(And now, for a summer rerun in the middle of April. I'm STILL getting comments on this post from 2017, which delights me no end!)
In my rediscovery of the magnificent Choo Choo, who was perhaps my favorite cartoon character of all time, I've been thinking about some of the mysteries of the Top Cat theme song lyrics. This is, as far as I am aware, the correct version.
Top Cat, the most effectual
Top Cat, who's intellectual
Close friends get to call him T. C.
Providing it's with dignity
Top Cat
The indisputable leader of the gang
He's the boss, he's a VIP
He's a championship
He's the most tip top
Top Cat
Yes he's the chief, he's the king
But above everything
He's the most tip top
Top Cat
TOP CAT!
Close friends get to Quality Street
Nobody ain't gets whipping for tea
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Come right in, it's whipping for tea.
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Come on in he's whipping the 't'.
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Providing there's whipped cream for tea.
Close friends get to quality, see?
Provided it's with the kitty.
l
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Pro-fighting is whipped in the tea.
Top Cat, the most effectual
Top Cat, who's intellectual
Close friends get to call him T. C.
Providing it's with dignity
Top Cat
The indisputable leader of the gang
He's the boss, he's a VIP
He's a championship
He's the most tip top
Top Cat
Yes he's the chief, he's the king
But above everything
He's the most tip top
Top Cat
TOP CAT!
By God! I never knew the line was "he's a VIP" until just now, after listening to it seventy-seven times. But now that I hear it, that's all it could be. Most lyric sites say "he's a pip", but it's definitely NOT "pip". For a long time, it sounded to me more like "bip". Finally I find a site that says VIP, and I think: no way, nevermore! But yes, it works, if you pronounce it like one word, "vip" (and I'm not sure which way you spell it, upper- or lower-case). This means "very important person", though "VIC" would be more accurate.
Not only that: one of the "misheard" lyrics below just clued me in on something. I think the second and third lines are usually heard as "whose intellectual/close friends get to call him T. C", but that doesn't make any sense. NONE of his friends are intellectual, not even my darling pink-coated, fluffy-tailed, Brooklyn-accented Choo Choo. But TC is smart as a whip.
So it makes more sense to say:
Top Cat, the most effectual -
Top Cat, who's intellectual -
(A slight pause, which you can actually hear in the song, then the next thought):
Close friends get to call him T. C.
Providing it's with dignity.
It even makes better grammatical sense, at least to me. I added the dashes just for dash.
Now, can you believe I found whole web pages devoted to "mondegreens" (misheard lyrics) for the Top Cat theme? The "providing it's with dignity" line was especially problematic for people, reminding me of the Flintstones: "let's ride with the family down the street/through the courtesy of flphghghvfllgheep." It's worse than the "you know it's up to you, I think it's only fair" in the Beatles' She Loves You (quick - what's the next line?)
So a lot of the best mondegreens come from that line, often leading to shocking references to "whipping". This is a children's show, for God's sake (though you'd never know it by the crookedness and delinquency of T. C.'s gang of reprobates).
Original lyrics:
Not only that: one of the "misheard" lyrics below just clued me in on something. I think the second and third lines are usually heard as "whose intellectual/close friends get to call him T. C", but that doesn't make any sense. NONE of his friends are intellectual, not even my darling pink-coated, fluffy-tailed, Brooklyn-accented Choo Choo. But TC is smart as a whip.
So it makes more sense to say:
Top Cat, the most effectual -
Top Cat, who's intellectual -
(A slight pause, which you can actually hear in the song, then the next thought):
Close friends get to call him T. C.
Providing it's with dignity.
It even makes better grammatical sense, at least to me. I added the dashes just for dash.
Now, can you believe I found whole web pages devoted to "mondegreens" (misheard lyrics) for the Top Cat theme? The "providing it's with dignity" line was especially problematic for people, reminding me of the Flintstones: "let's ride with the family down the street/through the courtesy of flphghghvfllgheep." It's worse than the "you know it's up to you, I think it's only fair" in the Beatles' She Loves You (quick - what's the next line?)
So a lot of the best mondegreens come from that line, often leading to shocking references to "whipping". This is a children's show, for God's sake (though you'd never know it by the crookedness and delinquency of T. C.'s gang of reprobates).
Original lyrics:
Close friends get to call him T. C.
Providing it's with dignity
Misheard lyrics:
Close friends get to Quality Street
Nobody ain't gets whipping for tea
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Come right in, it's whipping for tea.
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Come on in he's whipping the 't'.
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Providing there's whipped cream for tea.
Close friends get to quality, see?
Provided it's with the kitty.
l
Close friends get to call him T.C.
