Bawdy songs and ballads tradition!
shay_t...@magic-sw.com
Hi All!
After having given workshops in Israel for years about the subject I have
lately started hearing a lot of people making comments that most of the
stuff I use is from the British Isles, Australia, and NZ, and very little
original American material.
I have realized that they actually have reasons to complain, since the
original American material I have is very poor, and I have lack of
knowledge regarding the issue regarding America.
My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
Are there any well known source book for this sort of material? any
accessible web site?
I would very much like to enhance my knowledge about the subject, of
course relating to American material.
Thanks and best regards
Shay Tochner
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Stephen Suffet
Dear Shay---
While it doesn't answer your questions, I thought you'd be
interested in this bawdy cyber-song that was composed by members of
this newsgroup earlier this year. It's called THE FOLKSINGERS' BALL,
and the tune is borrowed from the bawdy Scots classic, THE BALL OF
KERRYMUIR. Each stanza is followed by the traditional refrain (or some
reasonable variation thereof):
Wha hae ye lassie?
Wha hae ye noo?
The ane wha hae ye last time,
He canna hae ye noo!
1. The Clancy Brothers they were there,
Along with Tommy Makem.
They waved their Finnegans in the air,
But, alas, they could not wake 'em.
2. And Peter with his banjo,
Was pickin' until dawn.
Next morning all the lassies asked,
"Where have all our flowers gone?"
3. Oh, Ed McCurdy he was there,
But not the least obscene.
Compared to all the songs he sings,
This was exquisite clean.
4. Then Janis Ian she came in,
Her behavior was quite mild,
Although she is a grown-up now,
She's still "Society's Child."
5. Professor Child he came in,
But just to take a look,
And every variation,
He wrote down in his book.
6. Then next came Alan Lomax,
With his microphone,
He spent the night recording,
Every squeal and moan.
7. And the Earl of Scruggs he was there,
What do you think of that?
He had a little breakdown,
That left his Lester Flatt.
8. And Old Man Guthrie he was there,
He made the lassies coo,
"Oh, Woody, you are so long,
It's been good to know you, too!"
9. Oh, Huddie Ledbetter he was there,
He made the lassies squeal,
For his belly 'twas said was made of lead,
But his pride was tempered steel.
10. And Ewan MacColl he was there,
Explaining to a lass,
"I sing about the workin',
And not the firkin' class."
11. And McGuinn the Byrdie joined the fun,
He made the lassies yearn.
They stood in queue and one by one,
Each took her "Turn, Turn, Turn."
12. But little Arlo, I pray tell,
He didn't do no firkin',
'Cause he spent the night with A.O.L.,
On the Internet a-lurkin'.
13. And old Josh White he went bare,
A-prancin' through the hall,
Asking all the lassies there,
To taste his "One Meatball."
14. The Carter Family's drinking beer,
They were on a spree,
And every fifteen minutes,
They stopped to take A.P.
15. The singer-songwriters we saw,
Cavorting with their lovers,
Were singin' 'til their throats were raw,
But wouldn't do no covers.
16. Ed Cray had on a costume,
Inspired by the blues,
He dressed up as an old tomcat,
And gave erotic mews.
17. Said Berryman to Berryman,
"What _are_ they doing, dear?"
"Words fail me," answered Berryman,
"I see some mothers here."
18. If you went into the back room,
You might see Oscar Brand,
Working on a ballad,
With whatever came to hand.
19. Oh, Joanie Baez she was there,
Of non-violence she did speak,
So when a laddie humped her rump,
She turned the other cheek.
20. Don Laycock joined the company,
His face was rather red,
For when they'd introduced him,
There was no more to be said.
21. Tom Lehrer gave a lecture,
That had everybody scared.
He stood on the piano,
An shouted, "Be prepared!"
22. "I've madeira on my waistcoat,"
Poor Flanders said to Swann.
"It worked so well the first time!
Well, let's be getting on."
23. And Robert smiled aboon the crew,
And doun his voic cam ringin',
"For a' that, there are some owre fou,
But wha's owre fou for singin'?"
24. Well, Louie Killen he was there,
His back agin' the wall,
He squeezed and squeezed and squeezed and squeezed,
But it wouldna go in at all.
25. And Ali Anderson he was there,
But he knew what to do.
His 'tina wouldna fit, so,
He's usin' his chanter noo.
26. The Kingston Trio they came in,
The night was very young,
When each one dropped his pants to show,
How Tom Dooley hung.
27. Jean Ritchie she spent the night,
A-ticklin' on her zither,
And all the lads who watched her there,
Couldn't help but shake and shiver.
28. Paul and Mary they came in,
In private he did meet her,
They had a "Puff" of some magic stuff,
And then brought out his Peter.
