If you’re from where I’m from then you call it Downton.
In the house like Lord Grantham, that’s the damn anthem.
Live the high life in the Abbey we run,
And we sip Earl Grey when the day is done.
Adam WarRock, the Internet’s foremost nerd-rapper, is back with a new jam inspired by the show that, if it hasn’t taken over your life, has at least taken over your Twitter feed: Downton Abbey.
WarRock previously garnered praise from the Daily Dot for his Parks + Rec EP, which included “Waka Flocka Swanson,” the greatest rap song ever written about implementing libertarian policies at the local level.
While the execution is near-perfect, the idea for the song came on as a bit of a lark.
“It just was another case of me watching a lot of a show, and then making a song about it,” said WarRock, who’s showcasing later this month at the South By Southwest Music Festival (SXSW). “I heard the opening bars to ‘Deja Vu’ with those horns in my head immediately, and I just wrote it as a goof. I was home for literally less than two days between tour swings, and I just wanted to record something, so I recorded that.”
Few could have predicted that a British historical drama about stodgy aristocrats would go to provide such great remix fodder for Web communities, from the cat-themed “Downton Tabby” to Kill Screen’s Downton Abbey: The Gathering playing cards, not to mention three notable Tumblr blogs.
WarRock says the show’s appeal lies in its unexpectedness.
“I think it’s just a show that’s so surprising. It defies the conventional logic that ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ or a period piece would be so…entertaining. You have this childish thought that it’s going to be boring, and it turns into this funny, emotional, and involving series that has such an immense amount of intelligence, and it hit right at the time when a lot of TV is willing to give the audience the benefit of the doubt that they want something smart.”
So can we expect more Downton raps from WarRock in the future?
“It comes from a place of love, not from opportunism, because if I really wanted to capitalize on the Downton fever, I would’ve made more songs,” WarRock added. “I mean, I don’t even mention some characters in the song. It was just a thing to do, and who knows. Maybe someday, after SXSW, when I actually have more than two days, I’ll sit down and make a whole album.”
Photo by Beaucoupkevin