I think Misirlou has gone round a few times, yes! Always new things to learn, though. The video link you linked has been removed by the poster. What was it?

The exact origin of Misirlou is disputed. Apparently several rebetiko groups did it about the same time. Some spelled it M(o)us(o)urlou. The partisans of Michalis Patrino were the last lot to hit Wikipedia, but several others have their partisans.

There are people who claim that the rebetiko groups were covering a song Bint Misr 'Egyptian Girl' by Egyptian composer and nationalist patriot Sayed Darwish (or Darweesh), i.e., "dervish." So far no one has come up with a citation in a discography or other catalog for his version of the song, let alone a circulated a reproduction of a recording or publication of it, though you can fairly easily find other songs by Darwish on the Net. If Bint Misr exists it will only be a matter of time before it turns up. There's a lot more out there on Misirlou now than there was even a couple of years ago.

Darwish, who died of a heart attack in 1923 at the age of 31, is a well known figure in 20th Century Egyptian music and the author of the Egyptian national anthem. He wrote for theatrical companies and also prepared settings for classical poetry. He was very prolific. I've looked around a bit without finding any traces of Bint Misr, but that doesn't mean much. He did write a song called Ya Bint al Yom 'O Girl of Today'. It doesn't really sound at all like _Misirlou _to me, and I doubt anyone would have that particular song in mind.

Given the significance that some people attribute to this sort of thing and its implications for national honor one has to be very cautious in buying into something like the Darwish attribution, but three things strike me about the claim. One is that two or three rebetiko versions appear at almost the same time, two is that even the Greeks partisans seem to realize that it is a bit odd that the Greek lyrics are about an Egyptian Muslim woman (and include a line in Arabic), and three is that the song appears about the time the Ottoman Empire was being dismembered by the Allies after WW I. The Greeks and Egyptians were already independent to one extent or another, but this is when borders were being drawn and populations sorted out in a paroxism of ethnic cleansing that would seem very familiar to us today. In short, the song is suspect as a Greek song and originates at a time when the people and music of the Ottoman Empire were being sorted out along national lines. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the modern Greek lyrics were of Egyptian origin and the same song existed in translations into Greek, Turkish, Armenian, and Albanian with modern members of these nationalities largely unaware of the separated versions.

It also wouldn't surprise me if the tune was already in circulation throughout the Ottoman Empire and the original author of the current lyric simply appropriated it for yet another go round. This is in line with the claims that the song - or at least the melody - is much older than the popular versions in circulation since the 1920s, so conceivably either the rebetikoi or Darwish - whoever it was - could have borrowed the melody. However, evidence for this is weak and poorly documented. "My Armenian grandmother remembers the song from childhood and says there were Armenian words," or "I lived a long time in Albania and heard gypsies play it at weddings." People tend to overlook how easily and widely records have been circulating since they first appeared, and how long it has been since they first appeared. Darwish, for example, recorded for a local Eguptian firm owned and operated by Armenians. Grandmothers can easily remember the 1920s from their childhood these days. My children's grandmother certainly does. It would be fascinating to have an early recording of the piece in Armenian, of course! There may very well be such a thing.

A couple of additional notes. One is that one source I found claims that it was the much maligned Nicholas Roubanis who transposed the melody into the Phrygian mode version that we all know and love through Dick Dale's adaptation. The other is that the Wikipedia article misses a fifth body of admirers of the tune: it was been lifted by Bollywood cinema composers Laxmikant & Pyarelal and used for the song Raat se Kahoo Ruke Jaraa in the movie Lootera 'Pirates' or 'Thieves'. I haven't figured out the title (first line) yet, but it may be something like 'Somewhere in the Night ...'. Apart from the way that Hindi gets butchered when it is converted into Roman orthography, half the words in the title aren't in the best dictionary I have access to anyway. I think they may be Persian or Arabic loans. Raat is definitely 'night'.

UnsteadyFreddie
_YouTube - Misirlou Original Recording
Performed by Michalis Patrinos Rebetiko Band in Athens in ...
4 min 15 sec - _

Try

http://covermepls.blogspot.com/2008/03/blog-post_27.html
http://www.dinosaurgardens.com/archives/297
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPSDH4hdS3Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z99Le0vhAGA&feature=related

Thanks for a very informative piece here.
I've always liked the Middle East influence in surf - and Misirlou is the archetype tune. Great stuff.

Tim O
oestmann guitar

tunes

clips

UnsteadyFreddie
but the one I had posted a link to was the ACTUAL original recording

On the link to the Cover Me Please Blog scroll down in the first column to the Misirlou player and try the cut Mousourlou by Michalis Batrinos (Batrinos ~ Patrino(s) ~ Petrino). Isn't this the particular one you referred to?

sorry i'm i just watched the movie 'death proof' the other night. there's a short scene with a jukebox and 'miserlou' is one of the choices they pass by.

www.surfintheeye.com

mom_surfing
sorry i'm

Mom, that's at least as on topic as anything else here. I think the topic is Misirlou historical footnotes.

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES.... features the tune...in the shows opening...when the knives are being throwed at the host...

from Dick Rosemonts website...THE ORIGINALS PROJECT

http://www.originalsproject.us/

Misirlou (aka Miserlou)     Michalis Patrinos 1930(?) and/or 1931

Greek ???

Harry James, Jan August, Dick Dale (1962, 1993 as "Tribal Thunder"), Beach Boys, Connie Francis et al.

The exact history of "Misirlou" has been lost but it's most likely a Greek song, in the rembetika style, from Smirni (Izmir in Turkey) from the 1910s. The title means "Woman from Egypt" or "Egyptian girl" in Turkish. Many Greeks at that time were living in Turkey, especially Smirni and Istanbul. Even though its authorship is unknown, "Misirlou" has been claimed by many through the years, in particular, Nikos Roubanis. English lyrics were later penned by Fred Wise, Milton Leeds and S.K. Russell.

Patrinos is said to have performed "Misirlou" in Greece as early as 1927, and he is often referenced as the first to cut it, but details are elusive. It's possible he made a recording in Greece around 1930, which was when the poverty-stricken country would have begun to build studio facilities. It's more certain he did at least record it in New York City in 1931.

There are claims "Misirlou" is Arabic in origin, specifically coming from Alexandrian singer/composer Sayyid Darwish and his song "Bint Misr." He supposedly recorded it around 1919 but until a copy surfaces, we'll just have to wonder!

DUKE OF THE DISCS (I like to use CAPITAL LETTERS--and I am NOT YELLING.

check out Connie Francis actually singing Miserlou! The lyrics are actually pretty cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9zCo3EnK58

don't forget the Ukelele Orchestra:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKfhI2QVq0g

dp! you must be my long forgotten brother!

How hot is the chick singing Miserlou in your first clip! man, my future ex-wife...

I was told years ago (by a very old woman) that Miserlou was Greek in origin and was played at Greek weddings. ?

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain ROCK! they are so good. I've been a fan for years...

Jeff Utterback