Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah (Look at that... Look at that)

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         So, the other day Ray Stevens was on the radio singing one of his crazy classics called “The Streak”. Do you remember that song? It was funny probably because for some reason back in the '70s, people used to get naked and run around ball fields and such. I have no reason why they did this, they just did. I remember as a little boy wondering why “streakers” were always male. It seemed to me they could have made it a little more interesting for young, inquisitive minds like myself.

         So, my wife, Cyndi, is deep into this soulful classic singing along like she may have been one of the co-writers. But when Mr. Stephens sings “Here he comes... look at that... Look at that...", I noticed she had completely different lyrical parts. They “sounded” like “Look at that... Look at that”, but she sang “Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah”. I thought that it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. I laughed for days. She tried to tell me that she was 5 years old when the song came out, and she didn’t understand everything. That only made it funnier to me.

          Some of the lyrics from "The Streak" written and performed by Ray Stevens...

Oh, yes, they call him the Streak...
Look at that, look at that (My wife sings "Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah")...
He likes to show off his physique...
Look at that, look at that ("Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah")...
If there's an audience to be found...
He'll be streakin' around...
Invitin' public critique...

Cyndi Coner

         It’s kind of like those songs from the BeeGees on "Saturday Night Fever". Did anybody ever know what those guys were saying? I didn’t that’s for sure. Sometimes we can go for years and not know the real, solid truth about something. It reminds me of some old Chinese musical. I think it was called “Madame Butterfly”, but I’m not sure. I swear to God I never saw it. But the scope of the entire musical was this guy was married to this “woman” for a long time and never even knew he was married to a dude. I’m not sure how this happened, but I’m sure duct tape was involved. 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Producations)

         I know, I know this is a stupid commentary. But the truth is, I had a slight misunderstanding about some of the lyrics in "The Streak" myself. Do you remember the part in the song where the man and his wife, Ethyl, are at the grocery store? Well, Ethyl takes her clothes off and decides to streak through the vegetable section. The man tells his wife to "Get your clothes back on you shameless hussey!" Well, I grew up with some older cousins, and they were all boys. I can tell you I thought he called her something else. But, it was one of my older cousin's that told me what that word was, and I was young and dumb enough to believe him... "Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah" for sure.

Ethel! Where you goin'?
Ethel, you shameless hussy!

Say it isn't so,
Ethel! Ethelllllll!!!

         Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

Check out Scott's latest video, "Maybe She Lied".

 

'I Didn't Lie'

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            I have had a pretty good run as far as songwriting goes to this point. I’m not referencing commercial success. I only mean that the songs I have written seem to represent my life pretty much up to now. I know this is not everyone’s approach, but I kind of wish it was. I have been a part of the songwriting mill in Nashville. I have met a complete strangers, had a cup of coffee, and written a song. I don’t like this approach. It feels cheap, and it feels like I am cheating whatever potential listener is out there into believing some conjured up experience that never happened. For what it’s worth, only one of those songs was ever recorded by me, and I wrote most of the lyrics.

            I have always hoped and believed that the songs that I have loved all of my life weren’t just a collection of words that rhyme. When George Jones sang “The Grand Tour”, I felt like I was walking through an empty, lonely house full of memories. When Vern Gosdin sang one of his masterpieces, I felt like he was telling me about his life and not someone else’s. “You don’t know about lonely until it’s chiseled in stone” is a line that haunts me to this day. These men took the songs and made them their own.

            The song, “Maybe She Lied”, my duet with country legend Tanya Tucker, was written after a very good friend of mine went home from work and found his wife gone along with all of her belongings. He never saw it coming, and it shocked the daylights out of him when it happened. I thought quite a bit about his situation and probably thanked God that it didn’t happen to me personally, to be honest. But the song was from a very personal perspective. I sat down with a yellow pad of paper and an acoustic guitar and wrote the song complete in one sitting. At the time I wrote it, I never planned on Tanya Tucker singing with me on it. Honestly, I didn’t even write it as a duet. When she agreed to work with me, I took a green highlighter and pulled the song apart turning it into what you hear today. I knew the song was longer than what what most radio stations will play today, but the song was important enough to me that I couldn’t take that into consideration.

