Ebeneezer Goode is–say it with me kids–a fun song. It’s got a great beat and you can dance to it. And it’s fun. Really fun. F to the U to the N.
Okay, enough self-parody. This is a good (no pun intended) song. It’s got a good, upbeat feeling, and it’s enjoyable to listen to as well.
I’d never really considered what the song was about before (I preferfed to just let my butt do thinking when I listen to this one), but according to Wikipedia, it’s most likely about the drug ecstasy:
The song is best known for its chorus, “‘Eezer Goode, ‘Eezer Goode/He’s Ebeneezer Goode”, which has been construed as a drug reference: “E’s are good, E’s are good”.[1] The lyrics present the advantages of Ecstasy use with a warning about the drugs abuse thrown in: “But go easy on old ‘Eezer, he’s the love you could lose. Extraordinary fellow, like Mister Punchinello, he’s the kind of geezer who must never be abused”.
The song also contains references to rolling a spliff with the lines “Has anybody got any Veras?”, a reference to ‘Vera Lynns’, the rhyming slang for skins or rolling papers and “Got any salmon?”, which is a reference to ’salmon and trout’ the rhyming slang for ’snout’, a prison word for tobacco.
And of course, the lyrics:
There’s a guy in the place
He’s got a bittersweet face
And he goes by the name of Ebeneezer Goode
His friends call him Eezer and he is the main geezer
And he’ll vibe about the place
Like no other man could
He’s refined, sublime, he makes you feel fine
Though very much maligned and misunderstood
But if you know Eezer he’s a real crowd pleaser
He’s ever so good, he’s Ebeneezer Goode
You can see that he’s mysterious,
Mischievious and devious
As he circulates amongst the people in the place
But once you know he’s fun
And something of a genius
He gives a grin that grows around
From face to face to face
Backwards and then forwards,
Forwards and then backwards
Eezer is the geezer who loves to muscle in
That’s about the time the crowd
All shout the name of Eezer
As he’s kotcheled in the corner,
Laughing by the bass bin
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Has anybody got any veras?
Lovely
Ya ha ha ha ha ha
Ya ha ha ha ha ha
A great philosopher once wrote
“Naughty naughty very naughty”
Ha ha ha ha ha
Ebeneezer Goode, leading light of the scene
Know what I mean - see
He created the vibe,
He takes you for a ride and as if by design
The party ignites like he’s comin alive
He takes you to the top, shakes you all around
Then back down, you know as he gets mellow
Then as smooth as the groove
That is making you move
He glides into your mind with a sunny “Hello!”
A gentleman of leisure,
He’s there for your pleasure
But go easy on old Eezer
He’s the love you could lose
Extraordinary fellow, like Mr. Punchinello
He’s the kind of geezer who must never be abused
When you’re in town and Ebeneezer is around
You can sense a presence
In the sound of the crowd
He gets them all at it, the party starts rocking
The people get excited it’s time to shout loud
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Ya ha ha ha
Ya ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha
Wicked
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He’s Ebeneezer Goode
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:05 am
I like this song, and never considered the meaning behind it. Of course when it comes to song meanings I am usually pretty dense.
It is also the only song I have heard from these dudes.
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Count me as another one who missed the obvious Ecstasy nods (not that I ever paid much attention to the song’s lyrics). Now that you’ve pointed it out though, I can’t get over how I managed to overlook it… it’s pretty much spelled right out. Not exactly “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” obvious but anybody who has a passing familiarity with E should get all the wink-wink nudge-nudge references right off the bat. Despite the party-friendly vibe, I don’t remember the song being that much of a club hit in the 1990s though (although it did come out a few years before I was old enough to actually engage in the club/warehouse scene).
August 24th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
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