You Are What You Is

(album: Thing-Fish - 1984)

Straighten up in dat chair and pay ATTENTIUM! People, dis is fo yo' own good! Do YOU know what YOU ARE?

Do you know what you are?

Dat what I ast ya!

You are what you is
You is what you am

And DAT de trufe!

A cow don't make ham

I meant dat now!

You ain't what you're not

Not even hardly...

So see what you got

And you got a lot o' looking t'do, junior!

You are what you is

Dat entirely TOO CORRECT!

An' that's all it 'tis

Uh-HUHHHH!

A foolish young man

Bring dat dummy ovuh heah 'n show it to 'em!

Stashed away in SAN QUENTIM
Ate de mys'try potatoes

Told ya 'bout dem 'taters!

EVIL PRINCE was inventing
Now he talk like de THING-FISH

("Hmmmm, Saffiiiee! ")

An' he look like a MAMMY!

(Manipulating the dummy)

("See de mammy, now! See de mammy, now! ")

His fav'rit CO-LOG-NUMM...

Smell like...

Sister Potato Head Bobby Brown, Sister Ghenghis Adonis Osmosis, Sister Jasmine Noxema Tapioca:

CHITLINS!

Is de one dey call 'SAMMY'!

One-Adam-Twelve... see de mammy...

He finally laying

Armed 'n dangerous, reproach with cautium!

De whole thang down
'Cept de NIVEA LOTIUM!

Rub it on good, now!

An de ROYAL CROWN!

Take good care o' dat "ASH"!

Do you know what you are?

You's a wimp... she's a shrew!

You are what you is

Got dat?

You is what you am

One-Adam-Twelve, see de mammy agin'!

A cow don't make ham

And it never will...

You ain't what you're not

Unless SCIENCE do something 'bout it!

So see what you got

I KNOW dey woiking on it...

You are what you is

Underneath VIRGINIA!

An' that's all it 'tis

BOOG-BOOGMMM, Dano... "MAMMY ONE"!

A foolish young man
Of de Negro Persuasion
Devoted his life
To become a caucasian
He stopped eating pork
He stopped eating greens
He traded his dashiki

("Uhuru! ")

For some Jordache Jeans
He learned to play golf
An' he got a good score
Now he says to himself
"I ain't no..."

"NIGNINT!"

"No more!
Hey! Hey! Hey!"

One-Adam-Twelve, see de "NIGNINT" with knife... proceed wif cautium... knife may be open...

BWANA MA-COO-BAH

All Right! Let's go!

MERCEDES BAINNNNNNNZ

Who is who

I don't know

'N what is what

Something I just don't know

'N why is this

Tell me now

Appropriot

That's a funny pronunciation
If'n ever I heard one

If you don't like

Where'd you get that word?

What you has got

Appropriot? The word is not

Drop it in the dirt

Drop it, yeah

'N let it rot

I can smell it now

Someone else

Here de come, here de come

Will surely come

I told you he was coming

'N pick it up

Yeah, that's right!

'Cause he wants some

An' he wants it for free

And when one day

There will come a day

You wonder who

I wonder too

You used to was

Who I was anyway

'N what you do

I used to work at the post office

You'll scratch your head

But I don't wanna un-do my doo

'N look around

To see what's going on

But what you lost

Can't seem to find it

Will not be found

A Mercedes Benz

Do you know what you are?

I know

You are what you is

I'm the kinda guy

You is what you am

That ought to be driving

A cow don't make ham

A four-fifty SLC

You ain't what you're not

A big ol' red one

So see what you got

With some golf clubs sticking out de trunk

You are what you is

I'm gwine down to de links on Saturday morning

An' that's all it is

Gimme a five-dollar bill

You are what you is

And an overcoat too

An' that's all it is

Where's my waitress? Yeah

You are what you is

Robbie, take me to Greek Town

An' that's all it is

I'm harder than yer husband
Harder than yer husband

You are what you is

I'm going down to White Street, to the Mudd Club, y'all

An' that's all it is

I'm going down 'n work the wall
'N work the floor

You are what you is

'N work the pipe
'N work the wall some more

An' that's all it is