@oicduc I do NOT agree. I heard "bird is the word", "Papa oom mow mow" and "Bird's word" before Family guy made it popular. Yes, i do like Family guy but you underestimate this song. It was very popular before Family guy was even planned.
just purchased the Angry Bird "Bird's the Word" tee shirt - I knew The Trashmen invented punky pop way back, but should have known R&B came first... The Rivingtons - oom mow mow!
This song is good...but trashmen even that they used these ravngitons songs to create" surfing bird ,they didn't created the song but created a very inovative stile...like Led Zeppelin that copied lots of songs,of course its not nice or respectable thing to do ...but no one can deny they created something new over it a new stile o playing ,in my opinion much,much more important than the ravingtons did
@beroth77 Why is it not respectable? The whole music industry is built upon using each other's material and changing it. I mean, if everybody had to come up with his own riffs, a lot of song's wouldn't have been made.... At some point, there is an end to what you can do on an instrument, so you start merging and reversing, cutting and such.... Not only in music, also in writing, TV, politics, religion, you name it
@Syzygy60 right. it was really cheap wine (forty twice meaning it was 80 cents a bottle)... winos preferred it because they got a lot for a little bit
There IS an obscure origin/meaning to the lyrics of "Bird Is the Word." After the repeal of prohibition in the USA (1933) the Gallo Wine Company re-entered the cheap wine market with Thunderbird. It was heavily promoted in ghettos with radio ads and jingles including "What's the word? / Thunderbird / How's it sold? / Good and cold / What's the jive? / Bird's alive / What's the price? / Thirty twice." Thus the "bird is the word" lyric predates the Rivingtons' version. "The Bird" is fortified wine
@javadonut Holy shit. You just explained the origins of the longest-running inside joke between my best friend and I. For close to 15 years, we've been quoting a line from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 that goes "What's the word? Thunderbird! What's the price? Forty twice!" And now I know why.
Wow, this explain it all. The moment I listened to "surfin' bird" I was thinking it was too tasty to be composed by white guys... sad it got shamelessly ripped off
@Zelusetradix It's a war out there in the world of music. There are new artists doing revised versions of vintage songs. Wouldn't surprise me if every song in the world had a revised/reworked version no matter which race/nationality started it and/or ended it.
@Brandish728 sure, The Trashmen took a one-year old VINTAGE song from The Rivingtons then did a revised version... of course, they predated the original VINTAGE song because it was VINTAGE
@Zelusetradix I didn't research which band revised which song when I made that statement. I was just speaking in general about a lot if not all bands doing that.
I've only heard in my life a different version of this. Same song, different mix. Anybody know anything about that? It was The Rivingtons, so not a remake. Alternate mix? Label dispute? Awesome song either way, but this mix sounds more raw.
@LOLsensation WRONG! I heard a completely different mix of this song. Same arrangement, different recording. I'm quite well aware of Surfin' Bird, and I know the story behind it. The Rivingtons did a completely different mix of this song and it appeared on K-Tel's "Looney Tunes" LP. Look that up. It's credited to The Rivingtons - no one else. It's possible a studio band did it and they just said The Rivingtons - that stuff happened in those days. Look at Milli Vanilli. "Looney Tunes", K-Tel.
@jazzliscious13 More of being typical of K-Tel not being able to get the original song anyway and had to get a newer recording (since bands and groups often did so in later years). Many "oldies" compilations from cheap, budget companies often cull their sources from these when it's not the actual original song.
@cptrelentless actually i'm Irish and the reason i wanted everyone to shut up about WWII is because i just wanted to listen to a good song and scroll down to see what other people thought ABOUT THE SONG and i get tons of horse shit about world war 2!
Surfin bird by the trashmen is not a copy of this song by the rivingtons. It is a cbination of the two songs surfin bird and papa oom mow mow, both of which are by the rivingtons.
...........are you seriously arguing about spelling....on teh intarwebz? its pointless to do that since everyone has balls when you cant see their face
Always did like this record by the group whom I saw do a rock and roll concert here in OKC back in the seventies. I believe all members have passed away now. The bird was a dance. Dee Dee Sharp had a record called DO THE BIRD, also in 1963.
Good Post.
