#napoleon xiv

[queenrepent]

she napoléon on my the fourteenth until they come to take me away

[to2llynottoby]

To the happy home With trees and flowers and chirping birds And basket weavers who sit and smile And twiddle their thumbs and toes

They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! - Napoleon XIV

[dilfsuzanneyk]

who else up marching off to bed(lam)

[tenitchyfingers]

Here is something I’m curious about.

The song:

[spilladabalia]

Sloppy Jane - They're Coming To Take Me Away - Ha Ha!

[sherlockig]

were you obsessed with they're coming to take me away, ahaa by Napoleon XIV as a teenager or where you normal??

[agentjazzy]

oh my god OH MY GOD

a few months ago, when Needlejuice Records announced that they've got distribution rights to Napoleon XIV's original album I, half joking/half hoping, wondered if they would be able to produce any Tom Lehrer stuff

AND WHAT DO I FIND IN MY EMAIL FROM YESTERDAY??????????

a NEW Tom Lehrer album?!!??!!? UNRELEASED MATERIAL??!???!???

I'm so fucking hyped, none of you even KNOW

[jailpuppy]

I put my whole mental state into this

[dynamoe]

The Day the Music Died, Ha-Haaa!

[songsforthepierce]

Odd Tracks: They’re Coming to Take Me Away Ha! Haa!... - Napoleon XIV

So this is a song I haven’t thought about in YEARS. when I was looking through what music I had I saw this and went “...oh yeah, this song.”

I debated about doing this but content warning for light discussions on ableism and institutionalization. I didn’t really expect doing that on this fucking song but here we are.

So I found this song in a video that was similar to AMV Hell back in...maaaybe 2007 or 2008? Hard to remember. But anyway, I remember buying the song, listening to it from time to time and then just moved on. Now that I came back to this song I realized this only could have been used during the big AMV Hell era of the time. I cannot imagine this being used today. Well I say that when as I am typing this maybe someone will use it in a TikTok or something.

I looked into this song and learned some things. First off is that the artist goes under Napoleon XIV which I know isn’t interesting but to me the only reason that stands out is because when I got it on itunes at the time they label him under “Napoleon’s Ghost”. Why? I don’t know. Moving on from that the artist’s real name is Jerry Samuels and he is from America. Secondly the song was released in 1966 and was a chart hit reaching number 1 on U.S. Cash Box Top 100, number 3 on US Billboard Top 100, number 4 in UK Singles Chart, number 2 on Canada RPM Top Singles, and number 40 on Australia’s Kent Music Report. I am actually surprised it topped that high in the US, Canada, and UK during the time period (find it funny it was lower in Australia though). You know, I can 100% believe this being a one hit wonder. Novelty songs getting that status isn’t new (i.e. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer). However, this being high within most of the charts is what baffles me. It being number 40? more believable. But it being within the top 4? That is just confusing for me. Was there nothing else going on in 1966 for this to happen? I guess so. Hell, the guy was awarded a gold disc. Well with all of that said what is this song about? What made this such a hit?

The song is about a man, or in this case Napoleon XIV (this was Jerry’s character or something), being taken away to a mental institution. Why? Because his girlfriend broke up with him which is what is causing his insanity. Actually wait, no, it was because he lost his dog. Haha...funny...okay look, I get it is one of those “Oh tee hee look how CRAZY this character is. Oh isn’t it funny they went insane and are being institutionalized! Oh how quirky!” songs which are not uncommon. I am not gonna say it is the worse song or even the worse song about this type of thing. But I will say it did not really age well and it is very much partially a product of the culture. Well I say partially because Samuels did point out he felt like this song would come off like it was making fun of the mentally ill but that him throwing in the line at the end about the dog would somehow make this okay. You know, how wikipedia worded what he said is weirdly better than what he actually said at the time. The whole “Sickies” line is not great. I know I could talk about how a song like this technically makes light about mental illness and institutionalization especially since the abuse that goes on in places as such has gotten more attention over the years. However, I think we all know this and I already stated my general feelings on the song. Plus the guy was 28 at the time which does explain his attitude at the time. Nowadays I actually don’t know what he does and frankly I really don’t care.Though, I would I have ended this all here but I found more info on the song.

The song you may noticed uses snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, and hand clap rhythm throughout. Samuels’ vocals are not sung melodically but instead spoken rhythmically while the pitch of his vocals rises and falls at key points which creates an odd glissando effect. This is increased by the wailing sirens that were added in the song as well. Now this made me look up what a glissando is which is described as “a glide to one pitch to another”. Though what was interesting to me was the fact that Samuels was able to do the vocal pitch shifts by basically doing a variation on what the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks did. Samuels at the time was working as a record engineer at the time which does explain all the sound stuff he was able to do on the track. A lot of it is talked about in Who Wrote a Book About Love? which I actually recommend reading the parts where he talks about all the technical stuff he did for the song. To be honest how he made the more technical aspects of the song is way more interesting than the song itself. I would have also ended all this here but then I found out this song as sequels.

