This is the most well known song of our group. It is world famous for the John Lennon remark,
"I buried Paul" at the end, but few have noticed the CW at the beginning. I originally thought it
was sending "CQ CQ", but after some filtering, it sounded more like, "KRKTC". Obviously, the Beatles
were not crack code operators!
It's hard to believe that we would be hearing CW from a song by the B-52's, who call themselves
"the world's greatest party band"! This piece was obviously lifted off of a real on-air signal.
The Capris were a doo opp group from Queens, New York, known for the smash hit, "There's a Moon Out Tonight",
recorded in 1959. Interestingly, it wasn't until 1961 that this song became a hit, after the group broke up
and got regular jobs! They came back together, recorded a few songs and disappeared again, resurfacing in the 1980's when doo opp revivals became all the rage. In 1982, they wrote and recorded a song, "Morse Code of Love", which used a morse code bed of di di dot didi instead of the usual doo opp doo opp. It became
an instant hit and a heavily requested song in the New York City area. The song was later done
by Manhattan Transfer. I saw the Capris at a doo opp show and really loved this song!
This is a tremendous song by a tremendous group and has the added bonus of the ham radio tie in.
The lyrics paint the picture of the end of the world with some ham calling for someone else on the planet. How many hams have thought about that? I don't know if writers Donald Fagin and Walter Becker held ham
licenses or if they just knew hams.
Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to [CQ CQ] Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever.
Strawberry Fields clip
Planet Claire
The B-52's 1979
See how much of the CW you can copy by yourself! Answers below. Don't peek.
She came from Planet Claire
I knew she came from there
She drove a Plymouth Satellite
Faster than the speed of light!
Planet Claire clip
CW message:
NAWS DE CFH II ZKR F1 3394 4156.66238
Morse Code Of Love
The Capris 1982
Dit dot didi dit dot a didi
Dit dot didi dit dot a didi
Dit dot didi dit dot a didi
Dit dot didi, Baby come home to me.
I sent my baby a telegram asking to be her man
Begging her to come back home to me.
Oh I dotted the I's and I crossed the T's
And I'm begging pretty please
Honey honey, come back home to me.
Morse Code of Love clip
King of the World
Steely Dan 1973
Hello one and all
Was it you I used to know
Can't you hear me call
On this old ham radio?
All I got to say
I'm alive and feeling fine
Should you come my way
You can share my poison wine
King of the World clip
Submit any other ham radio in popular song.
23 December 2007