ellis • grey • newman
This frantic song, stuffed with foreign words and insanity, is from the 1928 musical "Mr. Cinders" and sung by the character Jim Lancaster. Responsibles for this were Vivian Ellis (composer); Clifford Grey and Greatrex Newman (libretto, arrangement). Columbia released a 78rpm cast in '29 with Jack Payne and the B.B.C. Dance Orchestra.
For funny reasons, Don McLean came across this one, and included it with his self-titled album of 1972, as the only song he hadn't written himself. In -76 he performed it live for the double-album "Solo".
Especially live, he performs tricks and chords I can't neither figure out nor recall. Why should I? This "straight" version is crazy enough.
there's a danger zone • not a stranger zone
than the little plot I walk on that I call my home
full of eerie sights • weird and skeerie sights
every vicious animal that creeps and crawls and bites
on the amazon the prophylactics prowl
on the amazon the hypodermics howl
on the amazon you'll hear a scarab scowl and sting zodiacs on the wing
all the stalagtites are vicious vertabrae
hunt the stalagmites while laryngitis slay
all the parasites that come from paraguay in spring
snarling equinox among the rocks will seize you
and the fahrenheit comes out at night to freeze you
wild duondenum are lurking in the trees
and the jungle swarms with green apostrophes
oh the amazon is calling me
on the amazon the pax vobiscum bite
on the amazon the epiglotis fight
on the amazon the hemispheres at night all slink where the agnostics drink
all the hippodromes that lie concealed in mud
hunt the metronomes that live in swamp and flood
then the kodachromes come out and drink their blood • poor ginks
while velocipedes among the weeds will scare you
and the menopause with hungry jaws ensnares you
frenzied adenoids infest the hills and slopes
everyone avoids the deadly stetoscopes
oh the amazon is calling me
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
Am E7 Am E7 there's a danger zone not a stranger zone Am Dm Am E7 than the little plot I walk on that I call my home Am E7 Am E7 full of eerie sights weird and skeerie sights Am Dm Am E7 Am every vicious animal that creeps and crawls and bites G ...Fdim ... D7sus4 on ... C6+2 Am D7sus4 G ... the amazon the prophylactics prowl C6+2 Am G7/9 on the amazon the hypodermics howl C6+2 Am Bsus4 Em Gdim Dm G on the amazon you'll hear a scarab scowl and sting zodiacs on the wing C6+2 Am D7sus4 G all the stalagtites are vicious vertabrae C6+2 Am G7/9 hunt the stalagmites while laryngitis slay C6+2 Am Bsus4 Em ...Gdim...Dm...G all the parasites that come from paraguay in spring F Fm C Bdim A7 snarling equinox among the rocks will seize you D Dm Fmaj7 Cdim G and the fahrenheit comes out at night to freeze you C6+2 Am D7sus4 G wild duondenum are lurking in the trees C6+2 Am G7/9 and the jungle swarms with green apostrophes C6+2 Am F G C oh the amazon is calling me C ... Gdim ... D7sus4 ... G (to 2nd verse)
