You can file this tongue-twister next to other 'big beat' tunes on this blog such as Crazy Horses, I'm So Crazy and Neanderthal Man but I believe that I first heard this in a scene in the TV series 'Fargo'.
Adriano Celentano was an already-established pop star and film director in his native Italy when he wrote 'Prisencolinensinainciusol' in 1972. The song, if you hadn't realised already, is written in total gibberish but made to sound as if it was an American rock song to Italian ears. Celentano stated "Ever since I started singing, I was very influenced by American music and everything Americans did. So at a certain point, because I like American slang—which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian—I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate. And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn't mean anything."
Here's an appropriately 70s Italian TV performance from the great man himself:
Prisencolinensinainciusol RAI from Bronx Zoo on Vimeo.
... another school-themed performance:...
... the official video with Adriano on acoustic guitar(!)...
and a skit where Celentano attempts to teach the chorus to, um, Will Smith of all people...
2022 Update: OMG I've just found out that Mike Reid (British actor/comedian, probably best known as Frank Butcher in Eastenders and Doug The Head in Snatch) covered this back in 1974 as 'Freezin' Cold in 89 Twoso'! What it lacks in the gibberish lyrics and rhythm is more than made up by the cockney Reid's 'triffic' performance. BTW I discovered this from a Twitter thread started by none other than Tim Burgess (him from The Charlatans). Cheers Tim!
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