Thai And Yellow Chicken In The Old Oak Tree, NewsRevue Lyric, 20 June 1993

I submitted this one several times without success and even rejigged it a bit in October 1993 with hope for the John Random run, with similar results.

Perhaps foodie stuff just didn’t seem topical enough, although I feel that trend towards ubiquitous fusion food did kick off around then.

Indeed one of the ironies that comes to my mind on re-reading this song is that the Canal Cafe’s food concession was taken by a Thai chef soon after I wrote this song – probably the best food set up they had at the place during that 1990’s era.

Click here or below for a YouTube of the original recording of this song, Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree by Tony Orlando and Dawn.

Click here for a link to the original lyrics of the song.

Below is my somewhat improved October 1993 version of the song:

THAI AND YELLOW CHICKEN – VERSION 2

(To the Tune of “Tie a Yellow Ribbon”)

 

VERSE 1

I’m up in town I’ve done my job,

And at home there’s nothing cooking on the hob;

Me and my pals we’ll try a pub that’s called the Old Oak Tree,

We’ll have a simple dinner and we’ll drink a pint or three, but what’s this grub I see?

 

CHORUS 1

Oh Thai and yellow chicken in the Old Oak Tree,

After three long pints we want chips and peas, {chips and peas}

We don’t want Myanmaran chicken or Vietnamese,

We’ll kick up a fuss, get on the bus, lets go home and see,

If there is something plain and simple down the old home freeze.

 

VERSE 2

My pals and I we’ll pay a call,

To the late night shops where there is a food hall;

We’ll choose some beer and lager then we’ll go and choose I guess,

Some simple cook chill dinners that we’ll buy from M&S, but these appeal still less.

 

CHORUS 2

Oh Thai and yellow chicken in the old home freeze,

There’s Malaysian duck or there’s Guangdongese {Guangdongese}

There’s oven ready Singaporan beef and Pekinese,

A Pol Pot noodle, Rambutan strudel, someone spare us please,

From imitation oriental in the old home freeze.

 

VERSE 3

My pals and I we all agreed,

That we’re partial to an oriental feed,

But we like to taste the spices rather than a plastic sheet,

We’ll try the Chinese restaurant and get some food we’ll eat, then we’ll be replete.

 

CHORUS 3 AND OUTRO

Oh Thai and yellow chicken in the old Chinese,

We’ll get three strong meals in the Gold Yangtze…….

But the whole food trade’s gone crazy,

Cos I can’t believe I see,

A hundred pukka pies and chips inside the Gold Yangtze.

(c) Ian Harris 1993

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