29. The traditional singer's wife,
Was sighin', "Dear, oh dear!
He never performed a' his life,
Wi'out his finger in his ear."
30. No one was shocked when Cecil Sharp,
Winked at Lester Flatt.
It sacrcely seemed unnatural,
They they should have a chat.
31. Richard Dyer-Bennet,
Surprised everybody,
For his stones were like a baritone's,
But his voice a true castratti.
32. Bob Dylan kept his britches on,
So one would never know,
If his hung "Forever Young,"
Or on "Desolation Row."
33. But when he finally took 'em off,
How old Bobby grinned,
For all the gas that he passed,
Was "Blowing in the Wind."
34. Sid and Henry they were there,
A-makin' fast and free,
Though could not do that proper like,
But only parody.
35. Now Gordon Bok he came on down,
From Nor'east on the go.
When they asked him for his pleasure,
He answered, "Isle au Haut!"
36. Stan Rogers he was quick and sure,
And strong with what it takes,
But he wouldna take the lassies at a',
Not even "Between the Breaks."
37. Now k.d. lang she came and looked,
And said, "There's naught to fear,
From all these swinging blades afar,
If I can keep my Holly Near."
38. Lovely Hedy West was there,
Observin' with dismay,
After one quick peek she wished she were,
"Five Hundred Miles" away.
39. Dar Williams she stopped to give,
The older folkies hell,
But when they all exposed themselves,
Said, "My, You're Aging Well!"
40. Linda Ronstadt gave a smile,
And Jerry Brown did, too.
He sighed and said, "It's been a while,
Since I've been 'Blue Bayou.'"
41. Judy Collins told the gang,
"This has to be a joke.
Inviting me to this shebang,
When no longer do I folk!"
42. And Cecil Sharp was taking notes,
While watching all the fun,
He's never tried himself but he,
Knows all the way's it's done.
By mutual agreement of the authors, this song is now and forever in
the PUBLIC DOMAIN. No copyrights are claimed. Among those who con-
tributed or polished up verses are: Joseph C. Fineman, Eric Berge,
Sean Smith, Ada M. Prill, Donald Nichols, Abby Sale, Robert Derrick,
Leslie Evers, Barrie McCombs, and Stephen L. Suffet.
Enjoy it, and feel free to make up your own verses.
Regards from New York,
Steve Suffet
Frank Hamilton
Shay,
shay_t...@magic-sw.com wrote:
>My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
>American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
Don't know what you mean by BIG artists but there is an interesting
record recorded by Ed McCurdy accompanied by Erik Darling. I think
it's on an Elektra record or maybe the now defunct Riverside. Perhaps
someone knows about it.
>Are there any well known source book for this sort of material? any
>accessible web site?
There is a paperback songbook called "The Dirty Songbook". I'd have
to look it up.
Frank
Eric Berge
In Article<5pea4l$7...@camel2.mindspring.com>, <ham...@atl.mindspring.com>
writes:
> >My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
> >American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
>
> Don't know what you mean by BIG artists but there is an interesting
> record recorded by Ed McCurdy accompanied by Erik Darling. I think
> it's on an Elektra record or maybe the now defunct Riverside. Perhaps
> someone knows about it.
"When Dalliance Was in Flower", volumes I through III (EKL110, EKL140,
and EKL160, respectively).
Not, to my knowledge, in print; however, some of the same material is
covered on the the Baltimore Consort CD, "The Art of the Bawdy Song", on
Dorian Recordings DOR-90155.
Eric Berge
edb...@ibm.net
Gail Buente
On Wed, 2 Jul 1997 shay_t...@magic-sw.com wrote:
> After having given workshops in Israel for years about the subject I have
> lately started hearing a lot of people making comments that most of the
> stuff I use is from the British Isles, Australia, and NZ, and very little
> original American material.
> My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
> American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
>
> I would very much like to enhance my knowledge about the subject, of
> course relating to American material.
>
Shay:
First you have to understand that in America, they don't have bawdy songs,
because (sadly) Americans are not bawdy by nature....they are instead
naturally either *naughty* or *nasty* and therefore they create naughty &
nasty songs. The naughty songs are (in general) what the white folks sing,
and the nasty ones (often blues or rap) are what the black folks sing.
(just my own opinion -- I *know* somebody's gonna jump on this!)
GB
Kevin Sheils
Eric Berge wrote:
>
> In Article<5pea4l$7...@camel2.mindspring.com>, <ham...@atl.mindspring.com>
> writes:
>
> > >American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
> >
> > record recorded by Ed McCurdy accompanied by Erik Darling. I think
> > it's on an Elektra record or maybe the now defunct Riverside. Perhaps
> > someone knows about it.
>
> "When Dalliance Was in Flower", volumes I through III (EKL110, EKL140,
> and EKL160, respectively).
