Charles Perrault concludes his 1697 fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood with the moral that, “Not all wolves/ Are exactly the same” (Perrault). Both the Big Bad Wolf (BBW) of Sam Sham and the Pharaohs’s 1966 Billboard Hit, Li’l Red Riding Hood and Perrault’s Old Neighbor Wolf (ONW) share the same goal to devour Little Red Riding Hood (LRR) at grandma’s house. They differ, however, in their means to reach the end of the road. Old Neighbor Wolf races Little Red Riding Hood to grandma’s house, and the Big Bad Wolf distracts the young girl by dressing in a meek sheep suit in order to gain her trust. Perrault concludes, “Some are perfectly charming…tame wolves/ Are the most dangerous of all” (Perrault 13). Without the ideological knowledge of the fairy tale or epithets used to describe the wolves, neither BBW nor ONW offer a threatening demeanor. The Big Bad Wolf is a modernized example of Perrault’s warning. Adapted for its time, Sham turns a classical fairy tale into a contemporary rock and roll song moralized just the same.
Without pictures and with only words, Little Red Riding Hood becomes the protagonist and focal character of both stories. Perrault writes a complete, contextualized story. The reader learns that the young girl is named after “a little red hood [that was made] for her,” and she walks alone in the forest because she listens to her mother’s demand: “I want you to go and see how your grandmother is faring” (Perrault, 11-12). Contrasting, Sham’s song is a condensed story that provides its context through the title. The wolf is introduced by a howling sound in the distance.
Both Perrault’s story and Sham’s song engage their audience. In the classical tale, the third person narrator invites his reader to partake in the story when he describes Little Red Riding Hood as being “the prettiest [village girl] you can imagine” (Perrault 12). As if filling a missing piece of a puzzle, Perrault provides the information that is missing from the beginning of Sham’s song. Sham’s first person narrator, played by Big Bad Wolf, begins his story with a question: “Who’s that I see walkin’ in these woods?” (Sham). Though ONW meets LLR in the forest and the BBW meets her in the woods, the setting is established and the scene moves forward.
The epithet “Old Neighbor” used in Perrault’s story misleads the reader about the wolf’s intentions for the young girl. The word “old” has dual meaning: the wolf can be considered aged and non-threatening, or as a neighbor over a period of time. The reader is safe to assume that there is a bond of trust between the two characters. LRR should trust her neighbor, or “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). The pseudonym used to describe the wolf suggests that he and the young girl have a pre-existing acquaintance. Without the provided exposition from the narrator that “It [is] dangerous to stop and listen to wolves,” the reader may not be able to predict the fatal outcome of the young girl (Perrault 12).
Sham also misleads his audience of his wolf’s identity. The song begins, “Hey there Little Red Riding Hood,/ You sure are looking good./ You’re everything a big bad wolf could want” (Sham). The language suggests that the wolf is speaking directly to LRR, or the words are his internal thought. In the fifth stanza, however, the audience discovers that the wolf is disguised and dressed in a sheep suit. Sheep, by nature, are timid and non-threatening. The wolf is alluding to the idea that sheep are the opposite of wolves and that by LRR staying near him, she is as safe as can be. The wolf assures her, “What a big heart I have – the better to love you with” (Sham). However, once the wolf announces that “I’m gonna keep my sheep suit on/ Until I'm sure that you've been shown/ That I can be trusted walking with you alone,” the meaning of the song changes entirely (Sham). It is at this point in the song that the duplicity in the language becomes evident. According to the 1945 Routledge Dictionary of Modern American slang and unconventional English, a wolf is a “sexually aggressive man.” The verb wolf is also a synonym for eating, and it can be used in a sexual connotation. What kind of wolf lurks underneath the sheep skin? Sham’s song is highly sexualized, and looking backward, Little Red Riding Hood’s fate is foreshadowed the moment the wolf spots her in the woods.
Old Neighbor Wolf continues to mask his identity, and Little Red Riding Hood is shocked by what she thinks are grandma’s big features. After ONW eats grandma, he takes her place in the bed. LRR arrives and listens to the wolf when he demands, “Climb into bed with me” (Perrault 12). She strips off of her clothes and joins the wolf in bed to have the famous back and forth dialogue. The girl says to the wolf, “Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” to which the wolf replies, “The better to see you with, my child” (Perrault 12). She finally says, “Grandmother, what big teeth you have!” and the wolf says, “The better to eat you with!” (Perrault 12). Without warning, the wolf “threw himself on Little Red Riding Hood” and she is eaten whole (Perrault 13). It is evident that the wolf’s big features were the warning that LRR did not catch onto and thus, she becomes the wolf’s dessert.
Sham’s song differs in storyline from Perrault’s classic tale. In Sham’s song the girl and wolf reverse roles. BBW describes LRR’s big features observing, “What big eyes you have. The kind of eyes that drive wolves mad…What full lips you have. They’re sure to lure someone bad” (Sham). Like LRR notices in Perrault’s tale, the wolf tells LRR that her large features as a bad thing. Because she has “Everything a big bad wolf could want,” the wolf cautions LRR about what is to happen to her and puts blame on her physical features that will cause her inevitable abduction. As both stories tell, it is dangerous to have big features.
Created three centuries apart from one another, the two versions of Little Red Riding Hood share a sexually explicit theme, as well as a life lesson for young girls: men can be deviant. The wolf in both stories is intended to have a dual identity. Both the song and the story deliberately depict the villain as literally being a wolf, however, both authors also give their wolf humanistic characteristics. Perrault’s moral warns young girls “Especially…Pretty, well-bred, and genteel” to beware of wolves with human characteristics such as being “perfectly charming…tame, pleasant and gentle” (Perrault 13). Because it is unlikely that a young woman of stature would frequent the forest and come into contact with wild animals, it is appropriate to interpret Perrault’s moral by acknowledging the duality in meaning of a wolf. Sham’s wolf exemplifies this idea. The wolf in a sheep suit says, “I'll try to be satisfied just to walk close by your side/ Maybe you'll see things my way before we get to grandma's place” (Sham). The BBW remains speaking in his charming way with hopes and anticipation to follow LRR to her chamber.
Fairy tales were established and evolved as a form of entertainment that was passed down orally. Much like the oral tradition, lyrics to popular music in America frequently tell a story. Because these epic tales were not found in written form until much later, an inevitable discrepancy exists in form, content and characters between the tales printed today. It is ironic that the cause of Perrault’s protagonist’s demise was due to listening to the wolf, suggesting that the stories told aloud should not be taken seriously. Perhaps Little Red Riding Hood of Sham’s song learns Perrault’s lesson. The BBW begs her, “Listen to me,” and it is possible that Little Red Riding Hood becomes a bigger person and gets to grandma’s without help (Sham).
Works Cited
Blackwell, Ron. (1966). Li'l Red Riding Hood [Sam Sham and the Pharaohs]. Li'l Red Riding Hood. MGM.
Perrault, Charles. "Little Red Riding Hood." The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Tatar, Maria. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. 11-13. Print.
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