In addition to recording his albums, Yankovic has written and starred in his own film, UHF, and his own television show, The Weird Al Show, and directed music videos for himself and other artists including Ben Folds, Hanson, the Black Crowes and The Presidents of the United States of America. He has also made guest appearances on many television shows, in addition to starring in his own Al TV specials.
Though parodies earned him his fame, Yankovic has recorded a greater number of humorous songs with original tunes. Some of these pieces are pastiches (or style parodies), where he chooses a band's entire body of work to emulate rather than any single hit, although Yankovic has many completely original pieces. Most of his albums include a medley which juxtaposes the choruses of various songs in a polka style to accordion music.
Due to his popularity, he has been credited with several songs that are not actually his. A full list of every song he has ever actually done, including the live-only songs, can be found at the Al Songs website. Similarly, a comprehensive list of songs incorrectly credited to him can be found at The Not Al Page.
In 2006, Al recorded the song "You're Pitiful". However, while James Blunt gave his blessing for the parody of his song, "You're Beautiful", Blunt's label Atlantic Records was opposed to it. Though parodies are protected legally, the issue had become "more of a political matter than a legal matter", according to Al, so he decided to not put the song on his next album. Instead, he offered it as a free download from his site.
His latest album, "Straight Outta Lynwood", was released September 26th, 2006. Its first released single, "Don't Download This Song", was made available as a free download on August 21, 2006. The animated video for the track and a link to downloadable MP3 is available at dontdownloadthissong.com. Among other tracks, the album includes parodies of Green Day, Usher, R. Kelly, and Chamillionaire. Chamillionaire's "Ridin' Dirty" is parodied as "White and Nerdy", the second released single from the new album. This single has thus far climbed as far as #9 on the Billboard Singles chart, eclipsing "Eat It" as Al's highest charting single (which went as high as #12).
Official Website: http://www.weirdal.com
FactBox Info
Members
Al Yankovic
Jon ''Bermuda'' Schwartz
Steve Jay
Jim West
Rubén Valtierra
Former Members
Rick Derringer
Ross Noble
Joe Earley
Bob
"Weird Al" Yankovic Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never odd or even
If I had a hi-fi
Madam, I'm Adam
Too hot to hoot
No lemons, no melon
Too bad I hid a boot
Lisa Bonet ate no basil
Was it a car or a cat I saw?
Rise to vote, sir
Do geese see God?
"Do nine men interpret?" "Nine men," I nod
Rats live on no evil star
Won't lovers revolt now?
Race fast, safe car
Pa's a sap
Ma is as selfless as I am
May a moody baby doom a yam?
Ah, Satan sees Natasha
No devil lived on
Lonely Tylenol
Not a banana baton
No "x" in "Nixon"
O, stone, be not so
O Geronimo, no minor ego
"Naomi," I moan
"A Toyota's a Toyota"
A dog, a panic in a pagoda
Oh no! Don Ho!
Nurse, I spy gypsies run!
Senile felines
Now I see bees I won
UFO tofu
We panic in a pew
Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo
God! A red nugget! A fat egg under a dog!
Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog
"Weird Al" Yankovic's song, Bob, is a palindrome - meaning that it reads the same backward as forward. The lyrics play with words and phrases that are the same spelled forward and backward, and it showcases the skillful way that Weird Al manipulates language to create fun and interesting songs. In the lyric, “Never odd or even,” it's clear that Weird Al is drawing the listener's attention to the fact that palindromes, and specifically the palindromic phrase itself, have an interesting symmetry.
The lyric, “I, man, am regal a German am I” has a comedic effect, poking fun at the brokenness of the sentence that nonetheless makes sense thanks to the language's strict rules of grammar. An ambiguous phrase, “Madam, I'm Adam,” is the next on the list, and it highlights the idea of mistaken identity. By using a palindrome, we can imagine situations where someone is being identified as the wrong person or mistakes in spelling happen because of the way the language is structured.
