Subject: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,Dianne Date: 10 Nov 00 - 02:33 PM My Dad is looking for the lyrics to this song. I believe it was written by T P Westendorf. I have searched the net unsuccessfully so far. Thanks in advance for any assistance. |
Subject: Lyr Add: WATERMELON HANGING ON THE VINE From: Bud Savoie Date: 10 Nov 00 - 10:17 PM From memory:
See that watermelon, shining through the fence.
CHORUS: Oh, hambone am sweet, chicken am good,
I went to get that melon, it was on a Saturday night. CHORUS: Oh, hambone am sweet, &c. |
Subject: Lyr Add: WATERMELON HANGING ON THE VINE From: Night Owl Date: 10 Nov 00 - 10:47 PM Verses I learned are: You can talk about your peaches Your apples and your pears Your cinnamon hanging on the cinnamon tree (???) But of all the fruit my honey Of all that fruit that grows That watermelon is the one for me Chorus (same as Bud's but with "Possum meat instead of rabbit) And when I went to fetch it Was on a winter's night The moon as yet had not begun to shine When that farmer saw me, he shot me through the head I never got that melon from the vine. repeat chorus
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: Barbara Date: 11 Nov 00 - 01:28 AM 'Simmons, dear, (persimmons), and this was the one I was NOT posting when we were talking about Gypsy songs, and how derogatory 'Mrs. Stein' was. I learned the whole thing in heavy dialect [at church camp 40 years ago], with your first verse, Bud's first as the second with "Dat wite man mus'be crazy, he sure ain't got no sense or he'd nebber leave dat melon on de vine, And the last lines of the last verse "But Oh dat white man saw me, an' shot me tru de fence (or pants), but I nebber lef' dat melon on de vine. Chorus also has a lip smacking sound, as I recall, at the end of the first two phrases, and I'm sure this has some historical significance that escapes me at the moment, but it's right up there with 'Little Black Sambo', 'Aunt Jemima' and 'My Dear ol' Mammy'. Blessings, Barbara |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: Jim Dixon Date: 14 Nov 00 - 03:04 PM "The Watermelon Smiling On The Vine," Thomas P. Westendorf, ©1882. Here is a page where you can hear a recording made by Sam Bell in 1939: Click here. It's part of American Memory from the Library of Congress, which looks like a very useful website. I plan to bookmark it. This seems to be a field recording which would be very hard to transcribe, but if you end up learning any more lyrics from it, please post them here. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,dbruce@cswnet.com Date: 11 May 02 - 12:01 PM I recently ran across a Stoneman's recording of "Watermelon Smiling on the Vine". I was able to decipher most of the words, but need help on a couple of lines (???). The recording has great Clawhammer banjo accompaniment. I have posted it on my server @: http://www.cswnet.com/~dbruce/other/watermelon.zip It's in mp3 format. I've also posted just the words @: http://www.cswnet.com/~dbruce/other/watermelon.htm I know this is a pretty old post, but can anyone fill in the gaps?
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: wysiwyg Date: 11 May 02 - 01:19 PM i BET IT HAS FLOATING/ZIPPER VERSES (HAH, A FLOATING ZIPPER, FUNNY!). oh damn capslock! (Lok at the screen when you type dummy, not the keys!!!!!) Anyway if it does have floaters, there will never be THE one, right version, and it would then also be likely that the peson holding the copyright just happens to be the one that got a copyright slapped on it first-- even as minstrelsy, it may have been around in the vernacular long before that, with any old verse sneaking in there on any given occasion. But I like it! ~S~ |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: Jim Dixon Date: 13 May 02 - 11:54 AM The All Music Guide lists the following recordings:
"Watermelon Hangin' on a Vine" recorded by Snuffy Jenkins on "Pioneer of the Bluegrass Banjo" Arhoolie CD #9027, 1998. |
Subject: Lyr Add: WATERMELON SMILING ON THE VINE From: Jim Dixon Date: 13 May 02 - 01:07 PM I had another crack at that Library of Congress field recording, and this is what I came up with:
Oh, see that watermelon smiling through the fence
CHO: Oh the ham is sweet and the bacon good
Oh, when the day drew dark and fallen then that melon's gwine to go |
Subject: Lyr Add: WATERMELON SONG & WATERMELON ON THE VINE From: Jim Dixon Date: 13 May 02 - 01:56 PM Here are 2 versions that illustrate how a song can be purged of its offensive elements without sacrificing any of its appeal. 1. Lyrics copied from http://www.fieldcamp.net/music.htm (a bunch of camp songs) THE WATERMELON SONG
CHO: Hambone is sweet. Chicken is good.
