Death Cab for Cutie (song)
Encyclopedia
"Death Cab for Cutie" is a song
composed by Vivian Stanshall
and Neil Innes
and performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
. It was included on their 1967 album
Gorilla
.
crime magazine he had encountered. Stanshall's primary contribution was to shape "Death Cab For Cutie" as a send-up of Elvis Presley
, and he sang it as such. In the style of several early teenage tragedy song
s, such as "Teen Angel
", it tells a story of youthful angst: "Cutie" who goes out on the town against her lover
's wishes. "Last night Cutie caught a cab
, uhuh-huh..." She is killed when the taxicab she is in runs a red light and crashes. Stanshall, as lead singer, details Cutie's doomed journey to the sound of a honky-tonk piano
, while the Bonzo chorus warns: "Baby, don't do it..." Stanshall repeats the refrain
in true Presley hip-wriggling style: "Someone's going to MAKE... you pay your fare."
The song is one of the better known songs in the Bonzo Dog Band canon because it was featured in the Beatles
' television film Magical Mystery Tour
. Performed on stage by the Bonzos at the Raymond Revuebar
in London
, it was the accompaniment for a striptease
act performed by Jan Carson while she was ogled by club customers including John Lennon
and George Harrison
.
, which is now available on DVD.
Alex Chilton
of Big Star covered the song live on WLYX Memphis in 1975. The song is also referenced on the 1984 Culture Club
album Waking Up with the House on Fire
, in the song "Crime Time", which is a throwback to the early rock 'n' roll sound. The indie rock
band Death Cab for Cutie
were named after the song.
crime magazine he had encountered - the phrase Death Cab for Cutie may have been coined by Richard Hoggart
in his The Uses of Literacy
, a 1957 book discussing British popular culture and a pioneering work in the cultural studies
field. The term appears in Chapter 8, "The Newer Mass Art: Sex in Shiny Packets," under part C: "Sex and Violence Novels". Hoggart provides a list of "imitations" of the "terse, periodic titles" of these novels, including "Sweetie, Take It Hot"; "The Lady Takes a Dive"; "Aim Low, Angel"; "Sweetheart, Curves Can Kill"; and "Death-Cab for Cutie" (note use of the hyphen in "Death-Cab")
Ben Gibbard
used the title of the song as the name of the rock band
he founded in 1997.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
composed by Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall was an English singer-songwriter, painter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, and for narrating Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.-The great...
and Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
and performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
. It was included on their 1967 album
1967 in music
The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The...
Gorilla
Gorilla (Bonzo Dog album)
Gorilla is the debut album by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, originally released by Liberty Records in 1967. In 2007 EMI re-issued the album on CD with 7 bonus tracks....
.
Content
Innes' initial inspiration for the song was the title of an old American pulp fictionPulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
crime magazine he had encountered. Stanshall's primary contribution was to shape "Death Cab For Cutie" as a send-up of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, and he sang it as such. In the style of several early teenage tragedy song
Teenage tragedy song
The "teenage tragedy song", also known as death rock, "tear jerker" or a "splatter platter", is a style of ballad that was most popular between the late 1950s and early 1960s...
s, such as "Teen Angel
Teen Angel (song)
"Teen Angel" is a teenage tragedy song written by Jean Dinning and her husband, Red Surrey, and performed by both Jean's brother, Mark Dinning, and Alex Murray in 1959....
", it tells a story of youthful angst: "Cutie" who goes out on the town against her lover
Sexual partner
Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners can be of any gender or sexual orientation. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis...
's wishes. "Last night Cutie caught a cab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
, uhuh-huh..." She is killed when the taxicab she is in runs a red light and crashes. Stanshall, as lead singer, details Cutie's doomed journey to the sound of a honky-tonk piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, while the Bonzo chorus warns: "Baby, don't do it..." Stanshall repeats the refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
in true Presley hip-wriggling style: "Someone's going to MAKE... you pay your fare."
The song is one of the better known songs in the Bonzo Dog Band canon because it was featured in the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' television film Magical Mystery Tour
Magical Mystery Tour (film)
Magical Mystery Tour is an hour-long British television film starring The Beatles that originally aired on BBC1 on 26 December 1967...
. Performed on stage by the Bonzos at the Raymond Revuebar
Raymond Revuebar
The Raymond Revuebar was a theater and strip club at 11 Walker's Court, now The Box Soho, in the heart of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-frontal, on-stage nudity of the sort commonly seen in other cities in Europe and North America...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, it was the accompaniment for a striptease
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
act performed by Jan Carson while she was ogled by club customers including John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
.
Performances
The Bonzo Dog Band can be seen playing the song in a 1967 episode of the children's TV series Do Not Adjust Your SetDo Not Adjust Your Set
Do Not Adjust Your Set was a children's television series produced originally by Rediffusion, London, then by the fledgling Thames Television for British commercial television channel ITV from 26 December 1967 to 14 May 1969....
, which is now available on DVD.
Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
of Big Star covered the song live on WLYX Memphis in 1975. The song is also referenced on the 1984 Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
album Waking Up with the House on Fire
Waking Up with the House on Fire
Waking Up with the House on Fire is the third album by New Wave band Culture Club, released in 1984.-Overview:While Waking Up with the House on Fire did reach platinum status in the US it was considered to be a disappointment compared to the 4X platinum status of the groups last album Colour by...
, in the song "Crime Time", which is a throwback to the early rock 'n' roll sound. The indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
were named after the song.
Title
While Innes recalls encountering the phrase as the title of an old American pulp fictionPulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
crime magazine he had encountered - the phrase Death Cab for Cutie may have been coined by Richard Hoggart
Richard Hoggart
Herbert Richard Hoggart is a British academic and public figure, whose career has covered the fields of sociology, English literature and cultural studies, with a special concern for British popular culture.-Career:...
in his The Uses of Literacy
The Uses of Literacy
The Uses of Literacy has been described as a key book in the history of English and Media Studies and in the founding of Cultural Studies. -Massification of Culture:...
, a 1957 book discussing British popular culture and a pioneering work in the cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
field. The term appears in Chapter 8, "The Newer Mass Art: Sex in Shiny Packets," under part C: "Sex and Violence Novels". Hoggart provides a list of "imitations" of the "terse, periodic titles" of these novels, including "Sweetie, Take It Hot"; "The Lady Takes a Dive"; "Aim Low, Angel"; "Sweetheart, Curves Can Kill"; and "Death-Cab for Cutie" (note use of the hyphen in "Death-Cab")
Ben Gibbard
Ben Gibbard
Benjamin "Ben" Gibbard is an American musician known as a member of several successful indie rock bands. He is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, and is also known for his project ¡All-Time Quarterback! and his first band, Pinwheel.-Personal life and career:Gibbard was...
used the title of the song as the name of the rock band
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
he founded in 1997.