What is this Tiki Room lyric?

[DoleWhipDrea]

Comedic writers play with word pronunciations, the Sherman Brothers included. It’s not about ignorance as to how a word is actually supposed to be pronounced, it’s about getting the joke, rhyme and sound you want.

Also important to note - The Enchanted Tiki Room was thrown together in a rather short period of time, originally intended for the 1964 World’s Fair, along with several other projects like the Carousel of Progress. After showing the plans to a potential sponsor, they said that they weren’t interested in sponsoring the attraction. Walt said fine, we’ll just send it straight to Disneyland.

Don’t get me wrong - I love most of the Sherman Brothers’ work. But they were working on Tiki Room, COP, and Mary Poppins all during the same time period. Obviously I can’t speak for their personal schedules, but as a creative person myself, I can tell you that this kind of work doesn’t just magically manifest itself. It takes time and revisions...and I get the feeling that they didn’t have much time to spare on revisiting certain things. If Walt said, “That’ll work,” that was the best that they were going to get out of the man, and they were happy to keep working for him.

Unless anyone has photos of the original score written by the Sherman Brothers or could confirm directly with with Richard Sherman himself, I don’t think everyone here will be convinced one way or another!

 

[lentesta]

I think I’m going to see if we can loop @lentesta in on this and see if him and Jim can come up with an answer on their future podcast.

It's "The boys in the back are called macaws". And yes, it's because they're macaws. It fits in with the toucan joke in the next lyric.

I'm with @Bairstow on this.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Also important to note - The Enchanted Tiki Room was thrown together in a rather short period of time, originally intended for the 1964 World’s Fair, along with several other projects like the Carousel of Progress. After showing the plans to a potential sponsor, they said that they weren’t interested in sponsoring the attraction. Walt said fine, we’ll just send it straight to Disneyland.

The Enchanted Tiki Room was originally envisioned as a dining experience and opened ten months before the Fair in June 1963. It was not developed for the Fair, and none of the Fair attractions were developed for the Fair with the hope of finding a sponsor. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln would be the closest to that, with Robert Moses helping to find a sponsor because he wanted it at the Fair, but it was already in development for Disneyland and even opened in the park before the Fair closed.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

This is the best recording I could find on Youtube with stereo separation.


I still hear a slight "zee" sound making me think it was originally meant to be "kamikaze" but was later edited out. We'll likely never know definitively. When looking at the above audio file in a track editor there is "L+ R overlap" with both characters playing in the same space. Is it by design or was it edited? We don't know. One could question if it's the end of (Kamica) "ze" or the beginning or "be"(cause)...

FWIW, if it was an edit (to Called Macaws and not that from the beginning) they corrected themselves in the follow up "Under New Management" where the lyric is with 100% certainty "Called Macaws".

But they had to fudge it a little to make it fit the "Tiki Rap"
The boys in the back are called macaws and that's because they always was

On a related note: Does anyone find it strange they refer to them as "the boys" when the rest of the songs lyrics just refer to them as birds?

 

[Bairstow]

On another note: Does anyone find it strange they refer to them as "boys" when the rest of the songs lyrics refer to them as "birds"?

Not really. Michael and the other host birds consider all the other birds in the show part of their "glee club," so those macaws are fellow performers.
Besides that, Pierre, Michael, Fritz, and Jose are themselves macaws, though recolored in their respective "national" colors. Pierre probably feels a certain kinship to them.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

I can't see Disney using a kamikaze joke for a show opening in an era where the vast majority of guest would've been a veteran of WWII, had a direct relative that that fought in and maybe even died in WWII, or, especially in California, was of Japanese descent. I know it was a different time but I think that would've still been viewed as very taboo.

 

[DG32]

Are there actually four pages of this conversation about people actually thinking this lyric includes a nonsensical use of the word "kamikaze"?

That sing-along book is wrong. Some intern was asked to type out the lyrics and they misunderstood and didn't bother to double-check.

The boys in the back are called macaws.
Because of their claws?
No, because they're macaws.

 

[MisterPenguin]

There's one surviving Sherman brother. Someone, quick, ask him!