And when I went to fetch it, it was a rainy night
There's a little girl who lives down the holler from me.
My daddy made a livin' a-diggin' that coal,
Well, fall days are pristine, and winter ain't so bad, [*This line is a lie, though. Poor people eat possum because they need the nourishment, not because they like it. –JD] 2. Lyrics copied from http://www.nsknet.or.jp/~motoya/W/Watermelon_on_the_vine.html WATERMELON ON THE VINE
See that watermelon a-hanging on the fence.
CHO: Hambone it is sweet. Chicken it is good.
You may talk about your peaches, your apples and your pears,
I went to get that melon. I thought I'd have some fun. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,Patti Date: 06 Oct 02 - 04:05 PM thank you thank you!! This site was really exactly what I was looking for! I heard this song years ago, but haven't found it again since. Thank you so much dbruce@csw.net for providing that mp3 link!!! |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: masato sakurai Date: 06 Oct 02 - 08:31 PM Hall Negro Quartette's "Watermelon Smilin' On The Vine" (1936) [sound clip]. ~Masato |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: masato sakurai Date: 06 Oct 02 - 10:33 PM From Country Music Sources (pp. 477-478) [which documents "the recordings ... during the 1920s through the early 1940s"]: WATERMELON ON THE VINE [Thomas P. Westendorf, w&m, 1882; Ref: (1) SFCF, p. ?; SOAC, pp. 22-3; (2) NCF, III, #468, 540-1; AT1004FS, p. 419; Harbison, p. 157; (5) Cantrell & Williams, ca. 1904, Edison Bell 5938; 'Laughing Song,' Seven Musical Magpies, 12/01/1924, Vi 19544.] Watermelon Hanging On The Vine (S 72-982- ) - Henry Whitter (vcl w/gtr & hca) - 11/14/1924. NYC. OK 40296 - 03/1925 Watermelon Smilin' On The Vine (683/84) - Uncle Dave Maoon (vcl w/bjo) - 04/14/1925. NYC. Vo 15063 - 09/1925 Vo 5065 - 02/1927 Watermelon On The Vine (W 142038-1) - Gid & His Skillet Lickers (vcl w/2 vlns, gtr & bjo) - 04/17/1926. Atlanta, Ga. Co 15091-D - 11/1926 Co 19004 Watermelon Hanging On The Vine (11059- ) - Emest V. Stoneman & The Blue Ridge Mountaineers (vcl w/gtr & hca) - 06/22/1926. NYC. Ed 51864 - Ol/1927 Ed 5191 [16183] - 12/1926 (cyl) Smiling Watermelon (W 80620-A) - Bill Chitwood & His Georgia Mountaineers (vcl w/vln, 2gtrs & bjo) - 03/23/1927. Atlanta, Ga OK 4511O - 07/1927 Watermelon Hanging On De Vine (BVE 47098-2) - Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers (vcl w/vln, 2 gtrs & bjo) - 09/28/1928. Nashville, Tenn. Vi uniss Watermelon Hanging On De Vine (BVE 47098-3) - Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers (vcl w/vln, 2 gtrs & bjo) - 10/02/1928. Nashville, Tenn. Vi uniss Watermelon Smiling On The Vine (W 403129-B) - Bela Lam & His Green County Singers (vcl w/gtr & bjo) - 10/15/1929. Richmond, Ind. OK uniss Watermelon On The Vine (BS 102611-1) - J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers (vcl w/vln, bjo & gtr) - 06/15/1936. Charlotte. N.C. Bb B6584 - 12/1936 Watermelon Hangin' On That Vine (BS 102739- ) - Monroe Brothers (vcl duet w/gtr & mdln) - 06/21/1936. Charlotte, N.C. Bb B6829 - 05/1937 MW M7010 From Blues and Gospel Records 1890-1943, 4th ed. (Oxford UP, index): Watermelon On The Vine Birmingham Jubilee Singers (1927) Watermelon Smiling On The Vine Arthur Anderson (1937); Hall Negro Quartette (1936) ~Masato |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: Louie Roy Date: 07 Oct 02 - 10:52 AM You can find this song on the record ladies web page and tape it or down load it whatever suits your fancy.I play with a fiddler who is 85 and he played and sang this song in the late 1920s when he lived in Texas.Louie Roy |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: masato sakurai Date: 07 Oct 02 - 11:13 AM Louie Roy, thanks. Here's the link. 'Watermelon On The Vine' - Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers [Realaudio], from The Record Lady's site (Real Country Page 15). ~Masato |
