The lyrics of the song mention, directly or indirectly, many artists and bands who were part of the music scene at the time including the other 2 members of The Mamas & the Papas Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, Zal Yanovsky, John Sebastian, Roger McGuinn, Barry McGuire, The Mugwumps, and The Lovin' Spoonful. Several locations important to The Mamas and The Papas story are also mentioned e.g. The Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village. The lyrics, "Greasin' on American Express cards" harks back to The Mamas and Papas time in the Virgin Islands when they were living off their American Express cards. The song is notable as a hit single where the title is not in the lyrics.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creeque_Alley
Creeque Alley
John and Mitchie were gettin' kinda itchy just to leave the folk music behind John Phillips had been playing in a folk band known as The Journeymen. The band, whose lineup included Scott McKenzie, played old folk standards but, like other similar bands at the time, were going nowhere. They had split up by early 1964. Later that year John and his wife Michelle formed The New Journeymen with Marshall Brickman and Denny Doherty joined them to play at an engagement in Washington over New Year. By 1965 Phillips was getting restless and eager to try something new.
Mitchie is a reference to Phillips' wife Michelle who, as well as singing in The New Journeymen, had been doing modelling work but was to become a singer with the Mamas and Papas.
Zal and Denny workin' for a penny
tryin' to get a fish on the lineZal Yanovsky and Dennis Doherty had been playing together in a folk trio called The Halifax Three(more info). Halifax is a fishing port in Nova Scotia and may account for the fishing reference in this line but see message from Ian Maclure who thinks the fishing reference may be a bit deeper and also message from Roy Currie who challenges the reference to Halifax being a fishing port and also provides some interesting background information about Denny Doherty.
In a coffee house Sebastian sat ...
and after every number they passed the hat Sebastian is John Sebastian. At the time he was playing with Jim Kweskskin's Jug Band and other minor folk bands. "They passed the hat" is a reference to the way some bands were paid in the coffee houses of the sixties. They literally passed around a hat or a basket and more or less took up a collection.
McGuinn and McGuire just are gettin' higher
in L.A. you know where that's atJim McGuinn (changed his name to Roger McGuinn in 1967) was enjoying success with the newly formed Byrds and Barry McGuire had a hit with Eve of Destruction - all this at a time when John Phillips was still trying to form a new band.
This may also be a reference to drugs, suggesting that before the Byrds became popular they were exploring drug use.(Thanks to Aaron Stang for this suggestion).
And no one's getting fat except Mama Cass. This is a reference to the fact that no-one was making any money out of playing folk music but Cass Elliot who, being on the large side, was not only "getting fat" but was also having success as a solo jazz singer in Washington DC. Cass Elliot was born Ellen Naomi Cohen in 1941. Her restauranteur father nicknamed her'Cass' after the Trojan princess, Cassandra (thanks to Gary Holwell for this information). She adopted the name Cass Elliot during her teens. The name Mama Cass evolved from her involvement with the Mamas and Papas.
This is what John Phillips said about Cass in an interview in August 1995 at Paramount Studios: "Her father had a deli there [in New York]. I remember her as a little, chubby girl, with the stained apron on, behind the counter. [Laughs] We were sort of infamous in that area, and when she got to New York, she knew who we were, but we didn’t know who she was. And she had met Denny, and Denny said, "I know this girl that sings wonderfully. We should have her over and sing with her." It happened to be that LSD was actually legal at the time. It wasn’t a banned drug or anything. We searched all over the Village and found some contemporary artist who had some and he gave it to us. We were about to take it that night, when the knock on the door came and Cass came in. So we all had it together the same night, for the first time, and I think that formed a bond between the four of us that we just never stopped singing. We just went on and on and on and on, until the trip wore off, which was about four years later."
Zallie said 'Denny, you know there aren't many
who can sing a song the way that you do' (Let's go South) A reference to Dennis Doherty's singing abilities. "Let's go south" is a reference to leaving Canada for New York which is exactly what The Halifax Three did by way of Montreal, Toronto and then New York.
Denny said 'Zallie, golly, don't you think that I wish
I could play guitar like you'A reference to Zal's guitar playing abilities!!
Zal, Denny and Sebastian sat (at the Night Owl).The Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village.
And after every number they passed the hat
McGuinn and McGuire still are gettin' higher
in L.A. you know where that's at
And no one's getting fat except Mama Cass.
