Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue
Joseph C Fineman
ebr...@netcom.com (Eric Brody) writes:
>Does anybody have, or have a source for, the lyrics to "Cocaine Bill
>and Morphine Sue"? This is a song that was popular circa 1940 or so,
>but may date back to the 30s or even the 20s. The only verse I know
>is the following; I understand that there are many more:
>Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue
>Were strolling along the avenue
or: Strolling up the avenue, two by two
>Oh honey, have a (sniff), have a (sniff) on me
>Oh honey, have a (sniff) on me.
I have heard that stanza sung, too; but on looking it up, it appears
to be a mixture of two songs: "Honey, Take a Whiff on Me" and "Cocaine
Lil & Morphine Sue" proper. They appear together, weirdly enough, in
_The Oxford Book of Light Verse_ chosen by W. H. Auden (Oxford U.P.,
1938). He got the former from Lomax's _American Songs and Ballads_,
and the latter from hearing people sing it. Another version of
"Cocaine Lil" (without Morphine Sue) is in Carl Sandburg's _American
Songbag_ (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1927).
Cocaine's for hosses an' not for men,
De doctors say it'll kill you, but dey don' say when.
Ho, ho, honey, take a whiff on me.
--- Joe Fineman j...@world.std.com
||: It could be worse. It could be rock and roll. :||
Andrea M. Aldridge
Joseph C Fineman wrote:
>
> ebr...@netcom.com (Eric Brody) writes:
>
> >Does anybody have, or have a source for, the lyrics to "Cocaine Bill
> >and Morphine Sue"? This is a song that was popular circa 1940 or so,
> >but may date back to the 30s or even the 20s. The only verse I know
> >is the following; I understand that there are many more:
At least the 20s; in _More Pious Friends and Drunken Companions_ (1928),
Frank Shay lists "Cocaine Lil and Morphine Sue," which contains your
lyric
> >Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue
> >Were strolling along the avenue
And immediately following it, "Hop Song," which has a variation on your
lyric
> >Oh honey, have a (sniff), have a (sniff) on me
> >Oh honey, have a (sniff) on me.
>
> I have heard that stanza sung, too; but on looking it up, it appears
> to be a mixture of two songs: "Honey, Take a Whiff on Me" and "Cocaine
> Lil & Morphine Sue" proper. They appear together, weirdly enough, in
> _The Oxford Book of Light Verse_ chosen by W. H. Auden (Oxford U.P., 1938).
Not weird at all, considering they're both about cocaine. The text of
each from Shay follows (punctuation and capitalization as published).
Cocaine Lil and Morphine Sue
Did you ever hear about Cocaine Lil?
She lived in Cocaine town on Cocaine hill,
She had a cocaine dog and a cocaine cat,
They fought all night with a cocaine rat.
She had cocaine hair on her cocaine head.
She had a cocaine dress that was poppy red;
She wore a snowbird hat and sleigh-riding clothes.
On her coat she wore a crimson, cocaine rose.
Big gold chariots on the Milky Way,
Snakes and elephants silver and gray.
Oh the cocaine blues they make me sad,
Oh the cocaine blues they make me feel bad.
Lil went to a snow party one cold night,
And the way she sniffed was sure a fright.
There was Hophead Mag with Dopey Slim
Kankakee Liz and Yen Shee Jim.
There was Morphine Sue and the Poppy Face Kid,
Climbed up snow ladders and down they skid;
There was the Stepladder Kit, a good six feet,
And the Sleigh-riding Sister who were hard to beat.
Along in the morning about half past three
They were all lit up like a Christmas tree;
Lil got home and started for bed,
Took another sniff and it knocked her dead.
They laid her out in her cocaine clothes:
She wore a snowbird hat with a crimson rose;
On her headstone you'll find this refrain:
"She died as she lived, sniffing cocaine."
Hop Song
("As reported by Judge Louis B. Hart")
Rich people now they don't take a drop,
They fill themselves up on cocaine or the hop.
Singing: Oh! Oh! Honey! Baby, won't you be mine?
Have a (sniff) on me!
Walked up Broadway down on Main,
Tried to dig up a dime to buy some cocaine.
Singing: Oh! Oh! Honey! Baby, won't you be mine?
Have a (sniff) on me!
Cocaine's for horses and it's not for men,
Doctor says 'twill kill you, but don't say when.
Singing: Oh! Oh! Honey! Baby, won't you be mine?
Have a (sniff) on me!
When I die bury me low,
Bury me deep in a nice bunch of snow.
Singing: Oh! Oh! Honey! Baby, won't you be mine?
Have a (sniff) on me!
("On the (sniff) the gesture of closing a nostril with one finger and
tapping the base of the other with another.")
--
Andrea Aldridge
Editor, "Lady Love: The Lady Washington Home Page"
http://www.ladywashington.org
Duke Wilson
Eric Brody (ebr...@netcom.com) wrote:
: Does anybody have, or have a source for, the lyrics to "Cocaine Bill and
: back to the 30s or even the 20s. The only verse I know is the following; I
: understand that there are many more:
: Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue
: Were strolling along the avenue
: Oh honey, have a (sniff), have a (sniff) on me
: Oh honey, have a (sniff) on me.
: TIA
: Eric
: --
: -- ebr...@netcom.com
: for PGP key, email with "send-PgpKey" as subject. A daemon will autoreply.
This is an old timey standard. You will find all manner of lyrics in any
collection of folk music. Just check out your local music store.
Duke
--
....................Duke...(by...@torfree.net)........................
...Oh that I could where I would be, then I would be where I am not...
..........Here am I where I must be, where I would, I cannot..........
Barry Biesanz
On Wed, 29 Oct 1997 15:31:23 GMT, ebr...@netcom.com (Eric Brody)
wrote:
>Does anybody have, or have a source for, the lyrics to "Cocaine Bill and
>Morphine Sue"? This is a song that was popular circa 1940 or so, but may date
>back to the 30s or even the 20s. The only verse I know is the following; I
>understand that there are many more:
>
>Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue
>Were strolling along the avenue
two by two
>Oh honey, have a (sniff), have a (sniff) on me
>Oh honey, have a (sniff) on me.
>
>TIA
This is in the New Lost
City Ramblers Songbook as 'Take a Drink on Me"
other verses I recall -
You keep on stallin'
Gonna make me think
That your daddy was a monkey
And your momma was an ape
Oh, Lordy, honey take a drink/one/whiff on me
chorus: Take a (pick one) on me /take a drink on me
all you rounders take a drink on me
oh, lawdy, honey take a drink on me
You see that gal/with a hobble on?
She's goodlooking/ just as sure's you're born
oh, lordy, honey take a drink on me (chorus)
One thing babe/ i never did understand
tahts a bowlegged woman/and a knock-kneed man etc.
>
>Eric
>--
> -- ebr...@netcom.com
>for PGP key, email with "send-PgpKey" as subject. A daemon will autoreply.
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