>
I believe it was also subtitled "....and maidens lost their heads."
Paul M. Gifford
>After having given workshops in Israel for years about the subject I have
>lately started hearing a lot of people making comments that most of the
>stuff I use is from the British Isles, Australia, and NZ, and very little
>original American material.
Most of the singers of this material are amateurs (teenagers), also a lot
of older men. I know a lot of dirty songs learned from these older
men, but it would be unimaginable to do a workshop of these!! Maybe
a "workshop" could happen with a few people swapping them while standing in
the dark and sipping whiskey. The traditional songs are
pretty vulgar, intended for male listeners and definitely not appreciated by
genteel audiences.
>Are there any well known source book for this sort of material? any
>accessible web site?
Ed Cray's _Erotic Muse_ is the standard. He is also online on occasion.
>I would very much like to enhance my knowledge about the subject, of
>course relating to American material.
I used to know a guy named Bill Bigford, who knew a lot of old, dirty songs.
After posting some of them, Ed Cray thought they were unusual for their
age and old style, and one of them, he says, he identified as published
in 1719 but not since!
Some of them thus are of British origin. A lot are four-stanza rhymes to
common tunes like "Irish Washerwoman," "Turkey in the Straw," etc.,
like:
Oh Sally, oh Sally, oh Sally, come quick
To see the wild Irishman skinning his prick
It's as long as your arm and as big as your wrist
And the knob on the end is as big as your fist.
or (to "Old Rosin the Bow"):
Monroe is a beautiful creature
Just ninety-nine feet in the hole
She fucked herself with a fork handle
And run the tines up her asshole.
Then there are later parodies to tunes like "Red Wing," "Silver Threads Among
the Gold," "Finiculi, Finicula," etc.
Paul Gifford
PAULSBANJO
>>>shay_t...@magic-sw.com wrote:
>
> Hi All!
>
> After having given workshops in Israel for years about the subject I
have
> lately started hearing a lot of people making comments that most of the
> stuff I use is from the British Isles, Australia, and NZ, and very
little
> original American material.
>
> I have realized that they actually have reasons to complain, since the
> original American material I have is very poor, and I have lack of
> knowledge regarding the issue regarding America.
>
> My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
> American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
>
> Are there any well known source book for this sort of material? any
> accessible web site?
>
> I would very much like to enhance my knowledge about the subject, of
> course relating to American material.
>
> Thanks and best regards
>
> Shay Tochner
>
One Book is "Roll Me Over" put out by
Oak Publications
A division of Embassy Music Corp.
33 West 60th St.
N Y N Y 10023
Music Sales Ltd.
78 Newman St.
London, W1E 4JZ
It was published in 1972 & when I finally noticed, after owning a
copy for a while it was etited by an old friend of mine - Harry Babad
Paul Schoenwetter
Abby Sale
On Wed, 02 Jul 1997 02:11:24 -0600, shay_t...@magic-sw.com wrote:
>After having given workshops in Israel for years about the subject I have
>lately started hearing a lot of people making comments that most of the
>stuff I use is from the British Isles, Australia, and NZ, and very little
>original American material.
>
>I have realized that they actually have reasons to complain, since the
>original American material I have is very poor, and I have lack of
>knowledge regarding the issue regarding America.
>
>My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
>American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
>
>Are there any well known source book for this sort of material? any
>accessible web site?
>
My sympathies. But be _sure_ to see my "Happy" post for July 3rd.
Books are easy - there's many. Check Library of Congress catalog under
"erotic." But, especially, for scholarly works there are altogether only
three so far. Cray, Legman/Randolph & Logsden. It's amazing to me that
there are no genuine works on, eg, sailing songs (no, none at all - just
pretend stuff) logging, camp fire - whatever.
Records are very rare other then Negro blues. Only there are there frank
& open sexual references. There are a number of these, especially the
female vocalists - of those currently working, perhaps only Koko Taylor.
The folk records are, like Brand, mostly expurgated & most often more
bawdy in the album title then in what remains of the actual songs. There
are many mildly erotic or veiled or suggestive songs on record, but I
didn't think you were asking about those. However, in the 1990's,
finally, some of the great wealth of American bawdy material, long
suppressed, is seeing the light. Keep the faith.
A few stabs:
Songs my mother never taught me. {Sound recording} {n.p.} Harold E.
WhiteRecords CSS 43. {1973} p. 2 s. 12 in. 33 1/3 rpm. stereophonic.LC
Bawdy barracks ballads. {Sound recording} {n.p.} ABC-Paramount ABCS
245,{1958-} p. slipcases ( s.) 12 in. 33 1/3 rpm
Some books:
The Erotic Muse; Compiled and Edited by Ed Cray (Get the Second edition
only) U of Illinois Press; 1992, ISBN: 0-252-01781-1 (This is _the_
classic scholarly work on American bawdry. All the songs you wanted plus
derivatives plus tunes plus historical basis & even Child references. I
bought it for cash money. Can't recommend it too highly.)
