Unless The Mamas and the Papas also did Puff the Magic Dragon, Lemon Tree, and pretty much every other song Peter, Paul and Mary did, it was NOT The Mamas and the Papas. The may have done a cover, I suppose. It would, however, be very strange to be slamming themselves.
(They really DID dig Rock & Roll, unlike the writers of the song in question. And some Folk groups - PP&M, for instance - were rather bitter at them over it.)
Look, clearly Peter, Paul, and Mary did do “I Dig Rock and Roll Music.” I’ve got it on an album. Clearly, Paul Stookey (who is the Paul of Peter, Paul, and Mary) is one of the writers of the song, so it’s original with Peter, Paul, and Mary. I can’t find any evidence that the Mamas and the Papas did a cover version of the song. If you have evidence that they did such a cover version, please tell me the name of the album that it appears on. If you have evidence that the Mamas and the Papas did a live version that’s not on one of their albums, cite your evidence. I have a 3-CD boxed set of the Mamas and the Papas songs, and it’s not there. As I pointed out before, I just listened to the Peter, Paul, and Mary version of “I Dig Rock and Roll Music,” and the amazing thing is that they do a dead-on impression of the Mamas and the Papas.
OK, the irony wasn’t the blatant hit-you-over-the-head sort. It was subtle. But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t there. The lyrics are, at best, ambiguous - they certainly don’t fit the sentimental mood many people attach to them (tattoos and dead skin on trial is a fairly negative image, for instance). Taken in the context of the complete work, i.e including the title, it becomes apparent that the refrain “I hope you had the time of your life” is indeed ironic.
And I agree with what other posters have said. If people fail to educate themselves of certain aspects of the song, like, say, the title, it’s their own fault that they fail to understand the irony. Green Day titled the song Good Riddance. They can’t help what radio announcers call it.
Great book. I recommend it, though unfortunately it only goes up to New Adventures In Hi-fi.
Somebody already mentioned “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. As I recall, that was used as a campaign song in 1988… by George Bush. Putz.
Getting back to the OP, does anyone else find it ironic that Yllaria could not tell from the lyrics a song that mentions the Mamas and the Poppas from a song sung by them? :smack:
Bolding mine.
Yes, I Dig Rock and Roll Music was a Peter, Paul & Mary song, and it was not recorded by The Mamas & The Papas.
But the fact that the lyrics of I Dig Rock and Roll Music refer to The Mamas & The Papas in the third person does not alone mean anything. After all, so does The Mamas & The Papas song Creeque Alley:
No, he isn’t.
I’d like a cite for your claim that he is.
Lennon was referring to England, not America. And it could be argued that what he said was true, at that point in time, the Beatles were more popular then Jesus in England.
But he wasn’t gloating, in fact that was his way of pointing out how strange the whole thing was to him.
What did John Lennon mean, then, when in the same breath he said, “Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary.”
That he approved of Xianity but not the church?
I will certainly agree that there’s enough ambiguity there to interpret it the ironic way. However…
I ask one more time: how are people who hear it only on the radio, like myself, supposed to KNOW to “educate themselves” on the real title of the song? To take myself as an example, was I supposed to think to myself, “Self, I know the radio always calls this song ‘Time of Your Life,’ but the radio might be lying to me. I’d better research this in case that’s not the real title.”
Would YOU think that? Granted, one could argue that the ambiguity might move you to try to find that out, but even “Time of Your Life” works as an ironic title.
So unless you automatically assume that every title announced on the radio is a fabrication, my point still stands, IMO.
And everybody’s gettin’ fast except Mama Cass
Actually it’s:
And everybody’s gettin’ fat except Mama Cass
http://www.creequealley.com/ <-a lengthy analysis
Sorry, can’t let a mis-quote go by. We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
Is it ironic that Corona advertises itself as the “Official Beer of Cinco de Mayo,” or is it just me?