Okay yeah, this song has sequels which I do not understand. Yes, this was a popular song which got banned by some stations because of the subject matter but were there people who REALLY wanted a sequel to this? Though I guess before I talk about that I should start will saying this song has a B-side. So the B-side is the same song but it is played in reverse. This fucking sounds like a song people would try to make theories about subliminal messages being inserted in. That or something out of a bad creepypasta. The most notable thing about this song is that rock critic, Dave Marsh, in his book Book of Rock Lists said the B-side is the “most obnoxious song ever to appear in a jukebox” which he claims this song cleared out a diner of forty people two minutes flat. I don’t know why but that made me remember that whole What’s New Pussy Cat meme from years back. Anyway, the fact this B-side was on a jukebox in a diner is just baffling to me. Why would someone put that on there unless they really wanted to annoy everyone in the restaurant? I would leave too if that came on. Now that I got the B-side out of the way now I can talk about the multiple sequels. The first one is I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-Haaa! and it’s just the same fucking song. The instrumentals sound like a bootleg of the original. The only difference is that this is about the woman happy she sent the guy away. The only notable things about this song was this was recorded Bryna Raeburn of CBS Radio Mystery Theater under Josephine XV. The second sequel is They Took You Away, I'm Glad, I'm Glad  which is I guess recorded by Josephine which appeared on These Are the Hits, You Silly Savages by Teddy & Darrel. The video of someone playing it on a promotional CD is all I could really find. I think there was one other video with the song but I guess this wasn’t popular. I am not shocked though because it is just the same song, again. I am not going to count the variation of the original song where Samuels says, “THEY'RE TRYING TO DRIVE ME SANE!!! HA HA“ different at the end as a sequel but I guess I should mention it for completion sake. “Emperor Bob” Hudson made a song called I’m Normal which is about the brother of the main character with the claims that no one will get him because he is so normal. The concept on paper sounded more funny to interesting for me because it just makes me think of all of those “I’m so normal memes”. Sadly when I listened to the song it sucked. How many times are they going to make the same song but slightly alter the tune of the song? Well, I guess they only did this four times because the forth and final sequel was made by Sameuls himself in 1988. All the other sequels were made in 1966, the same year as the original, which kind of makes sense with the fact that would be at the height of the popularity of the original. But 1988 feels like it is late to the party. Anyway, the last sequel is called They're Coming To Get Me Again, Ha Haaa! where Napoleon XIV has been released from institutionalization but alas that doesn’t last long as his fear of going back leads him being taken in. My opinion on all of these songs is lower than the original mainly because they really don’t really do much from the original concept. All of them just sound like bootlegs of one another but not even an enjoyable bootleg.

I was originally going to look into the covers of this song (yes this song had covers) but I just don’t care anymore. I already spent more time on this song than I originally intended. So yeah, this song exists and I won’t be listening to it or any of it’s variants again.

[esoteric-aesthetic-lyrics]

They're Coming To Get Me Again, Ha-Haaa! - Napoleon XIV

[queenrepent]

same image

[julio-viernes]

Murió Jerry Samuels, más conocido como “Napoleón XIV”.  Escribió y grabó uno de los sencillos de éxito (núm 1 Cashbox 100, nº 3 Billboard en los EE. UU., núm 4 en el Reino Unido) más extraños e inusuales de la música pop, el increíble “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” de 1966. Un viaje con toda seguridad sin retorno.

Se puso el nombre de Napoleón XIV, atribuyó su composición a N. Bonaparte y de alguna manera logró que Warner Bros. Records accediera a lanzarla en julio de 1966. Con solo una caja y una pandereta como acompañamiento, Samuels recitó, nunca cantó, su historia de aflicción amorosa tronada. Como consecuencia de su gran éxito lanzó un LP completo que pasó mucho más inadvertido.

Su único éxito sobrevivió en gran parte a través de la radiodifusión del aficionado a los discos novelty Dr. Demento, que lo incluyó en muchos álbumes recopilatorios.

Una corta diversión sobre...

[dilfsuzanneyk]

[getting louder as i approach you rapidly] can you dig it? can you dig it? can you dig it? can you dig it? can you dig it? can you-

[m00ndingochan]

RIP Napoleon XIV

[altmusicposting]

They're Coming To Take Me Away: The Difference a Cover Can Make

First released in 1966 as a novelty song by Napoleon XIV (Jerry Samuels), They're Coming To Take Me Away shot quickly up and then fell off the charts. It was banned after 5 weeks on the radio, when doctors and mental institutions called in saying it "hurt their image" (Mastropolo, The Riff, 2021). Samuels never intended the song to be serious, and knew from it's conception that it was "a sick joke," (Mastropolo, The Riff, 2021). Indeed it is, the song reads as the raving of a spurned ex-lover who was sent to a mental institution post break-up, presumably for the lyrics that indicate he poses a potential danger to himself and/or this other person.

