Lyr Req: Rucki Zucki (Bavarian Oktoberfest song)

Subject: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest Song
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 11 Oct 05 - 07:06 PM

Ok.....

In my collection of songs I do not have the lyrics to this one although I know the tune....popular at Oktoberfest.....short two liner....but illusive....

Rookie Zookie

If there is a midi somewhere let me know....

Thank you in advance for keeping this search from driving me mad!

Conrad

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest Song
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Oct 05 - 01:58 AM

For a "popular" song, this one is awfully hard to track down. The song certainly exists. I found many references to it. People in several countries seem to be familiar with it. Trouble is, no one seems to know how to spell it.

All the references to it that I've found are in blogs or forums somewhat like this one. I've found unanswered requests, for example--

bonjour
je recherche actuellement la chanson rouki zouki, on chante on danse on rit
pourais-tu me dire si tu connais l'auteur et le titre exact ?
merci d'avance,

-or-

Je recherche la musique de rouky zouky mais pas moyen de trouver
Vous savez où je pourrais trouver ça ?

The fact that I haven't found any reference to it at an "official" site of a band or music publisher makes me very doubtful that any of these spellings is correct.

Here are the spellings I tried and the results, in Google:

Rookie zookie - 25 hits (ignoring duplicates), but most of them are to a German porn discussion site where someone uses it as a handle.
Rouki zouki - 20 hits (mostly French)
Rouky zouky - 9 hits (all French)
Rooki zooki - 1 hit (German)
Rooky zooky - 1 hit (Dutch)
Roukyzouky - 1 hit (French)
Rookiezookie - 0 hits
Rookizooki - 0 hits
Rookyzooky - 0 hits
Roukie zoukie - 0 hits
Roukiezoukie - 0 hits
Roukizouki - 0 hits

The only site I can find that associates ROOKIE ZOOKIE (however you spell it) with a particular performer is this one about The Big Bear [California] Oktoberfest, where it says ROOKIE ZOOKIE is performed by The Express Band. However, the band's website doesn't list their repertoire.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest Song
From: GUEST,Ina
Date: 16 Oct 05 - 04:31 AM

It's spelled 'Rucki Zucki'.

Here are the words:

Rucki Zucki, Rucki Zucki,
Rucki Zucki, das ist der neuste Tanz.
Rucki Zucki, Rucki Zucki,
Rucki Zucki, das ist der neuste Tanz.

Das ist die neue Masche,
die jeder gleich erkennt,
im ganzen Land das Liedchen
man Rucki Zucki nennt,
wir schütteln uns're Glieder
und dreh'n uns dabei um,
das Spielchen ist nicht dumm.

Rucki Zucki, Rucki Zucki,
Rucki Zucki, das ist der neuste Tanz.
Rucki Zucki, Rucki Zucki,
Rucki Zucki, das ist der neuste Tanz.

Das linke Beinchen vor
und wieder zurück,
das rechte Beinchen vor,
das ist der ganze Trick.
Wir tanzen Rucki Zucki
und dreh'n uns dabei um,
das Spielchen ist nicht dumm.

Rucki Zucki, Rucki Zucki,
Rucki Zucki, das ist der neuste Tanz.
Rucki Zucki, Rucki Zucki,
Rucki Zucki, das ist der neuste Tanz.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest Song
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Oct 05 - 08:01 AM

Thanks, Ina.

Would you believe Google gives 26,800 hits on "RUCKI ZUCKI"? And 72 hits on "Rucki Zucki, das ist der neuste Tanz"? You can even download ringtones for your cellphone with that tune. You wouldn't believe how much time I spent searching for this song without stumbling on, or thinking of, that spelling.

Google let me down this time. When you search with a misspelled word, even if it's an obscure foreign word or proper name, Google nowadays often asks, "Did you mean——?" and suggests the correct spelling. It didn't do that this time. Neither did Allmusic.com, which is normally very good about finding names or titles with spellings similar to what you search for.

Now that I know the correct spelling, I see that Allmusic.com lists only one recording: Ernst Neger performs RUCKI ZUCKI on the album "Die Grosse Stimmungsparade Mit Ernst Neger," 1990.

You can see a track list and hear sound samples at Sony-BMG/Germany.

Here's an article about Ernst Neger in the German edition of Wikipedia. (The English edition doesn't have anything.)

Apparently there is a French disco (?) version recorded by Les Touristes. It contains the phrase "Rucki-zucki, On chante, on danse, on rit."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest So
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 17 Oct 05 - 05:13 AM

Google and misspelled words: The question "did you mean ..." only appears when there are one or two deviations in spelling. Between "rookie zookie" and "rucki zucki" there are simply too many.

The song is what we call in Germany a "Stimmungslied" = approximately "a song of good humour". I first heard it during a carnival campaign, now it is sung or played during drinking bouts and parties. It is no genuine Oktoberfest song, but since people are drinking a lot there ...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest So
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 17 Oct 05 - 05:01 PM

Ernst Neger! Really takes me all the way back to my childhood TV experiences! Anyway, I'd always spell it 'Rucki Zucki'. The tune is 'Goodnight Ladies', by the way. If that has been mentioned before I overlooked it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest So
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 19 Oct 05 - 04:58 AM

Me, too - and I used to throw the dice with his blind composer and pianist Toni Hämmerle, University phone operator in Gießen, where we visited the same old fashioned pub.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rookie Zookie-Bavarian Oktoberfest So
From: Wolfgang
Date: 19 Oct 05 - 11:01 AM

And we did sing the slightly altered lyrics to another 'Stimmungs'song:

Und dann hau ich mit dem Hämmerle das Sparschwein, das Sparschwein, kaputt
and we thought it fun then.

Wolfgang