Gibberish lyrics in Broadway musicals?

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:22am

"Please stop shrecking" (I don't think it's a word, I checked all over) in Falsettoland
"Posituvity, positricity, pusitivity, positrucity, pusitrocity, ignogative, positronomy, positiminy, positutery, pusionomy, posilectomy" and everything else that comes after that in Little Mermaid
"Bearing principles of enfilade and defilade in mind" in Pippin
"A definish chance" in Wicked

Anybody got anything else?

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:23am

And by the way, I changed it to "nonce" lyrics because "gibberish" would sound absolutely indistinguishable even by the sharpest of ears.

[keatonbynumbers]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 11:27am

Yeah, what is the deal with "shrecking"?

Is that how, like, Bill Finn says it, and he didn't realize that it's not actually how most people say it? It's always confuses me.

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 12:15pm

Lots of them in "Something sort of Grandish" from Finian's Rainbow. Yip Harburg obviously tried to be funny that way...

[Jon]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 12:39pm

Forpure gibberish, there's always "Good Morning Starshine" in HAIR:

Bliddy Blat Bloopy - Nippy Nappy Noopy - Lalala Lolo
Sabba sibby sabba - Nooby Abba Nabba - Leelee Lolo
Ooby ooby walla - Nooby abba nabba... early mornin' singin' song

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 1:42pm

"Backstage Babble" from APPLAUSE.

[ThePinballWizard]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 1:49pm

You want the epitomy of gibberish lyrics....look at poor Ms. Uggams in this clip:


Leslie Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmm

[Kimmygonbefamous]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 1:50pm

Wicked is absolutely FULL of them.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 2:09pm

Good morning starshine.

Is completely comprehensible if you're still on an LSD high from 'Walking in space'

[morosco]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 2:19pm

flibbertijibbet

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 2:23pm

ThePinballWizard - That was hilarious.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 5:04pm

Anything Patti LuPone sings.

[jasonf]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 6:53pm

enfilade and defilade are not nonsense words -- from dictionary.com:

enfilade
1. Military.
a. a position of works, troops, etc., making them subject to a sweeping fire from along the length of a line of troops, a trench, a battery, etc.
b. the fire thus directed.


defilade
–noun
1. protection or shielding from hostile ground observation and flat projecting fire provided by an artificial or natural obstacle, as a hill.
–verb (used with object)
2. to shield from enemy fire by using natural or artificial obstacles.

SHREK is also a word -- it's Yiddish meaning fear or terror. So "Please stop shreking" would be stop being scared.

OK, definish you got me on - that's made up.

[jv92]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 8:41pm

Stephen Schwartz has really gotta start using words people know. Seriously.

[JustABroadwaybaby2]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 8:47pm

jv-That was really funny! Does "Shipoopi" count?

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 9:06pm

It somewhat creeps me to know that a grown man wrote words like "glindafy" and "moodify."
Updated On: 11/6/06 at 09:06 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 9:06pm

Grease:

We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong
Remembered forever as shoo-bop sha whada whadda yippidy boom da boom
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop that's the way it should be
Waooo Yeah

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 9:56pm

Still no mention of "Thurio's Samba"?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 9:58pm

Haha, I was just about to!

Boom-chicka-chicka-chicka
fuk-fuka-waka-waka
cok-coka-waka-waka
pus-pussa-wusa-wusa

Gotta love 2 Gents. Best obscure show I've ever seen (and I've seen plenty of obscurity). Great, concrete book with excellent music. Too bad it's too obscure for a revival. The one in the park a few years ago was great.
Updated On: 11/6/06 at 09:58 PM

[AlmostFamous2]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:01pm

Congratulotions... Steven Swartz has written the most fake words throughout an entire musical!

I hate fake words... they make characters seem as dumb as Jessica Simpson (when she made up the word 'emotionable').

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:07pm

Sorry AlmostFamous2, here it comes:
The most nonce words in ONE SONG!!

Posituvity
Positricity
Pusitivity
Positrucity
Pusitrocity
Positronomy
Positiminy
Positutery
Pusionomy
Posilectomy
Positumery
Pospetuity
Pospetropoly
Posilicity
Positrinimy
Positrunity
Pusitiminy
Positomony

As well as:
Ignogative
Wicky-wack-wookie
Yippi-dip-doodle
Bip an' a bap an' a bop-bop-boo
Zig an' a zug an' a za-za-zee

"Posituvity" by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

[LostLeander]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:19pm

Side Show.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:24pm

Pick-a-little
Talk-a-little
Pick-a-little
Talk-a-little
Cheep cheep cheep cheep
Talk-a-lot
Pick-a-little-more

And so on.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:57pm

Not sure why you're using "nonce" in the subject line.

"Flibbertigibbet" is not a nonsense word.

"Shrek" means "fear, alarm, terror" in Yiddish. So a shreker (or shrecker) may be an alarmist or fearmonger. I don't remember the context in which it's used.

Not sure if you're really looking for words that are totally made up, or the kind of stuff that Harburg frequently did, where he takes existing words and transforms them in whimisical ways, which is basically what Schwartz does (not surprisingly, under the circumstances). Porter and Mercer also often futzed with words for comic purposes.

Then there's stuff like "Mumbo-jumbo rhubarb rhubarb tickety-boo bob yak yak yak" in Stop the World—I Want to Get Off.

[jv92]

Posted: 11/6/06 at 10:59pm

Well, there's always Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious (sp?) and Substitutiary Locomotion (sp?) but of course, those are filled with wonderful wit that Schwartz's jibberish lacks.

I seriously think the guys who wrote Grease were high when they wrote that laughable little piece called "We Go Together" as well as that laugable little show. Updated On: 11/6/06 at 10:59 PM