Old Joe Clark: lyrics & chords
Fred Bulger
I recently recorded a song on the radio called Old Joe Clark. I had
already learned to play the song on guitar from a tin whistle song-book,
and was surprised to hear that it had words. So I set to the task of writing
down all the words. This is what I came up with. The group I heard perform it
is called Barely Works, and they did a fabulous job - but there are a few points
where I haven't been able to make out what the singer is saying. Most notably
in the fifth verse. Anybody know for sure what the lyrics are ...
Also: Has anybody heard any other work by "Barely Works"? They "worked"
very well for me :)
And: Any other versions of this song?
Here's what I came up with:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OLD JOE CLARK
----------------
A
Old Joe Clark is mad at me
G
I'll tell you the reason why
A
I ran through his cabbage patch
G A
And tore up all his rye
Chorus:
~~~~~~~
A
Old Joe Clark
Joe Joe Clark
G
Goodbye Billie Brown
A
Old Joe Clark
Joe Joe Clark
G A
I'm gonna leave this town
I went down to Old Joe Clark's
To get me a glass of wine
He tied me up to his wooden post
And gave me forty-nine
Chorus:
~~~~~~
Well I went down to Old Joe Clark's
To get me a glass of gin
He pulled me apart, whippin' his horse
And gave me hell again
Chorus:
~~~~~~
I don't give a damn for Old Joe Clark
I'll tell you the reason why
He blows his nose in old corn bread
And calls it chicken pie
Chorus:
~~~~~~
Old Joe Clark and my horse
Are blow-down filthy popular
Run, then bolt, gun it to the fence
And drunk my liquor up
Chorus:
~~~~~~
Well Old Joe Clark is dead and gone
I hope he's gone to hell
He made me wear the ball and chain
Made my ankles swell
Chorus:
~~~~~~
--
Fred Bulger | 1-(902)-429-3057
6137 Charles St. | bul...@ug.cs.dal.ca
Halifax, Nova Scotia | fbu...@ac.dal.ca
CANADA B3l 1K8 | bul...@moon.sba.dal.ca
Nathan Tenny
Well, here's a wildly different version, as recorded by Jimmy Driftwood. The
chords are about the same as the posted ones.
Old Joe Clark's a rough old man,
Mean as he can be.
He knocked me down with his right hand,
And walked all over me.
Chorus:
Get out of the way for Old Joe Clark!
Hide that jug of wine.
Get out of the way for Old Joe Clark!
He's no friend of mine.
Old Joe Clark he used to be
The biggest bum in town
Till Andrew Johnson appointed him
The marshal of the town.
He's pull out the wine, he's pull out the breeze,
And you oughta hear him brag,
But all good rebels know that he's
A lowdown scalawag.
chorus
When Old Joe Clark comes to my door
He treats me like a pup.
He runs my bear dogs under the floor,
And drinks my whiskey up.
He puts his banjo in my hands
And tells me what to play;
Dances with my pretty little girl
Until the break of day.
chorus
Scott C DeLancey
>
> I recently recorded a song on the radio called Old Joe Clark. I had
>
>
Old Joe Clark was a preacher's son
He preached all over the plain
The only text he ever knew was high, low, jack and game
Old Joe Clark he had a house
Fourteen stories high
Every story in that house was filled with chicken pie
Old Joe had a yellow cat
She'd neither sing nor pray
She stuck her head in the buttermilk jar and washed her sins away
I'd never marry a widow
I'll tell you the reason why
She'd have so many children, she'd make them biscuits fly
I'd never marry an old maid, I'll tell you the reason why
Her neck's so long and stringy I'd be afraid she'd never die
I'd never marry a schoolteacher, I'll tell you the reason why
She blows her nose in old cornbread and calls it pumpkin pie
Sixteen horses in my team, the leaders they are blind
Every time the sun goes down, some pretty girl's on my mind
Etc., etc.
Scott DeLancey
Robert Derrick
"Morning Bugle" album (from his short-hair days).
