1) Moondog was the pseudonym of Louis T. Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999). Hardin was a blind New York City street musician, influential composer and former beat poet. From the late 1940s until 1974, he was a permanent fixture on 54th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan, wearing a cloak and Viking-style helmet, sometimes busking or selling music, but often just standing silent and still. He was known not only for his music and poetry, but also for the distinctive Viking garb that he wore all his life, including a horned helmet, cloak and spear. He routinely gave away copies of his work to anybody who would take them. In this way, he came to the attention of producer James William Guercio, who took him into the studio to record an album, released as "Moondog" (1969) on the CBS label. The track Stamping Ground, with its odd preamble of Moondog saying one of his epigrams, was featured on the sampler double album "Fill Your Head with Rock". A brief phrase of another track on the album, Bird's Lament (In memory of Charlie Parker) was sampled by Mr. Scruff as the basis for his 7-minute track Get A Move On.
Hardin played drums for the high school band in Hurley, Missouri before losing his sight in a farm accident involving a dynamite cap at the age of 16 After learning the principles of music in several schools for blind young men across middle America, he taught himself the skills of ear training and composition. He studied with Burnet Tuthill and at the Iowa School for the Blind. The music of Moondog in the 1940s and '50s is said to have been a strong influence on many early minimalist composers; Philip Glass has written that he and Steve Reich took Moondog's work "very seriously and understood and appreciated it much more than what we were exposed to at Juilliard."
A second album produced with Guercio, and featuring both himself and his daughter as vocalists, contained song compositions in the forms of canons and rounds. It did not make an impression on popular music as the first had. The two CBS albums were re-released as a single CD in 1989.
In a search for new sounds, Moondog also invented several musical instruments, such as the "Oo", a small triangular shaped harp, and the "Trimba", a triangular percussion instrument invented in the late 40s. The Original Trimba today is still played by Stefan Lakatos, Swedish percussionist, close friend and pupil of Moondog, who also taught him how to build the instrument.
Moondog had an idealised view of Germany ("The Holy Land with the Holy River" — the Rhine), where he settled in 1974. A young German student named Ilona Goebel accommodated him, first in Oer-Erkenschwick, and later on in Muenster in Westphalia, Germany, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Moondog visited America in 1989, at the invitation of the New Music America Festival in Brooklyn, stimulating a renewed interest in his music.
He recorded many albums, and toured both in the US and in Europe — France, Germany and Sweden.
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2) Moondog was the name of the post-Gorilla Biscuits, pre-Quicksand project-band of Walter Schreifels, started due to his desire to sing for a band, and to follow the path Gorilla Biscuits had been on before their break-up (one Moondog song, “Distance”, was actually written for the 2nd Gorilla Biscuits full-length that never happened). It’s now being sold as a digital download at Anthology Recordings The band also featured Gorilla Biscuits’ drummer Luke Abbey. The band’s only recorded output is a series of demo-recordings (recorded at Don Fury’s legendary Lower East Side recording-studio). These sessions had Abbey playing drums, with Schreifels handling both guitar, bass and vocals. The few times they played live, Abbey switched to bass, with Armand Majidi (Sick of It All, Rest In Pieces) on drums, and the guitars being handled by Tom Capone (Beyond, Bold, Quicksand, Handsome, Instruction) and Howie (Alone in a Crowd). Although further sessions were planned (which most likely would have led to official releases), the band ultimately collapsed before this took place, with Schreifels shifting focus towards his new band Quicksand, who were initially meant to inherit some of the Moondog-songs, but with the band going in a very different direction than Moondog, that idea was eventually scrapped.
The band only played a handful of live shows (at infamous locations like CBGB and ABC No Rio), and the only officially released Moondog-track (Expression) appears on the “Look At All The Children Now” compilation LP (Evacuate Records, ‘90). Another post-GB band, namely CIV (featuring GB-singer Anthony “Civ” Civarelli, -bassist Arthur Smilios and -drummer Sammy Siegler) also recorded the Moondog-song “They Said We Were The Best” for their first full-length record (“Set Your Goals - an album that Schreifels also helped write songs for).
A bootleg 7” of Moondog-songs did appear sometime in the early 90’s, featuring 2 songs from the demos, making them gain a certain cult status. After years of pressure from fans, Schreifels recently (2006) “released” a number of songs from the demos through the online label Anthology Recordings, making them officially available for the first time.
Pigmy Pig
Moondog Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pigmy Corn, how big you are, big as Pigmy Eal.
Pigmy Elk, how big you are, big as Pigmy Bear.
Pigmy Yam, how big you are, big as Pigmy Hare.
Pigmy Ox, how big you are, big as Pigmy Moose.
Pigmy Leek, how big you are, big as Pigmy Goose.
Pigmy Squash, how big you are, big as Pigmy Coon.
Pigmy Clam, how big you are, big as Pigmy Prune.
Pigmy Nut, how big you are, big as Pigmy Snail.
Pigmy Squirl, how big you are, big as Pigmy Beet.
Pigmy Grape, how big you are, big as Pigmy Wheet.
All you Herbivorians, reapers to adore,
if the only food were meat, you would eat no more.
All you Carnivorians, butchers to adore,
if the only food were plant, you would eat no more.
All you Omnivorians, waging total war,
if the only food were none, you would eat no more.
All the Pigmy Edibles wish you Pigmies well:
"Eat your way to Heaven, or eat your way to Hell!"
