"R-E-S-P-E-C-T take out T-C-P"

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What does it mean?

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:36 (twenty-two years ago)

thank you for asking this.

― Luigi Vampa (Horace Mann), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:37 (twenty-two years ago)

it means "take care, t-c-b"

― america's first municipal lunatic asylum (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

The lyric is "Take care, T.C.B."

Still doesn't help, does it?

xpost

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

take care, takin' care of business?

― Luigi Vampa (Horace Mann), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

TAKE CARE, BABY

(induction is dead)

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Dear Straight Dope:

Regarding the Otis Redding soul classic "Respect," I am confused about the "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take out T-C-P" part. What exactly happens when you take
out T-C-P? As far as I can tell, that leaves R-E-S-E, which doesn't make a lot of sense. Or am I mishearing the lyric? --John Abbott, Mountain View,
California

SDSTAFF Jill replies:

You're mishearing the lyric. We can't reprint the whole song due to copyright considerations, but that doesn't stop some people. Check out
lyrics.natalnet.com.br/html/lyrics/r/respect.txt. Here's the relevant portion of the lyrics as recorded by Aretha Franklin on February 14, 1967 in New York City (the song
became a #1 hit for her that year) and included on the 1985 compilation album Atlantic Soul Classics:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, TCB
Oh, sock it to me, sock it to me [etc.]

Aretha says "take care, TCB" = take care of business. The Temptations also had an album called TCB--Takin' Care of Business.

You're not the first person to have misheard a song lyric. For some classic misreadings, see www.kissthisguy.com/, named after the classic Jimi Hendrix line, "'Scuse
me, while I kiss this guy."

--SDSTAFF Jill
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board

ANOTHER THEORY

Dear Straight Dope:

I was wondering if the said millionth stopped to consider the possiblity that Otis was providing his comment on RFC 793, the TCP/IP protocol, in which case
the effect of taking out the TCP would be to provide raw IP capabilities, or the opportunity to use an alternative transport protocol.

As any network engineer knows, TCP/IP is a tranport-oriented protocol with error-handling capabilities in the transport layer. Perhaps Otis was expressing
his preference for UDP, User Datagram Protocol, which unlike Transport Control Protocol, avoids the costly overhead of error-handling code in the packet
header. Understandable considering the small bandwidth of networks in the 1960's.

Of course, they did not have RFC 793 implemented back then: however, they did have RFC 1149 (cf. ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1149.txt ) implemented in
some MANs (metropolitan area networks).

HTH. --Ludovic

SDSTAFF Jill replies:

Leave it to me to overlook the obvious.

― Luigi Vampa (Horace Mann), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:44 (twenty-two years ago)

(induction is dead)

It's all hex enduction nowadays.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:45 (twenty-two years ago)

if you "take out" the letters T, C and P from the word "respect" you are left with R, E, S, and E which stands for Reverse Everything, Satan Exists. The song was recorded during Aretha's brief dalliance with The Church of The Process.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

It is: Taking Care of Business. TCB.

― C W, Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

If it makes any more sense this way, remeber that it was Otis Redding, and not Aretha Franklin.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:57 (twenty-two years ago)

i think i go with the TCP-IP bandwidth theory!

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:08 (twenty-two years ago)

The question of this chorus has been plaguing my life for seemingly eons now. Thank you for having the balls to do what I could never do and ask. A great service has been done for mankind today. Take care TCB.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:15 (twenty-two years ago)

you really never figured that out?

― tweemu (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:17 (twenty-two years ago)

"TCB" wasn't in the Otis original, it's all Aretha.

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm just surprised; I never knew so many people heard it as "take out T-C-P." Especially since "TCB" is a faiiirly popular phrase in the rock 'n' roll canon.

― tweemu (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

you really never figured that out?

TCB is hardly 21st century slang, in fairness.

xpost, like where?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:27 (twenty-two years ago)

it was elvis' motto, for starters...

http://www.sellmeelvis.com/products/images/sme11.jpg

― tweemu (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:30 (twenty-two years ago)

"R.E.S.E."?

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:55 (twenty-two years ago)

TCB ALSO = THE COUNTRY'S BEST.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Thursday, 15 January 2004 22:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Example: fro-yo chain store TCBY = The Country's Best Yogurt

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Thursday, 15 January 2004 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

fro-yo!!!

― tweemu (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 15 January 2004 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

The song was recorded during Aretha's brief dalliance with The Church of The Process.

Fritz i kiss you!

― J (Jay), Thursday, 15 January 2004 22:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I too, never knew the end of that chrous. Graci!

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 15 January 2004 22:17 (twenty-two years ago)

it was elvis' motto, for starters...

Also I just noticed that Mr. T's tattoo reads

T.C.B.
Mr. T

― tweemu (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 03:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Elvis' motto was actually "Takin' Care of Business in a Flash" (hence the lightening bolt.)

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 04:30 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, well, it still reflects the "TCB" part...

― tweemu (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 05:07 (twenty-two years ago)

..though refects poorly on Elvis.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 10:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Okay, fair enough. But what does "Take care taking care of business" mean then?

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 10:59 (twenty-two years ago)

probably something similar to "just a just a little bit"

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 11:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I always thought that song was supposed to have some great social significance no?