Larry N. Boyington, aka Larry Neal, former curator of the Wax Museum on the big 1520 KOMA
There is not any hidden meaning. The bird was a dance and the word means that it is the latest thing. The Bird dance is the lastest or the Bird is the word.
The Bird was a dance and that's what they are talking about. "papa oom mow mow" are definitely noises but they are like scatting witch i think came from jazz and R&b came from blues and blues has some ties in with jazz. its basically a song just telling you to dance the bird. its a dance song
THe Trashmen bastardized this tune into a white boy travesty....it don't mean much...it don't have to...it was a dance we used to do , like the Pony or the Mashed Potatos...haha
Very simply, the "Bird" was a popular dance 1962-64. For a group without a top 40 hit, I LOVE their 3 singles. Given justice, this may be better than the Trashmen's Surfin' Bird.
I suggest everybody listens to the lyrics! Clearly about a dance called 'The Bird' - It is indeed The Word... on the street, cool, the thing that everyone's talking about. The bird was/is a dance where you flap your arms like wings... crazy 60s!
"Come on Jump here, now get on your knees
and get to flapping your wings in the east or the west...
and
Well they're dancin this bird in the east and the west
I'm no historian, but given the time-frame of this song, I would assume that the lyrics are some form of innuendo or euphemism. When something is "the word" it usually means that it's something being spoken about on a fairly large scale. I assume that the bird is a woman that's being talked about all over town, probably for sexual promiscuity. ;D
Lyrically, it's a pretty sad song. American culture is filled with lots of catchy, unintelligent music. :)
@ellsthorne20 yea i do, u just take that "stupid" issue too serious.. of course i knw the spelling, buh i dint think it was too serious to be commented on.
I'd agree with you if we're talking about The Trashmen's version. It was meant to just be absurd. But The Rivington's original was definitely about a dance. "Papa-ooo-mow-mow" on the other hand I'm guessing was just a cool vocalization..
"it's the swingin'-est dance to hit the street" is the first line of the solo lyrics...that's the dance called "The Bird!" It's the "Word"...the news, the hottest thing. From our phrase "Word on the street is"... insert your favorite bit of gossip here.
The Trashmen's cover of this in their medley "Surfin' Bird:" "Everybody's heard about the bird, well a bird bird bird, well a bird is a word etc. "Surfin' Bird" = drunk Minnesotans. No real Minnesota music happened until Prince.
Hi, I'm french (nobody's perfect) and try to understand the meaning of "the Bird Is a word". If I translate word for word it means nothing, "the bird" is an animal that has wings and a beak, "the word" is a word like in word for word. So it makes no sense. And it's like "Papa Oom Mow Mow", there is nothing to understand. But perhaps in the U.S., this phrase refers to something special. Can you help me? Thank you in advance.
@jesper27 i'm american..... their is no meaning to either of those songs. idk why they became such hits. or when they were put together to make a super hit (surfin bird by the trashmen) they mean nothing thought
@jesper27 Don't worry, no one in the U.S. has any clue what this song is about. But when something is "the word" it means that it is news or gossip. Like "The word on the street is..."
I think it's about someone who's nickname is "the Bird" and he's new in town and is like a good dancer or something.
@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
@jesper27 - A "bird" is also a slang/derogotary term for a girl in the UK. But given that this song is from the US, I imagine that this is totally irrelevant!
I take it to mean that "the Word" is something good, and "the Bird" could be anything - although "bird" is also a slang term for a girl. Either that, or it's all nonsense.
@jesper27 im canadian and french is my maternal language, but i grew up (and im still growing) in majoritely english towns (peterborough/ottawa) so my english is pretty good. im no american, but i can assure you the papa oom mow mow means "i dont know what else i could put in these lyrics so ill repeat this for some time so the song is long enough to be played on the radio"
@jesper27 Just an idea for you here as a Brit - bird can be slang for woman. If we use that as a basis then this starts to make the sense. A woman is the talk of the town?
@FBfromLH - The only person who knows what it means is probably the guy that wrote it. The one thing that I do know is that during the time period in which the song was written, a "bird" was sometimes a slang word for a female, and "the word" is a term sometimes used to refer to gossip or the latest news. So it is possible that the song is talking about an attractive female that everyone is talking about. Just an educated guess
@FBfromLH La phrase la plus facile, c'est "the word". As an English idiom, to "be the word" means to "be the latest fad, vogue, or sensational news". Par exemple, quand une guerre est gagnée, on dit "Have you heard the word? We won!"
