Hørte rigtig meget Sparks, when a young kid in Viborg. De to Mael-brødre – pin-up-sanger Russell og Adolf Hitler-lookalike-sangskriver Ron – kørte ret bizarre sangtekster, der her, i en sang fra Sparks’ 1976-album ‘Big Beat’, resulterer i et helt andet take på Mississippi’s storhed end Johannes V’s:
I BOUGHT THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
I bought the Mississippi River
Of course that don’t include the towns
Or the people
Around the Mississippi
Well, to clinch the deal the man threw
In a boat with crew
And then I knew I’d better grab that
River fast
It wouldn’t last
They never do, they never do
It wouldn’t last, last, last
So now I own the Mississippi
I couldn’t decide if I should leave it there
Or tug it out West with me
The best thing was to think about it,
Not to make a move I might regret
Cause then I’d have to have the
Mississippi sent back East, complete
With boat and crew
That wouldn’t do, do, do
It’s mine, all mine
It’s mine, all mine
Do rivers ever need companions
Should I enquire if the Seine is
Available, yeah, I would rather have
A classy little Frenchy than a Nile or
A Tybo, oh
Now wait a minute, how about the
Amazon, now that could be real fun
For Mississippi, for Mississippi,
For Mississippi, my Mississippi
I hope that I didn’t make an error
I hope this ain’t a lot more trouble
than it’s all really worth
© Ron Mael
Mississippi er en af de store vandveje, der er skrevet megen populærmusik om. I mit iTunes-bibliotek lå disse, Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man – Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty, Mississippi Delta – Bobbie Gentry, Mississippi Boweavil Blues – Charley Patton, Muddy Waters Rose Out Of The Mississippi Mud – Willy Deville, samt Mississippi – John Phillips.
Sidstnævnte følger her:
MISSISSIPPI:
Hit it, Hal
Early in the morning, she hitched a ride down to Louisville
Holding onto a hundred dollar bill
Dressed herself like a Cajun Queen in New Orleans, baby
Yeah, she looked good, like a lady
Do it to me, James
And the Mississippi River runs like molasses in the summertime
And me, you know, I don’t hardly mind
Sipping on a beer in Bourbon Street and I’m sitting easy
Don’t get me wrong, it takes a lot to please me
Have a seat and take a load off your feet, and she said ´Yes´
So I said, ´I like your dress’
Swamps all around make you feel kind of funny, don’t they, honey
She crossed her legs and looked at me funny
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing (what you’re doing)
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing (2x)
Early in the morning, she hitched a ride down to Louisville (Louisville)
Holding onto a hundred dollar bill
Dressed herself like a Cajun Queen in New Orleans, baby
Yeah, she looked good, like a lady
And the Mississippi River, it runs like molasses in the summertime
And me, you know, I don’t hardly mind
Sipping on a beer in Bourbon Street and I’m sitting easy
Don’t get me wrong, it takes a lot to please me
Everybody sing
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing (2x)
Have a seat, take a load off your feet, and she said ´Yes´
So I said, ´I like your dress
Swamps all around make you feel kind of funny, don’t they, honey
She crossed her legs and looked at me funny
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing (what you’re doing)
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing (what you’re doing)
Down on the bayou, why, you never know just what you’re doing
(c) John Phillips 1970