The Belle Stars
The Belle Stars were an all-female British pop group of the early '80s that split off from the Bodysnatchers. The lineup was Sarah-Jane Owen (lead guitar), Stella Barker (acoustic guitar), Miranda Joyce (saxophone), Clare Hirst (saxaphone and keyboards), Judy Parsons (drums), Lesley Shone (bass), and Jennie Matthias (lead singer). They scored four U.K. Top 40 hits between 1982 and 1983, "Iko Iko," "The Clapping Song," "Sign of the Times," and "Sweet Memory," before splitting up in 1984. Read Full BioThe Belle Stars were an all-female British pop group of the early '80s that split off from the Bodysnatchers. The lineup was Sarah-Jane Owen (lead guitar), Stella Barker (acoustic guitar), Miranda Joyce (saxophone), Clare Hirst (saxaphone and keyboards), Judy Parsons (drums), Lesley Shone (bass), and Jennie Matthias (lead singer). They scored four U.K. Top 40 hits between 1982 and 1983, "Iko Iko," "The Clapping Song," "Sign of the Times," and "Sweet Memory," before splitting up in 1984. Miranda, Sarah-Jane and Lesley continued as The Belle Stars as a 3 piece band and had a US dancefloor hit with World Domination in 1986. Their song Check In, Check Out features on the soundtrack to the Whoopi Goldberg film, The Burglar. "Iko Iko" was used in the hit film Rain Man, turning it into a surprise Top 40 U.S. hit in 1989. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
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Iko Iko
The Belle Stars Lyrics
My grand-ma and your grand-ma
Were sit-tin' by the fire.
My grand-ma told your grand-ma
"I'm gon-na set your flag on fire"
Talk-in' 'bout
Hey now ! Hey now ! I-ko, I-ko, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né
Jock-a-mo fee na-né
Look at my king all dressed in red
I-ko, I-ko, un-day
I bet-cha five dol-lars he'll kill you dead
Jock-a-mo fee na-né
Talk-in' 'bout
Hey now ! Hey now ! I-ko, I-ko, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né
Jock-a-mo fee na-né
My flag boy and your flag boy were
Sit-tin' by the fire
My flag boy told your flag boy
"I'm gon-na set your flag on fire"
Talk-in' 'bout
Hey now ! Hey now ! I-ko, I-ko, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né
Jock-a-mo fee na-né
See that guy all dressed in green?
I-ko, I-KO, un-day
He's not a man
He's a lov-in' ma-chine
Jock-a mo fee na-né
Talk-in' 'bout
Hey now ! Hey now ! I-ko, I-ko, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né
Jock-a-mo fee na-né
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Barbara Anne Hawkins, Joan Marie Johnson, Rosa Lee Hawkins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Joshua Swanson
Looking up the Dr. John version and this crap czme up... Dr. John's version from 1972 is closer the the original spirit of the song originally written and performed by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford. The song was called Jock-a-mo. In the 60's the Dixie Cups basically screwed him out of the song by changing the words a little bit, modifying the arrangement somewhat, and titling it Iko Iko instead of Jock-a-mo. Listening to the songs back to back, it's clear that they are the same damn song. They fucked him over. They got credits for it and he only got something like 25% from his own song.
Dr. John's version musically is more faithful to the original Jock-a-mo and lyrically it's more faithful (although slightly modified as well). I respect his version more than any other (other than the original) because he kept the feel of the original, and the lyrics that are different are in the spirit of the original. Most every other version you hear is a cover of The Dixie Cups version with few, if any lyrics changed.
Sample of the Jock-a-mo Lyrics:
My spyboy met your spyboy
Sittin' by the bayou
My spyboy told your spyboy:
"I'm gonna set your flag on fire"
Talkin' 'bout
Hey now, Hey now
Look at my queen all dressed in red
Iko iko an de
I bet you five dollars she'll kill you dead
Jock-a-mo fee na ne
Sample of the lyrics The Dixie Cups version:
My grand-ma and your grand-ma
were sit-tin' by the fire.
My grand-ma told your grand-ma:
"I'm gon-na set your flag on fire."
Look at my king all dressed in red
I-ko, I-ko, un-day.
I bet-cha five dol-lars he'll kill you dead, jock-a-mo fee na-né
My flag boy and your flag boy
were Sit-tin' by the fire
My flag boy told Your flag boy:
"I'm gon-na set your flag on fire."
Total ripoff.
R.I.P. Dr. John
Abhimanyu Sharma
Whenever i hear this song, I think of Alan coming down the elevator in a suit.
Giulia Bertolino
Me too :-)
fluorosco
@OnThe Oreo Tom Cruise obviously loves this tune. Two movies
OnThe Oreo
funny i think someone climbing a "mountain"
Kevin Briner
or the movie Rainman which is what the hangover was spoofing.
Demonian1985
Me too😂👍
SuperCableDawg
This song is about a collision between 2 tribes of Mardi Gras Indians. The song was called Jak a Mo and was first released in 1953 by Sugar Boy and the cane cutters. It didn't even make the charts. It was redone by The Dixie Cups ( all girl band ) and became an international hit in 1967. It was done again by The bell Stars that your watching.
Vader 22
@SkyHawk SH You missed the point. That's a shame.
SkyHawk SH
@Vader 22 "You are watching"... avoid all contractions
jane1975
@Duke Craig Mine was Sailing by Rod Stewart [ 6th of September -27th September 1975 ]. There is another version of Iko Iko used in the movie, The Big Easy.