ukulele song – Ukulele Guy

Video: Poontang! (yup, poontang)

Now that I got your attention... Nah, I'm not joking. This really is a poontang video. Heh. I'm having a pretty good time here using the word poontang in a somewhat legitimate manner...... POONTANG!

Ok. I think I got that out of my system. We can start for real. As you may or may not know, I'm a freaking sucker for novelty songs. I know what you are thinking, "Wait a minute, he likes ukuleles and novelty music? High school must have been awesome for him!" Surprisingly enough, it wasn't, but that's neither here nor there.

On one of my various novelty compilations, I first heard the song Poontang by the Treniers and I was amazed! Frankly, I wasn't even sure the word poontang existed in 1953. Turns out, it did. After I heard the song I did a little bit of research and it sounds like The Treniers were pretty much party animals. The drank and recorded rad songs. In fact, to promote this song, they made custom labels for beer cans that said something like "Sweet Alabama Poontang" on them. Then they sent the beer to radio station disc jockeys to get them to play it. Freaking rad!

Anyway, I've been wanting to make a video for this for ages but kept putting it off. So, today I just grabbed my aNueNue Banjolele and my Flip and busted out this video in a single take. Boosh!

If you want to hear the original, check out this video:

And if you wanna play along (and who wouldn't, right?) here's some chords that I wrote up for Poontang!

Poontang by The Treniers
covered by Ukulele Guy

                  10 9 8 8 
...POON is a hug!
                  10 9 8 8 
TANG is a kiss!
C x7 (5433)
F          
I've been marooned on an isle in the South Pacific
Bb
Missing my loving each night
C
Now that I'm home I'll go right
                    E  F
Out and get me some POON-TANG!
F
Tired of talking to tigers and kangaroos,
Bb
Or singing a song to a goose.
C
Now that I'm home on the loose,
                  E   F
Gonna get me some POONTANG!

Bb 
Now Poon is a hug. I wanted a hug so badly
      D# (3331)
I was Blowing my tropical top.
C
A Tang is a kiss, I wanted a kiss so badly
       C                 E
Wanted Poontang never to stop.
F
I don't want to eat And I don't want to sleep;
Bb
I've got a yen that I'm dying to please.
C
Till I get weak in the knees,
                  E   F
Gonna get me that Poontang.
F
POON-TANG!
F
POON-TANG!
Bb
POON-TANG!
F
POON-TANG!
C
POON-TANG!
F
POON-TANG!

F
A-huggin and a-kissin...that's POON-TANG!
F
A-huggin and a-kissin...that's POON-TANG!
Bb
A-huggin and a-kissin...that's POON-TANG!
F
A-huggin and a-kissin...that's POON-TANG!
C
A-huggin and a-kissin...that's POON-TANG!
F
POON-TANG!

Rock break.

Bb
A Poon is a hug. I wanted a hug so badly
D#
I was blowin' my tropical top.
C
A Tang is a kiss, I wanted a kiss so badly
                    E
Want-a-Poontang never to stop.
F#
I don't want to eat and I don't want to sleep;
B
I've got a yen that I'm dying to please
C#
Till I get weak in the knees,
                  F   F#
Gonna get me that Poontang.

POON-TANG!

POON-TANG!

Gonna get me some, gonna get me song... poon tang!

A guy in love…. (covers Magnetic Fields, of course)

So, today I felt like I needed to do something special for my wife, Erika. I stayed up super late playing poker and maybe drinking too many beers and I slept in too late, etc. She's the center of my world and I knew I needed to remind her of that today. So, what did I do? Well, I covered some Magnetic Fields, of course!

Maybe this doesn't make sense to everyone, but Magnetic Fields are pretty much a touchstone for us. Hell, our youngest son's middle name is Merritt for heaven's sake. We're pretty rabid fans.

But, this song is something special for us. A fantastic Missoula band, The Oblio Joes, played on our wedding day and they played this song as "our song". I actually sang it with them (although, I guess I probably should have been dancing with Erika, right?) and it sealed this song in time, as ours.

Then several years later, The Oblio Joes played their last show ever in Caras Park in Missoula. Well, this last show took place on the anniversary of our wedding. So, as a surprise to Erika, I jumped up on stage and sand Strange Powers with the Obes for the last time.

Well, today I had to do it without the Obes, but I did as best as I could. There are 11 tracks in this song and they are:

muted strumming on a Tacoma acoustic guitar
muted strumming on a Rogue baritone ukulele
muted strumming on a Lanikai CK-TEQ tenor ukulele
bass on my Applause acoustic bass
guitar on my Tacoma acoustic guitar
ukulele on my Lanikai CK-TEQ tenor ukulele
vocals
backup vocals
tiny hook on my Kala Pocket Ukulele
weird harpsichord (?) part on my Lanikai CK-TEQ tenor ukulele
synth electric guitar sound from my Eleuke

Oh yeah, and I recorded it on my MOTU Traveller interface. I love it! And I used an AKG C 2000B Microphone. But, enough of all that tech jibber jabber. This one is for my baby. I hope you like it, Erika.

Strange Powers (Magnetic Fields Cover) - by Ukulele Guy, for Erika

P.S. I need a windscreen for my mic.... I know. I'm buying one today as well as new Aquila strings. 😉

P.P.S. I'd love to make a video for this song. You know one of those rad videos that shows me playing each of the instruments as the part comes in for the first time. But, that seems like a ton of work and I'm not really sure what software to use. Does everyone do those with Adobe Premier? It seems like it has a steep learning curve (and costs about a million dollars). Any other suggestions?

