Crazy Downtown

"Crazy Downtown" is a song written and performed by Allan Sherman. The song is a parody of Tony Hatch's song "Downtown" which was a hit for Petula Clark (because of the use of the melody, Hatch also receives songwriting credit). The song reached #6 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart and #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965; it was Sherman's last top-40 hit.^[1]

The song is sung from the point of view of a father whose teenage child has gone "frooging" downtown with their car and money. At first the parents show relief that they can now use the phone and shower, but as the hours pass, they get increasingly nervous. Eventually, he gets a phone call that the teenager has been arrested as the result of a car accident, prompting the father to angrily borrow someone else's car to take his child home. He then vows to go downtown with his wife next time while the teenager is grounded, where he promises to do "very nice dance(s)" like the tango, waltz, foxtrot and bunny hop.

References