Howdo,

I tried doing a search but for obvious reasons nothing came back.

Simple question that has bugged me for ages. Where does the "Ow eeee ow, ooow ow" crowd chant originate from that was featured in the Sign O The Times film?

I recollect Prince introducing it during the Parade tour but the other day I watched The Wizard of Oz and there was a part where a bunch of munchkin type dwarf characters were chanting it as they entered the castle.

Do you think Prince lifted the chant from the film?

prince was one of the munchkins in the original wizard of oz and that's where the chant came from

michael jackass was in a remake of the wizard of oz called this is shit with diana ross and it made stevie wonder poke his eyes out after watching it, and now he is blind

It is actually, "Oh weeee oh... Oooooh oh."

unique said:

All true.

Paulob said:

u know the track is 23 years old and the org is about 12 years old and it's taken u till now 2 post the question and find out? i deserve a prize or something. like your first borns virginity to sell on ebay

Unique is on fine form tonite!!!!

Harsh! Is it a crime to ask a question. Bring back Housequake for civil discussion?

Paulob said:

i think you would be banned and kicked in the balls if you asked that question in housequake. they had funny rules there

unique said:

Best. Post. Ever.

Giovanni777 said:

Yes, the chant is from the film Wizard of Oz. Prince really seems to like the film because he has also sung the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow occasionally during soundchecks and aftershows,and you probably do know that that song is from that movie as well,and it is also a popular song connected with the homosexual popculture.

I guess Prince simply likes the message of the movie, the fact that it´s based in the midwest and the selfmotivational message of it. Some elements of the movie can also be found in other Prince songs, such as " I´m badder than the wicked witch" in the song Dead On It off The Black Album. The Wicked Witch plays a part in the movie, too.

There are actually lots of Oz references in Prince´s music and sometimes even in his interviews, like that VIBE interview by Alan Light in 1994 where he drinks portwine and says "To Oz!".

do americans use this chant or is it just a weird european thing?..i guess it was funny once but irritates the piss outta me

didn't prince wrote that song 100 MPH for Mazaratti? If so, then the wizard of oz is probably one of his favorite movies

Giovanni777 said:

Man this chant at the O2 was alive & kicking, felt so good to be apart of it!

frenchylatina said:

how so?

lotusflw3r said:

how so what?

KoolEaze said:

Also the "melting, melting, melting" reference from "I Wanna Melt with U."

Paulob said:

It comes from dancing on burning hot coals!

"The Wizard of OZ," is deeper than it's own story.

Ive always felt that SOTT should have been titled(or at least was a homage to)OZ. The reason is because theres a few Wiard of Oz references.

Dorothy Parker(Dorothy), the affliction brought on by a withes curse (wicked witch ofthe west), Princes' high Camille munchkin voice on songs like If I Was Your Girlfriend, You Got The Look and of course the obvious 'oh we oh, oh oh''sfrom IGBABN. N

Not to mention the cover art which had a crystal ball as a centerpiece(like the crystal ball the wicked witch used in oz. Play In The Sunshine also talks bout a big white rabbitt so I guess he added a little Alice In Wonderland to the mix too. Maybe he wrote it as a soundtrack to be played along with Wizard Of Oz just like Pink Floyd allegedly did with their Dark Side Of The Moon album back in the day? After all Prince did like to make "answer" albums of previous rock gods (Purple Rain=hendrix, ATWIAD=The Beatles, SOTT=Pink Floyd, etc) not to mention the Pink Floyd like sounds in the song IT.

Ive always wanted to express this wizard of oz connection and wondered if anyone else had thought the same thing. Also the line in Strange Relationship, where he says"isnt it a shame this aint a movie..." Hell , his face even looks green on the cover, like th e wicked with of the west lol. All in all the SOTT
seems like a sexy, adult version of WIZARD OF OZ, or so it seems.And your little
dog Toto too.

xlr8r said:

Great post, that´s exactly what I meant in my post above but I didn´t really feel like going into details. You broke it down pretty good.

Nice read,hats off.

If you play the wizard of oz and sign of the times together, the ooow eh oooh's are synchronised!

TheEnglishGent said:

Besides the above mentioned Dorothy (Gale) - 100 MPH, see also Auntee Emm - Electric Intercourse.

xlr8r said:

Really? I'm not a Pink Floyd expert, but I've never made that connection. Care to elaborate?

unique said:

You are soo mean

I thought it was Snow White?

TheEnglishGent said:

Only if you play them backwards

unique said:

I've never seen the movie, but I had to laugh at that. Poor Stevie.

Imago said:

That's "hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go" which was also influential to Prince, resulting in 2001's The Rainbow Children album track The Work.