Pro-fighting is whipped in the tea.
So. When this show first came on, I was seven years old. It surprised me to find that out, because I think I "got" quite a bit of the humor in it. I noticed that most of the background music had been recycled from The Flintstones. I absolutely loved Choo Choo. He was, and is, adorable. For some reason I remember T. C. brushing his teeth before going to bed in the garbage can, and missing one side. That really bothered me, because I had been nagged and nagged about the proper way to brush my teeth.
As for the "with dignity" line, mine was the worst of all:
Close friends get to call him T. C.
Most cats are just dripping to see
Top Cat (etc.)
What that means, I don't even want to speculate on.
For my money, this is the best cover version of the Top Cat theme, which is ubiquitous on YouTube. I'm thinking of doing a version myself. This guy's ukelele chords are incredibly sophisticated. He looks a little bit like the kid from Deliverance, but that just adds to the mystique.
10 comments:
InviteeOctober 4, 2020 at 5:03 AM
I’m not convinced. Despite having tracked down and heard many supposedly original airings where it does seem to be “with dignity”, I still suspect it’s ACTUALLY “with invitee”. INVITEE is a little used word for INVITATION. The line therefore means that close friends can “call on T.C.” (visit T.C.” so long as they have an invitation. Even the man who wrote the lyrics, when later asked, said he didn’t know and no originally written lyrics survive! Nothing will shake my belief.ReplyDelete
Replies
Bunnycat.October 8, 2020 at 8:37 AM
Invitee is not a synonym of invitation. An invitee is a person who receives an invitation. The person who issues the invitation is the invited.Delete
Margaret GunningOctober 12, 2020 at 4:12 PM
Hey guys, thanks for the comments. I love it when someone reads my stuff a couple of years later. The Top Cat issue remains contentious. I was actually working on an updated version of this post when your comments came in! There is a Hanna-Barbera Wiki site with a LOT of cartoon lyrics on it, and here is what they said:
Top Cat!
The most effectual Top Cat!
Who's intellectual close friends get to call him T.C.
Providing it's with dignity.
Top Cat!
The indisputable leader of the gang.
He's the boss, he's a pip, he's the championship.
He's the most tip top,
Top Cat.
Yes he's a chief, he's a king,
But above everything,
He's the most tip top,
Top Cat.
Top Cat!
I still have a little trouble with the "the"/"a" bit, but it's not as important as the "whipping the tea" line, which I think has led to some creative alternatives that I like better than the original. And I'm sticking with my "providing it's with dignity." There is still a little bit of debate about whether it's TOP CAT who is intellectual, or if his CLOSE FRIENDS are intellectual. It has been argued his close friends are dumb as posts, which is true - but might this be a little irony sprinkled in?Delete
Reply
KolbeAugust 31, 2022 at 7:57 AM
"He's a Pip" does make sense. I've never heard anyone referred to as a V.I.P. without articulating each letter. Not that they couldn't have taken license and said "vip", figuring people might get it, but it's more sensible to assume the word "pip", which was known and used and easily understood especially by the adults watching at that time, though the word is all but obsolete now. It meant an "highly admirable, attractive person". It was such a common label it became something of a trend to use it in a negative way, rolling the eyes when referring to someone as "a pip". You'll see that in old movies from time to time.
As regards the comment that the guy on video covering the song looks a little "Deliverence" to you, what an insult. Have you gone back to look at the Deliverance kid since the 70's? No resemblance, save that he's a human being plucking strings.ReplyDelete
Replies
Margaret GunningAugust 31, 2022 at 10:18 AM
I liked the kid from Deliverance! Though he mimed the banjo playing,he added something unforgettable to the film. In reality, he wasn't a mentally challenged person, rather a local kid who wanted to do it and passed the audition, and throughout his life (I actually researched this) he was still treated like a celebrity. I would say the guy who rapes Ned Beatty was thoroughly detestable.
At any rate, I appreciate your comments. "Pip" just reminds me of something upper-class Brits say: "Cheerio, pip-pip" (though no Englishman EVER said that). An orange or lemon seed could also be called a "pip". But it does sound better than "vip". It always surprises me when something I posted five years ago gets some response. For one brief shining moment, there was a Top Cat YouTube channel, which of course disappeared due to copyright issues. Watching them again, I was impressed with how stylish the visuals were - a bit like Disney in 101 Dalmations (though totally different subject - stylized but not pretentious). BRING BACK T. C. (and Choo-Choo, of course). At very least, start showing them on YouTube again.Delete
AnonymousNovember 22, 2022 at 10:20 AM
Now that I know what 'pip' means, it DOES make a lot more sense. I can't promise to stop using 'vip' though.Delete
Reply
KolbeAugust 31, 2022 at 7:59 AM
PS. Not being overly critical with my comment. Enjoyed stumbling across this today. I loved T.C. and the gang back in the day.