"The bird" is ambiguous. S'il voulait dire "oiseau", vous auriez raison, it would make no sense at all. However, it's usually said that by "the bird" they meant la danse qu'on appelle "The Bird" qui était très populaire quand The Rivingtons ont chanté ce chanson-ci
@FBfromLH Yes, there is no meaning behind the song - it is purely nonsense - pop music exploded in the '60s and there was so much great music being written that there weren't enough meaningful lyrics to go round, so a lot of radio-based pop would just have nonsense lyrics sung to a catchy melody.
@FBfromLH I don't know about "Papa Oom Mow Mow", but to say something is "the word" is kinda an old way of saying it's something that everyone's talking about.
@FBfromLH Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. You are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
@FBfromLH Hey im english, i kinda get what it means. it means that that 'bird' is the best thing ever, sort of. It is like a fashion, the thing of the moment. Hope this helps :)
"The Bird" was a dance back then. "The Word" basically means that people were talking about "The Bird." "Word" in this case is slang for "the talk of the town."
"Papa Oom Mow Mow" is just a sound...consider it an early form of "Beatboxing." lol The Rivingtons were considered a "Doo-wop" group meaning they used a lot of non-words into their songs. Doo-wop artists said things like "Shoo-be-doo-wop-bop-wow" ordoo-wop-shoo-bop...etcetera. In this case it's Papa oom mow mow...Hope that helps you understand.
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drfred1203 3 weeks ago
@drfred1203 LOL why do you think people are here!!
oicduc 3 weeks ago
@oicduc I do NOT agree. I heard "bird is the word", "Papa oom mow mow" and "Bird's word" before Family guy made it popular. Yes, i do like Family guy but you underestimate this song. It was very popular before Family guy was even planned.
iamverybadperson 2 weeks ago 2
@iamverybadperson Ghoulardi was using both this tune and the Trashmen's wild version on his show in the mid-60s.
AllBobsAllTheTime 4 days ago
This is not quite peter's song... It is "Surfin bird" which is a combination of this song and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow"
TheRubenchitito 1 month ago
thumbs up if your are here because of family guy :)
DMO200223 1 month ago 3
-r
DMO200223 1 month ago
Until I played anivia,I didn't realize the bird was the word.
AdumbroDeus 2 months ago 6
I think the Trashmen did a good job with Surfin' Bird, but I really like this too.
TheFpuff 2 months ago
Does the 'Bird' have anything to do with Charlie Parker?
jamheald 3 months ago
@jamheald Doubtful.
AllBobsAllTheTime 4 days ago
this is a 1 hr song but you can play that all
beatdownz3x3 4 months ago
Flipping the bird=fuck off=FUCK is the word... ;)
KapteinOpel 4 months ago
just purchased the Angry Bird "Bird's the Word" tee shirt - I knew The Trashmen invented punky pop way back, but should have known R&B came first... The Rivingtons - oom mow mow!
independencemp3 4 months ago
Papa oom mow mow +Birds the word =Surfing Bird by the trashmen
bigguy2128 5 months ago 8
@bigguy2128 That is really the only thing they did with their tune by cramming both together that way.
RetroToledo 2 months ago
No peter did surfin bird
chaddozer 6 months ago
Damn the Bird is a dance was it the dance that Peter did ?
Lemon5eed 6 months ago
thumbs up if you are here because you heard about the bird
antonhoogakker 6 months ago 85
Who DID IT???
chrismofer 6 months ago
@chrismofer Who did what pa?
chrismofer 6 months ago
Hahaha at all the people trying to copy firestarthegreat
edbo10 6 months ago
@TwoFacedTom Brian don´t!
santajimi 6 months ago
PETER ARE YOU OKAY?!
videoviewer422 6 months ago
@videoviewer422 APAPAPAPAPA PAPA - OOM MA MOW MOW PAPA OOM MOW MOW!
lutiff 4 months ago
Comment removed
santajimi 6 months ago
@santajimi Nobodies liked your comment cuz you spelt Brian wrong.
wdr217 6 months ago
10 people clearly have not heard...
bassplayerman03 6 months ago
Have you not heard? It was my understanding that everyone had heard...