Guy Logsdon, _Whorehouse Bells Are Ringing._ It's a really fine, truely
scholarly work of bawdy cowboy song. He does a fine job putting it in
context & researching the songs. U of Illinois Press
Hopkins' Songs from the Front and Rear (a Canadian collection of WWI and
WWII material. Not all bawdy,
Silverman, Jerry.The dirty song book New York Stein and Day, 1982. ix
p.,174 p. of music: ill. ; 28 cm.LC CALL NUMBER: M1977.B38 S54
1982SUBJECTS:Bawdy songs.LCCN: 80-6205
Randolph, Vance, 1892- (Edited by G Legman, himself) Unprintable Ozark
folksongs and folklore/ Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press,
1992. 2 v. : music ; 29cm.LC CALL NUMBER: PS477.5.B37 R36 1992
(This is the master book - we waited 50 years for it)
_Roll Me Over_ by Harry Babad
Oak Publications, no date given
108 songs with complete lyrics, melodies and chords.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---
I am Abby Sale - abby...@orlinter.com (That's in Orlando)
PAULSBANJO
>>>>The naughty songs are (in general) what the white folks sing,
and the nasty ones (often blues or rap) are what the black folks sing.
(just my own opinion -- I *know* somebody's gonna jump on this!)
GB>>>>
You mean like
"Keep on trucking, mama, trucking my blues away
Keep on trucking, mama, trucking my blues away
Well the front doors shut and the back door too
Blind's pulled down, what you gonna do
Keep on trucking, mama, trucking my blues away."
The rest might get my tosed
Paul Schoenwetter
Zebee Johnstone
On 4 Jul 1997 07:16:29 GMT, PAULSBANJO <pauls...@aol.com> wrote:
>>>>>The naughty songs are (in general) what the white folks sing,
>and the nasty ones (often blues or rap) are what the black folks sing.
>
>(just my own opinion -- I *know* somebody's gonna jump on this!)
>
Hmm.. like
"One eyed cat now, peeping in a seafood store
One eyed cat now, peeping in a seafood store
One taste of your sweet thing girl, well you know I'll be back for more."
A measure of naivety that I understood the verses of Good Ship
Venus before I realised what that verse was about...
--
Zebee Johnstone (ze...@zip.com.au) Proud holder of aus.motorcycles Poser Permit #1.
"You don't own an Italian motorcycle
- you merely have the privilege of paying its bills."
Abby Sale
>
>>My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
>>American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
>
>Don't know what you mean by BIG artists but there is an interesting
>record recorded by Ed McCurdy accompanied by Erik Darling. I think
>it's on an Elektra record or maybe the now defunct Riverside. Perhaps
>someone knows about it.
I'd definitely call McCurdy BIG. Even _BIG_! But _Dalliance_ comes
mostly from _Pills to Purge Melancholy_ and is thus English. There's
Richard Dyer-Bennet's _1601_, however. The flip side had several genuine
American bawdy songs.
Frank Hamilton
Gail,
I must respectfully disagree.
Gail Buente <gabu...@vcn.bc.ca> wrote:
> Shay:
>First you have to understand that in America, they don't have bawdy songs,
>because (sadly) Americans are not bawdy by nature....they are instead
>naturally either *naughty* or *nasty* and therefore they create naughty &
>nasty songs. The naughty songs are (in general) what the white folks sing,
>and the nasty ones (often blues or rap) are what the black folks sing.
I would call the songs that the early blues musicians in the African
American music tradition "earthy" songs and not intended to be nasty.
This translates to the use of the word "bawdy" perhaps. The party
blues were intended to be fun and I find a lack of "nasty" references
in the music of African Americans. In the black community, there
appears to be a more casual less up-tight attitude toward sexuality
and the preoccupation with sex being dirty is a phenomenon associated
with the Anglo Saxon Protestant based culture.
Cordially,
Frank Hamilton
Eric Berge
In Article<33c04783...@snews2.zippo.com>, <abby...@orlinter.com> writes:
> Some books:
> The Erotic Muse;
> Guy Logsdon, _Whorehouse Bells Are Ringing._
> Hopkins' Songs from the Front and Rear
> The dirty song book
> Unprintable Ozark folksongs and folklore
Well, the bank can wait a bit on the mortgage. I'm off to the bookstore...
