Lyr ADD: Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon (Greg Brown)

Subject: rotty toot toot
From:
Date: 29 Sep 98 - 04:45 PM

Am looking for lyrics to "Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon" by Rob Carlson. Knew it many years ago, ahve forgotten most except verse and would like to sing/play it fro Cub Scouts.Reply to above.

Many Thanks.

Subject: Lyr Add: ROOTY TOOT TOOT FOR THE MOON (Greg Brown)
From: Roger Himler
Date: 29 Sep 98 - 08:07 PM

Dear Smkmann,

This may be the song for which you are searching. How many Rooty Toot Toot For the Moon's can there be?

ROOTY TOOT TOOT FOR THE MOON
by Greg Brown

The whole kit and caboodle is in disrepair,
There's nowhere to go if not here.
Little captains and cuckoos from here to Timbuctoo,
Are counting their dough in the mirror.

CHO:
Singing rooty, toot, toot for the moon,
It's the biggest star I've ever seen.
It's a pearl of wisdom, a slice of green cheese,
Burning just like kerosene (2X)

He was just a young white kid trying to sing tough and black,
With gravel and spit in his voice.
He laughed at the things we do, the radio laughed , too,
I held up my arms to rejoice.

So, God bless motorcycles and far out heavy trifles,
You know you can't memorize Zen.
Hang your hat on your nose, don't hide in your clothes,
Smile at someone, begin to begin.

Copied from RUS,

Enjoy the song!

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: rotty toot toot
From: Anne
Date: 30 Sep 98 - 06:19 PM

I like the Bill Staine's version!

Subject: RE: rotty toot toot
From: Rockaday Johnny
Date: 01 Oct 98 - 02:13 AM

Lui Collins did a great vesrion - and added a verse that Dick Pinney wrote..Can't remember it tho...

Subject: RE: rotty toot toot
From: Roger Himler
Date: 01 Oct 98 - 06:06 AM

Johnny,

That Dick Pinney verse is:

You know all of us are primates, some of us were classmates,
Some of us were lovers in the fall.
There were periods of blondness, periods of fondness,
Periods that never came at all.

Enjoy!

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: rotty toot toot
From: Rockaday Johnny
Date: 01 Oct 98 - 10:38 AM

That's It! --Thank You!

Subject: Lyr Add: ROOTY TOOT TOOT FOR THE MOON (Greg Brown)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 05:02 PM

click here for Greg Brown Lyrics (not always of perfect quality), but I think it's worth posting this one:


ROOTY TOOT TOOT FOR THE MOON (Greg Brown)

The whole kit and kaboodle is in disrepair
There's nowhere to go if not here
Little captains and cuckoos
From here to Timbuktu
Are counting their dough in the mirror

[chorus:]
Singing rooty toot toot for the moon
It's the biggest star I've ever seen
It's a pearl of wisdom, a slice of green cheese
And it's burnin' just like kerosene
Burnin' just like kerosene

You're gonna hop in your old Ford
And strap on your new sword
Wait for the good Lord to return
If you got a true honey
Life can be pretty funny
If you've got money
You've got money to burn

[repeat chorus]

So God bless motorcycles and all the other trifles
Ah you know you can't memorize Zen
Hang your hat on your nose
Do not hide in your clothes
Kiss somebody
Begin to begin

[repeat chorus]


A couple of extra verses from Rise Up Singing

He was just a young white kid trying to sing tough and black
With gravel and spit in his voice
He laughed at the things we do, the radio laughed too
I held up my arms to rejoice

(new verse by Dick Pinney)
You know all of us are primates, some of us were classmates
some of us were lovers in the fall
There were periods of blondness, periods of fondness,
Periods that never came at all.