DarkWolf77 6 months ago
10 people haven't heard
55svaresi 6 months ago
ok trashmen ripped it off but i forgive them cos their record is funnier and more original in style for the time
Rigsbymortis 6 months ago
@Rigsbymortis and faster :)
andymerrett 6 months ago
Love this song!
elleboucher 7 months ago
I also like the McHale's Navy version.
nickellodeon55 7 months ago
It was my understanding, that everybody had heard...
Michiieltjuhhh 7 months ago
brian NO!
meghanfish 8 months ago
surfin bird is more energetic than this
ikillinnocentpie 8 months ago
This song is good...but trashmen even that they used these ravngitons songs to create" surfing bird ,they didn't created the song but created a very inovative stile...like Led Zeppelin that copied lots of songs,of course its not nice or respectable thing to do ...but no one can deny they created something new over it a new stile o playing ,in my opinion much,much more important than the ravingtons did
beroth77 8 months ago
@beroth77 they just sped up their delivery. The Rivingtons had a cool jerk style. The Trashman had the same rhythm and vocal tricks.
PhillyGirl1 6 months ago
@beroth77 Why is it not respectable? The whole music industry is built upon using each other's material and changing it. I mean, if everybody had to come up with his own riffs, a lot of song's wouldn't have been made.... At some point, there is an end to what you can do on an instrument, so you start merging and reversing, cutting and such.... Not only in music, also in writing, TV, politics, religion, you name it
alfonsolopulalan 1 week ago
Comment removed
beroth77 8 months ago
*goes back to The Trashmen's version*
cbmuzik 8 months ago 6
10 people are unaware that the bird is the word.
herbaliser555 8 months ago 7
Family guy!!!
Pur3Madnes5 8 months ago
I think I like the Trashmens verision better
scotlandmurray 9 months ago 5
@scotlandmurray
Well, considering all the trashmen did was steal 2 Rivington songs and put them together, i would hope they could make it sound better.
prldecivic 8 months ago
thunderbird is wine
Syzygy60 9 months ago
@Syzygy60 right. it was really cheap wine (forty twice meaning it was 80 cents a bottle)... winos preferred it because they got a lot for a little bit
jumbles1957 9 months ago
this sounds wayyyyyyyyyy better than surfin bird
hot64chick 9 months ago
Great shit. Love this.
timmy841212 9 months ago
The Bird is the Word and Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow together make Surfin Bird
999GHz 11 months ago 7
@999GHz ... and the world was forever changed!!!
AllBobsAllTheTime 4 days ago
Thunderbird is the word, and you're light as a feather.
eruption257 11 months ago
@eruption257 needs to detox at the flop house.
antiburke 8 months ago
BRIAN, DON'T!!
firestarthegreat 11 months ago 110
There IS an obscure origin/meaning to the lyrics of "Bird Is the Word." After the repeal of prohibition in the USA (1933) the Gallo Wine Company re-entered the cheap wine market with Thunderbird. It was heavily promoted in ghettos with radio ads and jingles including "What's the word? / Thunderbird / How's it sold? / Good and cold / What's the jive? / Bird's alive / What's the price? / Thirty twice." Thus the "bird is the word" lyric predates the Rivingtons' version. "The Bird" is fortified wine
javadonut 1 year ago 6
@javadonut I love finding out things like that--thanks for sharing!
Iamheofwhomhespeaks 10 months ago
@javadonut Holy shit. You just explained the origins of the longest-running inside joke between my best friend and I. For close to 15 years, we've been quoting a line from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 that goes "What's the word? Thunderbird! What's the price? Forty twice!" And now I know why.
TightenUpClub 9 months ago
surfin bird by vic and the commancheros( Jeff- The huge - Hrobar)!!!!!!
squire3947 1 year ago
Wow, this explain it all. The moment I listened to "surfin' bird" I was thinking it was too tasty to be composed by white guys... sad it got shamelessly ripped off
Zelusetradix 1 year ago
@Zelusetradix It's a war out there in the world of music. There are new artists doing revised versions of vintage songs. Wouldn't surprise me if every song in the world had a revised/reworked version no matter which race/nationality started it and/or ended it.
