This clip should come with a beverage alert. Make sure you swallow your coffee before you view it, because you're going to be either spluttering in indignation or howling with laughter.
I led a fortunate childhood. My parents didn't watch Lawrence Welk and I was subjected to him only when I happened to be at my grandmother's house at the wrong time. I much preferred Hymn Sing, trust me. There the content mattered. On the Lawrence Welk Show, content was meaningless and this clip proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
But it does leave me wondering: who set him up? There is no way all the young performers on that show were ignorant of the song's real meaning. This was perhaps a bit of a sly wink to all the teenagers who were more or less forced to watch the show.
Hat tip to Tully of Stubborn Facts
Technorati tags: Lawrence Welk
7 hours ago
6 comments:
LOL. Oh, man. This takes me straight back to my childhood. My mum and I visited my grandfather every weekend, and he never missed an episode.
You have my condolences. I always hated it with a passion. I liked my grandma though, so I didn't give her too hard a time.
I did not roll over with laughter from seeing it, but I did notice the irony or apparant ignorance of the content of the song. It is like many variety shows of the time to have their guests sing popular songs of the time, and I think that one was from two people, one of whom was named 'Shipley' I think.
I did hear this song on the radio sometimes as a little kid I'm sure (not giving away how old I am), and thought that it was a Gospel song as the rest of my family likely did, and I certainly did not know what a toke was any more than my family or anyone on the LW show did at the time.
On a side note, I believe that was Frankie Yankovic introducing that somg (no relation to Alfred).
Hi Looney. I think I was a teenager when it came out, so I guess I'm even older. Goodie two-shoes though I was, I knew what a toke was. I can forgive Lawrence Welk for not knowing (how many middle-aged people are knowledgeable about the latest slang?), but it's a little hard not to mock him for failing to find out. Word to the wise: never play songs in public that have unknown words or phrases in them.
It was actually Shipley himself who posted the clip on YouTube. His sole comment? "Wow."
Okay I know what the Lawrence Welk show is because I dated the son of a Southern Baptist preacher for quite a while and his grandparents loved Lawrence Welk.
And this video is amazing!
For a moment there I was like, Dick Dale! The surf guitarist! But apparently it's not the same Dick Dale and I was just one toke over the line on that one.
So you probably noticed that the guy introducing them got his name wrong. He called him Dale, not Dick, when he moved to first names. "And here are Dale and Gail..."
Since I have posted this clip, I have been astonished to find out how many people don't know what a toke is. I guess I was a goodie two shoes with my finger on the pulse.
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