Line by Line Meaning
I, man, am regal a German am I
I am a king and I am German.
Never odd or even
This phrase is a palindrome, which means it reads the same forwards and backwards.
If I had a hi-fi
If I had a high fidelity sound system.
Madam, I'm Adam
This phrase is also a palindrome.
Too hot to hoot
It is too hot to be able to make an owl hoot.
No lemons, no melon
There are no lemons or melons.
Too bad I hid a boot
It's a shame I concealed a boot.
Lisa Bonet ate no basil
Lisa Bonet did not eat any basil.
Warsaw was raw
Warsaw was uncooked or undeveloped.
Was it a car or a cat I saw?
This phrase is a palindrome.
Rise to vote, sir
It's time to get up and go vote.
Do geese see God?
Is it possible for geese to see God?
"Do nine men interpret?" "Nine men," I nod
Someone asks if nine men interpret something, and I nod in agreement.
Rats live on no evil star
This phrase is a palindrome.
Won't lovers revolt now?
Is it time for lovers to rebel?
Race fast, safe car
Race in a car that is both fast and safe.
Pa's a sap
My dad is a fool or a sucker.
Ma is as selfless as I am
My mother is just as selfless as I am.
May a moody baby doom a yam?
Can a fussy baby curse a yam?
Ah, Satan sees Natasha
Oh no, Satan has spotted Natasha.
No devil lived on
The devil did not live there.
Lonely Tylenol
This phrase is a tribute to a deceased friend of Yankovic's.
Not a banana baton
Definitely not a baton made of bananas.
No "x" in "Nixon"
The name 'Nixon' does not contain the letter 'x'.
O, stone, be not so
Please, stone, do not be like that.
O Geronimo, no minor ego
This phrase is a palindrome.
"Naomi," I moan
I am moaning the name 'Naomi.'
"A Toyota's a Toyota"
This is a slogan used by Toyota to promote their cars.
A dog, a panic in a pagoda
A dog is causing chaos in a pagoda.
Oh no! Don Ho!
Oh no, it's Don Ho!
Nurse, I spy gypsies run!
I see gypsies running, nurse!
Senile felines
Elderly cats.
Now I see bees I won
I won a prize for beekeeping.
UFO tofu
This phrase has no real meaning, but it's a fun combination of words.
We panic in a pew
We are scared while sitting in a church pew.
Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo
There is a disgusting rat in a clean and sterile zoo.
God! A red nugget! A fat egg under a dog!
This phrase is a palindrome.
Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog
This phrase is a palindrome.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chad Wild Clay
Probably one of the most genius songs ever. The fact that these lines are all palindromes and they rhyme together so well is amazing. It was great meeting you last summer Weird Al! You're the one who inspired me to start making parody songs here on YouTube!
James Johnson
Chad Wild Clay: orgins
wilshire
Never kept that up did you?
Rosalita Bender
Woah you're that guy that Danny Gonzales made a video about! The ninja dude!
Isaac Brown
i'm hearing your camera voice say this in my head
brady giltz
No cuz some of these lyrics make zero sense they are just random words that rhyme
Handlebar-Orion X.
The fact this song is made entirely of complex palindromes and is only sung in the style of Bob Dylan because it sounds more profound than it is, and because the name "Bob" is a palindrome and it came out in 2002, a palindrome, makes this the most universe brained song ever written to my knowledge
Steve Bazin
Al came up with palindrome premise first, but couldn't make it work. Then, he noticed it sort of sounded like Bob Dylan lyrics, snd a hit was born
Christopher Heckman
I heard "Bob" playing in a music store, and after a few lines, realized that every line seemed to be a palindrome.
Incidentally, the verses form an ABCB rhyming scheme as well. I know it's been said before, but ... Al is a freakin' genius.
Charles Bird
If Dylan can get a Nobel Prize for Literature, then Weird Al should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame AND receive the Mark Twain Prize for Comedy.