The Rockin' Pneumonia
Lasse Brundin
couple of different songs (notably Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven"), but
does the phrase as such mean anything specific?
Cheers!
Lasse
Perchprism
>From: "Lasse Brundin" bpn...@tninet.se
>Date: 4/17/00 7:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <8detjj$48m$1...@cubacola.tninet.se>
>
>What does the phrase "Rockin' pneumonia" mean? I know it's a line from a
>couple of different songs (notably Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven"), but
>does the phrase as such mean anything specific?
I don't think so. It seems to me to arise from a jumble of references -- a
possibly African superstition of music as medicine, the withdrawl symptoms felt
by a drug addict when deprived of his drug (the drug being music in this case),
a "medical" motif in pop music that grew to have a life of its own (witness
"Love Potion No. 9" and "Good Lovin'" and "Doctor, My Eyes").
--
Perchprism
(southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia)
David Cheatham
If so, it simply says to me the disease and depression are wound
into the song itself.
I think,as I was told recently about something else, it don't
mean nothin'. Ah, said I, sufficiently enlightened to go on my
way.
David
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Alex Chernavsky
>What does the phrase "Rockin' pneumonia" mean?
I don't know, but it's probably a joke based on the real disease called
"walking pneumonia":
http://www.allkids.org/Epstein/Articles/Walking_Pneumonia.html
--
Alex Chernavsky
al...@astrocyte-design.com
Murray Arnow
> What does the phrase "Rockin' pneumonia" mean? I know it's a line from a
> couple of different songs (notably Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven"), but
> does the phrase as such mean anything specific?
The term is, of course, rocking pneumonia. It originated in the Middle
Ages. Some pneumonia victims would develop a cough so severe that the
town's people would be kept awake all night. The only known remedy was to
place the pneumonia patient in the center of the town square. The town's
people would then toss pebbles, stones, or whatever into the square to
frighten the demons of sickness from the sufferer. This was called rocking
pneumonia. It was incredibly effective in curing the sleep-robbing cough.
Martin A. Mazur
>Wasn't it the "rockin' pneumonia and the boogie-woogie blues"?
>
I may have been Mondegreening all my life, but I believe it's "boogie-woogie
flu".
Marty.
--
Martin A. Mazur .................... Representing only himself
http://www.personal.psu.edu/mxm14/
SOME POLISH COOKING: http://www.personal.psu.edu/mxm14/wigilia.htm
MY COMETS PAGE: http://www.personal.psu.edu/mxm14/comets.htm
Every religion that does not affirm that God is hidden is not true.
- Blaise Pascal
khann
However, those who did not improve developed a rosy-red ring-shaped rash
and stank so that those attending the sick filled their pockets with
posies to ward off the smell. Those fatally afflicted turned ashen and
died, hence the famous Chuck Berry song, "Ring Around the Rosie".
KHann
Pat Meadows
<khann....@this.address.ca> wrote:
>However, those who did not improve developed a rosy-red ring-shaped rash
>and stank so that those attending the sick filled their pockets with
>posies to ward off the smell. Those fatally afflicted turned ashen and
>died, hence the famous Chuck Berry song, "Ring Around the Rosie".
>
On This Side of the Pond (USA), we complete that song
with "Ashes, ashes, all fall down."
I've been told that on T'other Side, they complete it
with "Tishoo, tishoo, all fall down." I imagine "tishoo"
represents the sound of a sneeze, which makes sense in
context, but I could see why ashes could also make sense in
context.
Does anyone know which is the older or original version?
Pat
khann
Donna,
I'm sorry. It was supposed to be a joke. Pat didn't get it. I hold
myself to blame.
Pat,
It was a joke -- obviously, a bad one. It wasn't supposed to generate
yet another discussion of this pestilential verse. Please search it on
the net at your leisure. Look it up in Deja. Everyone has a theory and
nobody has the definitive answer.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxa culpa.
KHann
David Cheatham
You know, I think you're right. It's sometimes dangerous to
depend on memory, or so I've found personally. <G>
Donna Richoux
> Pat Meadows wrote:
> > >
> > On This Side of the Pond (USA), we complete that song
> > with "Ashes, ashes, all fall down."
> >
> > I've been told that on T'other Side, they complete it
> > with "Tishoo, tishoo, all fall down." I imagine "tishoo"
> > represents the sound of a sneeze, which makes sense in
> > context, but I could see why ashes could also make sense in
> > context.
> >
> > Does anyone know which is the older or original version?
>
>
> Donna,
> I'm sorry. It was supposed to be a joke. Pat didn't get it. I hold
> myself to blame.
Khann,
Yes, you should be remorseful. Just see what a little mischief can do.