Brandish728 1 year ago
@Brandish728 sure, The Trashmen took a one-year old VINTAGE song from The Rivingtons then did a revised version... of course, they predated the original VINTAGE song because it was VINTAGE
Zelusetradix 1 year ago
@Zelusetradix I didn't research which band revised which song when I made that statement. I was just speaking in general about a lot if not all bands doing that.
Brandish728 1 year ago
this version i can stand..
xanafanadu 1 year ago
8 people dont know about the bird
snotyay 1 year ago
Love it
millymille1 1 year ago
Great 2 hear this song !
Thanx 4 posting, sharing
greetings from Holland
TheEbird67 1 year ago
BRIAN DON'T!!!!!
AutoTerror 1 year ago 6
.....peter does not like this word.. peter likes the trashmens version.
chubbylilloser85 1 year ago
I've only heard in my life a different version of this. Same song, different mix. Anybody know anything about that? It was The Rivingtons, so not a remake. Alternate mix? Label dispute? Awesome song either way, but this mix sounds more raw.
jazzliscious13 1 year ago
@jazzliscious13 u heard surfin' bird, is a mix of this song and papa oom mow mow
LOLsensation 1 year ago
@LOLsensation WRONG! I heard a completely different mix of this song. Same arrangement, different recording. I'm quite well aware of Surfin' Bird, and I know the story behind it. The Rivingtons did a completely different mix of this song and it appeared on K-Tel's "Looney Tunes" LP. Look that up. It's credited to The Rivingtons - no one else. It's possible a studio band did it and they just said The Rivingtons - that stuff happened in those days. Look at Milli Vanilli. "Looney Tunes", K-Tel.
jazzliscious13 1 year ago
@jazzliscious13 More of being typical of K-Tel not being able to get the original song anyway and had to get a newer recording (since bands and groups often did so in later years). Many "oldies" compilations from cheap, budget companies often cull their sources from these when it's not the actual original song.
RetroToledo 2 months ago
8 people haven't heard about the bird
darkhusker 1 year ago 3
EXCELLANT SONG! Thanks jesper27!!!!
whoadude1959 1 year ago
@cptrelentless actually i'm Irish and the reason i wanted everyone to shut up about WWII is because i just wanted to listen to a good song and scroll down to see what other people thought ABOUT THE SONG and i get tons of horse shit about world war 2!
MrLollipop3345 1 year ago 3
peter doing it better
luffik 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
niggers cant sing
theboss2734 1 year ago
Surfin bird by the trashmen is not a copy of this song by the rivingtons. It is a cbination of the two songs surfin bird and papa oom mow mow, both of which are by the rivingtons.
cyprss49 1 year ago 3
@cyprss49 And yet, how much credit have the Rivingtons ever received for their originality or Surfin' Bird contribution? Typical.
corbinmichael123 1 year ago 5
I feel guilty now for liking the song "surfing bird" because that song was copied off of this one ._.
peppermeek 1 year ago
...........are you seriously arguing about spelling....on teh intarwebz? its pointless to do that since everyone has balls when you cant see their face
yujiboo89 1 year ago
Always did like this record by the group whom I saw do a rock and roll concert here in OKC back in the seventies. I believe all members have passed away now. The bird was a dance. Dee Dee Sharp had a record called DO THE BIRD, also in 1963.
Good Post.
Larry N. Boyington, aka Larry Neal, former curator of the Wax Museum on the big 1520 KOMA
larrynealwaxmuseum 1 year ago
duh ?!? This sounds even older than the Version of "The Trashmen" of 1963 !!!!! When is this Song from ?
axel1973w 1 year ago
@axel1973w this is 1963 as well - c'mon, you have the internet, use wikipedia if you have to.
hollium 1 year ago
There is not any hidden meaning. The bird was a dance and the word means that it is the latest thing. The Bird dance is the lastest or the Bird is the word.
Robkat3751 1 year ago 59
@Robkat3751 thanks for sorting this all out.
bwanna23 1 year ago
@Robkat3751 Another song about "The Bird" was Dee Dee Sharp's "Do The Bird".
MVillani1985 1 year ago
I'm from Argentina and I can't also find it any sense to the song :p.
noquedaunbuennombre 1 year ago
Its just jive, brougham...
