DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: GUEST,Mike Buckley
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 10:55 AM

I recall this song from car journeys in Ireland - my father sang it - this being in the late '60's / early '70's. He would have learned it from a 78 record, which I had for many years and which was one of many Percy French records in the family. Sadly, they are long since gone.

That would, I suppose, have dictated the length of the song - and I suppose would account for some of the verses quoted in the versions mentioned earlier not being included.

This is how I recall it - and still sing it:

The sons of the Prophet are brave men and bold
And quite unaccustomed to fear
But the bravest by far in the ranks of the Shah
Was Abdul Abulbul Ameer.
If you wanted a man to encourage the van
Or harass the foe from the rear
Storm fort or redoubt, yon had only to shout
For Ahdul Abulbul Ameer.

Now the heroes were many and well-known to fame
In the troops that were led by the Czar
But the bravest of these, was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.

One day this bold Russian shouldered his gun
And donned his most truculent sneer
Down town he did go, where he trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Ameer.
"Young Man" quote Abdul "Has your life grown so dull
That you wish to end your career-
Vile infidel, know you have trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbnl Ameer".

Said Ivan:" My friend, your remarks in the end
Will avail you but little, I fear,
For you'll never survive to repeat them alive
Mr. Abdul Abulbul Amneer."
"Then take your last look at sunshine and brook,
And send your regrets to the Czar
By this, I imply, you are going to die
Count Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.

Then the bold Mameluke drew his trusty shibouk
With a cry of "Allah Akbar"
And with murderous intent he ferociously went
For Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.
They fought through the night in the pale yellow light
The din it was heard from afar
Huge multitudes came, so great was the fame
Of Abdul and Ivan Skivar.

As Abdul's long knife was extracting the life
(In fact he was shouting "Huzza")
He felt himself struck by that wily Calmuck
Count Ivan Skivnsky Skivar
The Sultan drove by in his red-crested fly
Expecting the victor to cheer
But he only drew nigh to hear the last sigh
Of Abdul Abulbul Ameer.

Czar Petrovitch, too, in his spectacles blue
Drove up in his new-crested car,
He arrived just in time to exchange a last line
With Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.
A tomb rises up where the Blue Danube rolls
Engraved there in characters clear
Are: "Stranger, when passing, please pray for the soul
For Abdul Abulbul Ameer"

A Muscovite maiden her lone vigil keeps
'Neath the light of the pale polar star
And the name that she murmers, so oft as she weeps
Is Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.

Mike

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: kendall
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 01:47 PM

It's on my new CD titled "Pieces too short to save."

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: tritoneman
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 05:16 PM

I first heard this song on an old Frank Crumit record. I often heard it sung by Diz Disley, Malcolm Price and a few others in the London folk clubs during the late 1960s too.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 04:34 PM

As mentioned earlier, there are parodies of this used as beer adverts in the 1980's. Two I couldn't find for my earlier post are now online:

Here
Now legend lampoons one old humpy galoon,
Who loved Whitbread Best Bitter beer.
But he got an eyeful of his canny rival
One Abdul the Bulbul Ameer.

Now that man with his can really shook poor Ivan
Thinking drinking from tins irregular.
If it's take home he needs let him take home this steed
Reasoned Ivan Skavinsky Skavar

Oh Abdul had this ploy of a female decoy
Fooling Ivan who fools he rejects.
Be it draught or in cans well we don't give a ***
But the best best needs no etiquette.

and Here

From the old hist'ry books come two battling bazooks.
Count Ivan and Abdul Ameer
But on the dot of half five, they knock off feeling dry,
And request Whitbread Best Bitter beer.

Now Abdul likes his jug in the men only snug,
Telling blue jokes not for ladies' ears.
While Ivan's lip curls, "Whitbread's best with the girls."
And I think the advantage is clear.

So we now see Abdul break his 'men only' rule
"But at Whitbread they say 'What the heck'
Drink with ladies or gents" it makes no difference
'Cos the best best needs no etiquette.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 04:38 PM

Also the MGM Cartoon is available. The cartoon character looks (as described above) like Grouch Marx, but is given a different name.