When Cass was a Sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore,
But she changed her mind one day This is a rather oblique reference to Cass' on-again, off-again educational career. She was a very intelligent young woman (an IQ of 165) whose uncles were mostly doctors, and her parents planned for her to go to medical school. But she discovered show business during her last year in high school and dropped out two weeks before graduating. A few years later, with her career not exactly catching fire yet, she attended American University in Washington, D.C. (on the strength of her SAT scores and on a provisional basis since she didn't have a diploma). She did not reach her sophomore year by any means -- by her own admission, she couldn't stay away from the drama department and kept hanging around there instead of concentrating on whatever it that was supposed to be her major -- and she planned to continue at Goucher College (a female college near her home in Baltimore), not Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania (http://www.swarthmore.edu/) , but apparently John Phillips couldn't make a rhyme out of "provisional freshman" and "Goucher." In any case, she dropped out again and went back to singing after a only few weeks.
Standing on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike,
Take her to New York right away This refers to her return to the Big Apple to perform and her probable means of transportation - she was pretty much broke at this point, as they all were. The "turnpike" is the New Jersey Turnpike which is the road from Maryland to New York.
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumpsDenny loved Cass as a friend. However, Cass was in love with Denny from the moment she had met him during their days with The Mugwumps (see next line). During the group's visit to the Virgin Islands (see later) she discovered that Michelle had slept with Denny behind John's back! This caused much tension with the group. In fact Cass went to Michelle and said "you can have any man you want....why did you have to sleep with the one man I love?" For Denny's and Michelle's affair John wrote "I Saw Her Again" and made them sing it as a form of punishment.
Call John and Zal, and that was the MugwumpsThe Mugwumps was a band comprising Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, Zal Yanovsky and Jim Hendricks (Cass's first husband). Denise Steffanus of Lexington, Kentucky adds "The 'John' in this reference is obviously John Sebastian, who, according to his biography, was an original member of the Mugwumps with Zal, Denny, & Cass just prior to forming the Lovin' Spoonful."
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
but that's what they were aiming at
And no one's getting fat except Mama Cass.
Mugwumps , hi-jumps, low slumps, big bumps,
don't you work as hard as you play
Drink-up, break-up, everything is shake-up
Guess it had to be that wayThis refers to the inevitability of the break up of the Mugwumps. In fact they only lasted about 10 months.
Sebastian and Zal formed the SpoonfulJohn Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky formed The Lovin' Spoonful. Zal Yanovsky now runs a restaurant in Kinsgton, Ontario called Chez Piggy. I've had correspondence from Brad Fallon who tells me "It is in a 150 year old grey limestone building and the walls are covered with memorabilia from his days with the Lovin' Spoonful and his earlier days from the Maritimes and with Denny. Seem to remember some great pictures of the Mamas and the Papas too from his own private collection." Sounds good to me.
Michelle, John and Denny gettin' very tunefulMichelle and John Phillips together with Denny Doherty had formed The New Journeymen in 1964.
McGuinn and McGuire just are catchin' fire
in L.A. you know where that's atThey were doing OK in LA I guess! This is also probably a vague reference to riots in Los Angeles in 1965 when a lot of fires were set.
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.Cass Elliot had wanted to join the group but other members were concerned that her size would not promote the right image for the group and that her voice was considered too low to harmonize with Michelle's. This line seems to refer to the fact that McGuinn and McGuire were having more success than Cass.
I have had the following suggestion from Aaron Stang: I think this reference to the Byrds implies they were beginning to get really popular (which reinforces that the first Byrds reference was a drug reference, before they got popular) And "everybody's getting fat" is a double entendre; in other words - everyone's doing great, getting popular, making money etc and Mama Cass is doing well also (because she's not getting fat).
Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted,
and Mitchie wants to go to the sea This is a reference to the Virgin Islands. The New Journeymen was over and they were sitting around one day and just wanted to take a vacation - Michelle, whose home was California, despised the coldness of New York. The story goes that they spun a globe and she, with her eyes closed, pointed to a spot and they decided to go wherever her finger landed - so the Virgin Islands it was.
