This
song plays during the
opening credits of
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Most of the text is seemly sung by a pair of
disembodied lips, which actually belonged to actress
Patricia Quinn (who played
Magenta in the movie). The
lyrics are full of references to old
science fiction movies and themes.
Verse 1
Michael Rennie was ill
The day the earth stood still
But he told us where we stand
Michael Rennie starred as Klaatu in the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. He was apparently not sick but rather stuck in an elevator. According to liveforever, the reference is to the injured ("ill") Klaatu.
And Flash Gordon was there
In silver underwear
This is a reference to the Flash Gordon films of the late 1930s, which starred Buster Crabbe. They include The Deadly Ray from Mars and Purple Death from Outer Space.
Claude Rains was the invisible man
In 1933, James Whale (the director of Frankenstein) directed the film version of The Invisible Man, an 1897 novel by H.G. Wells. Claude Rains starred in the movie.
But then something went wrong
For Fay Wray and King Kong
They got caught in a celluloid jam
Another 1933 movie, King Kong, starred a giant ape, actress Fay Wray, and the Empire State Building.
Then at a deadly pace
It came from outer space
And this is how the message ran:
There may or may not have been an old movie called At A Deadly Pace. There was, however, a 1953 film called It Came from Outer Space. It was based on a Ray Bradbury short story and was directed by Jack Arnold (who also directed Tarantula).
Chorus
Science fiction double feature
Dr. X will build a creature
Doctor X was a 1932 movie starring Leonard Atwill as Doctor Xavier, who creates a creature called The Full Moon Strangler. Fay Wray was in this movie as well.
See androids fighting Brad and Janet
This is presumably a reference to Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, characters in the movie this song precedes, but there are no androids in Rocky Horror. liveforever says it's possible the line refers to Riff-Raff and Magenta, though my understanding was always that they were aliens, not robots.
Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
At the late-night double feature picture show
Indeed, Anne Francis did star in the 1956 MGM picture Forbidden Planet - which is actually based on Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Verse 2
I knew Leo G. Carroll
Was over a barrel
When tarantula took to the hills
This is Tarantula - the one directed by Jack Arnold - a 1955 picture from Universal. It did star Leo G. Carroll along with John Agar; Clint Eastwood makes a brief appearance.
And I really got hot
When I saw Janette Scott
Fight a Triffid that spits poison and kills
Janette Scott starred (with Howard Keel) in the 1962 movie The Day of the Triffids. The plot was essentially the same as that of the later Little Shop of Horrors, but there's no such thing as a triffid. (There's no such thing as a giant man-eating Venus flytrap, either.)
Dana Andrews said prunes
Gave him the runes
And passing them used lots of skills
Dana Andrews starred in 1957's Curse of the Demon, which was based on a short story called Casting the Runes. Nobody's really sure about the prunes reference, except that it definitely rhymes with runes.
But when worlds collide
Said George Pal to his bride
I'm gonna give you some terrible thrills
Like a...
George Pal produced the 1951 movie When Worlds Collide for Paramount, but he wasn't married.
Repeat Chorus
Ending
I wanna go
To the late-night double feature picture show by RKO
Elements of the Radio Corporation of America (now known simply as RCA) and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum chain of movie theaters in 1928 combined into the Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation, or RKO, a production company. RKO's movies included Citizen Kane and King Kong, but the studios were eventually sold to Desilu.
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
To the late-night double-feature picture show
In the back row
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
To the late-night double-feature picture show.
This is, of course, open to debate. These may not be the responses you know. Also, as some lines are inserted between phrases and others are shouted over top of the movie lines, there's a bit of skill to reading this. Bold text within a line is injected (often quickly) in the pauses between those words; if it is in (parentheses) with non-bold text, the audience line should be given at the same time as that non-bold text plays on the movie soundtrack. (That's a lot of explanation. You'll figure it out, just remember timing is key.)
Verse 1
Michael Rennie was ill
The day the earth stood still
But he told us where we stand on our feet!
And Flash Gordon was there
In (silver cum-stained) underwear kinky!
Claude Rains was the invisible man how'd you see him?
But then something went wrong
For Fay Wray and King Kong
They got caught in a (celluloid sexual) jam yay jam!
Then at a deadly pace
It came (from outer space on Janet's face!)
And this is how the message ran: freeze!
Chorus
Science fiction double feature
Dr. X sex sex sex will build a creature
See androids fighting and fucking and sucking Brad and Janet
Anne Francis stars in what's your favorite movie? Forbidden Planet
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
At the late-night double feature Rocky Horror picture show
Verse 2
I knew Leo G. Carroll
Was over a barrel
When tarantula took to the hills lick it bitch!
And I really got hot
When I saw (Janette Scott Janet's twat)
Fight a Triffid that spits poison and kills what the fuck is a triffid?
Dana Andrews said prunes
Gave him the (runes shits)
And passing them used lots of skills yay skills!
But when worlds collide
Said George Pal to his bride
I'm gonna give you some (terrible sexual) thrills
Like an... X-ray!
Repeat Chorus
Ending
I wanna go
To the late-night double feature picture show by RKO R-K-who?
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
To the late-night double-feature picture show
In the back row fuck the back row! fuck the front row!
Wo oh oh oh oh oh
To the late-night double-feature Rocky Horror picture show.
Sources
http://www.rockymusic.org/sfdf/
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/rockyhorror/audience/audience_pg01.html
...and too many of my own midnight trips to the movies.