The song "Pigmy Pig" by Moondog is a whimsical tribute to small organisms and foods that are often overlooked. The song's opening lines are "Pigmy Pig, how big you are, big as Pigmy Seal." The singer then goes on to list a diverse range of organisms and foods, including "Pigmy Corn," "Pigmy Elk," "Pigmy Yam," and "Pigmy Leek."
Moondog's lyrics highlight the often-overlooked role that small organisms and foods can play in ecosystems. The song ends with a statement that all beings, whether herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores, ultimately depend on each other for survival. The Pigmy Edibles, a personification of these small beings, wish the Pigmies (and by extension, all beings) well, stating that they can "eat your way to Heaven, or eat your way to Hell!"
The song "Pigmy Pig" serves as a reminder that all beings, no matter how small, have an important role to play in the web of life. It also encourages listeners to adopt a more open-minded and inclusive perspective towards the sometimes-overlooked aspects of the natural world.
Line by Line Meaning
Pigmy Pig, how big you are, big as Pigmy Seal.
Oh tiny pig, you are as big as a tiny seal.
Pigmy Corn, how big you are, big as Pigmy Eal.
Oh tiny corn, you are as big as a tiny eel.
Pigmy Elk, how big you are, big as Pigmy Bear.
Oh tiny elk, you are as big as a tiny bear.
Pigmy Yam, how big you are, big as Pigmy Hare.
Oh tiny yam, you are as big as a tiny hare.
Pigmy Ox, how big you are, big as Pigmy Moose.
Oh tiny ox, you are as big as a tiny moose.
Pigmy Leek, how big you are, big as Pigmy Goose.
Oh tiny leek, you are as big as a tiny goose.
Pigmy Squash, how big you are, big as Pigmy Coon.
Oh tiny squash, you are as big as a tiny raccoon.
Pigmy Clam, how big you are, big as Pigmy Prune.
Oh tiny clam, you are as big as a tiny prune.
Pigmy Trout, how big you are, big as Pigmy Quail.
Oh tiny trout, you are as big as a tiny quail.
Pigmy Nut, how big you are, big as Pigmy Snail.
Oh tiny nut, you are as big as a tiny snail.
Pigmy Squirl, how big you are, big as Pigmy Beet.
Oh tiny squirrel, you are as big as a tiny beet.
Pigmy Grape, how big you are, big as Pigmy Wheet.
Oh tiny grape, you are as big as a tiny wheat grain.
All you Herbivorians, reapers to adore,
All you plant-eaters, we celebrate your harvest,
if the only food were meat, you would eat no more.
if meat was the only food, you would not eat anymore.
All you Carnivorians, butchers to adore,
All you meat-eaters, we celebrate your slaughter,
if the only food were plant, you would eat no more.
if plants were the only food, you would not eat anymore.
All you Omnivorians, waging total war,
All you omnivores, fighting for every food,
if the only food were none, you would eat no more.
if there was no food, you would not eat anymore.
All the Pigmy Edibles wish you Pigmies well:
All the tiny edibles wish you tiny creatures well:
"Eat your way to Heaven, or eat your way to Hell!"
"Eat your way to heaven or eat your way to hell!"
Contributed by Annabelle S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Amdani Film
Pigmy Pig, how big you are, big as Pigmy Seal.
Pigmy Corn, how big you are, big as Pigmy Eal.
Pigmy Elk, how big you are, big as Pigmy Bear.
Pigmy Yam, how big you are, big as Pigmy Hare.
Pigmy Ox, how big you are, big as Pigmy Moose.
Pigmy Leek, how big you are, big as Pigmy Goose.
Pigmy Squash, how big you are, big as Pigmy c***.
Pigmy Clam, how big you are, big as Pigmy Prune.
Pigmy Trout, how big you are, big as Pigmy Quail.
Pigmy Nut, how big you are, big as Pigmy Snail.
Pigmy Squirl, how big you are, big as Pigmy Beet.
Pigmy Grape, how big you are, big as Pigmy Wheet.
All you Herbivorians, reapers to adore,
if the only food were meat, you would eat no more.
All you Carnivorians, butchers to adore,
if the only food were plant, you would eat no more.
All you Omnivorians, waging total war,
if the only food were none, you would eat no more.
All the Pigmy Edibles wish you Pigmies well:
"Eat your way to Heaven, or eat your way to Hell!"
Pete Caley
Absolutely love this. It's like a nursery rhyme composed by David Lynch.
Cameron Johnson
Holy crow, that is a trippy image. Definitely blew my mind
kloggmonkey
well put
A Dog Named Handsome
Great description.
QuilboTLG
meaning it has a grotesque darkish feeling in it? yep, definetly everytime it closes the part the chords tends toward a major ending, it "calls" a major closure, but he didn't put a major chord, he kept the sad feeling of a minor one he did a great work
Josh Vanderpoel
could just see myself saying this as a prayer before dinner
Aaron Bookvich
I love this tune!
William Harper
worst/best song to set as an alarm...pretty much always gets my attention...pretty much always with a nightmarish start...AND it gets stuck in me head somethin serious
Mathis
@Nikolajus Elmutis it's also my alarm, and every morning I wake up instantly in a very strange mood 😂 (sorry if I've made mystakes, I'm french)
Nikolajus Elmutis
Gonna set it as an alarm now!! Thanks for the idea