The S&M Man
Encyclopedia
"The S&M Man" is a drinking song
parodying the 1972 hit song "The Candy Man
". "The S&M Man" is well known and commonly sung by Hash House Harriers
, Rugby union
players, fraternity
members, and Marines. This song also has been used as a running cadence
in the military.
, BMG
& ASCAP the song has not been registered for royalty purposes although there is a song titled "The S&M Girl" in the BMG database. Since this is a modern song, it might be copyrightable
; however, as a parody, it is a derivative work
and could be subject to questions of fair use by a parody.
Like sung limericks, many, if not most verses to "The S&M Man" are bawdy or at least off-color. Each person offers up a verse which was spontaneously created or modified and, also like limericks, the chorus is sung collectively allowing someone time to pick out a new individual to sing the next verse. Each time the song is sung it is different based upon the people present and the verses they remember or create.
By 1994 the song was so well known that a version for women, "The S&M Girl", started appearing in songbooks.
Broken link.
Drinking song
A drinking song is a song sung while drinking alcohol. Most drinking songs are folk songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyrics and in the music...
parodying the 1972 hit song "The Candy Man
The Candy Man
"The Candy Man" is a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film and does not appear in the original book or the 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
". "The S&M Man" is well known and commonly sung by Hash House Harriers
Hash House Harriers
The Hash House Harriers is an international group of non-competitive running, social and drinking clubs...
, Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
players, fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
members, and Marines. This song also has been used as a running cadence
Military cadence
In the armed services, a military cadence or cadence call is a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching...
in the military.
Lyrics and copyright
According to the Harry Fox AgencyHarry Fox Agency
The Harry Fox Agency is the United States of America's largest agency collecting and distributing mechanical license fees on behalf of music publishers.-External links:*...
, BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
& ASCAP the song has not been registered for royalty purposes although there is a song titled "The S&M Girl" in the BMG database. Since this is a modern song, it might be copyrightable
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
; however, as a parody, it is a derivative work
Derivative work
In United States copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major, copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work .-Definition:...
and could be subject to questions of fair use by a parody.
Like sung limericks, many, if not most verses to "The S&M Man" are bawdy or at least off-color. Each person offers up a verse which was spontaneously created or modified and, also like limericks, the chorus is sung collectively allowing someone time to pick out a new individual to sing the next verse. Each time the song is sung it is different based upon the people present and the verses they remember or create.
History of the song
The earliest print date for this song is 1990 in the public domain book The Official Rugby Book (and Other Strange Stuff) issued by Cap Pelletier. The song is found on page 203 of the first edition, ninth revision of that book. Since that date, "The S&M Man" has appeared in many printed and digital songbooks. Some of these books are listed below:- 7440th Combat Song Book (28 February 1991)
- The Songbook of Sigma Pi (ca 1990)
- Definitive Hash Songbook (January 1994) by ZiPpY
- Untitled Text Files (1994) deposited at the Library of Congress Folklife Archive by Paul Woodford. This is song #164 of that collection (American Folklife Collection accession number AFC 1995/023).
- Half-Mind Hymnal (1996-2008) by Flying Booger
By 1994 the song was so well known that a version for women, "The S&M Girl", started appearing in songbooks.
External links
A complete version of the song with mp3.Broken link.