"S.O.S. (The Tiger Took My Family)" is a song recorded by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

artist Dr. Bombay. It was released in 1998 as the second single from his debut album, '' Rice & Curry'' (1998). The song was a top 10 hit in Norway and Sweden (number two), while reaching the top 20 in Finland.

Content

The song has a humorous theme and is sung from the perspective of Dr. Bombay, a

snake charmer Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerou ...

and mystic whose peaceful life in the outskirts of rural

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

is interrupted when a vicious

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

begins abducting members of his family.

Track listing and formats

* Swedish CD single # "S.O.S. (The Tiger Took My Family)" – 3:29 # "S.O.S. (The Tiger Took My Family)" (Instrumental) – 3:25 * European CD maxi-single # "S.O.S. (The Tiger Took My Family)" (Original Version) – 3:27 # "S.O.S. (The Tiger Took My Family)" (Extended Ravi-Dance Version) – 4:43 # "S.O.S. (The Tiger Took My Family)" (Instrumental - Be Your Own Dr. Version) – 3:27 # "S.O.S. (The Tiger Took My Family)" (S.O.S. Shaky Snake's Meditation) – 2:51

Music video

An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was produced in 1998. The video opens with an introduction to Dr. Bombay's family and their peaceful life in the outskirts of Calcutta, followed by a

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...

of each family member running in terror from the performer dressed as the tiger. The rest of the video follows Dr. Bombay pursuing the tiger through the jungle while armed with a

slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

. He's seen swinging on vines, running in place in front of a green screen and unwittingly shooting hikers and travellers as he desperately searches for the tiger. The video ends with the eventual defeat of the tiger and the rescuing of the family.

Other media

A cover version of the song was included in the rhythm game, '' Samba de Amigo Ver. 2000'', as well as the game's soundtrack release. The pilot episode of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

''Popee the Performer'', entitled "Popee the Clown", uses this song as

background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

. "S.O.S" was licensed for inclusion in the music game '' Beatmania IIDX 2nd Style''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1998 singles 1998 songs Dr. Bombay songs Song recordings produced by Robert Uhlmann (composer) Songs written by Robert Uhlmann (composer)