# "Coo coo ca-choo"-Where does it come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2000, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980 "2000-02-07T20:03:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/21 "2000-02-08T15:18:00Z")
Spoke wrote > [@](#): > > This Humpty Dumpty thing is starting to look like it has no basis in fact. I am beginning to think it was spawned as a half-remembered (incorrectly-remembered) passage from Finnegans Wake or Through the Looking Glass floating through the head of some cannabis-addled Beatlemaniac wondering who killed Paul. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that…) On that site you found (the “Joyce in Music” one at [http://www.rpg.net/quail/libyrinth/joyce/music/joyce.music.main.html](http://www.rpg.net/quail/libyrinth/joyce/music/joyce.music.main.html) ) The page writer says > [@](#): > > According to Gregg Zion, John Lennon was a Joyce fan, and took “Humpty Dumpty’s last words” from Finnegans Wake and put them into “I Am The Walrus” as “goo goo goo joob.” I have not been able to confirm this yet, and the closest I can find is “goo goo goosth” from FW 557.7. To me, “Goo Goo Goosth” is close enough to “Goo Goo G’joob” that I’m satisfied that this was Lennon’s inspiration. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/22 "2000-02-08T15:41:00Z")
**Fenris** The problem with that “goo goo goosth” explanation is that the particular passage in question doesn’t have anything to do with Humpty Dumpty, which means that Gregg Zion was wrong on that point. This leads me to question how trustworthy he is on his basic assertion that Lennon was inspired by _Finnegans Wake_ at all. The other problem I have is that the similarity between “goo goo ga joob” and “coo coo ca-choo” leads me to believe that they are variations on the same phrase, and that they have a common source. Somebody give Paul Simon a call, and let’s get this mess straightened out once and for all… 😕 * * * “Every time you think, you weaken the nation!” --M. Howard (addressing his brother, C. Howard). ---
**Author:** ![beefymeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@beefymeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beefymeg)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/23 "2000-02-08T16:30:00Z")
I’m not really sure that “GGGJ” and “CCCC” are related at all. They have the same rhythm, and that very well might be it. Plus, if you were to play that same rhythm on, say, a trumpet, and then add a cymbal crash at the end, it sounds a lot like something that might have been played at the end of a variety show clown sketch. Did I make any sense just there? * * * Sucks to your assmar. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/24 "2000-02-10T16:34:00Z")
Here’s another possibility: Lennon was a big Edward Lear fan, and it’s possible that it could have been from one of his poems. I’ve been leafing thru my Lear, and will post back if anything turns up. BTW, “coo coo ca-chew” does sound like something that Lear would have in a poem–just don’t know that he did. ---
**Author:** ![Zaibatsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@Zaibatsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaibatsu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/25 "2013-11-06T02:47:03Z")
I just read in an interview with Paul McCartney that when they used to say it, it meant f\*\*k off. I saw it in a magazine in Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago. Now, that doesn’t address the origin, but it gives some insight. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/26 "2013-11-06T03:21:00Z")
> [@Zaibatsu](#): > > I just read in an interview with Paul McCartney that when they used to say it, it meant f\*\*k off. I saw it in a magazine in Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago. Now, that doesn’t address the origin, but it gives some insight. More likely it was McCartney’s way of telling the interviewer to fuck off, and stop pestering him about the meaning of a nonsense song written 45 years ago by somebody else. In the context of I am the Walrus", the notion that “Goo go bajoob” is code or slang for “fuck off” makes no sense, and, furthermore, it does not seem a very plausible as a substitute for “fuck off” inany context. Certainly I have never heard or heard of the expression being used this way, and I was around at the time the song came out. I think both “goo goo bajoob” and “coo coo cachoo” are just scat nonsense phrases, like “hey nonny nonny” or “lalalala”. > [@Fenris](#): > > To me, “Goo Goo Goosth” is close enough to “Goo Goo G’joob” that I’m satisfied that this was Lennon’s inspiration. > > Fenris Or, you know, maybe he just made it up by himself. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/27 "2013-11-06T03:24:24Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **Zaibatsu**! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Vashbul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/28 "2013-11-06T03:42:27Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Mjollnir wrote > > Couple of points: > #1) The song was always titled “Mrs. Robinson”, but you’re right that it was around long before “The Graduate”. It first appeared (I believe) on the “Bookends” album. No, the Graduate soundtrack album came first - January 1968. The Mrs. Robinson single and Bookends album came in April. Supposedly Paul Simon repurposed a half-finished song called Mrs. Roosevelt when the movie was due to come out and he hadn’t come up with the material he promised. I don’t know if he knew anything about the Mrs. Robinson character - if not it might explain why the lyrics don’t seem to have much to do with the film other than a general scourging of an unpleasant woman. Yes, the Beatles song came first, on a 45 where the way John sings it sounds like “coo coo ca-choo”, and I would guess Paul Simon liked the rhythm of it and found a place for it in his hastily scribbled song. (When the Walrus lyrics were printed in the Magical Mystery Tour sleeve, it was rendered as GOO GOO GOO JOOB but who knows if that was Beatle-intended or some transcriber’s fudge.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/29 "2013-11-06T03:55:19Z")