The words do not appear to exactly match any of the forgoing versions, but I have yet to take the time to fully copy them.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Tiger
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 04:50 PM

Joe/Kendall.......

I think your "son of" cover was done by Frank Crumit, as was the "Minnie" version.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Sanjay Sircar
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 08:13 PM

Does anybody have the date of the Frank Crumit recording, please? It was said that my grandmother brought this back from America in 1924, and a date would clear this up.

From "Abdulla Bulbul" to "Abdul a Bulbul" to "Abdul the Bulbul" is a nice set of mutations.

Does it "count" as a folksong now, as a result of these and the other changes, accretions etc.?

I was told that, like "we'll drink-a drink-a drink to Lily the pink-a pink-a pink" and "The Ash Grove", that in Australia this was one of those songs better known by its obscene parody/parodies than in its original. I never knew the parody-versions of any of them, am grateful for it here, and for the sequel with the widows, of which I had never heard. The Near East, Bombay: all the same general "foreign" clime of comic, posturing heroes ith the codes of honour.

Sanjay Sircar

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Tiger
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 08:32 PM

It was "Return of" not "Son of". Sorry.

It would have been early 1930's. I'll check my stuff.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 02:22 AM

Hi, Sanjay-
This YouTube Video dates Crumit's RCA recording of the song at 1927, Victor 20715-B, and this link (click) gives a completely credible documentation of the recording date as April 8, 1927 - release date August, 1927.

Mind you, it's entirely possible that Crumit recorded the song earlier on another label.

Crumit apparently liked the song. He wrote three sequels: "The Return of Abdul Abulbul Amir", "The Grandson Of Abdul Abulbul Amir", and "Minnie Skavinsky Skavar"

-Joe-

Subject: ADD: The Return of Abdul Abulbul Amir (Crumit,1930
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 02:28 AM

I really think we need to post the Frank Crumit sequels to "Abdul."

ArabKitsch.com has "The Return of Abdul Abulbul Amir":

THE RETURN OF ABDUL ABULBUL AMIR
(Frank Crumit)

By the Sea of Sargossa I wandered one night.
The moon it was shining quite clear.
For no reason at all I heard someone call
For Abdul Abulbul Amir.

Now Abdul Abulbul I knew to be dead.
The story had spread near and far
How he'd lost his life while plunging his knife
Into Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.

As I pondered, the moonbeams descended quite low,
Casting shadows so ghostly and then
I discovered that I was standing close by
The tombs of these two famous men.

Then in the tomb's shadow there rose from the grave
The form of a Russian hussar
And my skin nearly peeled as he stood there revealed.
It was Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.

'Twas he who was calling; I hardly dared breathe.
My heart 'most stopped beating from fear
When out of the grave, in need of a shave,
Rose Abdul Abulbul Amir.

"Wouldst speak with me, Ivan?" quoth Abdul quite low.
"I wouldst," replied Ivan quite clear.
"That quarrel we had, it was all to the bad,
Friend Abdul Abulbul Amir."

"I've lain here for ages with that on my mind,
And that's why I called you tonight."
"Well, I'm in the same state," quoth Abdul the Great.
"'Twas foolish for we two to fight."

"Old friend, thou art blameless," cried Ivan in haste.
The fault lie in mine hands alone."
But Abdul said, "Nay, it was never that way.
The fault was no one's but mine own."

"But thou wert the greater! And I but a knave
To cast such a truculent sneer."
"I said it was ME, and so it must be,"
Quoth Abdul Abulbul Amir.

"Dost think I'm a coward? Not Ivan Skavar!
Step forth and I'll slice off thine ear."
"O son of a cat, you'll never do that,"
Quoth Abdul Abulbul Amir.

Then once more they battled and fought as before
And multitudes came from afar
And lauded with cheers these bold Buccaneers:
This Turk and this Russian hussar.

The ghost of the Czar on a fiery black steed
Came rushing to witness the fray
While the Sultan sat there in his royal gold chair.
'Twas just like a scene from a play

'Twas just at that moment each sword found its mark
And I heard a blood-curdling scream.
Then came the surprise, for I opened my eyes
And found it was only a dream.