Eric Berge
edb...@ibm.net
jer...@nonet.att.co.kr
On Wed, 2 Jul 1997 20:19:51 -0700, Gail Buente <gabu...@vcn.bc.ca> wrote:
>On Wed, 2 Jul 1997 shay_t...@magic-sw.com wrote:
>
>> After having given workshops in Israel for years about the subject I have
>> lately started hearing a lot of people making comments that most of the
>> stuff I use is from the British Isles, Australia, and NZ, and very little
>> original American material.
>
>> My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
>> American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
Please excuse the fact that I'm replying to a reply instead of the
original. My server has an inadequacy problem.
There is/was a mail list - I don't know if it's still up. It doesn't
appear to have been very active lately, but then I haven't subscribed to it
(yet).
Directions:
e-mail to sk...@direct.ca
Subject: Bawdy.Net
In body: subscribe Bawdy.Net your_name, your_city, your_state (or
country) Commas are necessary.
You can also get some of the "collages" if you go to AltaVista and do a
search for "Bawdy.Net".
Hope you "get lucky" ;-)
Jeri
Anti-Spam Alert
Please replace "nonet" with "inet" in my address when replying.
Andrea M. Aldridge
PAULSBANJO wrote:
>
> >>>shay_t...@magic-sw.com wrote:
> > My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
> > American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
> One Book is "Roll Me Over" put out by
> Oak Publications
> A division of Embassy Music Corp.
> 33 West 60th St.
> N Y N Y 10023
>
> Music Sales Ltd.
> 78 Newman St.
> London, W1E 4JZ
> It was published in 1972 & when I finally noticed, after owning a
> copy for a while it was etited by an old friend of mine - Harry Babad
> Paul Schoenwetter
In addition, "The Erotic Muse" compiled and edited by Ed Cray, came out originally as a
not-so-little red paperback in 1968, was re-released with a lurid cover as "Bawdy
Ballads" in the early 90's, and was finally re-released as a hardcover version of its
original later in the decade. It might still be in print in that format; I only have the
original, which is ISBN 0-515-02801-0 and published by
Pyramid Special Books
Pyramid Communications, Inc.
919 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10022
God's own new-and-used bookstore, Powell's City of Books (http://www.powells.com) is
where I've found most of my collection, including "The Erotic Muse," and I know I've
seen the more current version on their shelves. Check it out.
jer...@nonet.att.co.kr
>In addition, "The Erotic Muse" compiled and edited by Ed Cray, came out originally as a
>not-so-little red paperback in 1968, was re-released with a lurid cover as "Bawdy
>Ballads" in the early 90's, and was finally re-released as a hardcover version of its
>original later in the decade. It might still be in print in that format; I only have the
>original, which is ISBN 0-515-02801-0 and published by
>
>Pyramid Special Books
>Pyramid Communications, Inc.
>919 Third Ave.
>New York, NY 10022
>
>God's own new-and-used bookstore, Powell's City of Books (http://www.powells.com) is
>where I've found most of my collection, including "The Erotic Muse," and I know I've
>seen the more current version on their shelves. Check it out.
I have heard rumblings of a new version. Don't know much other than Ed
Cray was out and about gathering info, but I don't think the book is a
"dinosaur" just yet.
Maybe Steve could send him "The Folksingers' Ball" - then we could get to
work on "The Folksingers' Other Ball". (the version with "if you haven't
been folked on a saturday night...")
Gerry Myerson
I haven't seen any mention in this thread of the 1981 album,
Just Something My Uncle Told Me:
Blaggardy Folk Songs from the Southern United States
Rounder 0141
Produced & recorded by Mark Wilson & Lou Curtiss
Annotated by Mark Wilson
The singers include Glenn Ohrlin, Jim Garland, Julius Sorel, Buford Pippin,
and George Bernard. Only the first two names mean anything to me, but I
suppose that says more about me than it does about them. The record was
released in 1981; I think many of the recordings were made much earlier.
I'd classify most of the material on the album as "dirty" rather than
"bawdy", and rather juvenile, but de gustibus and all that.
Enjoy, or not, as the case may be.
Gerry Myerson (ge...@mpce.mq.edu.au)
Stephen Suffet
Greetings---
Actually my favorite American bawdy song is one I learned at Camp
Towanda near Honesdale, Pennsylvania, some forty years ago. We sang it
as "Bang, Bang, Rosie!" at Towanda, although it's usually known as
"Bang, Bang, Lulu!"
The gimmick is to leave the last word of every stanza unsung, and
then dive straight into the following chorus:
Bang, bang, Lulu!
Lulu bangs all day.
Who's gonna bang for Lulu,
When Lulu goes away?
Here are a few samples:
1. Lulu had a bicycle,
The seat was made of glass,
And every time she pedaled,
A piece went up her...
2. Lulu had two boyfriends,
Both were very rich,
One was the son of a banker,
And the other was a son of a...
3. Lulu went to a ballgame,
She had a seat up front,
Along came a fly ball,
And flew right up her...
