Song Of The Day 3/15/2014: Julie & Gordon - "Gordon's Not a Moron"

This is kind of a theme weekend, concerning itself with my favorite novelty song of the British punk-esque era: "Jilted John." John was the creation of English comedian Graham Fellows, and his eponymous single got in the Top 5 of Britain's pop charts in 1978. It's one of my karaoke go-to's, if the establishment has it. (A surprising amount of joints in Western Washington do.)

"Jilted John" is about John's pending breakup with his girl Julie, who has found alternate comfort in the arms of someone named Gordon. It has many adorable, funny lines. One of them became something of a national catchphrase: "I was so upset that I cried all the way to the chip shop!" That line provided the title for one of my favorite Mp3 blogs ever. Today's entry is a response to John's mid-song assertion as follows:

Oh, she is cruel and heartless
To pack me for Gordon
Just cos he's better looking than me
Just cos he's cool and trendy
But I know he's a moron
GORDON IS A MO-O-RON
GORDON IS A MORON
GORDON IS A MO-O-RON
Here we go, two-three-four

The way it worked in England at the time, I suppose, novelty songs that found favor in Britain could spin off these little cottage industries for a year or so. (Like this one.) So "Jilted John" begat a response record from Julie & Gordon. I can't find out who Julie & Gordon were, but their song is a pretty good, at times incomprehensible defense of their burgeoning love and Gordon's faculties for thought. It's mainly told from Julie's POV, though she has the good sense to introduce Gordon, who's not taking any guff: "Listen punk-face, whadder you gonna do, hit me in the face with your powder puff?" He then struggles to find his place in the song, which stumbles to an end.

I regret, however, that I'm not swayed in the argument -- Gordon's actually, you know, kind of a moron.