Tracking Miserlou...

What's Miserlou? or is it Misirlou? well i didn't know either before i got started. Miserlou seems to be the title of that music everybody knows, the great theme songs from pulp fiction. You know, the one that goes "la lala la laaa lala la laaaaaaaa, la lala la laaa lala la laaaaaaaa...."

no? come on... try a little bit harder:





First i went to google. I found out the name of the song and the guy who plays it. Then i turned to radioblogclub.com, last.fm, and pandora.com.

There are so many version of this song:
http://www.last.fm/explore/search/?q=Miserlou&m=tracks
http://www.pandora.com/backstage?songPage=1&q=Miserlou&type=song

The song is called Miserlou, sometimes, Misirlou. The pulp fiction version is from Dick Dale. (official website)

http://www.pandora.com/music/song/9ccca0ea220b4eeb
http://www.pandora.com/music/song/5127012b3aba8d3f

But where is it from? let's try allmusic.com.
Interesting, big number of performers... well, let's even compare the date. Not really better results. It's still not clear who composed it. The song must have a complex story... so we'll turn to google once again hoping that somebody wrote details about it already.
aaaaaa, there's a wikipedia entry!
This webpage is interesting as well.

so Misirlou is a popular greek song!
Greek: Μισιρλού, 'Egyptian Girl'; from Turkish "Mısırlı" 'Egyptian', from Arabic مصر, Miṣr, "Egypt
It got popular in different style:
Greek rebetiko, Middle-Eastern belly dancing, Jewish wedding music (Klezmer), and American surf rock.

No wonder I heard it yesterday on Arte, in a documentary about Cyprus (an island separated between turkish and greek).

I like the Black Eyed Peas' version "Pump It":



Lyrics:

Ha ha ha
Pump it
Ha ha ha
And pump it (louder) [4x]

Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo
Right

N*ggas wanna hate on us (who)
N*ggas can be eerin' us (who)
And I know why they hatin' on us (why)
Cause that's so fabulous (what)
I'ma be real on us (c'mon)
Nobody got nuttin' on us (no)
Girls be all on us, from London back down to the US (s, s)

We rockin' it (contagious), monkey business (outrageous)
Just confess, your girl admits that we the sh*t

F-R-E-S-H (fresh)
D-E-F, that's right we def (rock)
We definite B-E-P, we rappin' it
So, turn it up (turn it up) [3x]
C'mon baby, just

Pump it (louder) [6x]

And say, oh oh oh oh
Say, oh oh oh oh
Yo, yo

Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo
Right now
This joint is fizzlin'
It's sizzlin'
Right

(Yo, check this out right here)
Dude wanna hate on us (dude)
Dude need'a ease on up (dude)
Dude wanna act on up
But dude get shut like flavor shut (down)
Chicks say, she ain't down
But chick backstage when we in town (ha)
She like man on drunk (fool)
She wanna hit n' run (errr)
Yeah, that's the speed
That's what we do
That's who we be
B-L-A-C-K -E -Y-E-D-P to the E, then the A to the S
When we play you shake your ass
Shake it, shake it, shake it girl
Make sure you don't break it, girl
Cause we gonna

Turn it up (turn it up) [3x]
C'mon baby, just
Pump it (louder) [6x]

And say, oh oh oh oh
Say, oh oh oh oh
Yo, yo
Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo
Right now
This joint is fizzlin'
It's sizzlin'
Right

Damn (damn) [5x]

Wow

Apl. de ap. from Philippines
Live and direct, rocking this scene
Waiting on down for the B-boys
And B-girls waiting, doin' their thing
Pump it, louder come on
Don't stop, and keep it goin'
Do it, lets get it on
Move it!

Come on, baby, do it

La-da-di-dup-dup die dy
On the stereo
Let those speakers blow your mind
(Blow my mind, baby)
To let it go, let it go
Here we go
La-da-di-dup-dup die dy (c'mon, we're there)
On the radio
The system is gonna feel so fine

Pump it (louder) [4x]

And say, oh oh oh oh
Say, oh oh oh oh
Yo, yo
Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo
Right now
This joint is fizzlin'
It's sizzlin'
Right

Couldn't find an older version on radioblogclub.com like the one i heard last night on tv but here is the translation of the traditionnel song lyrics, found on wikipedia.

My Misirlou (Egyptian girl), your sweet glance
It's lit a fire in my heart
Ah, ya habibi, Ah, ya haleli, ah
(Arabic: Oh, my love, Oh, my night)
Your lips are dripping honey, ah

Ah, Misirlou, magical, exotic beauty
I'll go crazy, I can't take any more
Ah, I'll take you away from the Arab land

My wild, dark-eyed Misirlou
My life changes with one kiss
Ah, ya habibi, one little kiss, ah
From your sweet little lips, ah