The Salt Lake Tribune
December 27, 2005
Section D: Utah Living; Page 1

Utah culture lampooned in Lund's CD

Brandon Griggs
The Culture Vulture

Looking for something to buy with that Christmas gift certificate? Need a gag gift for an upcoming birthday? Robert Lund, Utah's king of the song parody, has a new CD, "Workin' the Glory," with a batch of Mormon-themed ditties set to the melodies of popular tunes.

Among them is a spoof of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," including the lyrics, "on my seventh Utah Christmas, my true love gave to me: seven singing Osmonds, six kids and counting, five Tom Green wiiiiiiives, forbidden love, 3.2 beer, two years in Brazil and a single political party."

Other songs include "I Love Casserole" (sung to Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"), "Livin' in Provo, Utah," (sung to Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca") and "Jell-O" (sung to Coldplay's "Yellow").

The lyrics plow such familiar comic ground as bland Mormon food and "Oh My Heck!" jokes. But give Lund credit for some clever lines:

  • From "Bozeman, Montana" (sung to the tune of "Copacabana") - "His name was Clayton/He came from Layton/he was a 19-year-old guy/and a freshman at the Y./He and his sweetie/they lived in D.T./he played some intramural ball/waiting for his mission call/he said I'm so prepared/I've even buzzed my hair/I've been studying French and Persian/call me anywhere/'cept for Bozeman/Bozeman, Montana..."

  • From "Living in the Maternity Ward" (to Madonna's "Material Girl") - "Some folks ask if my mom's proud/I'm here for number nine/ask her that yourself, she's in/the bed right next to mine."

  • From "Give a Talk at the Fireside" (to Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side") - "Carmen seemed straight out of the Bible/came in fifth or sixth on 'American Idol'/though that's hardly worldwide fame/in Woods Cross, she's a household name/they say, 'Hey Carm, sing a song at the fireside/they say, 'Hey sis, sing a song at the fireside.' And the CTRs go, doo doo do do..."