SCBianchi 1 year ago
Should've done well instead of the garbage the Trashmen did.
WorldChallenge 1 year ago
The Bird was a dance and that's what they are talking about. "papa oom mow mow" are definitely noises but they are like scatting witch i think came from jazz and R&b came from blues and blues has some ties in with jazz. its basically a song just telling you to dance the bird. its a dance song
520593 1 year ago
the bird was a dance! Like the twist or the watusi!
alhellbound 1 year ago
This makes both greater lyrical AND musical sense than The Trashmen's ripped-off mash-up. And it's funkier too! Love it!
KrillLiberator 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
how could they fuck up the song like this???
familyguythebest 1 year ago
@familyguythebest this is actually the original version
wolfthing11 1 year ago 3
@familyguythebest
Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen is a mix between this song and another song by The Rivingtons 'Papa-oom-mow-mow'
MrCrapsly 1 year ago
@MrCrapsly well they sure made a hell of a good song outta it :D
familyguythebest 1 year ago
@familyguythebest
agreed
MrCrapsly 1 year ago
@familyguythebest this the orginal the trashmen are theives
sidewinder169 1 year ago
@sidewinder169 and yet still they made a better song out of it :D
familyguythebest 1 year ago
this is the 1st time i've heard this version of birds the word.I think this is the best one by a mile.
y0utubemetube 1 year ago
don't you know? bird is the word!
entermymind00 1 year ago
Comment removed
adamlinks 1 year ago
THe Trashmen bastardized this tune into a white boy travesty....it don't mean much...it don't have to...it was a dance we used to do , like the Pony or the Mashed Potatos...haha
nedmanxxx 1 year ago
@nedmanxxx I never did care for what they did to both songs like that, but it was an interesting approach.
RetroToledo 2 months ago
Very simply, the "Bird" was a popular dance 1962-64. For a group without a top 40 hit, I LOVE their 3 singles. Given justice, this may be better than the Trashmen's Surfin' Bird.
djdavemick 1 year ago 2
I suggest everybody listens to the lyrics! Clearly about a dance called 'The Bird' - It is indeed The Word... on the street, cool, the thing that everyone's talking about. The bird was/is a dance where you flap your arms like wings... crazy 60s!
"Come on Jump here, now get on your knees
and get to flapping your wings in the east or the west...
and
Well they're dancin this bird in the east and the west
Make this dance and you'll look the best.
Haven't you heard about the bird?
IainKitching 1 year ago
it means that bird is the new thing probably... but i have no clue what or who they mean with bird.
MrAssassinful 1 year ago
I'm no historian, but given the time-frame of this song, I would assume that the lyrics are some form of innuendo or euphemism. When something is "the word" it usually means that it's something being spoken about on a fairly large scale. I assume that the bird is a woman that's being talked about all over town, probably for sexual promiscuity. ;D
Lyrically, it's a pretty sad song. American culture is filled with lots of catchy, unintelligent music. :)
Vinzet86 1 year ago
@Vinzet86 dont care, this song is the shit
dionco92 1 year ago
@dionco92 respect the classics !!!!!!!!!!
ellsthorne20 1 year ago
@ellsthorne20 i do! stupit
dionco92 1 year ago
@dionco92 haha theres no T in stupiD
HAHA
ellsthorne20 1 year ago
@ellsthorne20 well no shit. u have to get it, in order 2 understand it. u ball sucker.
dionco92 1 year ago
@ellsthorne20 stupit!
dionco92 1 year ago
@dionco92 LOL
ellsthorne20 1 year ago
@dionco92 lol, either you went to school and got taught how to spell stupiD, or its pretty hard to understand how to spell the word stupiD lol
and i dont suck balls so i guess i cant be a ball sucker :), care to try again lol
ellsthorne20 1 year ago
@ellsthorne20 oh i know the spelling, i just like usin a t, cuz it rlly aint that serious. when im on here. so there u bung hole lol
dionco92 1 year ago
@dionco92 apparantly you dont lol
ellsthorne20 1 year ago
@ellsthorne20 yea i do, u just take that "stupid" issue too serious.. of course i knw the spelling, buh i dint think it was too serious to be commented on.
