Melvin Peckerwood And The Mama's Boys - I Hate Liver!

Some of us here at Big And Tall Records are old enough to have come from larger families.This latest by Melvin and The Boys rings pretty true. Mama would tell us if we complained about the food, "This isn't a restaurant," and Dad would sure back her up. We took an informal poll of people in the office, and the vast majority of them agreed with the title of the song. The problem is, that even in  the best of economic times, it takes lots of money and work to feed a large family. Back in the time we are assuming Melvin is singing about (late 1950's, 1960's, early 1970's) liver was a fairly cheap source of protein. Problem is, for many of us it has a chalky texture, and a really off-putting, minerally taste. When you stop and think about what the liver's function in the body is, mainly one of the largest filters of toxins and other harmful substances from the body, it doesn't sound like something that would be good to eat!

That's not to say it isn't good for you, at least in moderation (like many organ meats it is high in cholesterol). It is rich in B vitamins, copper, iron, all kinds of stuff  the body needs and can use. And we did check out the lyric that talked about eating raw liver as a treatment for anemia years ago. It certainly was! Uncooked, raw liver! How nasty!

Back when I was a kid
Came from a big family
Sit ‘round the dinner table
Brothers, sister and me

My Dad didn’t abide being fussy
Always had to eat what Mom cooked
She’d say, “This isn’t a restaurant!”
If you gave the food a dirty look

Liver! (Nasty liver!)
Like eating a greasy piece of chalk
Liver! (Nasty liver!)
Like a piece of over cooked tree bark!

Dad liked it browned in a skillet
Then put it in a baking pan
In the oven with onions and bacon
To smell it I could hardly stand!

Dad was always ready with a lecture
How it was good for blood systemic
How his Mother so many years ago
Had to eat it raw because she was anemic

Liver! (Nasty liver!)
Cover the crap up with ketchup
Liver! (Nasty liver!)
It still made me want to throw up!

I covered it up with ketchup
On my fork some cooked onions I’d stick
Cut me off a piece of the crap
Stick it in my mouth really quick!

Wasn’t too bad ‘til the onions and ketchup
Dissolved into the taste of the liver
The more I tried to chew it up
It kept getting bigger and bigger!

Every time we had the stuff
It was the same thing for me
But I vowed right there and then
When I grew up, then I’d be free

From eating liver! (Nasty liver!)
Never, never gonna eat it again
Makes my taste buds choke and quiver
Never, never gonna eat it again

If the only thing to eat
On earth was that crap
I’d gladly starve to death
It’ll be no mishap!

Dry as chalk, smells like death
Never abide it on my plate
Only thing I’d use it for
Would be catfish bait!

Liver! (Nasty liver!)
Like eating a greasy piece of chalk
Liver! (Nasty liver!)
Like a piece of over cooked tree bark!