What Are Words For? (9/10)

[Railyn]

Yes, it's the time you all know and love, Weird Al Wednesday!

This is a good one. A funny send-up of an artist past his prime and a song painfully overplayed. The video is classic - maybe my favorite by him. I had the good fortune of seeing this one live in '87 - he hammed it up really good!

LIVING WITH A HERNIA
Parody Of: Living In America by James Brown
By: Weird Al Yankovic
Album: Polka Party
Author: A. Yankovic

Help me out
Dig

All I do is grunt and groan
Hurts me to walk anywhere
Went to see my physician, Dr. Jones
He took my trousers off, told me to cough
Doctor says there ain't nothin' to discuss
He tells me any day I might have to wear a truss

Living with a hernia, ow
All the time, such aggravation
Living with a hernia
Gonna be my ruination
Living with a hernia
Got to have an operation
Feel so old, ow

Too much bad pain
Good God, drives me insane
Can't run, barely crawl
Got a bulge in my intestinal wall

Walk real funny, bless my soul
Can't play tennis and it's hard to bowl
You can't even do the splits now
Say it
Better call it quits now
Now I'm sick of all this dancin' anyhow

Living with a hernia
Hurts me bad in a tender location
Living with a hernia
Had enough humiliation
Living with a hernia, yow
Got to have an operation

Ow, I live with a hernia
Can't get up, can't bend over
Now I live with a hernia

Wait a minute
You may not be familiar with the common types
Of hernias that you could get
So just settle down, let me clue you in

There's incomplete (incomplete)
Epigastric (epigastric)
Bladder, huh (bladder)
Strangulated (strangulated
Lumbar hernia (lumbat hernia)
Richter's hernia (Richter's hernia)
Obstructed (obstructed)
Inguinal and Direct

Living with a hernia
Rupture
I said it's causin' me such irritation
Living with a hernia
Have to have my medication
Living with a hernia

Yeah, I feel bad


(side note: I don't think the first type of hernia is correct, but EVERY lyrics site had it listed as that)

My Opinion In A Nutshell: I know people who have had hernias and I guess it's not fun, but this song just makes me laugh. The vivid images of pain the video conjures up are hilarious!

Favorite Line: "You can't even do the splits now
Say it
Better call it quits now
Now I'm sick of all this dancin' anyhow"

[smittykins--70s pop RULES!]

I've always liked this one, though like you said, hernias are no picnic for the people who have them. My favorite line: "Can't play tennis/And it's hard to bowl."

P.S. That's what the first type has always sounded like to me, so you've probably got it right...

[H2IZCOOL]

Great song. Railyn. I got a copy of this off my son's Greatest Hits cd. I've always thought it was funny. (But then again I've never had a hernia. If I ever get one, I''m sure the humor will diminish.) -- But I never thought of it in conjunction with James Brown trying to dance to living in America. I don't know if that's what you're saying, but some of you're comments made me think in that direction.

[Railyn]

smittykins said:

I've always liked this one, though like you said, hernias are no picnic for the people who have them. My favorite line: "Can't play tennis/And it's hard to bowl."

P.S. That's what the first type has always sounded like to me, so you've probably got it right...

That part of the video his hilarious! When the tennis balls are flying around him! And when he goes up to the foul line at the alley and just drops the ball! FUNNY!

[Railyn]

H2IZCOOL said:

Great song. Railyn. I got a copy of this off my son's Greatest Hits cd. I've always thought it was funny. (But then again I've never had a hernia. If I ever get one, I''m sure the humor will diminish.) -- But I never thought of it in conjunction with James Brown trying to dance to living in America. I don't know if that's what you're saying, but some of you're comments made me think in that direction.

It's hard to say, H2. I didn't think that either until I saw the video. He doesn't just refer to dancing, but it's hard to tell what Al has in mind sometimes, and I think he likes it that way. When he did it live, he had the costum and wig, and did all the dancing, and had a guy to come out and put a cape around him. It was cool!

[Dawn]

I've never seen this video, but it sounds like it would be pretty funny! Al's lyrics always portray such vivid images. The line about the first type of hernia is correct, although I never knew there were so many different ones!