Lasagna (song)
| "Lasagna" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||||||
| from the album Even Worse | |||||||
| B-side | "Velvet Elvis" | ||||||
| Released | May 27, 1988 | ||||||
| Format | 7", 3" | ||||||
| Recorded | February 19, 1988 | ||||||
| Genre | Comedy rock, Latin, Chicano rock | ||||||
| Length | 2:45 | ||||||
| Label | Scotti Brothers | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Rick Derringer | ||||||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
"Lasagna" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "La Bamba", a traditional song popularized by Ritchie Valens and Los Lobos.
Track listing
- "Lasagna" – 2:45
- "Velvet Elvis" – 4:27
Writing and release
When Yankovic began writing the song, he claimed:
| “ | "My original thought for this was to record the entire song in Italian.
I was actually going through Italian phrase books and dictionaries until I realized that the humor would be lost on 99% of the audience, so I decided to do the whole thing in English but with kind of a bad Italian accent."[1] |
” |
Under U.S. law, Yankovic can parody any song as long as he pays royalties to use the original music. However, as a personal rule, he asks for permission to maintain good relations with the industry. This song is an exception to that rule. Although the it is a parody of the Los Lobos cover version, "Lasagna" marked Yankovic's first parody that did not require permission from an artist or a payment of royalties, since "La Bamba" is a traditional folk song that is not attributed to any specific writer.[2]
The single was released exclusively in Japan as a mini 3" CD single.[2][3]
Music video
There is no full-length music video for this single, though a shortened music video segment was shown in 1997 as a part of The Weird Al Show.
- The video features a stereotypical Italian family, including an elderly woman, two children, a rather large man for "Cousin Luigi" and Yankovic (sans glasses) as the father.
- When the line "A-don't you get any on ya, you sloppy pig" is sung, the elderly woman at the dinner table drops the lasagna into Luigi's lap.
- After "Have-a more ravioli" is sung, two children catch ravioli in their mouth.
- Near the end, lasagna is falling out of Luigi's mouth.
- The elderly woman and one of the children fight over the lasagna near the end.
- At the end, the family does a dance. First they simply wave from side to side with their hands on each other's shoulders while still seated. Then, they stand up from their chairs, which move off-screen, as does the table. Yankovic takes his plate of lasagna off the table. They all do a can can-type dance as confetti and balloons fall from the ceiling, and at the cheering section at the end, the others gather around Yankovic as he holds out his plate proudly.
Italian dishes mentioned in "Lasagna"
Yankovic names many Italian dishes in "Lasagna", including:
In pop culture
This song plays on a radio in a cave scene in the live-action/animated Yogi Bear movie.
See also
References
- ↑ "Permanent Record Booklet: "Lasagna"". Al Yankovic. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- 1 2 ""Lasagna" Single". Al Yankovic. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ↑ ""Lasagna" 3" CD Single". Al Yankovic. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2007-02-07.