Dennis Honigs has written to me: "I heard an interview with Michelle, (I think, but it may have been Cass,) a long time ago in which she ... said the line was 'Mitchie wants to go to the C' (a note Cass couldn't reach and hence had to 'fake it')"
Cass can't make it, she says we'll have to fake it
This could be a reference to Cass' inability to sing the arrangements that John wrote. As the story goes, Cass was walking down the street in the Virgin Islands when she was hit in the head by a pipe. (Someone threw it from a pile of junk they were going through.) Cass was knocked unconscious. When she awoke, it had affected her range and increased it by 2 or 3 notes. This increase in range allowed her to sing the arrangements that John wrote.Thus, the group's main excuse for keeping her out was no longer an issue. As further support for this claim, Cass once said that the arrangements were so high that at times she would become light-headed during the recording sessions. This suggests that Cass was singing at the top of her range. Furthermore, if you hear any of the Mamas and Papas live recordings, the songs are lowered considerably making the songs more comfortable to sing.
BUT... this is a transcript of an interview with Michelle Phillips which appears on the Forrest Gump CD Rom (published by Upstream Multimedia)
Question: There was a story we heard about how a pipe fell on Cass in the Virgin Islands and changed her voice.Can you tell us about that?
M.Phillips:- Well,John has claimed that Cass actually got her upper range after the pipe fell on her head (laughs). She was walking past a construction site and a small lead pipe fell on her head. And when we were singing ,later on that afternoon, she did seem to (laughs) have a much higher range. I don't know if it 's really true or of there's any reason to believe this story, but it's a lie that we (laughs) told a long time if it's not true.
ALSO...The following is a transcript of an email I had recently which seems to support the view that the pipe incident happened but there is no real evidence that it was the cause of Cass's extended range. Many thanks to David Redd for this (and to Maryann Sapanara):
"I happened to catch a rerun of Behind the Music with the Mamas and Papas on VH-1 and they discussed it with John, Michelle, and Cass's sister.
Basically, they all agreed that the pipe hitting Cass and knocking her out happened. But while John seemed sure that it changed her ability to get "that extra note", Cass's sister didn't seem to believe it at all. Michelle said that the story had been told so often she wasn't sure of anything anymore but that, while she couldn't say that the bump on the head caused it, it did seem Cass was hitting notes afterward that she hadn't before."
We knew she'd come eventuallyCass Elliot knew that The New Journeymen were in the Virgin Islands. She missed Denny so much that, together with John's cousin Billy Throckmorton, she went down and joined them.
Greasin' on American Express cardThe group had an American Express card which was used to finance the trip to the Virgin Islands. It was actually owned by one of the other Journeymen and had been intended for Journeymen business expenses. Of course, no one was making any payments on it by this time, and the group's departure from the Islands was actually precipitated by an American Express representative finally confiscating the card when John went to the local Amex office to get a cash advance on it. Amex was eventually reimbursed with from the royalties from the songs written during the group's stay on the islands.
Tents, low rents, and keepin' out the heat's hard
Duffy's good vibrations, and our imaginations,
can't go on indefinitelyThese lines suggest that the group were starting to tire of their life in the Virgin Islands where, amongst other things, they had camped out on the beaches and generally acted in an unsociable way. Duffy's is the name of the boarding house on Creeque Alley (pronounced Creaky Alley but actually spelt Creque's Alley - confusing eh? [Thanks to Brian Cornforth for pointing this out]) in Charlotte Amali where some of the group's early songs were composed. Although Duffy himself was very encouraging and liked the group (giving out good vibrations!) they were not making a living. Their day-to-day existence on the island was very much an exercise in deficit spending and living by their wits and that COULD NOT go on indefinitely. The reference to their "imaginations" not going on indefinitely could also be a comment on how the group felt at the time Creeque Alley was released in the summer of 1967 - they knew they weren't going to last forever (but of course their music lives on all these years later!)
This is what John Phillips said about their time on the island in an interview at Paramount Studios in August 1995: "Well see, we went to the Virgin Islands the summer of ‘65, to rehearse and just put everything together. Cass and Denny and Michelle and I and the doctor who played guitar, and Peter Pilafian, who played violin. All these strange people. We took dogs with us and motorcycles and children. McKenzie, my daughter, went with us. She had her own tent on the beach. We were the last campers to arrive and we got the worst camping site. We called it Camp Torture. There was a mosquito bog right behind it. We went across the main island. We had this on St. John. Went across the main island, St. Thomas, and we got a job there, working at a club, Duffy’s - Duffy was a great help to us - singing, and we were trying to sing country pop, folk pop at that time, and we weren’t quite sure how to do it or what to do. One day we heard "Turn! Turn! Turn!" - The Byrds - and they mentioned Jim McGuinn, Roger McGuinn now. Denny said, "We can do that. What’s the big deal?" So we came back to the mainland and got a drive-away car and drove across the country to California and started recording, almost as soon as we got here."
