Bue worked in the 1950s with the Bonanza Jazz Band, Chris Barber, Adrian Bentzon, and Henrik Johansen, and led the New Orleans Jazz Band, a seven-piece band based out of Copenhagen, from 1956; in 1958 he renamed the ensemble the Viking Jazz Band. This group remained active into the 1990s, and recorded with George Lewis (1959), Champion Jack Dupree (1962), Art Hodes (1970), Wild Bill Davison (1970, 1974), Wingy Manone, Edmond Hall, and Albert Nicholas. He has released a large number of albums, many of them issued or reissued on Storyville Records, Timeless Records, and Music Mecca.
Tiger Rag
Papa Bue Jensen Lyrics
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Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger!
Hold that tiger! Hold that tiger ! Hold that tiger!
Choke him, poke him, kick him and soak him!
Where's that tiger? Where's that tiger?
Where oh where can he be?
Low or highbrow, they all cry now
"Please play that Tiger Rag for me"
Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger!
Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger!
Hold that tiger! Hold that tiger ! Hold that tiger!
Choke him, poke him, kick him and soak him!
Where's that tiger? Where's that tiger?
Where oh where can he be?
Low or highbrow, they all cry now
"Please play that Tiger Rag for me"
The lyrics to "Tiger Rag" by Papa Bue Jensen are simple and repetitive, but they capture the energy and excitement of the music. The chorus is a call-and-response between the singer and the band, with the singer searching for the elusive "tiger" and urging the musicians to capture it in their music. The "tiger" is likely a metaphor for the raw, primal power of jazz music, which was seen as dangerous and subversive by some at the time. By calling for the band to "choke him, poke him, kick him and soak him," the singer is encouraging them to play with intensity and abandon, to let the music take them over and unleash their primal instincts.
Line by Line Meaning
Where's that tiger! Where's that tiger!
Where is the excitement, the energy? Where is the thrill of life?
Hold that tiger! Hold that tiger! Hold that tiger!
Keep hold of that feeling, that energy, that passion
Choke him, poke him, kick him and soak him!
Do everything in your power to keep that feeling alive, to never let it go
Where's that tiger? Where's that tiger?
Where is that same excitement and energy that we once had?
Where oh where can he be?
Where has that feeling gone? Why can't we find it again?
Low or highbrow, they all cry now
Everyone is searching for that feeling, no matter who they are or where they come from
"Please play that Tiger Rag for me"
Please help us find that feeling again, that passion, that excitement for life
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Antonio Sbarro, Edwin Edwards, Henry Ragas, Larry Shields, Sidney Bechet
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind