Yoda (song)
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| “Yoda” | ||
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| Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||
| Album | Dare to Be Stupid | |
| Recorded | February 20, 1985 | |
| Genre | Comedy | |
| Length | 3:58 | |
| Label | Scotti Brothers | |
| Writer | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |
| Producer | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |
| Dare to Be Stupid track listing | ||
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"Yoda" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the song "Lola" by The Kinks. It is about Luke Skywalker's relationship with Yoda and is very much based on the events of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. It is featured on Weird Al's third album, Dare to Be Stupid.
[edit] Obtaining Permissions
Attempting to get permissions from George Lucas and from The Kinks delayed the release by about five years. Eventually, the song's publishers turned him down. By chance, one day Yankovic met Ray Davies, of The Kinks, and when Al asked Ray why he turned down permission to parody the song, Davies said that he had never been asked about it. Davies then gave Yankovic permission.
[edit] Other releases
The early demo of the song was released on various bootlegs, as well as in Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes.
[edit] Notes
- In concert, "Yoda" has been played at the end of every show for the tours promoting Yankovic's albums Dare to Be Stupid, Off The Deep End, Alapalooza, Bad Hair Day, Running with Scissors, and Poodle Hat; during the later four tours, halfway through the song, the band stops what they're doing, and go into an a cappella chant, nicknamed the "Yoda chant," which Yankovic wrote himself yet includes such classics as the Hawaiian War Chant. For the Running with Scissors tour, "Yoda" was preceded by that album's Star Wars-themed single, "The Saga Begins". However, during the Straight Outta Lynwood tour, the band plays this song in the middle of the show, after The Saga Begins.
- While the album version of "Yoda" uses the same instrumentation as "Lola", Yankovic will often add accordion accompaniment to the song when performing live; this can be seen on the video release "Weird Al" Yankovic Live!.
- In the "Time Machine" episode of The Weird Al Show, Al and his band perform the song for Harvey.