And California Dreaming is becoming a reality.Now back in good old New York City, paradise a fading memory, California was looking like the place to be. But this is also a neat reference to California Dreaming, the Mamas and Papas' first recording, which was released in October 1965 and was to go on to become a major hit and all time classic.
In the Paramount Studios interview John Phillips was asked how California Dreaming came to be written. He said: "It’s my recollection that we were at the Earle Hotel in New York and Michelle was asleep. I was playing the guitar. We’d been out for a walk that day and she’d just come from California and all she had was California clothing. And it snowed overnight and in the morning she didn’t know what the white stuff coming out of the sky was, because it never snowed in Southern L.A., you know, Southern California. So we went for a walk and the song is mostly a narrative of what happened that day, stopped into a church to get her warm, and so on and so on. And so as I was thinking about it later that night, I was playing and singing and I thought "California Dreamin’" was what we were doing, actually, that day. So I tried to wake Michelle up to write the lyrics down that I was doing. And she said, "Leave me alone. I want to sleep. I want to sleep." "Wake up. Write this down. You’ll never regret it. I promise you, Michelle." "Okay." Then she wrote it down and went back to sleep. [Laughs] And she told me up to this day, she’s never regretted getting up and [laughs] writing it down. Since she gets half of [the royalties for] the writing of the song."]
source: http://www.creequealley.com
Creeque Alley
The Mamas & the Papas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just to leave the folk music behind
Zal and Denny workin' for a penny
Tryin' to get a fish on the line
In a coffee house Sebastian sat
And after every number they'd pass the hat
McGuinn and McGuire just a gettin' higher
In L.A., you know where that's at
Zally said Denny, you know there aren't many
Who can sing a song the way that you do, let's go south
Denny said Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish
I could play guitar like you
Zal, Denny and Sebastian sat (at the Night Owl)
And after every number they'd pass the hat
McGuinn and McGuire still a gettin' higher
In L.A., you know where that's at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore
But she changed her mind one day
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike
Take me to New York right away
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps
Don't you work as hard as you play
Make up, break up, everything is shake up
Guess it had to be that way
Sebastian and Zal formed the Spoonful
Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful
McGuinn and McGuire just a catchin' fire
In L.A., you know where that's at
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Di di di dit dit dit di di di dit, whoa
Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted
And Mitchy wants to go to the sea
Cass can't make it, she says we'll have to fake it
We knew she'd come eventually
Greasin' on American Express cards
It's low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard
Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations
Can't go on indefinitely
And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality
The Mamas & the Papas's song Creeque Alley is a narrative tale about how the band came to be. The first verse describes John Phillips and Michelle Phillips, who were itching to leave the folk music scene behind. They were joined by Denny Doherty, who was working with Zal Yanovsky to make money by catching fish. While performing in a coffee house, the trio met Sebastian, who would eventually become the fourth member of the band. The verse also mentions McGuinn and McGuire, who were getting high.
In the second verse, Yanovsky realizes that Doherty has a great voice and suggests they all go south. Meanwhile, the trio performs in the Night Owl and meets up with McGuinn and McGuire again. The verse also mentions Mama Cass Elliot, who doesn't seem to be getting fat despite everyone else's success.
The third verse discusses Cass Elliot's journey to joining the band. She had originally planned to attend Swarthmore but changed her mind and hitchhiked to New York. Denny Doherty falls in love with her and calls John and Zal to form a band, which they name the Mugwumps. McGuinn and McGuire were also involved in this group. The verse also mentions that Mama Cass is still not getting fat.
The final verse brings the song into the present and discusses the band's struggles. They are broke and their agents cannot be trusted. Mitchy wants to go to the sea and Cass states that they will have to fake it. They use American Express cards to survive and Duffy's good vibrations to keep them going. However, their dreams of California are becoming a reality.
