They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!
Encyclopedia
"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" is a 1966
novelty record by Jerry Samuels, recorded under the name Napoleon XIV
. Released on Warner Bros. Records
, the song became an instant success in the United States, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
popular music singles chart on 13 August and reaching #4 on the UK Singles Chart
.
.
and tambourine
. The performer speaks rhythmically rather than singing the lyric, and the sparse, multi-tracked looped percussion track features a siren sounding in and out of the "chorus". According to Samuels, the vocal glissando
was achieved by Samuels manipulating tape recording speeds, a variation on the technique used by Ross Bagdasarian in creating the original Chipmunks
novelty songs.
Continuing the theme of insanity, the flip or B-side of the single was simply the A-side played in reverse
, and given the title "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" (or "!AAAH-AH ،YAWA ƎM ƎʞAT OT ʚИIMOƆ ƎЯ'YƎHT") and the performer billed as "VIX ИOƎ⅃OꟼAИ". Most of the label affixed to the B-side was a mirror image of the front label (as opposed to simply being spelled backward), including the letters in the "WB" shield logo. Only the label name, disclaimer, and record and recording master numbers were kept frontward. The reverse version of the song is not included on the original Warner Bros. album (or Rhino Records Co. re-issue), although the title is shown on the front cover, whereas the title is actually spelled backward.
In his Book of Rock Lists, rock music critic Dave Marsh
calls "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" the "most obnoxious song ever to appear in a jukebox
", saying the recording once "cleared out a diner
of forty patrons in three minutes flat."
, banned broadcasting of the song. (WABC continued to include the song on its local Top 20 list despite no longer broadcasting it.)
Opposition to the song saw teenagers picketing WMCA, carrying such signs as: "We're coming to take WMCA away! Unfair to Napoleon in every way." In contrast, a plane flying a banner protested WMCA's banning the record.
Also in 1966, KRLA DJ "Emperor Bob" Hudson
recorded a similarly-styled song titled "I'm Normal", including the lines "They came and took my brother away/The men in white picked him up yesterday/But they'll never come take me away, 'cos I'm O.K./I'm normal." The record was credited simply to "The Emperor
".
In 1990, Jerry Samuels wrote and recorded "They're Coming To Get Me Again, Ha Haaa!", a sequel to the original record, on the "Collectables" label. Recorded with the same beat as the original, and portraying Napoleon XIV relapsing to madness after being released from an insane asylum, it never charted, and was combined with the original 1966 recording on side A. (Both sequels are included on Samuels' 1996 Second Coming album.)
The original single was re-issued by Warner Bros. Records (#7726) in 1973, and scored on the Billboard Hot 100
at number 87. The reissue featured the "Burbank/palm trees" label. As with the original release, the labels for the reissue's B-side also included mirror-imaged print except for the disclaimer, record catalog and track master numbers. The "Burbank" motto at the top of the label was also kept frontward as well as the "WB" letters in the shield logo, which had been printed in reverse on the originals.
The recording also appeared on disk releases by Dr. Demento
in 1975 as part of Dr. Demento's Delights, then in subsequent Dr. Demento LP records released in 1985, 1988 and 1991.
of German
was recorded by German beat group The King-Beats, credited on the record label as "Malepartus II", titled "Ich Glaab', Die Hole Mich Ab, Ha-Haaa!".
A new version by Napoleon's Ghost was produced by Les Fradkin
in 2006. It has enjoyed substantial sales as an Apple iTunes
Digital Download.
The flip or B-side of the single was recreated as well by Napoleon's Ghost "!AaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT".
The record was re-made by the band Lard
on their album The Last Temptation of Reid
in 1990 and by Neuroticfish
on Gelb
in 2005.
In 1998 Amanda Lear
included this song in her compilation "Made in Blood & Honey".
Stone Sour
also covered this song on their 2001 demo CD, giving it the name "Death Dance of the Frog Fish". The song is also referenced in the lyrics of the Mudvayne
song "Internal Primates Forever" on L.D. 50
. Swedish death industrialists Brighter Death Now
included a version of this song on their 2005 recording Kamikaze Kabaret.
The Monkees
' song "Gonna Buy Me a Dog", sung by Micky Dolenz
, features Davy Jones
teasing Micky toward the fade of the song with the words "they're coming to take it away, ha ha" taken from Napoleon XIV's song.
Biz Markie
also covers this song on Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz
, but he changes most of the lyrics.
Amanda Lear
sung her version for 1997's cd Made of Blood & honey
Kim Fowley
released a cover of the song as his second single, after "The Trip."
Luis "vivi" Hernandez covered "Napoleon", a similar tune with different lyrics sometime between the 60s and 70s.
