It's $#&*( Mr. Softee

WFMU's blog posts MP3s of Ice Cream Music.

I don't think Mr. Softee was allowed in our part of town, because I my first experience with that god-forsaken song was when I heard it in Buffalo while at college (other than Eddie Murphy singing it during his comedy act).

Our local ice cream truck guy (Joe) was an older man who just rang a bell. I remember this clearly because, like Eddie recounted, we would all run like hell, down the stairs and out the door, when we heard that bell. But every once in a while, we'd hear a bell that sounded similar. Not the same, but similar. We'd run down the stairs and out the door anyway, only to find out that...

...it was the knife-sharpening guy.

That's right. The KNIFE-SHARPENING GUY! Seriously. There was a guy in a green van who drove around our neighborhood, ringing a bell similar to Joe's, offering to sharpen your knives right then and there. I don't know if this is a typical thing for suburban neighborhoods, but to me, it was completely foreign. And do you know what it's like to run down the stairs expecting ice cream, only to find a dude with knives? It's messed up, is all I'm saying.

Anyway, so I remember being in my kitchen with my roommates, and hearing the Mr. Softee song for the first time. I started to hum along, and at the end of the first "phrase," if you will, I just instinctually sang, "it's fuckin' Mr. Softee." I don't know where it came from, but now, whenever I hear the song...well, let's just say I have to look and make sure there are no children present.