Line by Line Meaning
John and Mitchy were gettin' kind of itchy
John Phillips and Denny Doherty wanted to move away from folk music.
Just to leave the folk music behind
They wanted to try something new.
Zal and Denny workin' for a penny
Zal Yanovsky and Denny Doherty were struggling to make money in music.
Tryin' to get a fish on the line
They were striving to achieve success.
In a coffee house Sebastian sat
John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful was in a café.
And after every number they'd pass the hat
After each performance, they would ask for donations.
McGuinn and McGuire just a gettin' higher
Roger McGuinn and Jim McGuire were likely getting high on drugs.
In L.A., you know where that's at
This is occurring in Los Angeles, California.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Only Mama Cass Elliot seems to be gaining weight.
Zally said Denny, you know there aren't many
Zal remarked to Denny that it's rare to find someone with such a good voice.
Who can sing a song the way that you do, let's go south
Let's go to Southern California.
Denny said Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish
Denny wished he could play guitar like Zal.
I could play guitar like you
Denny admired Zal's playing.
And after every number they'd pass the hat
After each song, they would ask for donations.
When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore
Mama Cass initially planned to attend Swarthmore College when she was a sophomore.
But she changed her mind one day
She decided to follow through with music instead.
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike
She was hitchhiking on the highway.
Take me to New York right away
She wanted to go to New York City as soon as possible.
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps
Denny Doherty was immediately attracted to Mama Cass.
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps
Denny, John, and Zal created a short-lived band called The Mugwumps.
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
Roger McGuinn and Jim McGuire were likely already high on drugs.
But that's what they were aimin' at
This behavior was intentional to them.
Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps
This line is a play on words tied to The Mugwumps, high drug usage, low points, and big failures.
Don't you work as hard as you play
They are not putting as much effort into their work as they are into playing around.
Make up, break up, everything is shake up
Relationships are tumultuous and chaotic.
Guess it had to be that way
Perhaps it was unavoidable.
Sebastian and Zal formed the Spoonful
John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky started The Lovin' Spoonful.
Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful
Michelle Phillips, John Phillips, and Denny Doherty were making great music together.
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Everyone else is succeeding, but Mama Cass is not gaining success.
Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted
They are struggling financially, and agents are unreliable.
And Mitchy wants to go to the sea
Cass Elliot wants to take a break and go swimming in the ocean.
Cass can't make it, she says we'll have to fake it
Mama Cass is unable to attend an event, so they will have to improvise.
We knew she'd come eventually
They were confident that Mama Cass would eventually arrive.
Greasin' on American Express cards
They are using their credit cards to their maximum limit.
It's low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard
Their living situation is cheap, but it's tough to beat the heat.
Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations
They are inspired by the good vibes of Stephen Stills' songwriting and their own creativity.
Can't go on indefinitely
Their creative flow will eventually come to a halt.
And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality
Their dreams of success in California are finally coming true.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: John Phillips, Michelle Gilliam
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@moniquefleming3738
In 2000, my 16 year old daughter came to me so excited. She heard a "new" band The Mama's and Papas. I laughed my head off....priceless. I guess the music is timeless.
@schoolssection
Heard the exact same words from a young co-worker a month ago about a new group called McFleetwood.
@larryjojola3652
Real Cool...
@slactweak
Yep. Their music was great then and it's great now. Of them all, my two favorites were this one and Dream a Little Dream of Me.
@elenaderoet4926
Has she heard Spanky and Our Gang? They're great 💖
@poetcomic1
Reminds me of my seven year old nephew and his 'new' favorite singer Elvis Presley. When he heard he was dead....he CRIED.
@mantia39
Dear Cass Elliot. Bless her heart,she took all of that on the chin with style and grace,all for the benefit of the group. She deserved so much more. I have no doubt that the Angels in heaven were happy to receive her,for she had a voice that could reign in their choir.
@iloveresses7277
I disagree, she had a sense of humor. When John brought it to her she thought it was hilarious
@robertgillen979
I heard this was a inside joke with the band. Everyone thinks they are singing about her weight but the truth was she was pregnant with her daughter and they were keeping it a secret from the public. Because of the times they thought it might hurt there career.
@MegaTurdnuggets
Which chin?????? 😁😁😁😁