What did David Lee Roth mean by “a take a moople-ah, wookie pah-a moopie”?
In my late teenage years, when the world around me felt like a dartboard upon which I could constantly throw my observational critiques, the greatest lyrics in music became my studied handbook.
My outlook on life around me was in its final stages of crafting, and the very best lyrics of the music I listened to crystallised all the thoughts I felt strongly about in those years. Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Nick Cave were the alumni of voices who guided me through this crucial time, and as I studied their process, I began to realise there was a method behind the undying genius.
“For months, I write down ideas in a notebook with a Bic medium ballpoint pen in black,” Cave painstakingly explained of his process, “At some point, the songs begin to reveal themselves, to take some kind of form, which is when I type the new lyrics into my laptop. Here, I begin the long process of working on the words, adding verses, taking them away, and refining the language, until the song arrives at its destination.”
This gave me comfort, knowing that musicians are generally operating on a level of diligence that I most likely wouldn’t and therefore justifies the difference in quality between myself and them. But then, as my social circles grew in age and I found myself in house parties and social events soundtracked by music outside of these greats, that theory was swiftly undercut.
People around me started singing about their sex being on fire, or even worst, “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah / La-la, how their life goes on”. But wait, that last one was Paul McCartney? Proving that yes, even great lyricists can slide into the trappings of mediocrity from time to time.
While he wasn’t quite Dylan, Cave or McCartney-level, David Lee Roth’s lyricism was often heralded for its eccentricities, but his reputation for creative esotericism couldn’t save him on ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’, where his performance of what is seemingly gibberish in the third verse left fans scratching their heads, wondering if this was innovation or outright madness.
What is “a take a moople-ah, wookie pah-a moopie”?
During the second verse, Roth was reportedly meant to sing, “I’ve seen a lot of people just looking for a moonbeam”, and instead delivered the now-famed line of nonsense. Many listeners absorbed it, as if they were missing a private joke that only those truly in the know could decipher, but its place in the song is far less contrived than you may believe.
Roth’s performance of the line was a classic in-studio mishap, the sort that are consigned to the bins of history after a quick laugh and call of “from the top”. But in this instance, the band liked how it sounded, mainly because of the attitude that was laced within it, and after much deliberation, it was allowed as a sonic easter egg, sparking speculation amongst fans who thought they were breaking new ground, but were in fact mucking about.