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 11:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Okay, fair enough. But what does "Take care taking care of business" mean then?

Er, it probably means "take care, take care of business. At this point I think you all know this and you're just being difficult.

― the bent fabric (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Ack, sorry for the missing end-quote there.

― the bent fabric (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

That "T" rhymes with "B" has a lot to do with it.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 13:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I always thought it was "take that PCP" - well, not really - but I couldn't figure anything else out, so that's what I stuck there. I'm not sure it's a worse lyric that way.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Is this a British thing? To me the lyric couldn't be more clear. It's not like she's whispering.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I think it's a "people who don't usually say 'TCB' " thing.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 14:00 (twenty-two years ago)

course the reason for some of the misunderstanding over here (uk)
could well be that in AIRPLANE, during the legendary bit with the singing nun* she really does sing 'take out T-C-P'. now over here and possibly everywhere else i dunno, there is a popular (and horrible) antiseptic lotion called TCP. wether or not the zucker brothers thought that a nun singing 'take out TCP' was funnier than 'take care, TCB' (it is) or not i dunno, but them's yer facts. perhaps they just thought the original lyric was that as so many of us did on here. i remember thinking 'they have TCP in america ?' when i first saw it aged 9.

* a p-sstake of 'AIRPORT 75's singing nun
sequence featuring helen reddy trivia fans.

― piscesboy, Tuesday, 20 January 2004 14:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Now that I know, this is the only time I've ever heard anyone say "TCB" I've SEEN it written, but, y'know.
"Hey Mitch, what's goin' on?"
"TCB, my daymee, TCB!"

― Luigi Vampa (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 15:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe in England the business gets taken care of eventually without a lot of effort on the part of the individual.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

We normally have to queue.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 15:44 (twenty-two years ago)

(insert lame European pay toilet joke)

― Luigi Vampa (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

(sorry, pay LOO)

― Luigi Vampa (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

How did this thread get by without a reference to TCB by BTO? It was a bit on The Simpsons even, people.

― mike h. (mike h.), Thursday, 3 November 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

seven months pass...

There is a cover of the song by Helmut Zacharias where the actually say "take out T.C.P"

― Sven Eriksson (Dutt), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 12:45 (nineteen years ago)

I remember there was an episode of Good Times where Michael turned the tables on some social worker and gave him the "Inner City SAT," and when he was asked what T.C.B stood for he said "That's cool, baby!" To top it off, I think it was a multiple choice question!

― A Study In Redd Scharlach (Ken L), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 12:52 (nineteen years ago)

Take care, 2CV

http://www.autoblog.it/uploads/2cvcrash.jpg

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:05 (nineteen years ago)

-- piscesboy (piscesxx...), January 20th, 2004.

great post!

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 13:18 (nineteen years ago)

the personal karate patch of elvis....

― m0stly clean (m0stly clean), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 01:57 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

http://i9.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/9c/d5/3e2e_2.JPG

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 14:39 (eighteen years ago)

All my life, I've heard this as "take care of TCB," which really annoyed me for its redundancy (how do you "take care of taking care of business"??) -- sort of like "ATM machine," but even worse than that. It's a totally clunky line. It might even be the main reason I've never liked the song very much.

And yeah, how it's possible to hear the line and not suddenly think BTO is also beyond my comprehension.

― xhuxk, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 14:53 (eighteen years ago)

Dee Clark had a song called "TCB." Bobby Patterson had a song called "TCB Or TYA." Joe Simon had some song with "TCB" in it, too. All three of these examples are from soul songs from the 60s. I've heard the phrase on "Laugh In" and "Sanford & Son" as well.

"That's Cool, Baby" was one of the possible answers to the question on "Good Times" re: what does TCB stand for? But Michael actually chose the right one, "Takin' Care Of Business."

― deedeedeextrovert, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 15:03 (eighteen years ago)

Michael was the one administering the test. It was the ofay social worker who chose "That's Cool, Baby!"

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 15:35 (eighteen years ago)

The Supremes and the Temptations did a TV special called "TCB," which yielded a #1 album of the same name.

― musically, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 15:58 (eighteen years ago)

three years pass...

was this ever solved?

― piscesx, Monday, 11 April 2011 16:32 (fifteen years ago)

Take Care, The Country Bears

― da croupier, Monday, 11 April 2011 17:11 (fifteen years ago)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/wcarrara/tcb-elvis-logo.jpg

― Brad C., Monday, 11 April 2011 18:41 (fifteen years ago)

Sore throats - Gargle a solution of TCP with 5 parts water twice a day. Do not swallow.
Mouth ulcers - Dab undiluted three times a day.
Cuts, grazes, bites and stings - Dilute 1 part TCP with 1 part water and apply freely. (TCP may be used undiluted in an emergency).
Boils, spots and pimples - Dab undiluted once every four hours.

In the 1963 Ian Fleming story Agent 007 in New York, James Bond laments the fact that one of his lovers always gargles with TCP after their trysts.

A Pfizer representative in South Africa stated [1] that if diluted, it can be used as a vaginal douche, although the safety of this has not been fully ascertained.

― TechYes, Monday, 11 April 2011 20:11 (fifteen years ago)

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