 

[DoleWhipDrea]

The Enchanted Tiki Room was originally envisioned as a dining experience and opened ten months before the Fair in June 1963. It was not developed for the Fair, and none of the Fair attractions were developed for the Fair with the hope of finding a sponsor. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln would be the closest to that, with Robert Moses helping to find a sponsor because he wanted it at the Fair, but it was already in development for Disneyland and even opened in the park before the Fair closed.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

But they had to fudge it a little to make it fit the "Tiki Rap"
The boys in the back are called macaws and that's because they always was

On a related note: Does anyone find it strange they refer to them as "boys" when the rest of the songs lyrics refer to them as "birds"?

Yes.

I also wondered why that phrasing was chosen. It made me think of the way soldiers are sometimes referred to as, "the boys."

Marlene Dietrich had a popular song called, "The Boys in the Back room." I don't know it is related, but it was popular.

Robert B. Sherman wrote a play called, Armistice and Dedication Day, when he was just 16. The jist of the play was to show how Americans' lives were changed following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Money made from the play contributed thousands of dollars for war bonds, and earned a special citation from the War Department.

He joined the army at age 17, a year early, with special permission from his parents. In 1945, he lead half a squad of men into Dachau, the first Allied troops to enter the camp. He earned multiple service medals, including the Purple Heart (after he was shot in the knee). He had to walk with cane for the rest of his life due to his war injury.

 

[Michaelson]

Then you have this:
"
The problem is it's not far enough out of this world
Hawaiian bird is a clawed macaw
Because they have claws?

No, because they're macaws...."

The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room - Disney

Disney - The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room Lyrics. All the birds sing the words and the flowers croon In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room Welcome to our tropical hideaway You lucky peop

www.songlyrics.com

Regards! Michaelson

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I can't see Disney using a kamikaze joke for a show opening in an era where the vast majority of guest would've been a veteran of WWII, had a direct relative that that fought in and maybe even died in WWII, or, especially in California, was of Japanese descent. I know it was a different time but I think that would've still been viewed as very taboo.

It was a different era.

Making fun of the Japanese was not taboo. If anything, the opposite was true. Comedy was used to support the war effort. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all commissioned and supervised films, even some for training. If you have ever been on Universal's MiB, and seen the preshow film with Doofus, well that's a play on the fictional Private Snafu and Lance Corporal Schmuckatelli, fictional G.I's used to show real G.I.'s what not to do.


Making fun of one's enemy was seen as both a way to unify people to identify a common enemy, and a way to relieve anger towards that common enemy.(comic relief).

It might be helpful to read some WWII history.

Here area few film titles from the WWII era:

Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line, 1942, Minnie is about to pour her bacon grease over Pluto's dinner bowl as a treat, but a radio announcement reminds them that the glycerine which can be extracted from cooking fats is important to production of war munitions.

Popeye: You're a Sap, Mr. , 1942 - Popeye's sailing out in the Pacific, spoiling for a fight with the Japanese. He comes across what looks a Japanese fishing boat, but, just before Popeye lets loose with the old fists, the Japs offer him a peace treaty...
Herr Meets Hare, 1945, Bugs disguises himself as Hitler, Stalin and Brunhilde when he confronts Nazi Hermann Goering in the Black Forest.
Disney's original Chicken Little, 1943.
Seein' Red, White 'n' Blue, 1943, Bluto tries to dodge the draft by fooling Popeye. Eventually, Popeye shares his spinach with Bluto and they team up; their American fist is so far-reaching that it is felt overseas by both Hirohito and Hitler.

Tokio Jokio, 1943, a "captured" Japanese newsreel: Civilian defense shows an aircraft spotter painting spots on aircraft and a fire prevention HQ that already burned down. Kitchen Hints shows the construction of a sandwich from bread and meat ration cards. Poisonalities in the News shows Yamamoto walking on stilts and boasting of plans for the White House, contrasted with the room reserved for him: an electric chair. A submarine, launched 3 weeks ahead of schedule, is still being built.

And there are many more.....

Certainly in the 1970's, a great many movies were made showing the Germans as bad guys, though by the 1970's showing the Soviets as bad guys was even more common. There were used as a kind of stock character. Think of like the James Bond movies, or the bad guys in Raiders of the Lost Ark, or the terrorists in the first Back to the Future. The audience doesn't get a long explanation for who they are.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Then you have this:
"
The problem is it's not far enough out of this world
Hawaiian bird is a clawed macaw
Because they have claws?

