Koo Koo Kachoo is a slang phrase used in the late 60’s and 70’s. This phrase became well known when celebrated music artists used it on their songs.
Koo Koo Kachoo was used in the song “Mrs. Robinson” of the American duo, Simon and Garfunkel, which was released in the year of 1968. It was also heard in the song of The Beatles, “I am the Walrus” and the box office hit Disney movie, Finding Nemo.
What is the meaning of Koo Koo Kachoo?
Wondering what is the meaning behind this strangely phrased term? Lucky you, I’ve prepared an article just for you!
“Koo Koo Kachoo” is a phrase heard in the lyrics of the song written by John Lennon, I am the Walrus, and released by The Beatles in 1967. The phrase was transcribed as “goo goo g’job”, but fans confused it to “Koo Koo Kachoo” by taking the pronunciation literally. Up until now, fans are still oblivious to the intended meaning of phrase in the song.
This phrase was also used in the famous Disney Movie, Finding Nemo. In the movie, Crush the Turtle, a supporting character that portrays a surfer punk said, “It’s awesome, Jellyman. Little dudes are just eggs, we leave ‘em on the beach to hatch, and then – Koo Koo ka-choo! – they find their way back to the Big Ol’ Blue”. The phrase was used here as a dated way of saying “yada yada”.
The Beatles: I am the Walrus
The Beatles were a highly successful English rock band who released the song, “I am the Walrus”, a track song on their Magical Mystery Tour album in 1967. Most of their songs were smash hits and they have captured the hearts of many people through their songs.
I am the Walrus was written by the band’s leader or co-leader, John Lennon. It was also the first studio recording they made after the death of their manager, Brian Epstein. The main motive behind this song was to confuse fans who consistently made every word, every detail in their song a conspiracy theory, so to speak.
The said motive came to life in the strangest way possible. In the year 1967, John Lennon received a letter from a student of Quarry Bank High School, telling him that their instructor will be conducting a class about examining and analyzing the band’s songs. This highly amused John Lennon, and with this came the motive behind the creation of the song.
Unfortunately for the singers, the song was immediately banned by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) in less than no time after it was released. The song was banned because of the lines, “Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down” and “Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess” which were both considered “too much for the airways”, as quoted by the broadcasting company.
Paul Simon’s “Mrs. Robinson”
“Mrs. Robinson” was a single released by the duo, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel from their fourth album Bookends on the year of 1968. The unfinished version of this song was used as a part of the soundtrack for Mike Nichols’s movie, “The Graduate”, on the year 1967.
Originally, the song was supposed to be titled as “Mrs. Roosevelt” but the director of the movie, Nichols, asked if the duo can change it to Mrs. Robinson to match it with one of the movie’s characters, Mrs. Robinson. The two agreed and that’s where the success of the song began.
Three months after the release of “The Graduate” in the public, the final version of “Mrs. Robinson” was completed. It was released 2nd of February 1968. The song quickly became a mega hit and climbed the record chart as the top one song of the Billboard Hot 100.
During the year of 1969, “Mrs. Robinson” was also awarded two Grammy Awards at the 11th Annual Grammy Awards. It was also the first ever rock song which won the Grammy Award for the Record of the Year.
Who first used the phrase Koo Koo Kachoo in Pop Music?
There is no need to know who did it first because the phrase “Koo Koo Kachoo” was only present in Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “Mrs. Robinson”. Fans of The Beatles often mixed it up with the lyric “goo goo g’joob” in “I am the Walrus” of the Beatles because of how both of the lyrics were pronounced the same way.
But in one article, Simon proclaimed that he used the phrase Koo Koo Kachoo in “Mrs. Robinson” to pay homage to the song “I am the Walrus” of The Beatles.
Goo goo g’joob or koo koo kachoo?
If we are to refer to the song “I am the Walrus” by The Beatles, then it is Goo goo g’joob. As I have mentioned earlier, fans frequently mistook it with another phrase “Koo Koo Kachoo” used in Simon and Garfunkel’s song “Mrs. Robinson”.
Over the years, no one has cracked the meaning of the phrase in the band’s song. Good job John Lennon! It definitely made the Beatlemania (fan base of the band) dazed and confused.