Comments on: Marconi Plays The Mamba

By: bobby rex

bobby rex — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:28:21 +0000

It’s a good song to sing with a lisp camped-up like a giant QUEEN! OOOOooooh Marconi Plays The Mamba…and boy does he ever!!!!

By: Greg Peach

Greg Peach — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:05:18 +0000

Marconi Plays The Mamba simply means songs on the radio are poisoning the youth of the day - that’s what the “establishment” says. The Starship is being cynical… sardoic even.

By: Rico Suave

Rico Suave — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:15:55 +0000

Well, all I can hope is for VH 1 or a talk show make a special about the 80s and ask one of the singers…. what the hell do u mean by Marconi plays the mamba?

By: PooterGeek

PooterGeek — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:24:37 +0000

[There was a comment here from someone linking back to their site that linked to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I’ve removed it. I’n not having any racist loons here.]

By: El rulosaurio

El rulosaurio — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:05:14 +0000

It doesn’t matter if it has to do with mambo, samba or snakes, Starship just wanted to have people singing their song all day using this kind of verses.

By: NSanzaro

NSanzaro — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:34:02 +0000

He can’t have meant Mambo! Mambo & Mamba sound entirely different. The Mambo wasn’t even invented until 1938 & Marconi was dead by 1937! Perhaps he meant the Samba? The Samba was around in this era.

This lyric drives me mad because even though Marconi develpoed the radio i can’t seem to find anything that suggests he ever broadcast anything on it himself…

Its possible they meant Samba (which originated in Africa - though is mostly credited to Brazil) because as history has it the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935 & Marconi made a number of pubic speeches endorsing the unprovoked attack. So perhaps its suppose to illustrate some type of irony between broadcasting their music & invading their country?

Or it could be as literal as it sounds, the black Mamba (as in the african snake) is the most venomous one & is indigenous to Ethiopa. So perhaps it was some type of political comment about him endorsing the invasion of Ethiopia.

By: sangyo

sangyo — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 03:45:22 +0000

I’m more inclined to think that the “artists” merely confused “mamba” with “mambo.” What difference, you ask? Well, very little, except that one is a deadly, poisonous snake, while the other is a rather festive Carribean dance. Or music for said festive dance, played on the radio…

By: PooterGeek

PooterGeek — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 00:47:23 +0000

According to my Chambers Dictionary, a mamba is a (deadly African) snake. Since Marconi is widely credited as the inventor of radio (and the next line is “Listen to the radio”) this could be a reference to the oscillation of radio waves resembling the movement of a snake and having a similarly dangerous potential for social change—or it could just be a preposterous lyric from a crap song.

By: Al

Al — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:02:43 +0000

What is a mamba in the phrase Marconi plays the mamba.

By: PooterGeek

PooterGeek — Fri, 07 Jan 2005 00:19:23 +0000

Sorry about the earworm folks [you follow that link to the Wikipedia definition at the risk of acquiring further infestations]. Displace it with this:

[Shdang!]

“It’s been a hard day’s night
And I’ve been working like a dog.
It’s been a hard day’s night
I should be sleeping like a log,
But when I get home to you
I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright.”

By: s

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 15:05:36 +0000

it’s in my head too - but who was it who did the cover version “we built this city on reggae music?”

By: casualsavant

casualsavant — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 05:02:15 +0000

Thanks, Damian. Now I can’t get that damned song out of my head.

By: Hak Mao

Hak Mao — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 19:15:14 +0000

Thought they changed their name to Jefferson Outhouse?