4. Lulu had a boyfriend,
His name was Diamond Dick,
She never saw his diamond,
She only saw his...
5. Lulu ate her supper,
It went right to her heart,
And half an hour later,
She laid a great big...
Oh, yes, the humor is very childish. But that's what makes the
song so delightful: it is a true children's song. As far as I know,
the verses were created and transmitted by children, and by children
alone. I don't recall any commercial recordings. :-) Maybe there's
some A&R person out there looking for new material? :-)
Would anyone like to add some verses from his/her own memory to
this thread?
Joseph C Fineman
Stephen Suffet <Suf...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
>Greetings---
> Actually my favorite American bawdy song is one I learned at
>Camp Towanda near Honesdale, Pennsylvania, some forty years ago. We
>sang it as "Bang, Bang, Rosie!" at Towanda, although it's usually
>known as "Bang, Bang, Lulu!"
> The gimmick is to leave the last word of every stanza unsung, and
>then dive straight into the following chorus:
[...]
> Would anyone like to add some verses from his/her own memory to
>this thread?
The version I heard at Caltech in the '50s did not have stanzas on
that pattern. It began
Some girls work in fact'ries,
Some girls work in stores,
But Lulu works in the alley
With fourteen other whores.
& continued in that vein.
--- Joe Fineman j...@world.std.com
||: Love like Matter is much :||
||: Odder than we thought. :||
Stephen Suffet
Dear Joe---
At Camp Towanda the directors would ground a kid from half a day
of activities for cursing. I guess Caltech didn't have the same rule.
:-) That's probably what accounts for the difference! :-)
Regards again,
Steve
Paul J. Stamler
To return to the bawdy songs and ballads...A.L.Lloyd, with Anne Briggs,
Frankie Armstrong and friends, recorded a marvellous LP of *English*
bawdy songs, which has been re-released (with bonus cuts by Louis Killen,
among others) on Topic. It's called "The Bird in the Bush". Also
British, "The Erotic Muse" features Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger and
friends from the Critics' Group (I think); it was on Argo back in the
60s, and is now way the hell out of print. Deserves bringing back.
Back in the USA, the New Lost City Bang Boys released a 4-song EP of
bawdy material back in the 1960s, on Folkways; one of the songs is "Bang,
Bang Lulu". Another, "My Sweet Farm Girl", made it onto the "Vol. 1"
anthology CD on Smithsonian/Folkways. I disremember the title of the EP,
and it doesn't seem to have made it into the "Whole Folkways Catalog".
Columbia released a CD of raunchy blues called "Raunchy Business". Stash
had several LPs of party records and other underground material out, but
I don't know the in-print status of those.
Going farther back, the Sweet Violet Boys (a pseudonym for the Prairie
Ramblers, I've been told) put out a lot of double-entendre 78s
overground, on Decca. Not reissued to my knowledge.
David Diehl has compiled a discography of party records. It's called "The
Blue Pages".
Peace.
Paul
Abby Sale
> Actually my favorite American bawdy song is one I learned at Camp
>Towanda near Honesdale, Pennsylvania, some forty years ago. We sang it
>as "Bang, Bang, Rosie!" at Towanda, although it's usually known as
>"Bang, Bang, Lulu!"
>
Sadly, at Camp Equinunk near Honesdale, Pennsylvania, some forty years
ago, we sang just the usual banal songs. But "Lulu" has a great history
and, in its many guises, is one of the most often collected American
bawdy songs. _The Erotic Muse_ gives it 14 pages, Randolph found many in
the Ozarks and RW Gordon's _Inferno_ collection lists a few. Even that
"Happy!" guy used a parlor version on Christmas Day.
MIS Department
Jim Croce recorded "The Ball of Kerimure"(sp.?), written by Robert Burns,
on a live album.
::::snip:::::
> My question: Have any BIG artists, except for Oscar Brand, recorded
> American bawdy songs (even more bold and explicit) ?
>
:::::snip:::::
ghost
In article <5q4red$r99$1...@nnrp1.crl.com> Paul J. Stamler <psta...@crl8.crl.com> writes:
->To return to the bawdy songs and ballads...A.L.Lloyd, with Anne Briggs,
->Frankie Armstrong and friends, recorded a marvellous LP of *English*
->bawdy songs, which has been re-released (with bonus cuts by Louis Killen,
->among others) on Topic. It's called "The Bird in the Bush". Also
->British, "The Erotic Muse" features Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger and
->friends from the Critics' Group (I think); it was on Argo back in the
->60s, and is now way the hell out of print. Deserves bringing back.
Its on CD, with some additional tracks. I'll look the label up.
Paul J. Stamler
MIS Department <spe...@link2000.net> wrote:
: Jim Croce recorded "The Ball of Kerimure"(sp.?), written by Robert Burns,
: on a live album.
