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Song Parodies -> "Havoc In New Orleans"

Original Song Title:

"City Of New Orleans"

 (MP3)
Original Performer:

Willie Nelson

Parody Song Title:

"Havoc In New Orleans"

Parody Written by:

Susanna Viljanen

The Lyrics

Too obvious a topic for a parody to be left unused
Weather for the city of New Orleans:
Hurricane's a coming, flood is on its way
Eighty knots of wind and storm a-rising
Pontchartrain's flooding, looks it's gonna rain
All along the southeast coast of sea
the wild winds blowing horribly
destroying houses, cars and boats and planes;
hitting shores of Dixieland
with a force no one can stand
and hitting town of Southern music fame.

CHORUS:
So good morning America, how are you?
Say are you ready, looks it's gonna rain
Looks like havoc in the city of New Orleans
And thousands will be dead till it's sun again

Dealing death to the old folks in the downtown;
the poor are drowning; no one's keeping score
Town in chaos, looks like it's short of supplies
Seawater's flooding streets of river shore
And the sons of poor men poorest
and the sons of hoodlum gangs
raid the homes and shops and stores and malls
Mothers with their babies weep:
"Is Washington now sound asleep?
Where are you now when the bell us tolls?"

CHORUS:
So good morning America, how are you?
Say are you ready, looks it's gonna rain
Looks like havoc in the city of New Orleans
And thousands will be dead till it's sun again

Havoc in the city of New Orleans
gangs and chaos reigning on the streets;
Robbing, looting, hoarding food and supplies
Mississippi's waters creating new Venice
Now all the people in Government,
the top brass and the President
are clueless with this grand calamity:
Compared with wake of tsunami
of Boxing Day at Eastern sea -
Thailand did not fall into anarchy!

CHORUS:
So good morning America, how are you?
Say are you ready, looks it's gonna rain
Looks like havoc in the city of New Orleans
And thousands will be dead till it's sun again
Whoa! Managed to use some misheard lyrics just as well in this song!

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Original Song: 
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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 4.6
How Funny: 4.6
Overall Rating: 4.4

Total Votes: 9

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
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 2   0
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 3   1
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 4   2
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 5   6
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User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

AFW - September 06, 2005 - Report this comment
Hard song to parody...very well done..and well said
carol - September 06, 2005 - Report this comment
a bouquet of 5's
alvin rhodes - September 06, 2005 - Report this comment
masterfully written
Steve K. - September 06, 2005 - Report this comment
Did Willie sing TOS? I'm more familiar with the Arlo Guthrie version.
Michael Pacholek - September 06, 2005 - Report this comment
This is one of those songs that "everybody" does. Steve Goodman wrote it, Arlo Guthrie had the first big version. And Susanna has the latest.
Susanna Viljanen - September 06, 2005 - Report this comment
The original was written by Steve Goodman, who, unfortunately, perished in leukemia at age of 33. The song has been recorded by at least Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Willie Nelson and several others. Finnish band Karma has made it in Finnish, named "Huomenta Suomi" (Good Morning, Finland). I personally like Willie Nelson's version best. "City of New Orleans" is Amtrak's train line Chicago - New Orleans. The line is still in existence, and it is said the song is based on Steve Goodman's own voyage from Chicago, where he worked, to meet his parents in New Orleans.
Michael Pacholek - September 07, 2005 - Report this comment
I'm not trying to make you look bad, Susanna. (There are enough on this site for whom I can do that.) But the Illinois Central Railroad (also mentioned in the Doobie Brothers' song "Long Train Running") had two Chicago-to-New Orleans trains. The morning train, which would leave Chicago at around 6 AM, get to New Orleans around the next 6 AM, and then leave New Orleans the next 6 AM, was "The City of New Orleans." That's the train in the Goodman/Guthrie song. Then there was the train that would leave each city at 6 PM and arrive at the next 6 PM. That was the "Panama Limited," and was the "Night Train" mentioned in the 1952 R&B classic by the Oscar Peterson Trio, done also by James Brown and countless others, including many college bands. The train that Amtrak runs now has the name "The City of New Orleans," but is the old "Panama Limited." It's also from constantly playing the Peterson version of "Night Train" in the locker room that the great defensive back Dick Lane got his nickname of "Night Train." It wasn't because he was black and hit you like a freight train, although that was also true.
Buddie - September 10, 2005 - Report this comment
Should be credited for effort and should continue writing songs. However,personally I would have like it to be about the people of New Orleans and their suffering,their lost and the will to servive and rise again. American watched and our hearts broke....Thats just me I guess,but I still think it was worth the effort. Thanks, Buddie

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