While not really a cover, 80s hair metal band Bang Tango
often starts their shows by playing the Napoleon XIV version of the song over the speakers of the venue.
1966 in music
-Events:*January 3 – Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work it Out".*January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who...
novelty record by Jerry Samuels, recorded under the name Napoleon XIV
Napoleon XIV
Napoleon XIV was the pseudonym of the American singer-songwriter and record producer Jerry Samuels , who achieved one-hit wonder status with the Top 5 hit novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" in 1966. Samuels also wrote The Shelter of Your Arms, a top 20 hit for Sammy Davis, Jr...
. Released on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, the song became an instant success in the United States, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
popular music singles chart on 13 August and reaching #4 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Background
At the time the song was written, Jerry Samuels was a recording engineer at Associated Recording Studios in New York. Using a device called a VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator), he was able to alter the pitch of a recording (voices higher or lower, for example) without changing the tempo. From this came the idea for a song based on the rhythm of the old Scottish tune 'The Campbells Are Coming'Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
.
Story
In the song, the story is told in the first-person by an insane dog owner who is raving he will be taken away to a mental institution, referring to it as the "funny farm" and "happy home". His dog has run away and he is having an imaginary discussion with it ("Well you just wait, they'll find you yet, and when they do they'll put you in the ASPCA, you mangy mutt"). The cover art shows a spoof "Napoleon" holding an invisible dog on a leash, the collar being next to a fire hydrant (presumably so the dog can relieve itself).Record structure
The recording is set primarily to a rhythm tapped on a snare drumSnare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
and tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
. The performer speaks rhythmically rather than singing the lyric, and the sparse, multi-tracked looped percussion track features a siren sounding in and out of the "chorus". According to Samuels, the vocal glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
was achieved by Samuels manipulating tape recording speeds, a variation on the technique used by Ross Bagdasarian in creating the original Chipmunks
The Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
novelty songs.
Continuing the theme of insanity, the flip or B-side of the single was simply the A-side played in reverse
Backmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
, and given the title "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" (or "!AAAH-AH ،YAWA ƎM ƎʞAT OT ʚИIMOƆ ƎЯ'YƎHT") and the performer billed as "VIX ИOƎ⅃OꟼAИ". Most of the label affixed to the B-side was a mirror image of the front label (as opposed to simply being spelled backward), including the letters in the "WB" shield logo. Only the label name, disclaimer, and record and recording master numbers were kept frontward. The reverse version of the song is not included on the original Warner Bros. album (or Rhino Records Co. re-issue), although the title is shown on the front cover, whereas the title is actually spelled backward.
In his Book of Rock Lists, rock music critic Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
calls "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" the "most obnoxious song ever to appear in a jukebox
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
", saying the recording once "cleared out a diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
of forty patrons in three minutes flat."
Backlash
They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! has the distinction of being the song to drop the furthest within the Top 40 in a single week. It charted for 5 weeks during 1966; in week 3 it peaked at #3, scored #5 in week 4, and fell to #37 in week 5. This was due to radio programmers removing the song from their playlists, fearing an adverse reaction from people who might consider the song as ridiculing the mentally ill. This occurred most notably in the New York market, where both the New York Top 40 music radio stations of the time, WABC and WMCAWMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
, banned broadcasting of the song. (WABC continued to include the song on its local Top 20 list despite no longer broadcasting it.)
Opposition to the song saw teenagers picketing WMCA, carrying such signs as: "We're coming to take WMCA away! Unfair to Napoleon in every way." In contrast, a plane flying a banner protested WMCA's banning the record.
Sequels
"I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-Haaa!" was recorded by a female performer billed as Josephine XV, and was the closing track on Side Two of the 1966 Warner Bros. album. Josephine was the name of a spouse of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, hence the connection.Also in 1966, KRLA DJ "Emperor Bob" Hudson
Hudson & Landry
Hudson & Landry were an American comedy team who wrote and recorded four gold albums on the Dore Records label in the 1970s: "Hanging In There" , "Losing Their Heads" , "Right Off" , and "The Weird Kingdom"...
recorded a similarly-styled song titled "I'm Normal", including the lines "They came and took my brother away/The men in white picked him up yesterday/But they'll never come take me away, 'cos I'm O.K./I'm normal." The record was credited simply to "The Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
".
In 1990, Jerry Samuels wrote and recorded "They're Coming To Get Me Again, Ha Haaa!", a sequel to the original record, on the "Collectables" label. Recorded with the same beat as the original, and portraying Napoleon XIV relapsing to madness after being released from an insane asylum, it never charted, and was combined with the original 1966 recording on side A. (Both sequels are included on Samuels' 1996 Second Coming album.)
