The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #76884 Message #3870830
Posted By: Joe Offer
10-Aug-17 - 03:07 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Hallelujah I'm a Bum
Subject: ADD Version: Hallelujah I'm a Bum
I came across the 1928 Harry McClintock recording this evening.
HALLELUJAH! I'M A BUM
Rejoice and be glad, for the springtime has come,
We can throw down our shovels and go on the bum.
CHORUS
Hallelujah, I'm a bum; Hallelujah, a bum again;
Hallelujah, give us a handout to revive us again.
The springtime has come, and I'm just out of jail,
Without any money, without any bail.
I went to a house, and I rapped on the door,
And the lady says, "Bum, bum, you've been here before!"
I like Jim Hill, he's a good friend of mine,
That is why I am hiking down Jim Hill's mainline.
I went to a house, and I asked for some bread,
And the lady says, "Bum, bum, the baker is dead!"
Why don't you work like other men do?
Now, how can I work when there's no work to do?
Why don't you save all the money you earn?
If I didn't eat, I'd have money to burn.
I don't like work, and work don't like me,
And that is the reason I am so hungry.
Harry McClintock recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uKbIkYGsIg
James Hill was chief executive of the Great Northern Railway