What Are Words For? (7/16)

[Railyn]

Welcome to Weird Al Wednesday (still high from Saturday's Al fix)!

Today's song is an original composition, but one that he calls a style parody, meaning he's copying someone's style, but not any particular song.

Once a staple at his live shows, I was a bit disappointed that he dropped it out of this years show, so I'm just gonna do it right now. If you don't know the song, it's pretty close to "Whip It".

DARE TO BE STUPID
By: Weird Al Yankovic (style parody of DEVO)
Album: Dare To Be Stupid
Author: A. Yankovic

Put down that chain saw and listen to me
Its time for us to join in the fight.
Its time to let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Its time to let the bedbugs bite.

You'd better put all your eggs in one basket
You'd better count your chickens before they hatch.
You'd better sell some wine before its time
You'd better find yourself an itch to scratch.

You'd better squeeze all the Charmin you can
While Mr. Whipple's not around.
Stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan.

Talk with your mouth full
Bite the hand that feeds you
Bite off more then you can chew
What can you do? Dare to be stupid!

Take some wooden nickels,
Look for Mr. Goodbar,
Get your mojo working now,
I'll show you how you can dare to be stupid!

You can turn the other cheek,
You can just give up the ship,
You can eat a bunch of sushi then forget to leave a tip.
(Dare to be stupid!) Come on and dare to be stupid,

It's so easy to do (dare to be stupid)!
We're all waiting for you. Let's go!

It's time to make a mountain out of a molehill
So can I have a volunteer?
There's no more time for crying over spilled milk,
Now it's time for crying in your beer.

Settle down, raise a family. Join the PTA.
Buy some sensible shoes and a Cheverolet.
Then party till you're broke and they drag you away.
It's OK. You can dare to be stupid!

It's like spitting on a fish.
It's like barking up a tree.
It's like I say, you gotta buy one if you wanna get one free.

Dare to be stupid! (yes) Why don't you dare to be stupid?
It's so easy to do. (Dare to be stupid).
We're all waiting for you. (Dare to be stupid).

Burn your candles at both ends.
Look a gift horse in the mouth.
Mashed potatoes can be your friends.

You can be a coffee achiever.
You can sit around the house and watch "Leave it to Beaver".
The future's up to you, so whatcha gonna do?
Dare to be stupid! Dare to be stupid!

What did I say? (Dare to be stupid)
Tell me what did I say? (Dare to be stupid)
It's alright (Dare to be stupid)
We can be stupid all night (Dare to be stupid)

Come on, join in the crowd (Dare to be stupid)
Shout it out loud (Dare to be stupid)
I can't hear you (Dare to be stupid)
OK, I can hear you now (Dare to be stupid)

Let's go!

Dare to be stupid (Dare to be stupid)
Dare to be stupid (Dare to be stupid)
Dare to be stupid (Dare to be stupid)
Dare to be stupid (Dare to be stupid)

My Opinion In A Nutshell: It's competely and utterly silly, but I love it. Who among us hasn't just wanted to chuck it all and go nuts once or twice? Al got Mark Mothersbaugh from DEVO very angry at him for this song - he loved the music, but had not heard Al's lyrics, which he despises. He can't do anything about it, though, because it's not any direct copy of anything he did (plus the law says Al doesn't need permission but he does it anyway as he only feels it's fair).

Favorite Line: Party 'til you're broke and they drag you away, it's ok!

[m c dornan]

"Burn your candles at both ends", huh? Well, that was exactly Edna St Vincent Millay's advice in one of her poems.

My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But oh my foes, and ah my friends
It gives a lovely light.

[Railyn]

m said:

"Burn your candles at both ends", huh? Well, that was exactly Edna St Vincent Millay's advice in one of her poems.

My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But oh my foes, and ah my friends
It gives a lovely light.

Thanks for the literature lesson, MC! She may be a favorite of Al's because I've heard him mention her before.

[Dawn]

What great lyrics! It's a humorous song, but there's a lot of truth to what he's saying. Sometimes we just need to be a little wild and crazy!

Like you, I especially love the line "Party til you're broke and they drag you away'"! LOL!

[Railyn]

Dawn said:

What great lyrics! It's a humorous song, but there's a lot of truth to what he's saying. Sometimes we just need to be a little wild and crazy!

Like you, I especially love the line "Party til you're broke and they drag you away'"! LOL!

I like to listen to it when things are getting a little too serious. It's got an equally wacky video to go with it.