# Boogie Chillun or 'scuse me while I kiss this fly

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boogie-chillun-or-scuse-me-while-i-kiss-this-fly/164879
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 28, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boogie-chillun-or-scuse-me-while-i-kiss-this-fly/164879 "2003-03-28T20:42:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boogie-chillun-or-scuse-me-while-i-kiss-this-fly/164879/1 "2003-03-28T20:42:50Z")

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While burning a custom CD for TTL’s and my wedding reception tomorrow I added a John Lee Hooker song and realized I may have been laboring under a misheard lyric for years. Mind you John Lee was never easy to understand even live but this has me vexed. I always his signature song was _Boogie Chillun_ as “children” but I realize the CD software identifies it as _Boogie Chillin_ which I take to mean “chilling.” So how do the boogie chillun of SDMB vote?

FWIW I’m trying to make it a very eclectic mix. Lots of good schmaltzy love songs and every genre from Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys to Steely Dan

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### Author: ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boogie-chillun-or-scuse-me-while-i-kiss-this-fly/164879/2 "2003-03-28T20:52:47Z")

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Chillun. Children.

As in an imperative statement, “Boogie, children.”

And congratulations!

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### Author: ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boogie-chillun-or-scuse-me-while-i-kiss-this-fly/164879/3 "2003-03-28T21:48:50Z")

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Oh great, I thought boogie in boogie chillun was an adjective not a verb. \<sigh\> I must not have the blues in my soul.

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### Author: ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boogie-chillun-or-scuse-me-while-i-kiss-this-fly/164879/4 "2003-03-28T22:00:50Z")

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I had that album a while ago, and it was indeed Chillun. I always took it to mean children, also.

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### Author: ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boogie-chillun-or-scuse-me-while-i-kiss-this-fly/164879/5 "2003-03-28T23:27:36Z")

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Yeah, it’s: _Boogie, Chillun_, as in children. I never heard the term “chillin” as in temperature, until years after JLH’s song was released.

“I don’t care what Mama don’t allow  
I’ll boogie anyhow”