When my brother Benjamin was in middle school, he discovered Weird Al
Yankovic, and he was eager to introduce the rest of the family to this
wacky producer of novelty songs. I wasn't convinced. At the time, it was
my policy to disapprove of whatever new music Benjamin brought into the
house, but gradually he wore me down, getting me to embrace the man who
has since become a major inspiration to me in my own parody-penning
efforts. Amish Paradise is probably the song that really sold me on him.
That's a bit odd, since I've never had much time for rap, though Gangsta's Paradise
is a song I always felt had merit. What really drew me to Al's parody
was his subject matter, as I have always had a fascination with all
things Amish. My grandparents live near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so I've
seen my share of the long beards, plain clothes, intricate quilts and
horse and buggies that are common to these deeply religious,
agriculturally-minded people. But I always welcome to opportunity to
read a new story or watch a new movie about them, so why not a song?
Granted, Al pokes fun. But he never comes across as mean-spirited, and
he packs his song with all sorts of references to the Amish lifestyle.
The vast majority of the words are rapped, but he sings the chorus,
which, with the exception of a deviation that makes entertaining use of
the Gilligan's Island theme song, consists of "livin' in an Amish
Paradise" and as many phrases as he can think of that legitimately
rhyme with it. There's also a severe-sounding choir that "ah-ah-ah"s at
the beginning and end of the song, giving it an appropriate feeling of
antiquity.
As with so many of his songs, the video adds a
whole layer of amusement. A friend of Benjamin's taped a special that
played several Weird Al videos right after the original videos on which
they were based, making for easy comparisons. Al incorporates several
clever spoofs of Gangsta's Paradise, while still making it entirely accessible to those who aren't familiar with Coolio's video.
Al's ability to manipulate his voice and appearance to suit his songs
has always impressed me, and in this video he looks perfectly natural
with his long beard, little glasses and black ensemble, complete with
hat. I love the little visual details like the man checking his sundial
watch and the "How Am I Driving?" bumper sticker on a horse and buggy.
Still, it's the cleverness of Al's lyrics that pack the biggest punch.
Stuff like "We ain't really quaint, / so please don't point and stare; /
We're just technologically impaired" and "So don't be vain, and don't
be whiny, / or else, my brother, I might have to get medieval on your
hiney!"
The response of the stricken Amish community to the
tragic Nickel Mines incident goes to show that retribution probably
isn't high on the priority list of most of these people, but other
details, such as all the references to raising barns, churning butter,
plowing, feeding livestock, creating quilts and studying the Bible, ring
pretty true. If you want a respectful, realistic portrayal of the
Amish, look to Beverly Lewis or Witness. If you just want a silly reminder of some of the things that make this culture unique, Weird Al is the way to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment