Louie Hooey



Louie Hooey by Ravi Shankar

	Remember the controversy surrounding The Kingsmen’s famed song, “Louie Louie”? Well, if you thought the end of it was decades ago, you’re far from correct. Marilyn Henley, 41, of Pecos, Wisconsin, has recently filed a grievance to the government stating that any compilation album that features the song should also be stamped with a “Parental Advisory” label on it. Why? “It’s an offensive song,” Henley says. “Basically, it condones doing awful things to women, particularly with the male genitalia.” Henley was shocked to find this song to be frequently played by her 14-year old son, Sammy, a fan of classic rock. But, in a world today where obscenity and profanity in music is almost expected, why would Ms. Henley be so upset over a song that was causing controversy back in the 1960s? “I grew up on disco, and then even the 80s music that was popular in college was acceptable. It was clean. I would want my son to ‘stay alive’ and ‘take on me’ rather than to listen to this filth.” To understand fully what Ms. Henley’s problem was with “Louie Louie,” I asked her to write out the lyrics of the song as she believes them to be, and which she had sent along with her grievance. Here are the lyrics to the song according to Ms. Henley: CHORUS Louie, Louie, oh no, say we gotta go. Yeah, yeah, ye-yeah yeah. Louie, Louie, oh baby, say we gotta go.. Fine little girl waiting to pee Cop a feel of her today Well I’ll take her up the butt all alone We never went out, I’m on a roll! CHORUS Tonight at ten, I’ll get her with me. Fuck your girl, oh, by the way And on that chair, pray I’ll be there I felt my boner dive in her hair. CHORUS Okay, let’s give it to her right now! Sick fine maker she is Won’t be long, please leave me alone I’ll take her in my arms right there I felt her eye get poked by my boner. Ms. Henley’s interpretation is quite arbitrary. In fact, the last line in no way correlates with the sound and flow of the song. “It’s just a sick song,” Henley continues. “I’m sick of all this corruption of youth. Music is bad. I don’t like Eminem or any of these other rappers. And where did it start? With this dirty song!” Whether Henley’s case will stand up remains to be seen, but to me, I can’t decide on the issue. See, I don’t know whether to laugh at the fact this woman is pissed off at a song from the 60s or to laugh at the fact that she thinks the word “boner” is used so frequently in it. Yeah, I think the latter, too.



		I guess they all look similar to the male genitals, but nahh, they wouldn't stoop to that level of performance. Here, they're presented with a Louie Louie turkey/gift basket.