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Look Out For John Cleese

from Tabacco & Kearns : And The Kitchen Sink by John Tabacco

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about

Words and Music © 2014 by John Tabacco and Peter Kearns
Published by It Iz What It Iz Music (SESAC)

This is a total re-make of a song I came up with in 1982 called "Look Out For The Cheese". The phrase came from Nick DiMauro and we used to use it quite a lot back in college. The song was inspired chord-ally by Donald Fagen (most noticeably his masterpiece "True Companion"). Granted it jumps all over the place but somehow I was still able to come up with some sort of cohesive melody to tie it together. The original lyrics told the tale of Mitch Regenbogen, a super pot driven piano player Nick and I met in Sara Fuller's music history class. Mitch used to love to play Becker and Fagen tunes (always half step higher than the original) every time he was near a piano. It was a lot of fun. And occasionally he would sing one of his own compositions that had Steely Dan chords in them and melodies with odd skips in them more reminiscent of Brian Wilson than anybody else. He also was known for having a car with the most unpaid University parking tickets. I think they didn't graduate him because of that. Anyway, I don't know what happened to Mitch after college but he certainly left an indelible imprint in my mind. So naturally I felt I should chronicle all these things about Mitch for posterity. I quickly recorded it on my Akai GX4000D™ reel to reel and there it sat for thirty years. I'd play it on a keyboard annually thinking about how to do a good recording of it, but I could never muster up the focus to do it justice. So, one day in 2013 I laid down a basic track of the song and cleaned it up a bit and sent it over to Peter to see if he would like to add to it. Fortunately, he liked the idea and proceeded to hunker down and learn it. Then he came up with these great lyrics regarding Monty Pythons' John Cleese. I thought that was a fresh take on the song and certainly a little less esoteric than writing about Mitch. I chipped in a few words here and there but this was now Peter's baby. He even added that great little fusion instrumental part at the end. I was quite blown away by what he did to the song and feel quite proud to now play it for those unsuspecting listeners who are used to tunes that churn out so predictably. This is definitely a piece you need to listen to a few times to get it. But once you do, it may open up your mind up to more harmonically rich pieces that are lurking in the world of music. This is quirky pop with a New Zealand twist. I'm digging it, and it's certainly not cheese.

lyrics

LOOK OUT FOR JOHN CLEESE

Look out

Look out for John Cleese

Working on “The Week That Was”

He wrote some jokes for David Frost

There on the BBC, boy

Minus the law diploma

Revered by his dad 
who tried to give the squeeze



Look out

Look out for John Cleese

A thing I bet you didn't know
 before the "Flying Circus" show

His name was really Cheese (Yeah, that‘ s right)

His family didn't like it
It didn't seem right to have a surname reflecting the acrid

Reviews might be rabid with standards set so high

So he spent a long time...



Locked up in some room

With Graham Chapman every day

Avoiding any weak cliche

Searching for the laugh to finally send us 'round the bend

Doubling over with a ruptured spleen



But after that it wasn't too long before our Johnny started getting restless

He left the “Python” show
 but stayed for “Life Of Brian” and
“The Holy Grail”



Look out
Look out

Look out for John Cleese!

There had to be another way

A charming place for you to stay

Located in Torquay, boy

Long lists of cheese aromas
 were putting him in a coma


Silly walking or an angry distress
He owns it whatever the roll

So tell me he won't come to an end

‘Cause that would leave a Cleese shaped hole

So look out for John Cleese
Look out for John Cleese
Look out for John Cleese, please!
Look out for John Cleese
Boy!

credits

from Tabacco & Kearns : And The Kitchen Sink, released October 14, 2014
PK : Vocals, Keyboards, Bass, Guitar, Programming
JT : Backup vocals, Percussion, Mix

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John Tabacco Stony Brook, New York

John Tabacco is a composer, singer-songwriter, producer, recording engineer, and visual artist.

Like an unfolding musical diary / puzzle, Tabacco’s music and art are constantly being re-worked, juxtaposed and intertwined.

For more info : www.johntabacco.net
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