Yankovic recorded the song to be included on his Straight Outta Lynwood album after, according to Yankovic, having been given Blunt’s blessing to parody the song. However, following its recording, Blunt’s record company, Atlantic Records, allegedly told Yankovic that he could not include the song. (When asked by NPR, Atlantic had no official comment on the matter.)

Yankovic has a history of obtaining songwriters’ approval prior to releasing his parodies, with the exception of a miscommunication surrounding “Amish Paradise,” a parody of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”. However, Yankovic told NPR that this was the first time a record label has quashed a release of one of his parodies. “[I]f James Blunt himself were objecting,” Yankovic told NPR, “I wouldn’t even offer my parody for free on my Web site. But since it’s a bunch of suits — who are actually going against their own artist’s wishes — I have absolutely no problem with it.”

Yankovic told NPR in an e-mail that the question of whether Atlantic could legally forbid the parody, given the United States Supreme Court’s 1994 Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. decision recognizing parody as fair use, is “moot,” saying that the issue was “more of a political matter than a legal matter,” suggesting that both Blunt and Volcano (Yankovic’s label) would wish to avoid alienating Atlantic.

As mentioned, Yankovic released the song for free distribution on the Internet and it has become popular on The Dr. Demento Show. [via Wikipedia]

I’m Pitiful

I’ve died and gone to heaven. Over there on WeirdAl.com, they’ve posted a free MP3 download (192kbps). According to the filename, the new song is titled “You’re Pitiful.” No word on whether this track will be on his upcoming album, but we diehard Weird Al fans will love it no matter what! Their server seems to be getting slammed right now – so be patient. It’s a parody of the famous James Blunt song (You’re Beautiful). Here are the lyrics, after giving it a few good listens. Amazing, Al – amazing. Thanks for doing this!!!

My life is brilliant

[What, was I too early -
Oh, sorry, should I -
Do you want to start over, or -
Keep going - okay... now, now?]

My life is brilliant
Your life’s a joke
You’re just pathetic
You’re always broke
Your homemade Star Trek uniform
Really ain’t impressin’ me
You’re sufferin’ from delusions of adequacy

You’re pitiful
You’re pitiful
You’re pitiful, it’s true

Never had a date
That you couldn’t inflate
And you smell repulsive, too
What a bummer bein’ you

Well you just can’t dance
And forget romance
Everybody you know still calls ya
Farty pants
But you’ll always have a job
Well, I mean…
As long as you still can work that Slurpie machine

You’re pitiful
You’re pitiful
You’re pitiful, it’s true

You’re half undressed
Eating chips off your chest
While you’re playin’ Halo 2
No one’s classier than you

La-la-la-la
La-la-la-la
La-la-la-la loser

You’re pitiful
You’re pitiful
You’re pitiful, it’s true

Your dog would much rather
Play fetch by itself
You still live with your mom and you’re 42
Guess you’ll never grow a clue

Well, it just sucks to be you

I’ve been a Weird Al Yankovic fan since the seventh grade. He even came on the Helpathon I did a few years ago – just to say “hello.” Releasing this track on the ‘Net before the album’s official release is really, really cool. I wonder what other parodies he has up his sleeve? His originals have been equally amazing in recent albums, too. Hat tip to Happy for the heads-up!

Weird Al Yankovic Releases Free MP3