Leprosy
Something’s up. I’m talking about a conspiracy.
There’s a parody of Yesterday, the Beatles song, called Leprosy (which I originally heard on Dr. Demento in the 80s). I’ve been googling for the lyrics, but all I’ve found are some failed attempts to recite it from memory (and some inferior attempts at original parody). WHY are there no accurate copies of these lyrics on the web? What is the web FOR if not storage of the lyrics of Leprosy for my convenient retrieval?!
I’m confident that none of the lyrics I’ve found are accurate, because NONE of them contain the brilliant line, “when my tongue fell out, I don’t know — I couldn’t say.” I’ve found some versions that have other portions right, and there are some recurring fragments that I don’t remember (which may mean they’re correct — I never memorized the song).
So, what’s the deal? This parody is too funny to have disappeared without help. Has it been banned by evil intellectual property censors? I hope not! Parody is a form of protected speech!
So… here are some fragments pieced together from my memory (jogged somewhat by other attempts I found on the web):
Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be, Pieces just keep falling off of me, (???). When my tongue fell out, I don't know, I couldn't say, (???), (???). Leprosy, (???), Now I've lost my chance for ecstasy, How I despise my leprosy.
January 12, 2006 Update:
I found a web page (which I admit doesn’t look very authoritative), that claims Sony is stifling Beatles parodies. I thought Michael Jackson exclusively owned most of The Beatles’ music, but according to Wikipedia, Michael Jackson and Sony have co-owned the Beatles music since the mid-90s.
So… since I’m boycotting Sony I guess that means I won’t be buying any more Beatles albums.