P.P.P.S Crap. I just realized that I muffed the lyrics in a few spots. Hopefully Stephen Merritt never hears this because I'm not sure I could stand up to his sardonic comments and cool stare.

Original Song: Gus Hickey is Picky…

When I first started this blog (sometime in September '09, I think?) I used to post an original Ukulele Song on every #MusicMonday on Twitter. Well, that pretty much went off the rails after like 10 weeks or so. But, I still want to share some of my songs with you guys, so I'm trying to force myself to get back into it.

I especially needed to record a rough draft of this song because, in two days, Gus won't be two years old anymore and I'll need to come up with a new chorus. So today I jotted this little number down so I won't forget it.

I keep saying Rough Draft but my guess is that this is how the song stays. I generally like to think up a song and record it as quickly as I can with every intention of flushing it out and adding parts, but, honestly, it's more fun to make up unfinished songs than it is to finish songs. So, I guess I'm a "sketch artist".

Anyway, when I put the boys to bed, I usually sing songs to them to help them fall asleep. One night I just started making up this song for Gussy (his given name is August, but we almost never call him that) and it sort of stuck. The lyrics are all pretty particular to Gussy and his quirks so I'm not sure how well it'll translate if you don't actually know him.

Actually, that's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I keep meaning to get into the studio (Club Shmed studios, here in Missoula.. they rule) and record a kid's record (I even was given some studio time from my wife, as a gift) but I've been putting it off because so many of my songs are really specific to my kids and my wife. But, driving home from a Volumen show the other night, I decided that I'm actually going to go the other direction. I'm going to record a kid's record of songs ONLY about and inspired by my family. No offense to the rest of the world, but they really are at the top of my list. 😉

Anyway, when/if I ever do that, this song will be on that CD. It's for my son, Gus, who turns three on Sunday.

Gus Hickey is Picky...

Lemme know if you need the chords, but I'm sort of doubting that you want to learn a song about someone else's kid. Heh.

Video: Original Song – Santa Claus Needed a Drink by Ukulele Guy

Alright, so in the last 12 mondays, I've given you 11 original songs. Today is number eleven! I have to admit that when I woke up this morning and remembered that it was #MusicMonday on Twitter, I got a little frightened. I didn't really have an idea of what song I was going to do for you and then suddenly one popped right in my brain. I think this might be my first #MusicMonday original song that was actually written on the day I posted it. So... that's fun, right?

There just aren't enough Xmas drinking songs, either, so maybe I can be the guy that fills that little niche. Also, unlike my other original song posts, I'm actually giving you the chords for this one. Usually I just promise to do it and then promptly forget. So, check out the chords below the video if you are interested. I'm not 100% married to this arrangement yet and it prolly needs another verse, but who has time to polish, right? I'm too busy make the rough outlines of songs.

Santa Claus Needed a Drink
by Ukulele Guy
C&P Ukulele Guy 2009

Am 
well I stayed up real late 
   G
on Christmas Eve this year
Am
I was waiting for Santa 
               C7                  G7
cause I didn't believe that he was real
Am
So it came as a bit of a shock
        G
when he walked through my front door
        A      C                 G
moaning nobody believes in me no more

G7 
yup Santa Claus needed a drink
Am
well who was I to stop him
      C7
so we grabbed a bottle of bourbon 
                            G
and we drank til we hit the bottom

G7 
so don't be surprised on Christmas day 
          A9 0102
if your presents don't appear
    A                          C             G
see Santa Claus is pretty damn hungover this year

Am
Well I slept in a little late
   G
on the morning of the day of Xmas
Am
there were daggers behind my eyes
            C7                  G7
and I could barely keep down my breakfast
Am
I clutched my head and stumbled around
     G
just trying to remain upright
                    A                 C                        G
when I tripped over Santa Claus, I  guess he the spent the night

G7 
yup Santa Claus needed a drink
Am
well who was I to stop him
      C7
so we grabbed a bottle of bourbon 
                            G
and we drank til we hit the bottom

G7 
so don't be surprised on Christmas day 
          A9
if your presents don't appear
    A                               C              G
see Santa Claus got pretty freaking hammered this year

Chords:
A 2100
Am 2000
G 0232
G7 0212
C 0003
C7 0001
A0 0102

Original Song: Belated by Ukulele Guy #MusicMonday

I've lost track of how many #MusicMonday songs I've given y'all. I think this might be seven? In case you are new to the site, for some reason I promised to release an original ukulele song every Monday, on Twitter. Well... I'm not giving up yet.

I wrote this song in 2005 or 2006 and there was a specific purpose for it. See, my beautiful wife and our baby son were visiting relatives. If you are married and have children, then you know what comes next. That's right, beer and video games. So, I stayed up till the wee hours playing World of Warcraft and enjoying frosty beverages. Well.. I was celebrating so much that I forgot to call my wife on her birthday. Yup, bad news, indeed.

So, in the sober light of morning, I immediately got to work writing this song for her. The concept was supposed to be all the excuses as to why I didn't call her, but the song was so short that I'm not sure you would understand that if I didn't tell you. I kinda jammed it all in there. That's something I often do because of my insanely short attention span. What were we talking about? Oh yeah.. the song.

So, here ya go. This is the song that explained to my wife why she shouldn't file for divorce. 😉

Belated by Ukulele Guy