dionco92 1 year ago
@FBfromLH nope it's all jibberish makes no sense i'm a yankee so i hope that helps by the way anyone like the band ED medusa .
brandoncipelle 1 year ago
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pcbilski 1 year ago
wow
1stdannunu 1 year ago
I'd agree with you if we're talking about The Trashmen's version. It was meant to just be absurd. But The Rivington's original was definitely about a dance. "Papa-ooo-mow-mow" on the other hand I'm guessing was just a cool vocalization..
rgjraccoon 1 year ago
"it's the swingin'-est dance to hit the street" is the first line of the solo lyrics...that's the dance called "The Bird!" It's the "Word"...the news, the hottest thing. From our phrase "Word on the street is"... insert your favorite bit of gossip here.
The Trashmen's cover of this in their medley "Surfin' Bird:" "Everybody's heard about the bird, well a bird bird bird, well a bird is a word etc. "Surfin' Bird" = drunk Minnesotans. No real Minnesota music happened until Prince.
rgjraccoon 1 year ago
@rgjraccoon Merci for the reply.
FBfromLH 1 year ago
Hi, I'm french (nobody's perfect) and try to understand the meaning of "the Bird Is a word". If I translate word for word it means nothing, "the bird" is an animal that has wings and a beak, "the word" is a word like in word for word. So it makes no sense. And it's like "Papa Oom Mow Mow", there is nothing to understand. But perhaps in the U.S., this phrase refers to something special. Can you help me? Thank you in advance.
FBfromLH 1 year ago 14
@FBfromLH hello, i don't think there is anything behind this song, but, im swedish so im not sure about it, maybe some yankee can tell us? :P
jesper27 1 year ago 14
@jesper27 Merci for the reply. rgjraccon is right
FBfromLH 1 year ago
@jesper27 i'm american..... their is no meaning to either of those songs. idk why they became such hits. or when they were put together to make a super hit (surfin bird by the trashmen) they mean nothing thought
yeahyeahchick 1 year ago
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pcbilski 1 year ago
@jesper27 Don't worry, no one in the U.S. has any clue what this song is about. But when something is "the word" it means that it is news or gossip. Like "The word on the street is..."
I think it's about someone who's nickname is "the Bird" and he's new in town and is like a good dancer or something.
Priestica606 1 year ago
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kennyj851 1 year ago
@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
kennyj851 1 year ago
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@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
kennyj851 1 year ago
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@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
kennyj851 1 year ago
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@jesper27 Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. FBfromLH - you are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
kennyj851 1 year ago
@jesper27 - A "bird" is also a slang/derogotary term for a girl in the UK. But given that this song is from the US, I imagine that this is totally irrelevant!
kennyj851 1 year ago
@jesper27 excuse me ??? YANKEE ??????? imma trace your ip adress you punk
ashman4202 1 year ago
@ashman4202 haha... trace my IP adress please
MrAssassinful 1 year ago
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@jesper27 it doesnt really make any sense i guess it means that something a bird did is the word?
giraffeman3705 1 year ago
@jesper27 Listen here you rutabaga, keep the racial shit to yourself.
JoshxAcoustic 1 year ago
@jesper27
Bird's the word
Bird is the word
the bird is the word
"The bird" is the word.
debiion 1 year ago
@jesper27 from what i can understand is tha it means that giving someone "the bird" is equal to saying fuck you but i dont really know
ThePunisher8698 1 year ago
@jesper27
I take it to mean that "the Word" is something good, and "the Bird" could be anything - although "bird" is also a slang term for a girl. Either that, or it's all nonsense.
StephenHarpersNutsak 1 year ago
@jesper27
the bird is the word!!!
