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Song Parodies -> "R.I.A.A."

Original Song Title:

"Y.M.C.A."

Original Performer:

The Village People

Parody Song Title:

"R.I.A.A."

Parody Written by:

William Tong

The Lyrics

Satire about the greedy Recording Industry Association of America's lawsuits against 261 individuals who downloaded on-line music - including a 12 year girl and a 90 year old man. As sung by R.I.A.A. lawyers to a hapless teenaged music downloader:
(instrumental intro)

Young man... we have hunted you down!
We say, young man... you can't hide underground.
We say, young man... song downloads have been found.
Boy, are we - real-ly un-happy!

Young man... there's no place you can go!
We say, young man... don't plead you're short of dough.
We'll create fear... and extort from your kind.
We have ways - to - track - your - theft crime...

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We want everything; crooks, we aim to destroy.
We can hang girls, too; not just boys!

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
You had better come clean.
'Cause with us, you must deal.
You can't do whatever to steal.

Young man... you can't listen for free.
We say, young man... we want our royalties
We say, young man... CD audio streams
That you got - you - owe - us something!

No man... is law unto himself.
We say, young man... burned CD's on your shelf,
Bought from "nowhere" - we're the R.I.A.A.
You must pay! Don't yelp, or make hay...

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We want everything; crooks we aim to destroy.
We can hang girls, too; not just boys!

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
You had better come clean.
'Cause with us, you must deal.
You can't do whatever to steal.

Young man... you've got legal issues.
We say, because, downloads gave us the blues.
We said, "Oh, man! We'll be buried alive.
We'll sue - the whole world - to - survive."

So then... no more downloads for free!
Drop dead, young man! You've been caught tryin' to cheat.
You must face us; we're the R.I.A.A.
So be smart - pay - back - as we say...

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We want everything; crooks we aim to destroy.
We can hang girls, too; not just boys!

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
You had better come clean.
'Cause with us, you must deal.
You can't do whatever to steal.

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We want everything; crooks we aim to destroy.
We can hang girls, too; not just boys!

We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
We'll make you pay; we're the R.I.A.A.
You had better come clean.
'Cause with us, you must deal.
You can't do whatever to steal.

R.I.A.A.
R.I.A.A.
R.I.A.A.
R.I.A.A.

(fade)

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Original Song: 
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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 4.1
How Funny: 4.1
Overall Rating: 4.1

Total Votes: 23

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
 1   4
 5
 5
 
 2   1
 0
 0
 
 3   1
 0
 0
 
 4   0
 1
 1
 
 5   17
 17
 17
 

User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

Rice Cube - September 12, 2003 - Report this comment
This was such an obvious idea that we figured someone else would've beaten us to it. A very noble effort.
NYbadAzz - September 12, 2003 - Report this comment
ROFLMFAO
John Jenkins - September 12, 2003 - Report this comment
Outstanding parody, Will. But there are at least two sides to this issue - as a writer, yourself, you would not want your intellectual property to be used by someone else without at least properly attributing (if not paying for) it. But since the parody primarily targets attorneys, that is something we can all appreciate.
Guy DiRIto - September 12, 2003 - Report this comment
Q. What's worse than a bus full of attorneys going over a cliff?




A. The same bus with an empty seat.

Great parody! 5's.
Claude Prez - September 12, 2003 - Report this comment
Pretty good; keep trying, you have potential;")
Adagio - September 12, 2003 - Report this comment
Great, Will!!
Will - September 12, 2003 - Report this comment
Thanks for the compliments. I wrote another RIAA parody, also posted today, "They Swiped Our Songs," ("I Write The Songs") and the comment field is also open there.
Jay W - September 13, 2003 - Report this comment
What William doesn't want us to know is that he was actually the leather biker in The Villiage People before he turned to writing parodies. As for the RIAA, they prove that Jung was right on when he said, the bigger an organization, the more it acts like a violent beast. Really beautiful job here.
lebeiw15 - September 13, 2003 - Report this comment
You deserved 5s there... nice job.
Jonathan C. - September 13, 2003 - Report this comment
Finally, something from you other than Bush bashing. Thanks, Will.
Alex - September 14, 2003 - Report this comment
Will just got a rarity from me, all 5's.
MysteryGoat - September 14, 2003 - Report this comment
I gotta admit, I'm not to big on your songs, mostly because I don't give a rats ass-prin about politics. But this songs was fricked funny!
some_guy44 - September 15, 2003 - Report this comment
Funny as hell.
Sarah - September 17, 2003 - Report this comment
Excellent job, Will. I really love your parodies, but I think this one tops them all.
EmiLoca - September 19, 2003 - Report this comment
I admire your work, but this is an exception. This one is beyond admiration. This one I'm framing on my wall and showing to my grandchildren.
Wm.son - September 19, 2003 - Report this comment
I don't visit here often enough, it seems. I remember william from a while back---he was putting some good parodies up back then! This has to be one of his best...no wonder he can usually be found in the top 10. Great job!
kt koments - October 11, 2003 - Report this comment
lol that song is perfect for my friends brother... (shhh!!!) :P
Nicolle Smith - March 04, 2005 - Report this comment
IT SUCKED
Donovan - May 09, 2006 - Report this comment
Mr. Pseudo Kennedy is a robotic dittohead who has nothing to say about this non-political parody except to attack the author with personal insults. I hope your drool-proof keyboard was worth the extra money that you spent.

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