Fuck I need me a Jungle Room.
Marc Cohn made it easy for drunk guys with low voices to mostly stay on key while singing in bars with his 1991 hit “Walking in Memphis”. It’s a serious musical effort, as evidenced by the video having been shot in black and white. And while one would think it would be about some poser getting chased around the streets of Memphis by a bunch of angry hilljacks yelling: Hey Jew Boy! It isn’t.
I guess it’s about some poser getting overwhelmed by the down home soulfulness of the town. You can tell he is wicked smart about music cause he mentions W.C. Handy. You can also tell that he sort of sucks at writing songs cause he says “security they did not see him” instead of “the guards they did not see him” or “security did not seeeee him” which would have been the right amount of syllables. It’s like that Queen song when Freddy Mercury says: “Fame and Fortune andeverythingthatGOESwithit”. Fucking find words that fit. Lazy asses. Anyway – as usual, video (which I had to go to ITALY to get) and lyrics (which were more local) after the jump.
Put on my blue suede shoes
And I boarded the plane
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
W.C. Handy — won’t you look down over me
Yeah I got a first class ticket
But I’m as blue as a boy can be
Then I’m walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel
Saw the ghost of Elvis
On Union Avenue
Followed him up to the gates of Graceland
Then I watched him walk right through
Now security they did not see him
They just hovered ’round his tomb
But there’s a pretty little thing
Waiting for the King
Down in the Jungle Room
(Chorus)
They’ve got catfish on the table
They’ve got gospel in the air
And Reverend Green be glad to see you
When you haven’t got a prayer
But boy you’ve got a prayer in Memphis
Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would —
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
And she said —
“Tell me are you a Christian child?”
And I said “Ma’am I am tonight”
(Chorus)
Put on my blue suede shoes
And I boarded the plane
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
Everyone needs a jungle room. A bit of judiciously applied zebra print is always good.
That room looks more like a time capsule.
I have spent time in a real jungle room and they aren;t all they are cracked up to be…the big ass lizards are noisy and you have to be real careful of snakes when squatting.
The good news is all the women wear loin cloths and the beer is always cold.
I dig this song, it is just cool