "Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts" you will get over 700 hits, and will be able to find 40 or 50 (or more?) minor variations.

What impresses me is how thoroughly ingrained in American "culture" this song has become. It seems like everybody learned it when they were little, but it certainly wasn't being taught in school (not officially, anyway! ) or popularized in songbooks or on the radio, etc. There are people in my office from Florida, New York, California, Alaska, you name it, ranging in age from teenager to 60's, and they all know the song. It's been around at least 60 years.

Did the song make it overseas?

tanstaafl.
Posted by: Laura

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 00:14

What about Little Rabbit Foo Foo? I hadn't thought of that stupid song for quite a few years until I heard an Easter bunny singing it, the words were more politically correct than I remember singing, but now I can't get it out of my head. Anyone else remember that song?
Posted by: msaeger

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 00:31

I had a record that contained this song when I was a kid. I am 32 now I can't remember how old I was when I had the record.
Posted by: lectric

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 00:56

"Little bunny foo foo, hopping through the forest. Picking up the field mie and bopping them on the head. And DOooooown came the good fairy, and she said...."

Yeah, I heard that one. Late seventies, Florida.
Posted by: gbeer

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 01:01

I did Greasy Grimy - though I'll be danged if I could repeat the whole work from memory now. It's a viral kind of thing. All kids are exposed to it by other kids. Some parents never get over it and pass it on to their kids. Those parents were all ways the ones that knew how to keep kids occupied with fun.

The little bunny foo foo is something I sure don't remember from being a kid, but my 5year old grand niece exposed me to it a 4-5 months ago. Funny thing is I just asked her about it and she can't remember it now.

Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest
Scooping up the field mice
And boppin' 'em on the head.

I don't thing she knew any more of it that that.
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 05:09

Little Rabbit FooFoo was known to BASH the field mice on their head in my day.
What is this wussy 'bopping' stuff?
Posted by: peter

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 07:27

Quote:
Did the song make it overseas?

I'd never come across it before this thread, but then we don't have gophers here in the UK. Bunny Foo-Foo I've only heard from my little sort-of-goddaughter, who's growing up in Philadelphia, and as for "On top of Old Smokie, all covered with snow, I know where I'd wanna... go", the only place I've heard that before was on a Laurie Anderson song, where it didn't make much sense to me at the time.

Peter
Posted by: boxer

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 08:45

Quote:
"On top of Old Smokie, all covered with snow, I know where I'd wanna... go"

The only reason I'm familiar with that is, when I was at school, someone had a Stan Freberg LP with:

"On top of spaghetti, all covered in sauce,
Lay my little meatball -something, something, something-,
It rolled from the table and on to the floor,
then my little meatball rolled out of the door"

- I can't take you past that!
Posted by: peter

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 09:06

Quote:
"On top of spaghetti, all covered in sauce"

Oooh. There's a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Calvin is singing that, to his mother's great annoyance. I always kind-of assumed that Watterson had made it up!

Peter
Posted by: Ezekiel

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 11:15

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table, and onto the floor,
and then my poor meatball, rolled right out the door.

It rolled to the garden, and under a bush,
and now my poor meatball, is nothing but mush.

That's the way I remember it.

-Zeke
Posted by: jmwking

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 11:22

I have two kids - 5 and 2 - and I'm hearing all those songs I heard as a kid. Only they've morphed over the years.

Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin layed an egg... I had completely forgotten that one until last Christmas.

But for the life of me, I can't figure: How did "Happy Birthday" pick up a "Cha Cha Cha" between most lines? That one really annoys me.

-jk
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 12:30

Quote:
and only mainstream audio was likely to be produced.
Ah how times have changed . . .
Posted by: boxer

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 12:48

Quote:
On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table, and onto the floor,
and then my poor meatball, rolled right out the door.

It rolled to the garden, and under a bush,
and now my poor meatball, is nothing but mush.


Yep, I think that's right, it must be 45 years since I heard the LP, so it's not surprising some of it had been distorted in my mind.
Posted by: andy

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 14:29

I was once sung a very much longer version, with several verses.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 14:33

Well, that one makes sense to be stuck here, since it references North American geography. "Old Smoky" would be a reference to the Great Smoky Mountains area of the Appalachian mountains, which lie basically on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 15:41

Quote:
People claim it's the tune of "The Old Grey Mare". I really have to wrench my brain to make them fit together, but I'm pretty sure that's right.

I have never heard the Gopher song before, but even just reading the lyrics I could identify that the cadence was the same as "The Old Grey Mare."

"And now: the crazy old man dancers!"

"Old grey mare she aint what she used to be
aint what she used to be
aint what she used to be"
Posted by: Geoff

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 16:25

Quote:
It rolled to the garden, and under a bush,
and now my poor meatball, is nothing but mush.


It rolled down the garden, and under a car,
and then my poor meatball, got squashed in the tar.

Was how I heard it.
Posted by: Laura

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 21:28

I agree, that's what I meant by it's politically correct now. I remember singing the bashing bit.

On Top of Spaghetti had many, many verses to it.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 29/03/2006 22:01

My wife knows the "Little Bunny Foo Foo" one and she knows it as "poppin' 'em on the head". She'd've had to have learned it in the late 60s.
Posted by: ShadowMan

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 30/03/2006 00:09

Quote:
I don't know if it ever made it into Canada as I've never heard (or heard of) that song beforfe (I have a younger brother by 8 years, friends' kids, etc..)

Bruno


I learned it here in Newfoundland, Canada. If it got here, it must be on the mainland!
Posted by: ShadowMan

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 30/03/2006 00:10

Quote:
Quote:
People claim it's the tune of "The Old Grey Mare". I really have to wrench my brain to make them fit together, but I'm pretty sure that's right.

I have never heard the Gopher song before, but even just reading the lyrics I could identify that the cadence was the same as "The Old Grey Mare."

"And now: the crazy old man dancers!"

"Old grey mare she aint what she used to be
aint what she used to be
aint what she used to be"


Hmmm... I misheard that one. I always thought it was "Old grey matter ain't what it used to be, ain't waht it used to be..." thinking it was something to sing when you felt like your mind was turning to mush!
Posted by: canuckInOR

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 30/03/2006 04:26

Quote:
Quote:
I don't know if it ever made it into Canada as I've never heard (or heard of) that song beforfe (I have a younger brother by 8 years, friends' kids, etc..)

I learned it here in Newfoundland, Canada. If it got here, it must be on the mainland!

I learned it (and all the other songs referred to in this thread) while growing up (late '70s and onward) in Alberta. We had plenty of gophers, there.
Posted by: boxer

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 30/03/2006 05:31

Quote:
I was once sung a very much longer version, with several verses.


Quote:
On Top of Spaghetti had many, many verses to it.


On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed,

It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door,

It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush

The mush was as tasty,
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree,

The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce,

So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,
Whenever you sneeze.

(This is attributed to a scouts' campfire song on the site where I found it, another site attributes it to Tom Glazer, who had a hit with it in 1963, maybe it's just a clouded abberation in my memory that Stan Freberg did it at all)
Posted by: frog51

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 30/03/2006 10:49

Ltlle bunny Foo Foo in a West Lothian accent from my 3 year old does crack me up. And she sings the "Bashing" version.

Haven't heard of the others.
Posted by: ineedcolor

Re: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts - 31/03/2006 14:37

It did make it to Canada because I remember it from my youth in Ontario...and I was a kid in the sixties