Eli Waltz
Eli Waltz – 'Parky Raccoon'
I learned this little number in the hopes of spreading awareness about Parkinson's Disease. My dear old man is a neuroscientist who studies the disease, and in 2022 he endeavored to smith the stanzas of 'Parky Raccoon,' adapting the lyrics from The Beatles' classic song 'Rocky Raccoon.'
I’ve been interested in my Dad’s research for a long long time, and the idea of using this song to promote PD awareness seemed swell to us both. Enjoy, and please consider supporting the good work of Parky Raccoon at https://www.worldpdcoalition.org/page/SupportWork
Adapted from Rocky Raccoon
(written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney in 1968)
Eli Waltz....................................................vocals, guitar, harmonica
Michael Schwarzschild...........................adapted lyrics
RFBV Films...............................................videography
Once again, you can support the good work of Parky Raccoon at https://www.worldpdcoalition.org/page/SupportWork
There, you can contribute to the World Parkinson Coalition to help alleviate and eventually eliminate the burden of Parkinson disease.
Parky the Raccoon was introduced to the world in 2012 by Bob Kuhn,
a World Parkinson Congress 2013 Ambassador. Parky Raccoon is dedicated to the global Parkinson’s community.
...
Lyrics:
[The lyrics’ geeky science terms are explained in footnotes.]
Now somewhere in the Black Pigment Cells of the Nigra [1]
there lived a young boy named Parky Raccoon.
And one day his dopa [2] ran out and down the drain,
hit young Parky in the brain.
Parky didn’t like that.
He said, “I’m gonna block that drain.”
So one day he flew into Spain,
booked himself a room in a conference hotel.
Parky Raccoon checked into his room
only to find symptom treatment [3].
Parky had come equipped with a drug
to block off the path of his cell death [4].
That cell death it seems had dampened his dreams
by making his neurons [5] act screwy
His name was α-Syn [6] and he formed fibrils [7] thin,
but everyone knew him as Lewy [8].
Now he and some jerk who called himself LRRK [9]
were in the next cell in the circuit.
Parky burst in and grinned at a-Syn.
He said, “Lewy boy, this is a showdown.”
But Lewy was hot, he drew first and shot,
and Parky collapsed in a synapse [10].
Yah, yah.
Now the doctor came in aiming for Syn,
and proceeded to set up a trial.
She said, "Parky you need to enroll."
Parky said, “Doc, I’m up for this goal,
and I’ll give consent [11], give consent, Doc, as soon as I’m able."
And now Parky Raccoon, he was over the moon,
excited to test Braak’s hypothesis [12].
Lewy checked out and he left it, no doubt,
to help with his neuron’s survival.
Aye, come on Parky now.
Doo-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doo,
Doo-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doo,
Doo-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doo
Doo-do-do-do-bah.
...
1 “Nigra” is short for substantia nigra, Latin for the ‘black substance’ that marks the brain region housing pigmented brain cells that degenerate in Parkinson’s disease (PD).
2 “dopa” is short for levodopa, the main drug taken to improve symptoms of PD. Dopa passes into the brain where it is converted into dopamine -- the chemical signal made by those pigmented brain cells.
3 “symptom treatment” refers to the current standard therapy for PD. It is limited to helping with the slowness of movement and other features of the disease without addressing the underlying disease process. Such disease-modifying therapy is the holy grail of PD research.
4 Brain “cell death” is what causes the progressive worsening of symptoms in PD.
5 Brain cells are called “neurons”.
6 “a-Syn” is short for alpha-synuclein, a protein that plays a key role in PD. Changes in its gene encoding a-Syn can increase the risk of PD. Also a-Syn is found in clumps – known as Lewy bodies – in degenerating brain cells in PD.
7 Fibrils are microscopic threads. a-Syn can form thin fibrils that in turn may clump into Lewy bodies.
8 “Lewy bodies” are the abnormal clumps of proteins including a-Syn, and are found in brains of PD patients.
9 LRRK2 (pronounced lurk-two) is another protein whose gene also contributes to the risk of PD, especially when it leads to LRRK2 overactivity.
10 A “synapse” is the small gap between two brain cells, across which they communicate with each other using molecular signals called neurotransmitters (like dopamine).
11 Informed “consent” is given in writing before a volunteer participant can enroll in a research trial.
12 “Braak’s hypothesis” is the theory that PD develops and progresses due to spread of a-Syn into and through the brain.
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