The Mesopotamians
We found a theme song, or rather Jenifer over on Argh Ink found it for us. We were not happy about the B-52s Mesopotamia song, but then we heard They Might Be Giants, and that was it, we had a song (do NOT play this song unless you want to sing it all the damn day):
To avoid the catchy tune, you can just read the words, which are copyright 2007 to They Might Be Giants, I’m pretty sure:
We’ve been driving around
From one end of this town to the other and back
But no one’s ever seen us (No one’s ever seen us)
Driving our Econoline van (And no one’s ever heard of our band)
And no one’s ever heard of our bandWe’re the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and GilgameshThen they wouldn’t understand a word we say,
So we’ll scratch it all down into the clay
Half believing there will sometime come a day
Someone gives a damn
Maybe when the concrete has crumbled to sandWe’re the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and GilgameshThe Mesopotam-ish sun is beating down
And making cracks in the ground
But there’s nowhere else to stand
In Mesopotamia, (No one’s ever seen us)
The kingdom where we secretly reign (And no one’s ever heard of our band)
The land where we invisibly ruleAs the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and GilgameshThis is my last stick of gum
I’m going to cut it up so everybody else gets some
Except for Ashurbanipal who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-daroanHey, Ashurbanipal,
I’m a Mesopotamian
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and GilgameshWe’re the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh“Hey, man, I thought that you were dead
I thought you crashed your car”
“No, man, I’ve been right here this whole time playing bass guitar
For the Mesopotamians”We’re the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and GilgameshWe’re the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
We’ve used Gilgamesh already in a throwaway line, now I have to go figure out how to work in Sargon, Hammurabi, and Ashurbanipal, although I know Ashurbanipal had a brother named Samas so that might be a way. The bottom line is that I love this song. I’d use it for the ringtone for Lani and Krissie on my phone, but they’ve already got “Birdhouse in My Soul,” so this will have be for somebody else.
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Where did that cool cartoon come from??? I love it.
It’s from the music video. I grabbed it on You Tube.
I love it! So addictive. and funny. Curses. When I have to check into the Jenny Crusie Home for blog addictions, I’m going to blame you.
Um, I just wanna say, that I told you guys about this song back in July:
http://dogsandgoddesses.com/?p=112#more-112
But that’s okay. I’m not bitter or anything. Really. I’m not.
Rats. I went back the Birdhouse in Your Soul post on Argh because that’s where it connected and I looked it up. I’m sorry, Courtney, I wasn’t listenting. Mea culpa.
You warned us about playing the song but did I listen? No. Now I’ve been singing it for two days. Not very Christmasy. I console myself that the Mesopotamians celebrated winter solstice.
What a blast. Waited til after Xmas before I watched the clip. Just as well….
S.O.S. Forgive me for posting this here Jenny but I’m having all kinds of problems trying to comment on Argh. Have I been blacklisted
Cool clip BTW
I had something like 1500 spam comments on there last weekend so I deleted them all. If you got caught in there, you’d have been listed as spam, I think, so I went back today and there were only 194, so I waded through them just for you and found you and de-spammed you.
And now I must take a shower. There’s a special place in hell for spammers. But you’re posted now.
Oh Jenny - thanks so much. Going to Argh to thank you there too.
(-: This was a great video and a great song!
What makes it so frustrating is that I can never remember the “Ashurbanipal” part and I screw up the rhythm of the rest of the hook.
I’ve got to get the album.
This was a week for catchy Youtube, though. My friend tipped me off to the Gilbert and Sullivan version of “Baby Got Back,” so my poor mind has been alternating between half of the “We’re the Mesopotamians” and “I like Big Butts and I can not lie.” And both vids have some moral connotations I just don’t want to mull over right now.
At least they’ve pushed “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” off my Top Ten Brainwaves.
I’m sad they couldn’t work Suppiluliuma into the mix. Still, it’s a great song.
I found your site *because* I listened to the song and was looking up Mesopotamia references! Of course, by then it was too late: I’ve been playing it incessantly since I downloaded the album last Friday and my wife’s starting to threaten divorce. Maybe getting the t-shirt for Christmas will calm me down…
Thanks for posting the words. Mesopatamians is very clever TMBG. Sex Clark Five’s Ashurbanipal is an equally brilliant stabbing at history song in the same vein.