Fun memories: Decades ago I, and a couple of college dorm buddies, enjoyed this song. We played and sang it during our guys-only “party times” in the dorm, while we thought of our girl(s), or girl(s)-we-had-not-yet-found, sharing our sentiments and angst. Those were days of sex-segregated dorms, of the Watergate scandal, and of “bugging” of telephones (“hacking,” in an old-fashioned way).
Also in those days, it was a prized talent, and part of the fun of the party, to be able to mimic the voice of the President of the United States.
So one day, this crazy idea came to me to adapt the first verse of this song – to speak it while playing guitar accompaniment, imitating the voice of Richard Nixon (which I did fairly well, even if not as well as, say, Rich Little, a famous comic in those days). So I adapted the lyrics to Nixon, as if he was speaking them to his wife, Pat.
So this makes me chuckle, just to recall. You’d have to have been there, in the moment, to fully enjoy it. But, if you can imagine Nixon’s voice and the moment, it’s a hoot:
“Well, Pat, I know it’s…kind of late –
I hope I didn’t wake you.
But, there’s something I want to make perfectly clear.
I know you’ll understand:
Every time I try to tell you,
The words just…come out wrong.
So…I’ll have to say ‘I bugged you,’ in a song.”
Fun memories: Decades ago I, and a couple of college dorm buddies, enjoyed this song. We played and sang it during our guys-only “party times” in the dorm, while we thought of our girl(s), or girl(s)-we-had-not-yet-found, sharing our sentiments and angst. Those were days of sex-segregated dorms, of the Watergate scandal, and of “bugging” of telephones (“hacking,” in an old-fashioned way).
Also in those days, it was a prized talent, and part of the fun of the party, to be able to mimic the voice of the President of the United States.
So one day, this crazy idea came to me to adapt the first verse of this song – to speak it while playing guitar accompaniment, imitating the voice of Richard Nixon (which I did fairly well, even if not as well as, say, Rich Little, a famous comic in those days). So I adapted the lyrics to Nixon, as if he was speaking them to his wife, Pat.
So this makes me chuckle, just to recall. You’d have to have been there, in the moment, to fully enjoy it. But, if you can imagine Nixon’s voice and the moment, it’s a hoot:
“Well, Pat, I know it’s…kind of late – I hope I didn’t wake you. But, there’s something I want to make perfectly clear. I know you’ll understand: Every time I try to tell you, The words just…come out wrong. So…I’ll have to say ‘I bugged you,’ in a song.”