JRO

Subject: RE: rootitoot and swimming song
From: campfire
Date: 12 Jul 99 - 07:46 PM

Michael Johnson also does a version of Greg's "Rooty Toot Toot For the Moon". If I remember correctly, there's a sound bite on the Michael Johnson web site. Can't give an exact URL from here, but when I found it the first time, I had just typed "Michael Johnson" in a search engine. Thing about Rooty is that everyone does it just a little different- including Greg each time HE does it (except I don't think he does, anymore)

campfire

Subject: RE: rootitoot and swimming song
From: campfire
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 03:25 PM

Hi again -

The URL for Michael Johnson is www.mjblue.com

He recorded Rooty Toot Toot (click) on There's A Breeze (first album). There is a sound bite there, but for some reason I can't get anything to play on this computer. Not sure if its me or the website...

I think that will be the "more familiar" tune, if it plays.

campfire

Subject: RE: rootitoot and swimming song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 04:49 PM

Well, I added a link in your message to the Michael Johnson "Rooty Toot" recording. doesn't seem to work, so I think it's his site that's the problem. Too bad.
Musicman, were you able to hear the recordings I left for you at my website?
I'll keep them up for a week or so, but half-megabyte recordings are filling up my 12-MB allotment very quickly.
-Joe offer-

Subject: RE: rootitoot and swimming song
From: Musicman
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 03:27 AM

Hi JOe,

Yes I got the .ra files onto my computer. thanks for the help.

catch you later.

Musicman

Subject: RE: rootitoot and swimming song
From: Cindy
Date: 20 Jul 99 - 06:16 PM

The sound bites are now working on Michael Johnson's site (www.mjblue.com) so "Rooty Toot Toot" can now be heard!

Subject: RE: rootitoot and swimming song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Jul 99 - 09:50 PM

Thanks, Cindy - that's the tune I know. I wonder if Greg Brown usually sings it that way, and just ended up with a jazzed-up rendition on the CD.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: rootitoot and swimming song
From: campfire
Date: 21 Jul 99 - 10:14 AM

Joe-

I think that's the tune Greg Brown started out with, because a lot of people who "do" the song use that tune - including Richard Pinney, who wrote that extra verse you quoted from RUS, and who used to perform with both Greg and Michael Johnson way way back.

Greg does a lot of his own songs differently, different times he plays them.

campfire

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon (Greg Brown)
From: Joe_F
Date: 30 Apr 12 - 11:47 AM

Part of the charm of this song, for me, is its rhyming "here" with "mirror". A midwesterner for sure!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon (Greg Brown)
From: CupOfTea
Date: 01 May 12 - 06:31 PM

I can't, for the life of me, remember WHO it was in concert - might have been Greg Brown or Bill Staines, it was many many years ago, though I know it was a he, talking about the "Rooty Toot Toot Phenomenon." Folks would become enchanted with the song, and try to sing it, but even if they remembered the words to the verses somewhat, then the melody would escape them, or vice-versa. They'd be able to sing out loudly on the chorus, so the verses would be things like "Mumble mumble mumble green cheese." It was a very funny bit. And both of the above mentioned gentlemen tell grand stories to introduce their songs.

Joanne in Cleveland

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon (Greg Brown)
From: GUEST,stevesg
Date: 01 May 12 - 06:59 PM

that was a standard bill staines set-piece 25-30 years ago...may still be...I think there are a lot of crowd-sourced verses floating around...

is the barking spider still running? does alex still sing silver wings?

steve s who left CLE in 1972

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon (Greg Brown)
From: WindhoverWeaver
Date: 01 May 12 - 07:41 PM

Greg has a habit of changing his songs over time, but the verses quoted above are the standard ones.

There was one other, as I recall. It went something like:

You gotta jump in your old Ford,
Strap on your new sword,
Wait for the good Lord to return,
If you got your honey,
Life can be pretty funny,
If you've money, you've got money to burn.

I remember Greg saying in concert many years ago before singing this song that it is one song he regretted writing because he was forever getting phone calls late at night from people who couldn't get it out of their heads but couldn't quite remember the words!

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon (Greg Brown)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Aug 22 - 12:47 PM

Mudcatter Don Meixner did a performance of this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQkbCkHJu9E

Here's the Greg Brown recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLMu8dU2epw