The Ki-Bo Kids

Terry Scott Taylor

presents

Short, Sweet, and Stupid

A compendium of old and obscure novelty tunes

guaranteed to get into your head at night in bed and make you

regret the day you were born

"The Ki-Bo Kids"

(music and lyrics: Composer unknown)

guitar: T.S. Taylor

vocals: The Ki-Bo Kids

note:

This one hardly gets started before it’s over. Never the less, it’s brevity appeals to me; it’s funnier because of it.

My Dad use to sing “The Ki-Bo Kids” to me when I was but a wee lad. I don’t know who wrote it. For all I know, my Dad may have made it up himself. Neither do I know who these mysterious Ki-Bo Kids are or, considering the lowly nature of it, why they appear to be so enthusiastic about their unusual profession. And what, in heaven’s name, is a “Ki-Bo”? Dad never told me, and I never asked. What continues to intrigue me most about the song however, (aside from who the author may be), is the specificity of the Kibo-Kid’s labors; why only the “lids”? Which begs the question “Was there another team assigned to maintain the cleanliness of the rest of the…… “object”? (I don’t want to give anything away, which is also why I didn’t include the lyrics here). It’s amazing to me how much intrigue and mystery is packed into such a short, seemingly inconsequential, novelty song! Then again, it’s also amazing to me how much time I spend thinking about such idiotic nonsense!

This month marks the anniversary of my Dad’s passing, something I wasn’t conscious of until after I had decided to record this little ditty. This “coincidence” makes me happy. You would not in any way describe my Dad as a “jokester.” he could be occasionally funny, but he was a man of few words who often fell into dark, silent, moods. This silly song reminds me of Dad’s lighter side. I can see him singing it to me with a twinkle in his eye.

This one’s for you, Dad.