Words & Music:
Sid Tepper
Roy C. Bennett
I saw three shrimp in the water, two were old and gray
I swam a little bit closer and .. I heard the third one say
Goodbye mama shrimp, papa shake my hand
Here come the shrimper for to take me to Louisian'
Here come the shrimper for to take me to Louisian'
He showed his mama and papa, the shrimp newspaper he read
An invitation to all the shrimp and this is what it said
Free ride, New Orleans, stay in grand hotel
Big Creole gal who help you come out of your shell
Big Creole gal who help you come out of your shell
If I should live to be ninety, I will never forget
The little shrimp and the song he sang as he jumped into the net
Goodbye mama shrimp, papa shake my hand
Here come the shrimper for to take me to Louisian'
Here come the shrimper for to take me to Louisian'
Here come the shrimper for to take me to Louisian'
Here come the shrimper for to take me to Louisian'
Here come the shrimper for to take me to Louisian'
Recordingdate: 1962/03/27, first released on: Girls! Girls! Girls! (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Song of the Shrimp:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(clarinet)
(sax)
Availability
Find available albums with Song of the Shrimp.
Oh my. An all time low for this songwriting team. Leiber/Stoller where have you gone?
This tune is more bearable on record than "Earth Boy" (from the same movie, "Girls! Girls! Girls!"), but only barely. I do find it funny that people blast this song, but say they like "Sand Castles" from the "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" soundtrack LP. They are both juvenile and sound like they belong in the movie the "The Incredible Mr Limpet".
Catchy chorus...but that's about it I am afraid.
It fits the film,that's it !
Another corker from the always reliable Tepper and Bennett. Please read that last sentence with extreme sarcasm. Actually the worst thing about this song is the title which is embarrassing. The melody is surprisingly enjoyable, especially considering who wrote it. Makes me wonder if it's based on an existing trad song.
I first heard this song when I was forteen years old (in ´64) and thought it was great. Still think it´s a great song! Sorry guys!
I had previously said that this song was only barely more bearable than "Earth Boy". After further consideration, I would have to be a little more generous to this song. It is juvenile and not exactly at the top of my play list, but Elvis' vocals are great and it is at least worth 2 1/2 stars. Is this the kind of song Elvis should have been singing in '62? Probably not, but he did and I do get some enjoyment out of it. It still reminds me of "Sand Castles" from the PHS soundtrack, but I have also come to appreciate that song more to.
Elvis Presley sings Harry Belafonte. For one reason or another I always loved this song. Very catchy tune, great backing by the Jordonaires on the chorus and that falsetto voice at the end of the song gives it that little bitty extra.
A poor man's Belafonte. Melody not bad, lyrics are awful though. Fits the film so we could get 13/14 songs in? Should have been an EP then.
On its own the song has bizarre lyrics, but it fits in the film and Elvis delivers it masterfully. The rhythm, the catchy tune and the voice are in some strange way just wonderful. I do not skip this one when it starts but actually kind of enjoy it. Three stars from me.
Has attracted so much opprobrium over the years, often being cited as the lowest point ever in Elvis' career - complete nonsense. This is an outstanding recording of the in-situ movie type song. The writing itself is a very good in calypso-style, the performance lavished upon it, outstanding. So, it's a song about a shrim - who critiicses Crawfish (also with a shellfish theme) for the same reason?
Yes, the lyrics are absurd, but the calypso melody is quite catchy and Elvis sings it very well. It's a weird song, but I like it :)
This isn't a great song, but I like it. It's a very fun and a very unique song. This is the only song entirely about shrimp that I've ever heard and I find the song to be highly entertaining.
So Elvis also did calypso, why not. Great percussion on this one (there were three drummers present on the session). The Jordanaires did an amazing job on this one. Very enjoyable and unique in Elvis' repertoire.
I echo others in that out of the film environment and on vinyl the lyrics are somewhat strange. However the calypso tune is enchanting and convincingly sung by Elvis. Refreshingly different from his other offerings, I give it 3 stars for vinyl and a tad more in the film.
Actually, in the movie it is quite fun to listen and as far as the lyrics go, well, it reflects quite a lot what people like to think: animals like to be captured and slaughtered. I can see the smiling pigs happily and readily dying for human consumption. No way! When I heard this song for the first time my English was extremely poor, so luckily I listened to a lot of those movie songs for the voice, the tune and rythm. I liked most of them, because Elvis has such an incredible voice.
Although I do not like to eat shrimp, I really like the song.
Considering the dynamic dual which wrote this garbage what a surprise. Pure crap and the lyrics are banal at best. Ugh. Bennett & Tepper, synonymous with killing Elvis Presley's movie career along with Colonel Parker. Fast buck artists.
Ok so it’s silly movie song, it’s got silly lyrics and so many people want to bash Elvis’ movie songs. But is it any worse than Doe a deer a female deer? It’s a musical and in musicals you find fun catchy tunes!
I have always had a huge soft spot for this calypso tune.
To tell you the truth, this s a guilty pleasure of mine. Silly lyrics of course, but as it has been said a thousand times, Elvis could sing the whole telephone directory and make it listenable. So there!