# Weird ZZ Top lyric **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009 "2007-11-11T11:56:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JimNightshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jimnightshade/32/3354_2.png) [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/1 "2007-11-11T11:56:28Z")
Greetings All, Is it just me, or do other people listen to music without paying much attention to the lyrics - at least when the lyrics are not clearly understood to my untrained, non native English speaking ears. I was watching “The Last Waltz” for the umpteenth time, love the sound of that band (heh) - when I suddenly realized that I had no real idea what on earth the lyrics were. For some of the songs it is pretty clear, the one that prompted this post is “It makes no difference”. I ‘googled’ the lyrics - and now the song has taken on an entirely new dimension - powerful stuff that. That started me thinking “Hey cool, now I can finally figure out what on the heck ZZ Top were on about in that classic “Ten foot pole” thing from “El Loco”, lets check that one out.” Hmmm - WTF ? Tidify da, sinmah gough dah hep haing ding fum gogamamo. Stry da fings thadd awondt oont do butt any il thang thad a wondt meeto. [http://lyrics.rockmagic.net/lyrics/zz\_top/el\_loco\_1981.html#03](http://lyrics.rockmagic.net/lyrics/zz_top/el_loco_1981.html#03) Anyone know what thats all about? ---
**Author:** ![JimNightshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jimnightshade/32/3354_2.png) [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/2 "2007-11-11T12:05:10Z")
Oh Oh - mods, please remove the link if it is against board rules - I am not sure whether I was actually allowed to post that. Apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/3 "2007-11-11T12:20:27Z")
[QUOTE=JimNightshade] Oh Oh - mods, please remove the link if it is against board rules - I am not sure whether I was actually allowed to post that. Apologies. [/QUOTE] I am not a mod but AFAIK you are allowed to post \*links \*to lyrics, you are not allowed to post lyrics in the entirety. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/4 "2007-11-11T12:43:34Z")
Jamaican? Or really thick southern Lousianna? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/5 "2007-11-11T16:08:51Z")
Weird english patios. Try-da-fy thedit dern tasgoo - “try to find” something Itel dang ifl eeton if airs ron wichoo - something something “if its wrong with you” Day me dy ron my nek - “And I tie it round my neck” Thars a dang ana ding doo itan beegon “there’s a thing and a thing and now it’s gone”; alternately “dang and a ding” is a sound effect (pow!) and then it’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/6 "2007-11-11T16:11:24Z")
[in my dang a ding a ding a ding dong a sticky sticky son of a gun ding a danga danga dong dong ding dong why why never know why why wack a dong a dang ding dong then you take it on the bill ding dang dong don’t dong whoa!](http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/ministry/singles.html#9) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/7 "2007-11-11T16:13:21Z")
erm, “patois”. I guess it’s “patios” if sung in the back stoop. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/8 "2007-11-11T16:41:14Z")
And I guess “[pidgin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin)” would probably be a better term. ---
**Author:** ![JimNightshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jimnightshade/32/3354_2.png) [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/9 "2007-11-11T18:16:24Z")
Hey, thanks for that! So ZZ Top were singing in pidgin? And is there anywhere I could go for a translation? I am still confused… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/10 "2007-11-11T19:21:18Z")
Maybe Cousin Dusty’s been borrowing lyric ideas from Boomhauer? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/11 "2007-11-11T21:43:59Z")
Or it’s creole – seems to be some stilted French in there, but I don’t know enough frenchy to pick it out. More guesses: # “Stry da fings thadd awondt oont do butt any il thang thad a wondt meeto.” “Try the things that I want won’t do, but any little thing that you want me to.” i.e.: you don’t do what I want, but I’ll do what whatever you want. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-zz-top-lyric/426009/12 "2007-11-12T00:58:23Z")
He’s speaking the pompatus of love.