The Digital Tradition has a transcription of "Return" here (click).
I have good reason to doubt the accuracy of both the DT version, and the version I've posted in this message.
And my skin nearly pealed as he stood there reveled????
How 'bout: "And my skin nearly peeled as he stood there revealed"?

Text corrected based on a recording by Crumit. --one of the clones

Subject: ADD: The Grandson of Abdul Abulbul Amir
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 03:09 AM

And now we have....

THE GRANDSON OF ABDUL ABULBUL AMIR
(Frank Crumit)

On the links by the Bosporus near ancient Istanbul,
O'er the fairways with nothing to fear,
Went the greatest of those with a driver-like nose
Mr Abdul A bulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One day in the clubhouse there came a strange man
From a land that was distant and far,
And his visiting card bore the name of this bard –
Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Said the Count to Abdul, "Our grandfathers fought
At that war," and his face bore a sneer.
"Well I don't know the cause, but my grandfather whipped yours."
Said Abdul Abulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh you think you're a golfer, Mr Abdul Amir?
You think you're a promising star?
Well if you play at this sport like your grandfather fought,
Lord help you," said Ivan Skavar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh you're no Bobby Jones or Frankie Howmet –
Why you hold your iron like a spear.
You're a count, without doubt, but count yourself out,
In golfing," said Abdul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were matched now, you know, for an eighteen-hole go
The prize was a brass samovar.
As they strode to the tee, they were wondrous to see,
Mr Abdul and Ivan Skavar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were evenly matched – you could tell by their shots
They made the first ten holes in par.
He lived up to his name in this breath-taking game
Did Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the fifteenth hole Ivan a bunker he struck
He was stroking his way to the clear
"How may strokes did you take; were you killing a snake?"
Yelled Abdul Abulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ivan turned each hip, then felt something slip
"My braces have parted, I fear."
To the sand-trap he flew, while they took in the view
Even Abdul Abulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And so much did he laugh, that he doubled in half;
In doubling himself, poor Amir
Collapsed and alack, he sprained his poor back
Did Abdul Abulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh the boys never ended their classical match
For neither could finish their score.
Though they ended the game, we can't tell you his name
But the referee called it a draw.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh the bunkers that lie on the fairways at night
Do call to all who can hear
And this old family feud shall oft be renewed
By the grandson of Abdul Amir.


Attributed to Frank Crumit
Source: http://www.irishmusicforever.com/grandson-of-abdul-abulbul-amir

I dunno, I dunno....

Subject: ADD: Minnie Skavinsky Skivar (Crumit)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 03:15 AM

....and for the sake of completeness:

MINNIE SKAVINSKY SKIVAR
(Frank Crumit)

I was standing one day in a shop in Bombay,
I could hardly believe mine own ear,
When a lady in black said, "Charge the whole rack
To Mrs. Abulbul Amir."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I opened my eyes with a gasp of surprise,
My nerves got another slight jar.
When the clerk said she, "Does thou knowest me?"
I am Mrs Stravinsky Skivar."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then said Mrs Skivar, "Well at last here we are,"
And her voice sounded dangerously queer.
"For most of my life I have hated the wife
Of Abdul Abulbul Amir."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then Mrs Abdul said, "Nay, do not hate me that way."
On her cheek was the trace of a tear.
"When Abdul broke ground, it was them that I found
His insurance had lapsed for a year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thou thinkest I'm rich, but I'm sunk in the ditch,"
Said Mabel (the fairest by far),
"When Abdul gave up the ghost I was left at the post
With the payments still due on my car."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well it seemeth to me, we are in the same boat,
We've been left high and dry on the bar,
So why should we quarrel? The fault was not ours,"
Quoth Minnie Skavinsky Skivar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, thou hast taken the wording from my very mouth,
We must be good friends always my dear.
And you must come to my house for contract some night,"
Replied Mabel Abulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, dost thou play contract?" queried Minnie with joy,
Then the gods have sent you from afar.
Let's make a date now, for I love it, and how!"
Said Minnie Skavinsky Skivar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night round the table four people sat down
To play contract (and fate stepped in here),
For when they cut for partners, 'twas Minnie Skivar
Played with Mable Abulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the evening progressed, (all playing their best)
Came a hand that was way below par.
Fourth hand, like a chump, said "I bid two no-trump."
It was Minnie Skavinsky Skivar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the hand was played out, they went 600 down.
Then I heard someone say with a sneer,
"Huh! with a trick and a half – and you bid? What a laugh!"
It was Mabel Abulbul Amir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now listen my dear, let me tell you right here –
My bridge game is known near and far.
All you do is say 'Pass – oh alack and alas.'
Why I once played bridge with the Tsar."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With faces so dour, they fought for an hour,
As the others stood watching the fray.
And though murder was done – it was only with words,
So that everything came out okay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now every night, they renew the old fight,
As two kibitzers watch from afar.
And the spirit of Abdul Abulbul looks down,
Joined by Ivan Skavinsky Skivar.