Subject: Lyr Add: GIB ME DAT WATER-MILLION (T P Westendorf) From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 03 Apr 05 - 02:56 PM GIB ME DAT WATER-MILLION Words and music by Thos. P. Westendorf 1. Oh, see dat water-million a smilin' fro' de fence, How I wish dat water-million it was mine! Oh, de white folks mus' be foolish—Dey need a heap of sense, Or dey'd nebber leave it dar upon de vine. CHORUS: Oh, de hambone am sweet, An' de bacon am good, An' de 'possum fat am berry, berry fine; But gib me, yes, gib me, Oh, how I wish you would! Dat water-million growin' on de vine. 2. You may talk about de peaches, de apples and de pears, An' de 'simmons hanging on de 'simmon tree; But, bless my heart, my honey! Dat truck it ain't nowheres, Oh! de water-million am de fruit for me! 3. When de dew-drops dey is fallin', dat million's gwine to cool, An' I know den it will eat most awfull fine! So I'm gwine to come and fetch it, Or else I is a fool! If I leaves it dar a smilin' on de vine. With music, from Carmina Princetonia, 1894, Eighth Edition, p. 104. I remember the expression, "That truck ain't nowheres," from the 1930s so it persisted for a long time, as did the song. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 03 Apr 05 - 03:35 PM One of Thomas Westendorf's two best known songs, the other "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," about his wife's homesickness for Germany. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,Hellbilly Date: 26 Jan 11 - 08:45 PM After careful listening, I have found the Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers version to sing: "Oh de white folks dey are foolish, But a nigger got a lotta sense 'Cos they wouldn't leave it hangin' on the vine" |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: Jim Dixon Date: 29 Jan 11 - 03:37 PM You can hear this recording at The Internet Archive. Here's my transcription: WATERMELON ON THE VINE As recorded by J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, June 15, 1936, Bluebird 6584. 1. See that watermelon; she's smiling through the fence, Oh, how I wish that watermelon was mine. White folks say I'm foolish; they shouldn't have lots of sense, 'Cause they wouldn't leave it hangin' on the vine. CHORUS: Oh, hambone an' gravy, chicken am good. Rabbit is so very, very fine. (Yes, indeed!) Give me, oh, give me, oh, how I wish you would, That watermelon hanging on that vine. 2. Talk about your apples, your peaches, and your pears. Lemons am growing on a tree. Bless your heart, little honey, you am the gal for me. Lord, I wouldn't leave it hangin' on that vine. 3. I went to get that melon. It was one Saturday night. The stars they had just begin to shine. When I left that old man's field, I left there in a run, But I never left that melon on that vine. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,k3ang at yahoo dot com Date: 10 May 11 - 09:00 PM New link for this song. From 1924. The Seven Musical Magpies. http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/10156 |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST Date: 17 Jun 11 - 07:08 PM I'm thinking Hambone am sweet, chicken am good, Possem meat is very, very fine, ain't is so, so give me, oh give me, I really think you should, that watermelon hanging on the vine. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST Date: 11 May 15 - 03:48 PM Oh Hambone is sweet! Chicken and Meat! Possum meat is might mighty fine. (yeehaw!) Oh give me, oh give me (I really wish you would) some of that watermelon hangin' on that vine. One day I'd thought I'd fetch it. T'was on a rainy night. The moon had just begin to rise and shine. But, then the farmer saw me, and shot me through the fence and I never got that watermelon vine. This is the version I sing at camp. