In 1950, he scored a huge success with his first recording for Capitol Records, John and Marsha, a soap-opera parody that consisted of the title characters (both played by Freberg) repeating each other's names. In a follow-up he used pedal steel guitarist Speedy West to parody the 1953 country hit A Dear John Letter as A Dear John and Marsha Letter.
Throughout the 1950s he made a name for himself writing and performing both original songs (Tele-Vee-Shun) and parodies of popular tunes (The Yellow Rose of Texas, Day-O, Heartbreak Hotel). With fellow voice actors Daws Butler and June Foray he produced a medieval parody of Dragnet called St. George and the Dragon-Net. The latter recording was a #1 hit for four weeks in late 1953.
Freberg's brilliant, authentic-sounding musical parodies were a byproduct of his collaborations with Billy May and his Capitol Records producer Ken Nelson. His brilliant 1957 spoof of TV "champagne music" master Lawrence Welk, Wun'erful, Wun'erful was a true collaboration with May, a veteran big band musician and jazz arranger (known for his work with Frank Sinatra among others) who loathed Welk's corny style. To replicate that sound, May and some of Hollywood's finest studio musicians and vocalists worked to virtually clone Welk's sound. Billy Liebert, a first-rate accordionist copied Welk's own accordion playing. The humor was lost on Welk; Freberg later recalled the bandleader denying he ever used the term "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" (later the title of Welk's autobiography).
Another hit song to get the Freberg treatment was the weepy Cry, which Freberg rendered as Try ("You too can be unhappy... if you try!") Ray was furious, until he realized the success of Freberg's parody was helping sales and airplay of his own record; Ray and Freberg actually became close friends.
Freberg continued to skewer the advertising industry after the demise of his radio show, producing Green Chri$tma$ in 1958 (again with Butler), a scathing indictment of the overcommercialization of the holiday. Freberg, the son of a church minister and very religious himself, made sure to point out on that novelty record "Whose birthday we're celebrating." Despite his Jewish-sounding last name, Freberg is actually a Baptist of Swedish heritage.
"Green Chri$tma$" also foreshadowed his musical review on LP Stan Freberg Presents: The United States Of America, Volume 1: The Early Years (1961) in that both combined dialog and song in a musical-like style. Stan Freberg Presents: The United States of America, Volume 2: The Middle Years was planned for a release during America's Bicentennial in 1976 but did not emerge until 1996.
St. George and the Dragonet
Stan Freberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Only the needle should be changed to protect the record
[St. George:] This is the countryside
My name is St. George
I'm a knight
Saturday, July 10th. 8:05 pm
I was working out of the castle on the nightwatch
A dragon had been devouring maidens
Homicide. My job: slay him
[St. George:] You call me, Chief
[Chief:] Yes, the dragon again, devouring maidens
The King's daughter may be next
[St. George:] Mmm-hmm. You got a lead
[Chief:] Oh, nothing much to go on.
Say, did you take that .45 automatic
into the lab to have them check on it
[St. George:] Yeah. You were right
[Chief:] I was right
[St. George:] Yeah. It was a gun
8:22 pm. I talked to one of the maidens
who had almost been devoured
[St. George:] Could I talk to you, Ma'am
[Maiden:] Who are you
[St. George:] I'm St. George, Ma'am
Homicide, Ma'am
Want to ask you a few questions, Ma'am
I understand you were almost devoured by the dragon, Ma'am
Is that right, dragon
[Maiden:] It was terrible.
He breathed fire on me
He burned me already
[St. George:] How can I be sure of that, Ma'am
[Maiden:] Believe me, I got it straight from the dragon's mouth
[St. George:] 11:45 pm. I rode over the King's Highway.
I saw a man. Stopped to talk to him
Pardon me, Sir
The lyrics of Stan Freberg's song "St. George and the Dragonet" tell the tale of St. George, a knight tasked with slaying a dragon that had been devouring maidens. The song is presented as a crime drama, with St. George and the Chief of police investigating the case of the missing maidens. The Chief tells St. George that the King's daughter may be the next victim of the dragon. Throughout the song, St. George interrogates maidens who were almost devoured by the dragon and gathers clues to track down and slay the beast.
