Monday, October 27, 2014

Mysterious Mose

If I ran a game store I would play the song Mysterious Mose by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders.

Originally the soundtrack to a vintage Betty Boop cartoon of the same name, Mysterious Mose is an oldie but a goody. The song is about the tingle that goes up your spine when you're scared or it could be about an apparition of sorts. Honestly, the song doesn't really nail down the exact being of Mysterious Mose. The 1930 cartoon from which it sprang reveals Mose as an automaton full or gears and springs. Both the song and cartoon give examples of abilities that make it hard to imagine Mysterious Mose actually being one thing – a luxury of the imagination.

There are many versions of Mysterious Mose from which to choose. I choose the version by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders because once they're past the lyrics they operate like a skiffle jam band, and that's a rare sound. Mysterious Mose is from the 1976 album, R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders No. 2, which has since been reissued as a 1993 album, Chasin' Rainbows.

Mysterious Mose on Google Play





Mysterious Mose lyrics

There's a man of mystery that's roaming through this land
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Far and near you hear of him, he's found on every hand
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Every city, town and village knows this boy by now
There's a way to recognize him, let me tell you how

If your path at midnight dark beside a graveyard goes
If someone whistles [whistle]
That's Mysterious Mose

Or on some dark and stormy night, while the tempest blows,
If someone whistles [whistle]
That's Mysterious Mose

He sees all, knows all, just been everywhere
Some night he might wait for you upon the stair

So if you're going down the cellar, walk upon your toes
If someone whistles [whistle]
That's Mysterious Mose

That's Mysterious Mose

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