1994 - In the year 1990, my friend George Swift planned a birthday party at his place up in Phelan California. George really knows how to throw a party, and he had somewhere around forty lobsters flown in from Main for the event. We had recently purchased a brand new Toyota Four-Runner and went to U-Haul and rented one of those little bubble camper trailers. We packed up the three girls who at that time were two, four, and six years old and headed up there from San Diego, about a two-hour drive.
As usual, George rolled out the red carpet for us, and we had a fantastic time; all except for the freezing cold weather overnight that is. It was February, and the little rented trailer had this propane heater that kept going out. So all night long, I had to get up, get dressed and go outside and light the pilot. Then the trailer would heat up, and when the heater shut off so did the pilot. The following week I was listening to the radio while working and the Eric Clapton song came on and I got the idea for Propane. It only took me four years to finally finish the thing! Since then I’ve heard other parodies done like “Rogaine”. Who can resist a classic song like cocaine to mess around with? I recorded it in 2010, and it was really fun to do. I tried to copy some of the Clapton licks and played around with two guitars trading off phrases. Some current events from 1994:
• NAFTA is established
• Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed by figure skating rival Tonya Harding’s ex-husband
• Lorena Bobbitt mutilates her husband
• Schindler’s List wins 7 Oscars
• Kurt Cobain found dead under mysterious circumstances; ruled suicide
• Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa’s first black president
• Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman found murdered- we all know who did it!
• Richard Nixon died
Not much more to say about this one, so here are the lyrics:
PROPANE
© 1994 Words by Reggie Michaud
If you want to camp out, you’ve got to fill that spout with propane
If you got bad food you’d better cook it good; propane
Freeze all night- Freeze all night- Freeze all night; propane
If you smell that smell you better check it well; propane
Cuz when you strike that flame You’ll never be the same; propane
Freeze all night- Freeze all night- Freeze all night; propane
If you bust a tube you know you’re gonna lose; propane
When the day is done you don’t wanna run out of; propane
Freeze all night- Freeze all night- Freeze all night; propane
Don’t forget this fact; you can’t get back; propane
Cuz there won’t be no more when it’s forty below; propane
Freeze all night- Freeze all night- Freeze all night; propane
Freeze all night- Freeze all night- Freeze all night; propane
Freeze all night- Freeze all night- Freeze all night; propane