Pat,
You'll find a fairly thorough study by Ian Munro on the history of "Ring
Around the Rosie/Ring-a-ring o'roses" at:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~imunro/ring.html
We just finished an exhaustive discussion on this topic and as you might
imagine are not eager to take it up again. But in particular, it is
probable that neither "ashes" nor "atishoo" (variously spelled) is much
older than the other. They both appear to derive from the earlier
"Husha, husha" which in turn probably came from the German "musch,
musch."
> Pat,
> It was a joke -- obviously, a bad one. It wasn't supposed to generate
> yet another discussion of this pestilential verse. Please search it on
> the net at your leisure. Look it up in Deja. Everyone has a theory and
> nobody has the definitive answer.
>
> Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxa culpa.
You can apologize again when this gets out of hand.
--
Hoping for the best --- Donna Richoux
Orne Batmagoo
> x-no-archive: yes
>> Lasse Brundin <bpn...@tninet.se> wrote:
>>
>> > What does the phrase "Rockin' pneumonia" mean? I know it's a line
>> > from a couple of different songs (notably Chuck Berry's "Roll Over
>
>
> What are the others?
"Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" by Huey "Piano" Smith and
the Clowns. (Johnny Rivers's cover is more famous, though.)
--
Orne Batmagoo
N.Mitchum
>
> What does the phrase "Rockin' pneumonia" mean? I know it's a line from a
> does the phrase as such mean anything specific?
It means the music has him in its grip; it's infected him like a
disease. Notice that the line in full is "I got the rockin'
pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu." The words "rockin'
pneumonia" can only refer to this; the expression means nothing
on its own.
----NM
Avi Jacobson
"N.Mitchum" <aj...@lafn.org> wrote:
> Lasse Brundin wrote:
> It means the music has him in its grip; it's infected him like a
> disease. Notice that the line in full is "I got the rockin'
> pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu." The words "rockin'
> pneumonia" can only refer to this; the expression means nothing
> on its own.
Wasn't it "I got the rockin' pneumonia when the juke box blowed a
fuse"? I seem to recall that rhyming with the line "...and my soul
keep's a singin' the blues".
Of course, I could be confusing that with any of several rhyming lines
in that song which I now only partially recall: "...early in the
mornin' I'm a givin' you the warning, don'cha step on my blue suede
shoes", or "hey diddle diddle, I'm gonn' play my fiddle - ain' got
nothin' to lose", or "roll over Beethoven, tell Tschaikowsky the news".
Emmis.
--
Avi Jacobson, Manager of Product Language Localization, Gallery Systems
A...@GallerySystems.com - (510) 652 8950, ext. 246
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
N.Mitchum
-----
> > Notice that the line in full is "I got the rockin'
>
> Wasn't it "I got the rockin' pneumonia when the juke box blowed a
> fuse"? I seem to recall that rhyming with the line "...and my soul
> keep's a singin' the blues".
I found the lyrics at ...
http://www.summer.com.br/~pfilho/html/lyrics/r/rokcin_pneumonia.txt
The song's title is "The Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie
Flu," a phrase that's repeated five times in this version, once
every four lines. Credits go to Johnny Rivers; J. Vincent and H.
Smith appear to have done the writing.
Of course your version might also be correct. Google turned up
over 800 hits, and I only visited one of them.
----NM
Maria Conlon
N.Mitchum wrote in message
>Avi Jacobson wrote:
>-----
>> > Notice that the line in full is "I got the rockin'
>> > pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu." [...]
>> Wasn't it "I got the rockin' pneumonia when the juke box blowed a
>> fuse"? I seem to recall that rhyming with the line "...and my soul
>> keep's a singin' the blues".
>
>I found the lyrics at ...
>http://www.summer.com.br/~pfilho/html/lyrics/r/rokcin_pneumonia.txt
>
>The song's title is "The Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie
>Flu," a phrase that's repeated five times in this version, once
>every four lines. Credits go to Johnny Rivers; J. Vincent and H.
>Smith appear to have done the writing.
>
>Of course your version might also be correct. Google turned up
>over 800 hits, and I only visited one of them.
There are two songs that I know of with "rockin' pneumonia" in them.
There's the Johnny Rivers one and then there's Chuck Berry's "Roll Over
Beethoven."
Lyrics for the latter at:
http://www.gold.com.br/~jafol/ChuckBer.htm#R
Maria
Carmen L. Abruzzi
----------
In article <38FBAC...@lafn.org>, "N.Mitchum" <aj...@lafn.org>
wrote:
>Avi Jacobson wrote:
>-----
>> > Notice that the line in full is "I got the rockin'
>> > pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu." [...]
>>
>> Wasn't it "I got the rockin' pneumonia when the juke box blowed a
>> fuse"? I seem to recall that rhyming with the line "...and my soul
>> keep's a singin' the blues".
