His first musical success was Rosemary Clooney's "Come on-a My House", which he based the lyrics on dialogue from his famous cousin William Saroyan's novel The Human Comedy. He had a moderate hit in 1956 under the name Alfi & Harry with the novelty record "The Trouble With Harry." As David Seville, he had another #1 record in his song, "The Witch Doctor", which was also his first experiment with the technique of speeding up the playback of an audio track to get the "most-distinctive" higher pitched squeaky comical sound. This success led to his recording of "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" with The Chipmunks.
Bagdasarian also appeared in minor film roles, including Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), in which he plays an obsessed, piano-playing songwriter who composes, plays, and sings a song called "Lisa." Bagdasarian's dialogue is not clearly heard, and he appears only in long shots, but he is the only other person seen during Hitchcock's notorious cameo appearance. He also had bit parts in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Viva Zapata! (1952), Destination Gobi (1953), Stalag 17 (1953), Alaska Seas (1954), The Proud and Profane (1956), Three Violent People (1956), Hot Blood (1956), The Deep Six (1957), and The Devil's Hairpin (1957).
He also provided the voice for the David Seville character in the Chipmunks' 1961 animated television series The Alvin Show.
Bagdasarian died of a heart attack at the age of 52. He was subsequently cremated at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California. His son, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., continued to release Chipmunks recordings and took over as the voice for the Chipmunk characters in subsequent iterations of the cartoon.
Witch Doctor
David Seville Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I told the witch doctor I was in love with you
And then the witch doctor he told me what to do
He said that
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
I told the witch doctor you didn't love me true
I told the witch doctor you didn't love me nice
And then the witch doctor he game me this advice
He said that
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
You've been keeping love from me just like you were a miser
And I'll admit I wasn't very smart
So I went out and found myself a guy that's so much wiser
And he taught me the way to win your heart
My friend the witch doctor he taught me what to say
My friend the witch doctor he taught me what to do
I know that you'll be mine when I say this to you
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
You've been keeping love from me just like you were a miser
And I'll admit I wasn't very smart
So I went out and found myself a guy that's so much wiser
And he taught me the way to win your heart
My friend the witch doctor he taught me what to say
My friend the witch doctor he taught me what to do
I know that you'll be mine when I say this to you
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla, bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang.
Come on, oo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
The lyrics to David Seville's song Witch Doctor are straightforward and tell the story of someone seeking advice on how to win the heart of the person they love from a witch doctor. The singer first confesses to the witch doctor that they are in love with someone and asks for guidance. In response, the witch doctor sings a repetitive series of nonsensical words, "Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang," which the singer repeats.
The second stanza sees the singer admitting to the witch doctor that they believe their love interest does not reciprocate their feelings. The witch doctor's response is the same as before - he repeats his magical incantation. In the final stanza, the singer reveals that they have found someone else to help them win their love's heart – the witch doctor's teachings have worked. The chorus is repeated several more times, and the song ends with everyone joining the singer in singing, "Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang."
The song is infused with a lighthearted, catchy melody that enhances the whimsical theme of seeking unconventional help in love. The repetition of the nonsense words only adds to the fun of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I told the witch doctor I was in love with you
I confessed to the witch doctor that I had fallen in love with you
And then the witch doctor he told me what to do
The witch doctor advised me on how to proceed with my feelings for you
Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Nonsensical words that represent the witch doctor's mysterious and magical power
I told the witch doctor you didn't love me true
I confided in the witch doctor that I felt you were not sincere in your love for me
I told the witch doctor you didn't love me nice
I expressed to the witch doctor that I didn't feel treated well in our relationship
You've been keeping love from me just like you were a miser
You have been withholding your love from me, like someone who hoards their money
And I'll admit I wasn't very smart
I acknowledge that I may have made some foolish decisions in regards to our relationship
So I went out and found myself a guy that's so much wiser
I sought the help of someone more knowledgeable and experienced than myself
And he taught me the way to win your heart
With this person's guidance, I learned how to make you fall in love with me
My friend the witch doctor he taught me what to say
The witch doctor, who is my friend, taught me the words to use to make you fall in love with me
My friend the witch doctor he taught me what to do
The witch doctor, my friend, gave me directions on how to behave in order to win your affection
I know that you'll be mine when I say this to you
I am confident that if I use the words and actions that the witch doctor taught me, you will fall in love with me
Come on, oo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
An encouraging phrase to keep using the nonsensical words and magic formula to win your heart
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROSS BAGDASARIAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
PJ Riverdale
This predates " The Chipmunks" Christmas song.
David Seville, real name Ross Bagdasarian was a west coast pop band leader who as much as anybody refined the method of recording vocals at extremely slow speed than playing back at "normal" speed to create the high pitched voices on this and the later " Chipmunk" releases.
One thing to note, on the high pitched parts , the lyrics are extremely enunciated in normal voice at the slower speed so that in playback, the words are delivered in clear diction.
The Chipmunks, which did not exist beyond altered voices on tape eventually became a 60s TV cartoon series with an animated David Seville as the,uh, parent figure for 3 manic rodents.
Various versions of the Chipmunk characters have aired on TV through the years and a live action/ CGI film was released.
" Witch Doctor" is where it all started.
Robin Chesterfield
And that's also the same way they got comedic fast-motion sequences as in old movies..._under_crank WHILE filming, then play back normal speed. I just thought that was interesting, that the exact same thing works for both sound and video. :)
Carly Steffen
And The Chipmunks were named after members of the Liberty Records staff: Alvin “Al” Bennett (the president), Simon “Si” Waronker (the chairman/founder), and Theodore “Ted” Keep (the engineer).
Vern Stevenson
Which Is True Because That’s How Alvin And The Chipmunks Was Created
Pablo C
Was there I way back then to increase pitch without changing the speed? Is that only possible thanks to computers?
PJ Riverdale
@Pablo C The ability to maintain the original key was never possible in analog purely by changing tape speed. The key lowered or raised as speed changed.
One could work out harmonies as evidenced by the Les Paul and Mary Ford records and copied on the Chipmunk records by altering playback speed.
In Analog, with a VSO ( variable speed oscillator), one could also raise or lower pitch to match a root note or key, but the actual speed of the passage would be altered if not worked out in advance.
Eventide Harmonizers were a step in the direction of feeding a passage in and then layering harmonies.
One of the advantages of digital production is that all the laborious timing and harmonic calculations are already done for you.
Louis Matassa
A great song still listening and he put on a great performance
Dakota-Aaron Davis
Some one should make a movie about this guy.
Sólus Quatro
hehe
ocho cabra
and nobody should see it