The song is a satirical take on the tale of St. George and the dragon, presenting it as a 1950s police procedural. The use of a narrator at the beginning of the song adds to the effect, with the singer introducing the story as if it were a true crime drama. The use of modern-day crime-fighting tools like the .45 automatic and the lab to check evidence adds to the humor of the song.
Overall, the song St. George and the Dragonet is a witty and humorous take on a classic tale that has been adapted and retold countless times throughout history.
Line by Line Meaning
The legend you are about to hear is true
This story is based on real events
Only the needle should be changed to protect the record
The story may have been slightly modified to fit this recording
This is the countryside
I'm in a rural area
My name is St. George
I'm the main character of the story
I'm a knight
I have a high rank in medieval society
Saturday, July 10th. 8:05 pm
The time and date when the story takes place
I was working out of the castle on the nightwatch
I was on duty, guarding the castle
when a call came in from the Chief
I received a message from my boss
A dragon had been devouring maidens
A dangerous creature had been attacking women
Homicide. My job: slay him
This is a serious crime and I have to kill the dragon
You call me, Chief
You asked for me, boss
Yes, the dragon again, devouring maidens
The creature has struck again and killed more women
The King's daughter may be next
Even the King's own child might be in danger
Mmm-hmm. You got a lead
Do you have any information?
Oh, nothing much to go on.
I don't have much information
Say, did you take that .45 automatic into the lab to have them check on it
Did you analyze the weapon I sent to the lab?
Yeah. You were right
Your suspicion was correct
I was right
I suspected the weapon was used by the dragon
Yeah. It was a gun
The weapon was indeed a firearm
Could I talk to you, Ma'am
Can I ask you some questions?
Who are you
I don't know you
I'm St. George, Ma'am
My name is St. George, madam
Homicide, Ma'am
I'm investigating a crime, madam
Want to ask you a few questions, Ma'am
Can I question you, madam?
I understand you were almost devoured by the dragon, Ma'am
I heard the dragon almost killed you, madam
Is that right, dragon
Did the dragon really do that?
It was terrible.
The experience was horrible
He breathed fire on me
The dragon attacked me with flames
He burned me already
I was injured by the fire
How can I be sure of that, Ma'am
I need to verify your story, madam
Believe me, I got it straight from the dragon's mouth
I heard it from the dragon itself
11:45 pm. I rode over the King's Highway.
Later that night, I traveled on a famous road named after the King
I saw a man. Stopped to talk to him
I noticed a person and decided to have a conversation with him
Pardon me, Sir
Excuse me, sir
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MIKLOS ROZSA, WALTER SCHUMANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@westlock
When Jack Webb heard that Freberg was going to make a parody of Dragnet, he called up and offered the use of his house musicians. That almost didn't work since the musicians kept laughing during the recording session.
@VinylOldiesJukebox
Thanks Howard for listening and have an awesome day from Lloyd :)
@mescko
You'd never know from Dragnet but Jack had a great sense of humor. This anecdote is recounted in Stan's autobiography 'It Only Hurts When I Laugh'.
@David-yw2lv
My twin nephews loved this. Every time they came over they asked me to play it.
@valton47
RIP Stan Freberg. I grew up loving his great comedy. Born 7 August 1926 and he died on my daughter's birthday, 7 April 2015. So many people probably don't know his name at all but his humour and timing was up there with the very best. This sketch, based on the 1950's series Dragnet, was a wonderful spoof about St George and the Dragonet… listen and be ready to laugh. Definitely worth three minutes of anyone's time. RIP Stan, you were a comedy great!
@johnstill9490
+Tony Darbyshire With you, Tony...,
@davidroberts1702
What a lot of people don't remember is that humor like this didn't stand on its own strength, but rather on the fact that everything back then was straight-up, serious, with an almost humorless delivery. It all had to be heroic. So anything which diverted from that was especially attractive to adults and kids alike. Born in '45, remember this record, and all those radio shows which also presented "whacky" humor, god bless 'em all.
@VinylOldiesJukebox
Thanks David for listening and have a great day from Lloyd.
@nostalgia6578
Bob and Ray were comedic geniuses at the "dead pan" style of tongue in cheek satire. Although they were before my time, I discovered them via YouTube, knowing Bob's son Chris was on Everybody Loves Raymond. Was wanting to know about the tree that apple 🍎 fell from.
@davidlafleche1142
The biggest problem with "Dragnet" was the first four letters. It had to be one of the most boring TV shows of all time.