>>......
>
>I found the lyrics at ...
>http://www.summer.com.br/~pfilho/html/lyrics/r/rokcin_pneumonia.txt
>
>The song's title is "The Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie
>Flu," a phrase that's repeated five times in this version, once
>every four lines. Credits go to Johnny Rivers; J. Vincent and H.
>Smith appear to have done the writing.
>
>Of course your version might also be correct. Google turned up
>over 800 hits, and I only visited one of them.
>
Avi's "version" is from two verses of "Roll Over Beethoven" an
entirely different song, done by Chuck Berry.
You know, my temperature's risin'
and the jukebox blows a fuse.
My heart's beatin' rhythm
and my soul keeps on singin' the blues.
Roll Over Beethoven and tell Tschaikowsky the news.
I got the rockin' pneumonia,
I need a shot of rhythm and blues.
I think I'm rollin' arthiritis
sittin' down by the rhythm review.
Roll Over Beethoven rockin' in two by two.
Charles Riggs
wrote:
>Lasse Brundin wrote:
>>
>> What does the phrase "Rockin' pneumonia" mean? I know it's a line from a
>> couple of different songs (notably Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven"), but
>> does the phrase as such mean anything specific?
>>......
>
>It means the music has him in its grip; it's infected him like a
>disease. Notice that the line in full is "I got the rockin'
>pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu." The words "rockin'
>pneumonia" can only refer to this; the expression means nothing
>on its own.
But it does. To me, it is clearly a play on words, based on "walking
pneumonia", as someone has already pointed out.
Charles Riggs
Pat Meadows
Richoux) wrote:
>Pat,
>
>You'll find a fairly thorough study by Ian Munro on the history of "Ring
>Around the Rosie/Ring-a-ring o'roses" at:
>
> http://www.ualberta.ca/~imunro/ring.html
>
>We just finished an exhaustive discussion on this topic and as you might
>imagine are not eager to take it up again. But in particular, it is
>probable that neither "ashes" nor "atishoo" (variously spelled) is much
>older than the other. They both appear to derive from the earlier
>"Husha, husha" which in turn probably came from the German "musch,
>musch."
Ooops! Sorry. I wasn't around at that time so I didn't
know that.
Thanks for the URL, I'll be off to read it straightaway.
Pat
Jon Riley
news:8dgj9o$dlh$1...@mark.ucdavis.edu...
>
> ----------
> In article <38FBAC...@lafn.org>, "N.Mitchum" <aj...@lafn.org>
> wrote:
>
>
> >Avi Jacobson wrote:
> >-----
> >>
> >> Wasn't it "I got the rockin' pneumonia when the juke box blowed a
> >> fuse"? I seem to recall that rhyming with the line "...and my
soul
> >> keep's a singin' the blues".
> >>......
> entirely different song, done by Chuck Berry.
>
> You know, my temperature's risin'
> and the jukebox blows a fuse.
> My heart's beatin' rhythm
> and my soul keeps on singin' the blues.
> Roll Over Beethoven and tell Tschaikowsky the news.
>
> I got the rockin' pneumonia,
> I need a shot of rhythm and blues.
> I think I'm rollin' arthiritis
> sittin' down by the rhythm review.
> Roll Over Beethoven rockin' in two by two.
Correction! "I caught the rollin' athritis / Sittin' down at a rhythm
revue"
Incidentally, both songs (Huey Smith and Chuck Berry) seem to be about
the problem of being too old to join in at a rock'n'roll dance. Huey
Smith's refers to various frustrating situations (e.g., "I wanna
holler but the joint's too small / I wanna kiss her but the gal's too
tall") culminating with:
Young man('s) rhythm got a hold on me too
I got the rockin' pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu
JR
sparky
long enough to know. :o)
sparky
Donna Richoux
> Wouldn't that be referred to as folk etymology?
Since you snipped so much as to be incomprehensible, I will restore the
quote:
Alex Chernavsky <al...@astrocyte-design.com> wrote:
> Lasse Brundin wrote, in part:
>
> >What does the phrase "Rockin' pneumonia" mean?
>
> I don't know, but it's probably a joke based on the real disease called
> "walking pneumonia":
>
> http://www.allkids.org/Epstein/Articles/Walking_Pneumonia.html
No, it's a deliberate joke, a play on words, a pun. "Folk etymology" is
used to mean two different things around here, but neither one means "a
play on words." I think you mean the kind of folk etymology that is
accidental: one word resembles another and eventually replaces it.
(The other meaning of "folk etymology" is "stories made up by ordinary
people to explain the origin of words, usually untrue." This meaning
does not have the blessings of the linguists.)
--
Best wishes --- Donna Richoux