Chocolate Salty Balls

"Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" is a 1998 song from the animated comedy TV series South Park, performed by the character Chef and featured on the soundtrack album Chef Aid: The South Park Album.

"Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)"
Single by Chef (Isaac Hayes)
from the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album
B-side	"O Holy Night (Snippet)", "Come Sail Away"
Released	December 1, 1998
Recorded	1998
Genre	Funk[1] comedy novelty[2]
Length	3:55
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Trey Parker
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin
Isaac Hayes singles chronology
"Ike's Rap" (1986) "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" (1998) "Simultaneous" (1999)
Audio sample
Chocolate Salty Balls file help

The song's vocals were performed by Isaac Hayes, the voice actor for Chef. The song as it originally appeared was in the 1998 episode, "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls", where Chef creates a confectionery treat, the eponymous Chocolate Salty Balls. He then begins to sing the lyrics that became the basis for the single.

It reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart[3] and Ireland, while peaking in Australia at No. 14. The song was written by South Park co-creator Trey Parker and produced by Rick Rubin.

Song information

The song's first and second verses feature Chef listing the ingredients for his "chocolate salty balls", an innuendo meaning testicles (even though the lyrics throughout refer to the edible food, as mentioned earlier). However, there is no mention of salt in the recipe. He also urges people to "suck on them" during the chorus. After listing the ingredients, he sings the lines, "Say, everybody, have you seen my balls/they're big and salty and brown/if you ever need a quick pick-me-up/just stick my balls in your mouth", starting the chorus.

During the song's final verse, Chef becomes concerned that his chocolate salty balls have become burned, and urges his lover to blow on them. In particular the lyrics he sings at that point are: "Hey.... wait a minute.... What's that smell? It smells like something's burnin'. Well, that don't confront me none, as long as I get my rent paid on Friday. Baby, you better get back in the kitchen.... 'cause I've got a sneakin' suspicion. Oh, man baby..... Baby! You just burned my balls!" The verse features a line from the song "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer".

The radio version features an additional verse, in which Chef urges his lover to retire with him to his bedroom before her husband comes home but also omits the "hi I'm Chef" intro and most of the ending. This version is very hard to come by commercially but was included on the UK compilation album New Hits 99 CD1, Track 21.

The song was included on the fourth episode of series two of Cold Feet. Hayes also performed the song live at the 2002 Glastonbury Festival.[4]

Music video

The song's music video featured various clips from season one and season two of South Park. It can be found on the South Park DVD South Park: The Chef Experience.

Track listing

European CD single

1. "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" – 4:01
2. "O Holy Night (Snippet)" (Eric Cartman feat. Kyle Broflovski and Mr. Garrison) – 2:00

European Cassette single

1. "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" – 3:55
2. "Come Sail Away" (Eric Cartman) – 5:12

European/Australian CD maxi single

1. "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" – 3:55
2. "O Holy Night (Snippet)" (Eric Cartman feat. Kyle Broflovski and Mr. Garrison) – 2:21
3. "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" (Ned Gerblansky feat. Uncle Jimbo) – 0:58

UK CD maxi single

1. "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" – 3:55
2. "Come Sail Away" (Eric Cartman) – 5:12
3. "Mentally Dull (Think Thank Remix)" (Vitro) – 3:45

Chart performance

On the back of airplay from Chris Moyles "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart[5] and was also a top 20 hit in Australia, peaking at No. 14 in February 1999.[6] The song was a contender for the Christmas number one single in the UK, but stalled at No. 2 behind the Spice Girls' "Goodbye", narrowly missing out by only 5,000 copies. However, the following week, the track dethroned "Goodbye" from the top of the charts, giving Isaac Hayes his first number one hit in the UK. The song later became the 36th best selling single of the 1990s in the UK, selling over 850,000 copies.[7]

Charts

Weekly charts Charts (1998–1999) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 14 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 15 Denmark (IFPI)[10] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] 7 France (SNEP)[12] 82 Ireland (IRMA)[5] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 8 Norway (VG-lista)[15] 5 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[16] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 17 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] 1

Year-end charts Charts (1998) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19] 7 Charts (1999) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 80 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[21] 76 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 59 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 84

Musicians

• Bass – Eric Presley[24]
• Drums – Matt Stone
• Engineer – David Schiffman
• Guitar – Bruce Howell
• Keyboards – Trey Parker
• Mixing – D. Sardy, Rick Rubin
• Percussion – Chris Trujillo
• Producer – Rick Rubin
• Vocals – Isaac Hayes
• Writing – Trey Parker

References

1. Rath, Derek (November 11, 2005). "Dig It: 'The Ultimate Isaac Hayes'". NPR. Retrieved April 29, 2020. The collection includes previously unreleased material, as well as a bonus DVD featuring Hayes' South Park character, Chef, performing the raunchy funk tune "Chocolate Salty Balls.
2. Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". Omnibus Press – via Google Books.
3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 628. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
4. "The 100 best Glastonbury performances ever". The Telegraph. 16 June 2015.
5. "Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
6. Steffen Hung. "Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
7. List of best-selling singles of the 1990s in the United Kingdom
8. "Australian-charts.com – Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
9. "Ultratop.be – Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
10. "Billboard – Google Books". March 13, 1999. Retrieved April 1, 2014 – via Google Books.
11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16 no. 1–3. January 16, 1999. p. 7. Retrieved April 16, 2020. See last week column.
12. "Lescharts.com – Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls" (in French). Les classement single.
13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 8, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls". VG-lista.
16. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
17. "Swedishcharts.com – Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls". Singles Top 100.
18. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
19. "Best Sellers of 1998 – Singles Top 100". Music Week. January 16, 1999. p. 7.
20. "Jaaroverzichten 1999" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
21. "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1999" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17 no. 1. January 1, 2000. p. 11. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
22. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1999". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
23. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1999" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
24. "Various – Chef Aid: The South Park Album (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.