Talk:Minnie the Moocher
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Can we print these lyrics? Surely they're still under copyright. --Alexs letterbox 11:27, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- By now you should know better than to ask such questions. I strongly suspect that the lyrics are fair use; a printed copy is no substitute for the sheet music or the recorded music, and does not compete with it. They will remain available in literally hundreds of places across the Web if they are removed from here, and the wikified version makes their in-line annotation possible. Smerdis of Tlön 13:36, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
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- A song's lyrics are copyrighted independently of any recorded performance of the song. A reprint of a song's lyrics is a violation of the copyright of the original songwriters. --FuriousFreddy 00:11, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
- Most certainly the lyrics are not public domain and are a copyright violation, and should not be reproduced in full ("fair use" would only cover selected quotes, not reproduction of the entire lyrics.) -- Infrogmation 04:14, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)
This and many other classic Betty Boops cartoons are available for download from Archive.org at http://www.archive.org/details/bb_minnie_the_moocher where it is asserted as public domain. boffy_b 00:04, 11 October 2005 (UTC).
- The cartoon may be PD, but I do not beleive the song is. --FuriousFreddy 00:11, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Other versions
It's such a great song. Every version, old and new, has something to recommend it. By 1980 Calloway's voice had gotten more gravelly, and the scatting slower, but it's still completely worthwhile. Mention should also be made of Danny Kaye's wonderful variation. --Bamjd3d
I cut out the stubs. It seems like a fairly complete article for one song. I will add the Danny Kaye version shortly.--Indolering
- Then again, I don't know how to incorperate it well. I know nothing of the remake, Denny Kaye, or of the period.--Indolering
The first paragraph of the article states that the rest of the song relates to Minnie's drug-induced dream. This is true of the shortened version used in the cartoon and I think in Blues Brothers. However the complete song has two more verses. One about Minnie's encounter with Deacon Lowdown (with sexually suggestive lyrics) and the final one about her eventual fate (which explains why the song ends "poor Min"). Shouldn't this be mentioned in the article? Al Ong 13:58, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
- I'm more familiar with the shorter version; is this the one where she ends up in the nuthouse and dies there? Yes, they ought to be included, I think. Smerdis of Tlön 14:39, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
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- Thanks for making the update. Is there a reference proving that "jaggin'" has a sexual meaning? The only definition I found that fits is cheating at poker by jagging (notching; or marking) the cards [1]. I think the word "version" is overused in the new paragraph. I think "verse" is meant in most cases. I would make the changes myself but you are already doing a great job, so I just want to mention my observations and let you decide. Al Ong 18:47, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
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- For what it is worth another definition of "jaggin'" is "keeping a high going"[2], but I think the last edit gives enough information without including assumptions. Keep up the good work. Al Ong 19:54, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Another 1930s film
I've seen an (almost certainly 1930s) film version of the song which has just Calloway and the band, no animation. I gather that it was made either for the race movie audience and/or for the juke boxes with film that existed in some bars at the time. I'm wondering whether it comes out of the same filming session as the Fleischer cartoon or was separately filmed. Does anyone know anything about it? -- Jmabel | Talk 06:23, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Aimee McPherson
It might be worth mentioning a song—about Aimee McPherson—certainly influenced by "Minnie". Written, I believe, in the 1930s, which Pete Seeger recorded (complete with "Heigh-dee Ho's") around 1962: "…She weighed a hundred eighty and her hair was red. / She preached a wicked sermon so the papers all said. [but eventually headed toward] "They found a little cottage with a breakfast nook / and a folding bed with a worn-out look. / The slats was busted and the springs was loose / And the dents in the mattress fitted Amy's caboose." (Found a version on line: [3]) - Jmabel | Talk 06:23, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