As for the "with dignity" line, mine was the worst of all:
Close friends get to call him T. C.
Most cats are just dripping to see
Top Cat (etc.)
What that means, I don't even want to speculate on.
For my money, this is the best cover version of the Top Cat theme, which is ubiquitous on YouTube. I'm thinking of doing a version myself. This guy's ukelele chords are incredibly sophisticated. He looks a little bit like the kid from Deliverance, but that just adds to the mystique.
10 comments:
InviteeOctober 4, 2020 at 5:03 AM
I’m not convinced. Despite having tracked down and heard many supposedly original airings where it does seem to be “with dignity”, I still suspect it’s ACTUALLY “with invitee”. INVITEE is a little used word for INVITATION. The line therefore means that close friends can “call on T.C.” (visit T.C.” so long as they have an invitation. Even the man who wrote the lyrics, when later asked, said he didn’t know and no originally written lyrics survive! Nothing will shake my belief.ReplyDelete
Replies
Bunnycat.October 8, 2020 at 8:37 AM
Invitee is not a synonym of invitation. An invitee is a person who receives an invitation. The person who issues the invitation is the invited.Delete
Margaret GunningOctober 12, 2020 at 4:12 PM
Hey guys, thanks for the comments. I love it when someone reads my stuff a couple of years later. The Top Cat issue remains contentious. I was actually working on an updated version of this post when your comments came in! There is a Hanna-Barbera Wiki site with a LOT of cartoon lyrics on it, and here is what they said:
Top Cat!
The most effectual Top Cat!
Who's intellectual close friends get to call him T.C.
Providing it's with dignity.
Top Cat!
The indisputable leader of the gang.
He's the boss, he's a pip, he's the championship.
He's the most tip top,
Top Cat.
Yes he's a chief, he's a king,
But above everything,
He's the most tip top,
Top Cat.
Top Cat!
I still have a little trouble with the "the"/"a" bit, but it's not as important as the "whipping the tea" line, which I think has led to some creative alternatives that I like better than the original. And I'm sticking with my "providing it's with dignity." There is still a little bit of debate about whether it's TOP CAT who is intellectual, or if his CLOSE FRIENDS are intellectual. It has been argued his close friends are dumb as posts, which is true - but might this be a little irony sprinkled in?Delete
Reply
KolbeAugust 31, 2022 at 7:57 AM
"He's a Pip" does make sense. I've never heard anyone referred to as a V.I.P. without articulating each letter. Not that they couldn't have taken license and said "vip", figuring people might get it, but it's more sensible to assume the word "pip", which was known and used and easily understood especially by the adults watching at that time, though the word is all but obsolete now. It meant an "highly admirable, attractive person". It was such a common label it became something of a trend to use it in a negative way, rolling the eyes when referring to someone as "a pip". You'll see that in old movies from time to time.
As regards the comment that the guy on video covering the song looks a little "Deliverence" to you, what an insult. Have you gone back to look at the Deliverance kid since the 70's? No resemblance, save that he's a human being plucking strings.ReplyDelete
Replies
Margaret GunningAugust 31, 2022 at 10:18 AM
I liked the kid from Deliverance! Though he mimed the banjo playing,he added something unforgettable to the film. In reality, he wasn't a mentally challenged person, rather a local kid who wanted to do it and passed the audition, and throughout his life (I actually researched this) he was still treated like a celebrity. I would say the guy who rapes Ned Beatty was thoroughly detestable.
At any rate, I appreciate your comments. "Pip" just reminds me of something upper-class Brits say: "Cheerio, pip-pip" (though no Englishman EVER said that). An orange or lemon seed could also be called a "pip". But it does sound better than "vip". It always surprises me when something I posted five years ago gets some response. For one brief shining moment, there was a Top Cat YouTube channel, which of course disappeared due to copyright issues. Watching them again, I was impressed with how stylish the visuals were - a bit like Disney in 101 Dalmations (though totally different subject - stylized but not pretentious). BRING BACK T. C. (and Choo-Choo, of course). At very least, start showing them on YouTube again.Delete
AnonymousNovember 22, 2022 at 10:20 AM
Now that I know what 'pip' means, it DOES make a lot more sense. I can't promise to stop using 'vip' though.Delete
Reply
KolbeAugust 31, 2022 at 7:59 AM
PS. Not being overly critical with my comment. Enjoyed stumbling across this today. I loved T.C. and the gang back in the day.