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            Now, saying all this doesn’t mean that I take my music so seriously that each song has to be specifically about my life’s events. No, what I’m saying is that many of the songs I write have a distinct meaning. Some of them are about things I’ll probably never share with anyone. Not because they represent something bad, they would simply be impossible for me to try to explain. Other songs such as “Crimson and Clover,” for instance, were not written by me. But that song as well as the other “cover” songs I have done meant something. They represent a snapshot from a moment in my life, and I wanted to share those songs with others. I always look at those recordings like a kid bringing something to school for “show and tell”. I love those songs and I want to brag on them a little bit.

            There are many ways to write a successful song. Nashville likes to put prolific writers together and churn out hits. There are songwriting teams that strike gold with a certain rhythm or “feel” in their compositions. Nashville, L.A., and New York have all proved that the ultimate way to have a hit is to put big money behind a song, get heavy rotation, and the rest is history. I don’t disagree with any approach. After all, the business of music is about promoting the song and the artist. Remember “Achy Breaky Heart”? Oh yes you do! You only act like you didn’t sing along in your car. LOL!

            Listen, this business has always been about hits. There have been artists that could take a song and make it theirs. Elvis did a fine job covering Leiber and Stoller, and he was very convincing. Lennon and McCartney seemed to show up with a hit every now and again. Alabama dominated the radio for a very long time singing their own compositions, as well as songs written by others. And I have been told that George Strait could sing the yellow pages if he wanted and still have a hit. And the way that man sings I wouldn’t put it past him.

            What I meant to say from the beginning of this awful rant is that, although the other methods bring us joy, it is always nice to hear an artist talk about the importance of a certain song and why they wrote it. It just adds depth and meaning. I remember hearing Alan Jackson sing “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”, and I thought it was one of the most important popular songs I had ever heard in my life. I still do.

            I have the lyric sheet from “Maybe She Lied” that Tanya used in the studio with me. On it, she wrote: “Scott, I didn’t Lie”. Now, I never dated Tanya Tucker. But, sometimes when I hear her sing my song, I swear I think she and I had a little something going on one time or other. Probably not though. I’m pretty sure I’d remember that, and I would have had a lot more to write about.

            Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked with country greats such as T. Graham Brown, Charlie Daniels, and Tanya Tucker. Check out his latest videos and songs at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. You can follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

Scott Coner Reflects On His Unforgettable Recording Day with Tanya Tucker

            (Artist's Note: This week, I'd like to share my experiences singing with legendary country singer Tanya Tucker. As some of you may know, Tanya was my duet partner on the song, "Maybe She Lied", which hit number one in England. Working with her was a remarkable experience.)

            I wrote my song, "Maybe She Lied", on a Takamine acoustic guitar. I wanted it to have a traditional feel that included a Floyd Cramer-style piano. Mark Moseley, a producer friend of mine, had worked with Tanya Tucker in the past, and I asked if he could reach out to her for me. He was kind enough to send the song to her. A few weeks went by, and I was on West End in Nashville when I got the call that she would be doing the song with me. I remember all of my feelings going from joy to a very deep fear very quickly that day. I remember asking myself what kind of idiot thinks he can actually stand up next to Tanya Tucker and sing?

Country artist Scott Coner records in Nashville

 (Listen to the number one song "Maybe She Lied" at https://soundcloud.com/scott-coner/02-maybe-she-lied-feat-tanya or visit the music page at Scott Coner's website: www.ScottConer.com.)

 

            She met me at the studio though, and all of my fear went away. I remember that she was very prepared, very nice, and very good. Her voice sounded like an angel that afternoon, and I knew right away that she had made the song a very special one. I don't listen to my own music much, but when I hear this song, it truly makes me smile all over inside.

            Tanya and I talked mostly about things that were related to the song. One discussion involved pronunciation of the word, "memory". She told me that George Jones had told her to always pronounce that word exactly how it sounds naturally because it was an important word. (Since then, I have noticed that George did not stand by his own advice in reference to that word... LOL.)

            There is no way I can thank Tanya Tucker enough for helping me, but I will always think of her as the "Queen of Country Music".

Connect with country artist Scott Coner at his FB page: http://www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic.