Reading any of the words down here is optional because the only thing you really need to watch is the above video. But if you wanted to learn more…
This song came to our attention thanks to a fortuitous evening of drinks with some Czech and American friends in Prague.
The bow-tied gentleman in the video is Ivan Mládek, a Czech comedian and songwriter. In 1978 he wrote Jožin z bažin (“Joey from the swamp), the tale of a man-eating creature that terrorizes the Czech town of Moravia and is ultimately defeated through the use of a crop duster.
It was a huge hit and has since become quite the cult classic. About 20 seconds into the video, the dancing accompaniment is introduced – clearly a predecessor to Ben Carr of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and my next Halloween costume.
A quick search on Wikipedia will find you both the Czech lyrics and English translation – I’m not posting them here because frankly, having any idea of what’s going on, beyond the absurd, rough outline I’ve provided above (which we were originally given) almost ruins things.
Special thanks to Tom + Tanya and Jen + Rick who have enriched our lives immeasurably through this.
Enjoy!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
i think you have been gone too long to another place…
dani