Str8OuttaKashville 1 year ago
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issyb93 1 year ago
@jesper27 im canadian and french is my maternal language, but i grew up (and im still growing) in majoritely english towns (peterborough/ottawa) so my english is pretty good. im no american, but i can assure you the papa oom mow mow means "i dont know what else i could put in these lyrics so ill repeat this for some time so the song is long enough to be played on the radio"
Lemonlimegreen 1 year ago
@jesper27 Just an idea for you here as a Brit - bird can be slang for woman. If we use that as a basis then this starts to make the sense. A woman is the talk of the town?
scottboof 1 year ago
@FBfromLH - The only person who knows what it means is probably the guy that wrote it. The one thing that I do know is that during the time period in which the song was written, a "bird" was sometimes a slang word for a female, and "the word" is a term sometimes used to refer to gossip or the latest news. So it is possible that the song is talking about an attractive female that everyone is talking about. Just an educated guess
jcramir2 1 year ago
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@jcramir2 Merci for the reply. rgjraccon is right
FBfromLH 1 year ago
@FBfromLH It depends what country you live in. In England where I live, bird also means girlfriend, or girl. In Canada, bird means vagina!
ramejkisp 1 year ago
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@ramejkisp Merci for the reply. rgjraccon is right
FBfromLH 1 year ago
@FBfromLH La phrase la plus facile, c'est "the word". As an English idiom, to "be the word" means to "be the latest fad, vogue, or sensational news". Par exemple, quand une guerre est gagnée, on dit "Have you heard the word? We won!"
"The bird" is ambiguous. S'il voulait dire "oiseau", vous auriez raison, it would make no sense at all. However, it's usually said that by "the bird" they meant la danse qu'on appelle "The Bird" qui était très populaire quand The Rivingtons ont chanté ce chanson-ci
UnfamiliarPlace 1 year ago
@UnfamiliarPlace Merci for the reply. rgjraccon is right and you to !
FBfromLH 1 year ago
@FBfromLH I understand your frustration! I experience the same thing when I try to translate french into english!
smokeemonkee 1 year ago
@FBfromLH Yes, there is no meaning behind the song - it is purely nonsense - pop music exploded in the '60s and there was so much great music being written that there weren't enough meaningful lyrics to go round, so a lot of radio-based pop would just have nonsense lyrics sung to a catchy melody.
Poppycockify 1 year ago
@Poppycockify ...and the trend has continued ever since.
Wikipedia actually states that all 'pop' music is "lightweight disposable fluff of no lyrical worth and entirely devoid of intellectual content".
If Wikipedia says so, that's clearly good enough for everyone else, even if I did in fact just make that crap up.
KrillLiberator 1 year ago
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@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
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@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
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@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
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@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
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@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
@FBfromLH The lyrics don't have any significant meaning, its just a silly song for the sake of being silly.
pcbilski 1 year ago
@FBfromLH I'm not sure how old the slang is, however a "bird" can be another name for penis.
nohbudy 1 year ago
@FBfromLH I don't know about "Papa Oom Mow Mow", but to say something is "the word" is kinda an old way of saying it's something that everyone's talking about.
Davesomerkonstantove 1 year ago
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@FBfromLH Hello....I may be able to help a bit but i'm Scottish (not American) so my interpretation is not necessarily that well-informed. You are right about the literal interpretation of these words - technically, "the bird is the word" makes sense, but by adopting a literal interpretation, it doesn't really mean anything. I suspect, however, that the statement is a metaphor for something else. E.g. to give someone "the bird" is to gesture rudely at them with your middle finger.
kennyj851 1 year ago
@FBfromLH Hey im english, i kinda get what it means. it means that that 'bird' is the best thing ever, sort of. It is like a fashion, the thing of the moment. Hope this helps :)
motoraza69pk3 1 year ago
@FBfromLH "The Bird is the Word" signifie que "Bird" est le meilleur / mot principal. Desole que mon français est si mauvais
BestWaffles 1 year ago
@FBfromLH no, its just a load of random rambling, but still sounds good
BiddaBiddaCherryPie 1 year ago
@FBfromLH
"The Bird" was a dance back then. "The Word" basically means that people were talking about "The Bird." "Word" in this case is slang for "the talk of the town."
massagebymimi 1 year ago
@FBfromLH
"Papa Oom Mow Mow" is just a sound...consider it an early form of "Beatboxing." lol The Rivingtons were considered a "Doo-wop" group meaning they used a lot of non-words into their songs. Doo-wop artists said things like "Shoo-be-doo-wop-bop-wow" ordoo-wop-shoo-bop...etcetera. In this case it's Papa oom mow mow...Hope that helps you understand.
massagebymimi 1 year ago
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adamlinks 1 year ago
@FBfromLH As far as I know, here in America, "Bird's the Word" doesn't mean anything at all.