Lyrics
Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye.
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple people eater to me.
It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater.
(one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater)
A one-eyed one-horned, flyin' puple people eater
Sure looks stange to me. (one eye?).
Well he came down to earth and lit in a tree
I said Mr. Purple People Eater don't eat me
I heard him say in a voice so gruff
I wouldn't eat you cuz you're so tough.
It was a one-eyed, one-horned flyin' purple people eater
one-eyed, one-horned flyin' purple people eater
one-eyed, one-horned flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me. (one horn?).
I said Mr. Purple People Eater, what's your line
He said it's eatin' purple people and it sure is fine
But that's not the reason that I came to land
I wanna get a job in a rock and roll band.
Well bless my soul, rock and roll, flying purple
people eater. Pidgeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin'
purple people eater (we wear short shorts)
Flyin' purple people eater
sure looks strange to me.
And then he swung from the tree and lit on the
ground. He started to rock, really rockin' around
It was a crazy little ditty with a swingin' tune
(sing aboop boop aboopa lopa lum bam boom).
Well, bless my soul, rock and roll
flyin' purple people eater.
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin' purple peopleeater.
Flyin' little people eater
Sure looks strange to me. (purple people?).
And then he went on his way, and then what do
you know. I saw him last night on a TV show.
He was blowing it out, a'really knockin' em dead
Playin' rock and roll music through the horn in
his head (clarinet solo) (Tequila).
Information About The Purple People Eater
The Purple People Eater is a novelty song that was released and heard on the radio in 1958. It was very popular and reached number one on the Billboard Charts. a tool that measures the sales of records.
The song was written by Shelby "Sheb" Wooley, a character actor that appeared in many famous movies of the Western genre, as well as having a recurring role on the television series "Rawhide" which ran on CBS Television from 1959 - 1965.
In the 1940s, Wooley took an interest in his wife's young cousin, Roger Miller, and taught him guitar. Miller grew up to have some success as a recording star as well.
Embarking on his own recording career, Wooley wrote and recorded "The Purple People Eater", which tells the story of a strange looking creature from space, who comes to Earth because he wants to be in a rock and roll band.
The song caught the imagination of radio listeners, who drew pictures of the "Purple People Eater" and sent them in to radio stations as part of local promotions.
In the song, the "voice" of the Purple People Eater is a normal singing voice that was sped up on a tape recorder to be re-recorded. This technique was taken from an earlier 1958 song "The Witch Doctor" by Ross Bagdasarian. Bagdasarian has even more success in the future with the same technique, creating and recording songs by an imaginary group 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'.
Wooley also wrote the theme song for the long running television program 'Hee Haw'.