Lasagna (song)

"Lasagna" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "La Bamba", a traditional song popularized by Ritchie Valens and Los Lobos.

Track listing

The following tracks are on the single:

1. "Lasagna" – 2:45
2. "Velvet Elvis" – 4:27

The promo single only contains "Lasagna".

Writing and release

When Yankovic began writing the song, he claimed:

Under U.S. law, Yankovic can parody any song he wants as long as he pays royalties to use the original music. However, as a personal rule, he asks for permission anyway in order to maintain good relations with the industry. This particular song is an exception to that rule. Although the song is a parody of the Los Lobos cover version, "Lasagna" marked Yankovic's first parody that did not require either permission from an artist or a payment of royalties, since the song "La Bamba" is a traditional folk song that is not attributed to any specific writer.^[2]

The single was released exclusively in Japan as a mini 3" CD single.^[2][3]

Music video

There is no full-length music video for this single, though a shortened music video segment was shown in 1997 as a part of The Weird Al Show.

• The video features a stereotypical Italian family, including an elderly woman, two children, a rather large man for "Cousin Luigi" and Yankovic (sans glasses) as the father.
• When the line "A-don't you get any on ya, you sloppy pig" is sung, the elderly woman at the dinner table drops the lasagna into Luigi's lap.
• After "Have-a more ravioli" is sung, two children catch ravioli in their mouth.
• Near the end, lasagna is falling out of Luigi's mouth.
• The elderly woman and one of the children fight over the lasagna near the end.
• At the end, the family does a dance. First they simply wave from side to side with their hands on each other's shoulders while still seated. Then, they stand up from their chairs, which move off-screen, as does the table. Yankovic takes his plate of lasagna off the table. They all do a can can-type dance as confetti and balloons fall from the ceiling, and at the cheering section at the end, the others gather around Yankovic as he holds out his plate proudly.

Italian dishes mentioned in "Lasagna"

Yankovic names many Italian dishes in "Lasagna", including:

• Lasagna
• Spaghetti
• Calzone
• Minestrone
• Marinara
• Zucchini
• Linguini
• Fettuccine
• Ravioli

Trivia

The liner notes of "The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic" incorrectly identify "Lasagna" as an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic, rather than a parody.

This song plays on a radio in a cave scene in the live-action Yogi Bear movie.

References

1. ^ "Permanent Record Booklet: "Lasagna"". Al Yankovic. 2007-01-09. http://php.indiana.edu/~jbmorris/FAQ/al.booklet. Retrieved 2007-02-07. 
2. ^ ^{a b} ""Lasagna" Single". Al Yankovic. 2007-01-09. http://www.allthingsyank.com/singles/lasagna.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-07. 
3. ^ ""Lasagna" 3" CD Single". Al Yankovic. 2007-01-09. http://www.weirdal.com/rare7.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-07. 

See also

• List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic
• List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic