CHINATOWN BAR CHA CHA CHA

Delmar DeWilde on vocals; Dean Taba on bass; Noel Okimoto on drums and vibes; Jim Howard on flutes; Perry Coma on piano, organ, and sampled percussion.

Well, actually, itʻs a tango.  Its tangled roots find their nourishment deep in the soil of a tiny Makiki Asian piano bar, back before laser-disc technology, where Ms Hai Jung and I duoed for the amusement of carelessly drinking Japanese businessmen who, egged on by the hostessesʻ flattery, joined us in song.  The enka tune "Tokyo Naitokurobbu" ("Tokyo Nightclub") was one song I particularly liked playing, though I could not have foreseen how stylistically crucial it would be to "Chinatown Bar." 

A second knotted root grows its tendrils in the songʻs instrumental midsection.  Therein, perhaps the nerdiest of tango nerds trying to get some toehold of a life in 21st century society might dimly recognize the strains of "Inspiracion," a song which entered my consiousness via a 78 rpm record -- the  proverbial Salvation Army find.  All props to the original artist, the enigmatic Pancho And His Orchestra.  I say enigmatic because thatʻs all I know of Pancho.  No other information on the label.  Pancho-san, if youʻre out there, give us an e-mail shout.

The lyrics are based on an actual encounter Ms Hai Jung and I witnessed during our time at the piano bar.

Ms Ryokoʻs dad loves this song.  Or so she sez.

Hot night, what to do?
I slips inside the Club Bibim Kooksoo
Tinkling voices, clinking ice
An evening so nice
I come back twice

I buy drinks, me and her
It seems so proper and so de rigueur
Stockings sizzle on her thighs
That look in her eyes
I feel like a prize
Chinatown Bar Cha Cha Cha

Week two, I do the same
By now she can remember my name
In her silky red cheong-sam
Sheʻs holding my hand
Sheʻs singing her song

She calls me handsome
She calls me clever
While I make plans
To stay forever
Chinatown Bar Cha Cha Cha

I have a suggestion
I want to propose
I like to take pictures
Would you like to pose?
In brand new clothes?
You pick the clothes
Iʻll buy the clothes
Letʻs go get those clothes

We two, now weʻre pals
I idolize my Chinatown gal
In her valleys and her hills
Iʻm finding my thrills
Iʻm paying her bills
Chinatown Bar Cha Cha Cha