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 12 May 15 - 12:41 PM Somehow the song seems to assume that a person who lusts after a ripe watermelon must be a black person. This is far from the case. I can assure you as a card-carrying white person that I too would be tempted by a sweet and luscious watermelon, ripe for picking. Ah, for those happy days when I sat on the front porch with brothers and sisters, and we ate watermelon and spat the seeds into the rose bush. The blood center tells me that watermelon is a good source of iron, to boot. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,Guest: Loren Date: 17 May 15 - 12:19 AM AT LAST!!! My mother used to sing a portion of this song to me as a child in the '50's. It was one song she sang that I did not get committed to memory. In my previous online searches I have kept missing this site obviously. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,Brian Date: 13 Jul 15 - 01:28 AM This is the way my Grandmother used to sing it to me over 60 years ago Oh see that watermelon a-smiling on the vine how I wish that watermelon she was mine oh the white folks damn foolish they need a heap of sense or they wouldn't leave it there upon the vine Oh the hambone am sweet and the bacon am good the possum fat am very, very fine, but its give me oh give me oh how I wish you would that big watermelon smiling on the vine. When the dew am fallin' that mellon mighty cool then it will taste most awful fine. Well then I's gonna fetch it, or else I is a fool to a-leave it there a-smilin' on the vine. Talk about your peaches, your apples and your pears, and the cimmom that grows on the cimmom tree. Well bless your heart my honey for your trucket and your wares, but the watermelon am the fruit for me |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,Bubba Date: 18 Nov 16 - 12:15 PM When I was child up in northern Wisconsin, my grandmother had record with with watermelon smiling on on the vine on it. It was completely different though from the lyrics other people have posted. The song as I know it goes like this. Watermelon smiling on the vine It's summertime and watermelons fine It's red in the middle and green on top Makes your tounge go flippity flop Old farmer Grey has gone away And I know that his melons are sweeter than the hay I hop rightover and get me one Hear a shot and away I run Watermelon smiling on the vine It's summer time and watermelon's fine Their white on the bottom and red in the middle Sweeter than a tune on a fiddle This is all I can remember, since it has been over 75 years since I heard this song. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: leeneia Date: 18 Nov 16 - 09:46 PM Ya gotta wonder how anything as heavy as a watermelon could be hangin' on a vine. Watermelons don't hang, they lie on the ground. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST,eddy brook Date: 26 Jul 18 - 04:32 PM Ham bone am sweet, bacon am good, possum eat 'em very very fine, But give me, oh give me, I really wish you would, that watermelon smilin' on the vine. when first I saw that melon, was on a stormy night, the meat was ripe and oh it tasted fine, Well, the boss man, he saw me and he shot me through the fence, but I never left that melon on the vine. (My grandfather sang this selling patent medicines off Poke Miller's wagon in Goochland County, VA.) |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Watermelon Smiling on the Vine From: GUEST Date: 25 May 24 - 08:50 PM I’m from lower Michigan and my dad always sang: Old man McGray has gone away, Watermelon sweeter than a bale of hay. Walked right over and picked me one, I heard a should and started to run. Well, watermelon sweet on the vine Sweet as summer time. Red in the middle, green on top, Make your tongue go flippity flop! |
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