Speaking of the genesis of Beatles lyrics, I was amused to hear Paul include the snippet “O U T spells out!” on his latest album. I guess it’s from a children’s rhyme? The lyric shows up earlier in both their fan club record and then later when Ringo “covers” _Christmas Time Is Here Again_. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/30 "2013-11-06T03:56:10Z")
Moved to Cafe Society (which didn’t exist in 2000, when this thread was started). Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/31 "2013-11-06T04:35:41Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Speaking of the genesis of Beatles lyrics, I was amused to hear Paul include the snippet “O U T spells out!” on his latest album. I guess it’s from a children’s rhyme? It’s used in choosing-up rhymes like “Eenie meenie minie mo.” ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/32 "2013-11-06T13:47:25Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Mjollnir wrote > > Couple of points: > #1) The song was always titled “Mrs. Robinson”, but you’re right that it was around long before “The Graduate”. It first appeared (I believe) on the “Bookends” album. > > #2) I always thought that it was an drug/alcohol-rehab facility, like The Betty Ford Center. The lines about “Hide it in little hiding place where no one ever goes. Put it in the pantry with your cupcakes” sounds to me like a problem drinker with secret stashes of booze. > > Fenris So here was my childhood take on the song, having seen The Graduate either on TV or a the Drive-In when my parents took my brother & myself… After the events of the movie, the truth about the affair came out, threatening the Robinsons’ marriage & her emotional stability, so much so that she either checked into or was committed to a mental health facility which had some sort of Christian affiliation. Looking back, that was pretty sophisticated thinking for being around ten years old. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/33 "2013-11-06T14:46:37Z")
Just want to add that my earlier post from a dozen years ago (under a previous name) was 100% levity. I was simply adding artistic verisimiltude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/34 "2013-11-06T17:54:29Z")
Wait, wasn’t “I am the walrus” the one they deliberately wrote to not make any sense, just to confuse scholars who were trying to unravel the meaning of their songs? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/35 "2013-11-06T20:26:17Z")
Ever since I heard The Rutles’ parody of _I Am The Walrus_, I can’t help but hear the phrase as “Do a poo-POO.” ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/36 "2013-11-06T22:13:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, wasn’t “I am the walrus” the one they deliberately wrote to not make any sense, just to confuse scholars who were trying to unravel the meaning of their songs? IATW was Lennon, not “they”. I’ve always thought Lennon was under the influence of Dylan and LSD when he wrote that and that about 60% of it was just playing with the sounds and rhythms of words. Though, if some critic wanted to search for some deeper, inner meaning behind the line “Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye”, it was probably cool with Lennon. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/37 "2013-11-06T22:29:42Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Just want to add that my earlier post from a dozen years ago (under a previous name) was 100% levity. I was simply adding artistic verisimiltude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative. Careful, you’re liable to get your head chopped off. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/38 "2013-11-07T03:13:36Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > IATW was Lennon, not “they”. I’ve always thought Lennon was under the influence of Dylan and LSD when he wrote that and that about 60% of it was just playing with the sounds and rhythms of words. Though, if some critic wanted to search for some deeper, inner meaning behind the line “Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye”, it was probably cool with Lennon. I’ve always felt the same, although I’d say it was more like 95% sounds and rhythms of words. _[I Am the Walrus - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_the_Walrus)_ has a lot of background info on the subject, including (for example) _“Yellow matter custard, green slop pie, All mixed together with a dead dog’s eye, Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick, Then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/39 "2013-11-08T05:18:59Z")
Pete Shotton and John Lennon were hanging out dipping into one of the huge mail bags the Beatles used to receive. A teacher from their school had written talking about analyzing Beatles songs in his class. Lennon and Shotton recalled the schoolboy verse cited above (sort of the British equivalent of “Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts”), and Lennon adapted it with an attitude of “Let them try analyzing _that_!” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980/40 "2013-11-08T21:34:09Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Pete Shotton and John Lennon were hanging out dipping into one of the huge mail bags the Beatles used to receive. A teacher from their school had written talking about analyzing Beatles songs in his class. Lennon and Shotton recalled the schoolboy verse cited above (sort of the British equivalent of “Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts”), and Lennon adapted it with an attitude of “Let them try analyzing _that_!” As detailed in the article I linked to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coo-coo-ca-choo-where-does-it-come-from/6980.md?page=1)