And so did Richard Dyer-Bennet, on "1601", issued after his retirement on
Dyer-Bennet Records. (Wonder if Rounder will reissue *that* one?) He used
the title "The Gatherin' of the Clan". He also did five other
more-or-less bawdy songs on this disc.
Peace.
Paul
Joseph C Fineman
"MIS Department" <spe...@link2000.net> writes:
> "The Ball of Kerimure"(sp.?), written by Robert Burns,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kirriemuir No.
--- Joe Fineman j...@world.std.com
||: We only of Creation (Oh, luckier bridge and rail!) :||
||: Abide the twin-damnation -- To fail and know we fail. :||
bob hunter
The verses I learned in elementary school in the late 50s were:
Lulu had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell.
The steamboat went to Heaven,
And Lulu went to
Hello, operator,
Please give me number 9
And if you disconnect me,
I'll kick you in the
Behind the door in Lulu's room
There was a piece of glass
Lulu sat upon it
And it went up her
Ask me no more questions,
I'll tell you no more lies.
The boys are in the bathroom
Pulling up their
Flies in the buttermilk
Shoo, fly, shoo (repeat 3 times with traditional melody)
And that was the end of Lulu-Lu.
Each verse shares its final word with the first word of the next
verse.
This was a variant on Bang Bang, Lulu! Another verse we sang to that
was:
Lulu had a brother
His name was Tiny Tim
She put him in the pee-pot
To see if he could swim.
Bang, bang, Lulu (etc.)
Really pitiful that I can still remember this but not what I did last
week!
Elyse Eisner
Steallight
Welcome to middle age. Now, me, I can remember bawdy songs from the
middle ages but not songs from the last two decades. ( one of the better
benefits of growing older I guess) Thank God for tapes
stev
Happily dancing in the Phil Zone and scattering Garcia Ashes!
S Lenon ( for anyone who gives a damn)
Frank Hamilton
Joe,
Bet there's quite a few verses out there that Bobby Burns never heard.
:)
Cordially,
Frank
Paul M. Gifford
> Actually my favorite American bawdy song is one I learned at Camp
>Towanda near Honesdale, Pennsylvania, some forty years ago. We sang it
>as "Bang, Bang, Rosie!" at Towanda, although it's usually known as
>"Bang, Bang, Lulu!"
> The gimmick is to leave the last word of every stanza unsung, and
>then dive straight into the following chorus:
>Bang, bang, Lulu!
>Lulu bangs all day.
>Who's gonna bang for Lulu,
>When Lulu goes away?
>Here are a few samples:
>1. Lulu had a bicycle,
> The seat was made of glass,
> And every time she pedaled,
> A piece went up her...
>2. Lulu had two boyfriends,
> Both were very rich,
> One was the son of a banker,
> And the other was a son of a...
I've got a "party" 78 with this line; it's a dirty version of the "Darby Ram."
Same missing last word, too,.
>3. Lulu went to a ballgame,
> She had a seat up front,
> Along came a fly ball,
> And flew right up her...
>4. Lulu had a boyfriend,
> His name was Diamond Dick,
> She never saw his diamond,
> She only saw his...
>5. Lulu ate her supper,
> It went right to her heart,
> And half an hour later,
> She laid a great big...
> Would anyone like to add some verses from his/her own memory to
>this thread?
OK.
I wish I was a diamond ring
Upon my Lulu's hand
And every time she'd take a leak
I'd see her promised land.
My Lulu was arrested,
Ten dollars was her fine
She said to the judge "God damn your soul,
Take it out of this old ass of mine"
I wish I was a shithouse rat
Running on a hardwood floor
Every time she'd take a leak
I'd see a little more
(Alternating choruses):
Oh, it's bang away, my Lulu,
Bang away good and strong
Where you gonna get your bangin'
When my Lulu's dead and gone
Oh, it's bang away, my Lulu,
Bang away good and stout
Where're you gonna get your bangin'
When my Lulu's all banged out.
This version is from the late Bill Bigford, of Portland, MI, who knew a large
number of old songs. I heard a camp group in the '70s sing this one too,
although a different version.
Paul Gifford
A.J. Davis
Except that Lloyd specifically differentiates the material
on Bird in the Bush from the bawdy saying that these songs
are not the kind of bawdy material found in barrack rooms
and rugby clubs.
Andrew Davis
University of Leeds, Yorkshire
England, LS2 9JT UK
a.j....@uk.ac.leeds
Mary Creasey
Version I learned in college:
Bang, bang, Lulu
Lulu's gone away;
Who we gonna bang-bang
Now that Lulu's gone away?
Lulu had a boyfriend,
His name was Tommy Tucker;
He took her in the bedroom
To see if he could...
