I think we've come up with circumstantial evidence to prove WillH wrong about this being originally a pop song written in 1941. The Great Song Thesaurus says "Misirlou" was published in 1947, with words and music by Milton Leeds, Fred Wise, and R.N. Roubanis. Who Wrote That Song says the English words were by Fred Wise, Milton Leeds, and S.K. Russell; with music by N. Roubanis - popularized by Jan August.
I think we still have much to learn about the actual origin of this song, although this page (click) seems very credible.
-Joe Offer-