Old Joe Clark was a preacher man
Preached all over the plain
Highest text he ever took
Was high, low, jack, and the game
He came down to my place
Showin' everyone his cards
Whispered low in his gambler's voice
It's really not too hard
He said
Git on down to Canaan brother
There's a lot of good things goin' down
With a little bit of luck and a couple of bucks
You can be down there when the glory rolls
Wake up brother, there's a new day a'comin'
And it hasn't got time to stop
If you got the bread, you can change your head
You can be down there when the glory rocks
.. and towards the end, he sings
Do you have a Orpheum Five-String
Twenty-eight and three-eighth's inch scale
I wish you'd write and let me know
If you have one for sale
.. and another "wanted" ad for a banjo with an "open back pot"
that I don't quite remember.
The tune is really different. Don't know if it was original
with John or if it is another Joe Clark variant, but I don't
believe that I've ever heard it anywhere's else.
--
rob derrick ro...@cherry.cray.com
Steve Goldfield
#>In article <C22E5...@cs.dal.ca> bul...@ug.cs.dal.ca (Fred Bulger) writes:
#>>
#>> I recently recorded a song on the radio called Old Joe Clark. I had
#>>
#>> And: Any other versions of this song?
#>>
#>Here are a few of the dozens of more-or-less standard verses:
#>
#>Old Joe Clark was a preacher's son
#>He preached all over the plain
#>The only text he ever knew was high, low, jack and game
Slight variation on the above, may be easier to sing:
Old Joe Clark, the preacher's son,
Preached all over the plain.
Only text he ever knew ...
Another verse:
Old Joe Clark's a fine old man.
I'll tell you the reason why.
Keeps good liquor round his house.
That good old rockin' rye.
There are lots of bawdy verses, too, and many choruses.
Two of the latter I like to sing include:
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark.
Fare thee well, I'm gone.
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark.
Time you're gettin' on.
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark.
Fare thee well, I say.
I'd travel 'bout ten thousand miles
To hear your banjo play. [can use fiddle instead of banjo]
Steve Goldfield :<{ {>: s...@hera.berkeley.edu
University of California at Berkeley Richmond Field Station
Daniel Rosenblum
Singers did a parody of it during World War II, with a refrain
that started "Round and round Hitler's grave", and that had stanzas
like "Hitler was a bastard, I'll tell you the reason why / Who would
be the father of such a lousy guy."
--
Daniel M. Rosenblum, Assistant Professor, Quantitative Studies Area,
Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University (Newark Campus)
ROSE...@DRACO.RUTGERS.EDU ROSE...@ZODIAC.BITnet
d...@andromeda.rutgers.edu ...!rutgers!andromeda.rutgers.edu!dmr
Daniel Rosenblum
(Steve Goldfield) writes, in the thread on verses to Old Joe Clark:
>Another verse:
>Old Joe Clark's a fine old man.
>I'll tell you the reason why.
>Keeps good liquor round his house.
>That good old rockin' rye.
That's "That good old rock 'n' rye", I'm pretty sure.
Rock & rye is rye whiskey with rock candy (crystallized
sugar) in it. It's an old standard drink. I've never
had it, so don't ask me what it's like.
2024h...@lasd.k12.pa.us
old joe clark
old joe clark, he had a house
sixteen stories high
every story in that house
round and round i say
round and round, old joe clark
ain't got long to stay
i went down to old joe's house
he invited me for supper
stubbed my toe on the table leg
and stuck my nose in butter
roll around, old joe clark
sail away and gone
roll around, old joe clark
with your golden slippers on
i went down to old joe's house
never been there before
he slept on a feather bed
i slept on the floor
round and round, old joe clark
round and round i say
round and round, old joe clark
ain't got long to stay
old joe clark he had a cow
she was muley born
it take a jaybird a week and a half
to fly from horn to horn
round and round, old joe clark
round and round i say
round and round, old joe clark
ain't got long to stay
fly around, old joe clark
fly around and gone
fly around, old joe clark
with your golden slippers on
when i was a little boy
i used to play with matches
now i am a great big boy
wearing dad's moustaches
round and round, old joe clark
round and round and gone
round and round, old joe clark
with your golden slippers on
round and round, old joe clark
round and round i say
round and round, old joe clark
ain't got long to stay