The original single was re-issued by Warner Bros. Records (#7726) in 1973, and scored on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number 87. The reissue featured the "Burbank/palm trees" label. As with the original release, the labels for the reissue's B-side also included mirror-imaged print except for the disclaimer, record catalog and track master numbers. The "Burbank" motto at the top of the label was also kept frontward as well as the "WB" letters in the shield logo, which had been printed in reverse on the originals.
The recording also appeared on disk releases by Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
in 1975 as part of Dr. Demento's Delights, then in subsequent Dr. Demento LP records released in 1985, 1988 and 1991.
Cover versions
A translation of the song in the Hessian dialectHessian dialects
Hessian is a West Central German group of dialects of the German language in the central German state of Hesse. The dialect most similar to Hessian is Palatinate German of the Rhine Franconian sub-family...
of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
was recorded by German beat group The King-Beats, credited on the record label as "Malepartus II", titled "Ich Glaab', Die Hole Mich Ab, Ha-Haaa!".
A new version by Napoleon's Ghost was produced by Les Fradkin
Les Fradkin
Les Fradkin is a guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show Beatlemania...
in 2006. It has enjoyed substantial sales as an Apple iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Digital Download.
The flip or B-side of the single was recreated as well by Napoleon's Ghost "!AaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT".
The record was re-made by the band Lard
Lard (band)
Lard is a hardcore punk/industrial band founded in 1988 as a side project by Jello Biafra , Al Jourgensen , Paul Barker , and Jeff Ward . Biafra is perhaps best known as the former frontman of the punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
on their album The Last Temptation of Reid
The Last Temptation of Reid
The Last Temptation of Reid is an album by Lard, released in 1990.The CD includes a cover of "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!", originally performed by Napoleon XIV, with the addition of a guitar part and an extra verse to the original song's setup...
in 1990 and by Neuroticfish
Neuroticfish
Neuroticfish was a German musical project whose styles were borrowed from Electronic body music, futurepop, and synthpop, as well as other types of electronic music. It released its music on the Dancing Ferret Discs record label.- History :...
on Gelb
Gelb (album)
Gelb is the fifth and final studio album from futurepop/EBM project Neuroticfish.-Track listing:#"Loading" - 1:40#"Why Don't You Hate Me?" - 6:45#"The Bomb" - 5:55#"I Don't Need The City" - 4:39#"I Never Chose You" - 6:11#"Waving Hands" - 5:03...
in 2005.
In 1998 Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
included this song in her compilation "Made in Blood & Honey".
Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
also covered this song on their 2001 demo CD, giving it the name "Death Dance of the Frog Fish". The song is also referenced in the lyrics of the Mudvayne
Mudvayne
Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band. Their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate visual appearance, which has included face and body paint, masks and uniforms...
song "Internal Primates Forever" on L.D. 50
L.D. 50 (album)
L.D. 50 is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Mudvayne. Released in 2000, it is the band's first release on Epic Records, following the independently-released extended play, Kill, I Oughtta. L.D. 50 was coproduced by GGGarth & Mudvayne and executive produced by Steve Richards &...
. Swedish death industrialists Brighter Death Now
Brighter Death Now
Brighter Death Now is the artist name under which Roger Karmanik , the founder of the Swedish record label Cold Meat Industry, releases death industrial, power electronics and dark ambient music....
included a version of this song on their 2005 recording Kamikaze Kabaret.
The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
' song "Gonna Buy Me a Dog", sung by Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...
, features Davy Jones
Davy Jones (actor)
David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
teasing Micky toward the fade of the song with the words "they're coming to take it away, ha ha" taken from Napoleon XIV's song.
Biz Markie
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989...
also covers this song on Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz
Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz
Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz is a compilation album by Biz Markie. It was released in 2006 on Cold Chillin' Records and was produced by Marley Marl.-Track listing:#"Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz"- 5:15#"The Biz Dance"- 3:40...
, but he changes most of the lyrics.
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
sung her version for 1997's cd Made of Blood & honey
Kim Fowley
Kim Fowley
Kim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
released a cover of the song as his second single, after "The Trip."
Luis "vivi" Hernandez covered "Napoleon", a similar tune with different lyrics sometime between the 60s and 70s.
While not really a cover, 80s hair metal band Bang Tango
Bang Tango
Bang Tango is an American funk-infused hard rock and glam metal band.-Biography:The band formed in 1987 in Los Angeles, California and were signed to MCA Records that same year. The band's line-up has fluctuated since its inception, with the one mainstay of the group being frontman Joe Lesté...
often starts their shows by playing the Napoleon XIV version of the song over the speakers of the venue.