No, because they're macaws...."

The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room - Disney

Disney - The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room Lyrics. All the birds sing the words and the flowers croon In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room Welcome to our tropical hideaway You lucky peop

www.songlyrics.com

Regards! Michaelson

Ouch! I appreciate your efforts.

Still, the version of the lyrics in the link you provided look way off! Like here:

Because if we don't make you fill
Like that we're gonna wind up on a lady's hat

 

[JohnD]

Are there actually four pages of this conversation about people actually thinking this lyric includes a nonsensical use of the word "kamikaze"?

That sing-along book is wrong. Some intern was asked to type out the lyrics and they misunderstood and didn't bother to double-check.

The boys in the back are called macaws.
Because of their claws?
No, because they're macaws.

Yes.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Yes.

I thought the saying was 'beat a dead tortoise."

 

[InnKpr]

I thought the saying was 'beat a dead tortoise."

I always heard it as: "Beat a red horse" (?)

 

[FoodRockz]

I've personally always heard "kamikaze" without a second thought. Will have to listen closer tomorrow.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Really? I dunno, I think it is kinda interesting to ponder something like this for a change, and I appreciate all the thoughtful responses people have posted.

Usually, if I don't find a thread appealing, I just skip it. With all the dreariness of 2020, a little thoughtful pondering is just, refreshing!

Perhaps having a positive thread was too much to ask. Sigh.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

It was a different era.

Making fun of the Japanese was not taboo. If anything, the opposite was true. Comedy was used to support the war effort. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all commissioned and supervised films, even some for training. If you have ever been on Universal's MiB, and seen the preshow film with Doofus, well that's a play on the fictional Private Snafu and Lance Corporal Schmuckatelli, fictional G.I's used to show real G.I.'s what not to do.


Making fun of one's enemy was seen as both a way to unify people to identify a common enemy, and a way to relieve anger towards that common enemy.(comic relief).

It might be helpful to read some WWII history.

Here area few film titles from the WWII era:

Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line, 1942, Minnie is about to pour her bacon grease over Pluto's dinner bowl as a treat, but a radio announcement reminds them that the glycerine which can be extracted from cooking fats is important to production of war munitions.

Popeye: You're a Sap, Mr. ***, 1942 - Popeye's sailing out in the Pacific, spoiling for a fight with the Japanese. He comes across what looks a Japanese fishing boat, but, just before Popeye lets loose with the old fists, the Japs offer him a peace treaty...
Herr Meets Hare, 1945, Bugs disguises himself as Hitler, Stalin and Brunhilde when he confronts Nazi Hermann Goering in the Black Forest.
Disney's original Chicken Little, 1943.
Seein' Red, White 'n' Blue, 1943, Bluto tries to dodge the draft by fooling Popeye. Eventually, Popeye shares his spinach with Bluto and they team up; their American fist is so far-reaching that it is felt overseas by both Hirohito and Hitler.

Tokio Jokio, 1943, a "captured" Japanese newsreel: Civilian defense shows an aircraft spotter painting spots on aircraft and a fire prevention HQ that already burned down. Kitchen Hints shows the construction of a sandwich from bread and meat ration cards. Poisonalities in the News shows Yamamoto walking on stilts and boasting of plans for the White House, contrasted with the room reserved for him: an electric chair. A submarine, launched 3 weeks ahead of schedule, is still being built.

And there are many more.....

Certainly in the 1970's, a great many movies were made showing the Germans as bad guys, though by the 1970's showing the Soviets as bad guys was even more common. There were used as a kind of stock character. Think of like the James Bond movies, or the bad guys in Raiders of the Lost Ark, or the terrorists in the first Back to the Future. The audience doesn't get a long explanation for who they are.

I am fully aware of all of this. I still don't think they would've done it. In fact, the explanation it was making fun of the Japanese really wouldn't make sense because the joke isn't about the Japanese. It's about the macaws.

 

[DoleWhipDrea]

I will say in defense of “called macaws,” I asked my husband what he thought the lyric was, and that was what he said. I told him I thought it was “kamikaze” and that I have always heard a z, and he said cheerfully, “Nope!”

We agreed to end the conversation

Also something entertaining to note, this was debated on another forum years and years ago (came up in my search results)...seems that this isn’t a new debate!