In 2014, American, female-fronted metal band Butcher Babies released a cover of the song on their Sophomore EP, Uncovered. This cover was performed in their own style of thrash metal, rather than seeking to emulate the original (Scavieli, Classic Rock History, 2016). What's so fascinating to me about this, is how drastically different the cover is from the original, and how that changes the air and mood of the song, while still conveying the core feeling of a dangerous ex-lover.

For reference, the original song has no melody at all. There is a cadence to the phrasing of the lyrics, but they are spoken. Samuels did also use a Variable Frequency Oscillator (VFO) to change the pitch and resonance of his voice, and add an echo to punctuate the end of certain lines (Mastropolo, The Riff, 2021). Other than the vocal line, the only instruments are a steady, looped snare drum, tambourine hits, and a siren effect. This extremely bare bones track feels like Napoleon XIV is talking to you, the listener as if you were the ex. It is personal and creepy, like he left a distorted voicemail on your phone. The tone of voice used in this version also has a Joker-like calmness to it. It's sing-songy and oddly punctuated, but he's not yelling at you (mostly). It's not anger, it's a quiet possessiveness and hatred.

The Butcher Babies cover could not be sonically more different. Thrash metal (or thrash) as a subgenre is typically defined by quick tempos and heavy, repetitive drum patterns (Metal Fandom Wiki). It is generally described within the scene as "heavy", which honestly is probably the best word for it. It tends to be aggressive sounding and loud, with visceral lyrics, pounding musical underlines, and harsh vocals. Butcher Babies are no exception in general and on this record. Where the original has no melody, and sparse instrumentation, this version has a full metal band, with drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, and two vocalists.

Interestingly, vocalists Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey still avoid true singing, opting to speak and scream the lyrics. Though this decision is in line with the Napoleon XIV track, the tone of voice used by Shepherd and Harvey when whispering or speaking, and the inclusion of harsh vocals conveys an entirely different energy. In this version, there it is no longer the detached, vaguely ominous, creepy clown smiling at you while they threaten your life vibe. This oscillates between giddy, Harley Quinn-type madness and anger. But its still personal, it's still a threat, just now in a more "grab you by the throat and listen to me" way, to use Scavieli's phrasing. In a way though, it does feel less personal, less directed at the listener, and more directed at some undefined "you" as is the case in other songs. The presence of a full band makes it feel more like a song or a performance than a creepy voicemail.

While there is (to my knowledge) no mechanical vocal oscillation, in the Butcher Babies' version, Shepherd and Harvey do make use of different tones of voice, dynamics, and pitches to similar effect. However, instead of being used to enhance the sense of madness, here it feels like it is used to detail the progression of the narrative. It starts as a whisper, like it's a secret or spoken to themselves, then it builds to a normal volume, and eventually they are screaming at the top of their lungs. At this point they are impassioned, angry, and completely off the rails. Tonally, they switch between accusatory, pointed speech, sarcasm, and drawn out, almost whiny notes. There is a range of emotions the speaker is experiencing, and they can't control them. It's like they can't make up their mind about how they feel towards the ex-lover, and everything is crashing over them at once.

Additionally in this version, there is the isolation of the line "To the fucking funny farm," which does not exist in the original. While it is a lyrical moment, it being singled out forces the listener to focus on that one phrase. All of the underlying music cuts out too, and it is abrupt coming off of the whirlwind chaos of the preceding bridge, and immediately followed by the full band coming back in full swing. I can almost see the big wind up of people in the mosh pit getting ready to jump and headbang as soon as the beat drops.

Speaking of the bridge, there is another break in the music preceding it, which is filled in by laughs and heavy breaths punctuated by rapid triplets of chord and drum hits that could be akin to rapid-fire gunshots. It tells the listener there's a big drop coming. It builds to this with a series of 3 on-beat chords followed by another 3 chords played all on the last beat (as a triplet I think), which reads as 1, 2, 3, 4&a. This leads nicely into the next measure/line, because that "a" is a very unstable place to be, and as such leaves the listener waiting, itching for the drop that starts the bridge.

Butcher Babies keep the steady, driving rhythm in their cover, but give it to the guitar instead of a snare drum, and punctuate the down beats with the bass drum. The instruments change pattern and dynamics to better emphasize various aspects of the vocals, like suspending the riff at the end of certain lines and holding out a note/chord instead, or ramping up during the chorus and bridge. Where the original is unrelenting with the exception of a few pauses, regardless of what the lyrics or sirens are doing, the cover interrupts the steady "dun, da da da da dun, da da da da dun,..." with down stroked power chords, and a full switch in strumming pattern and chords at the bridge.

It's fascinating to me how much difference a few decisions can make in the vibe and reception of a song. And perhaps more fascinating how despite those differences it is a) still recognizable as a cover of the original and b) carries some of the same emotions and sense of peril. Whether you prefer the original calm uneasiness, or the Butcher Babies' full throttle break, I hope you can appreciate the sonic qualities of both, as I do. A Happy Halloween to you all!