Lulu had a turtle
Lulu had a duck;
She put 'em in the bathtub
To see of they would...
Lulu had a boyfriend
His name was Jungle Jim
She tossed him in the river
To see if he could swim. [no chorus]
Jim couldn't swim--
He headed for the falls;
Lulu caught him just in time
Right by the...
And that was about 25 years ago...
Mary the Filker
Stephen Suffet
Mary Creasey wrote:
> Version I learned in college:
>
> Bang, bang, Lulu
> Lulu's gone away;
> Who we gonna bang-bang
> Now that Lulu's gone away?
>
> Lulu had a boyfriend,
> His name was Tommy Tucker;
> He took her in the bedroom
> To see if he could...
>
> Lulu had a turtle
> Lulu had a duck;
> She put 'em in the bathtub
> To see of they would...
>
> Lulu had a boyfriend
> His name was Jungle Jim
> She tossed him in the river
> To see if he could swim. [no chorus]
>
> Jim couldn't swim--
> He headed for the falls;
> Lulu caught him just in time
> Right by the...
>
> And that was about 25 years ago...
>
> Mary the Filker
Dear Mary---
If you really are a filker, then maybe you know some "Lulu had a
spaceship..." verses. To wit:
Lulu had a spaceship,
The spaceship had a bell,
The spaceship went to heaven,
And Lulu went to ...
Lulu had a spaceship,
She flew it up to Venus,
There she met an alien,
With a ten-foot ...
Lulu had a spaceship,
It was very hot,
So she flew it out to Pluto,
And nearly froze her ...
Lulu had a spaceship,
It flew just like a bird,
But in outer space she hit her face,
On a great big weightless ...
I'm certain you can provide us with some others.
Regards again,
Steve
m andrews
>
>
> Really pitiful that I can still remember this but not what I did last
> week!
>
> Elyse Eisner
In northern Ohio I learned several variants of these songs. Oddly
enough, Lulu turned into Miss Lucy in all the versions I learned.
One version was almost the same as ones above, with the exception of the
name; I can't remember the verses enough to know how they differed.
We used another version as a rhyme for a hand clapping game:
Miss Lucy had a baby,
She named him Tiny Tim.
She put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water,
He ate up all the soap.
He tried to eat the bathtub,
But it wouldn't go down his throat!
Miss Lucy called the doctor,
Miss Lucy called the nurse.
Miss Lucy called the lady
With the alligator purse.
[chanted mock seriously]
Out walked the doctor!
Out walked the nurse!
Out walked the lady with the alligator purse!
[Then we would flop over backwards and giggle hysterically.]
The third version I learmned seems to be a combination of "Lulu" and
"The Darby Ram":
In Derbytown, in Derbytown
Two men were digging a ditch.
One was the son of an Irishman,
The other the son of a(n)
Operator, operator,
Get me number nine!
And if you disconnect me,
I'll kick you from
Behind the 'fridgerator,
There was a piece of glass.
Miss Lucy slipped upon it,
And broke her little
Ask me no more questions,
I'll tell you no more lies,
For if you go to Derbytown,
You'll learn the same as I!
Abby Sale
> Actually my favorite American bawdy song is one I learned at Camp
>Towanda near Honesdale, Pennsylvania, some forty years ago. We sang it
>as "Bang, Bang, Rosie!" at Towanda, although it's usually known as
>"Bang, Bang, Lulu!"
>
Some verses from the RW Gordon Collection, (#1109, "Adventure") at the
Library of Congress -- It was one of his most-collected songs:
From Mr William F. Burroughs in Mount Ranier, Maryland (1925):
Oh, Lulu was arrested
Ten dollars was the fine,
She said to the judge you son of a bitch
Take it out of this ass of mine.
Oh bang away on Lulu
Oh bang her good and strong,
For what are you gonna do for your banging
When Lulu's dead and gone?
Oh Lulu went to the football game
The football made a punt.
The half back made a miss
And it went up Lulu's cunt.
Oh Lulu went to the circus
To see what she could see
Oh she got stuck on Jumbo's nuts
And wouldn't come home with me.
Oh Lulu had a baby,
She called him Sunny Dick
She couldn't call it Lulu
Cause it didn't have no -----.
(Interesting that Mr Burroughs felt that "prick" was a taboo word but
"cunt" wasn't. Sort of implies a British origin. The sparse notes give
that Burroughs learned songs in Manchester, England & also aboard the USS
_Intrepid_. I don't have any other bio - the writer and the adding
machine guy were both William S. Barnum brought Jumbo to America in
1882, it was killed in 1885.)
sincla...@gmail.com
City girls used Oil,
Country girls used Lard,
Lulu uses Axle Grease,
And gets it twice as hard!