Source: http://www.irishmusicforever.com/minnie-skavinsky-skavar

I think Crumit shouldn't have attempted songwriting....

Hey, there's a YouTube Video

I'm gonna hate myself in the morning for having posted these.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 05:10 AM

Joe:
You may hate yourself for it, but you've given me a few wry smiles over the last ten minutes.

I did wonder in the 'Grandson' version:
Said the Count to Abdul, "Our grandfathers fought
At that war," and his face bore a sneer.
"Well I don't know the cause, but my grandfather whipped yours."
Said Abdul Abulbul Amir.

Is the third line accurate? I haven't seen it before, but grandad would scan better, and avoids using the same long word twice in one verse.

Cheers
Nigel

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Sanjay Sircar
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 09:03 AM

Dear Mr Offer:

Your hatred for yourself will be far outweighed by the opposite emotion you have ispired in at least two of us.   

My grandmother's record was not RCA, as far as I can remember, so a pre-1927 recording might be opssible. It is the right decade, but the wrong end of it to fit the myth...

The sequels are not as good as the original, but they *are* funny...

"Grandpa" or "Grampaw" an option for "Grandad", perhaps?

Sanjay Sircar

Subject: ADD Version: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Dec 14 - 02:20 AM

The Frank Crumit recording is an abridgement of Percy French's second version of the song, which Dick Greenhaus posted above. We can fit only abridged lyrics in the upcoming Rise Again songbook, and I think I like Crumit's version.

ABDUL ABULBUL AMEER

The sons of the Prophet are brave men and bold
And quite unaccustomed to fear
But the bravest by far in the ranks of the Shah
Was Abdul Abulbul Ameer.
Now the heroes were plenty and well-known to fame
In the troops that were led by the Czar
And the bravest of these was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.

One day this bold Russian had shouldered his gun
And donned his most truculent sneer
Downtown he did go, where he trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Ameer.
"Young Man" quoth Abdul "Has life grown so dull
That you wish to end your career-
Vile infidel know, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdul Abulbul Ameer".

Said Ivan: "My friend, your remarks in the end
Will avail you but little, I fear,
For you ne'er will survive to repeat them alive
Mr. Abdul Abulbul Ameer."
"So take your last look at sunshine and brook,
And send your regrets to the Czar
For by this I imply, you are going to die
Count Ivan Skivinsky Skivar."

They fought all that night 'neath the pale yellow moon
The din it was heard from afar
And huge multitudes came, so great was the fame
Of Abdul and Ivan Skivar.
[As Abdul's long knife was extracting the life
(In fact he was shouting "Huzza")
He felt himself struck by that wily Calmuck
Count Ivan Skivinsky Skivar]

The Sultan drove by in his red-crested fly
Expecting the victor to cheer
But he only drew nigh to hear the last sigh
Of Abdul Abulbul Ameer.
Czar Petrovitch, too, in his spectacles blue
Rode up in his new-crested car,
He arrived just in time to exchange a last line
With Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.

There's a tomb rises up where the Blue Danube flows
Engraved there in characters clear
"Ah, Stranger, when passing, oh, pray for the soul
Of Abdul Abulbul Ameer"
A Muscovite maiden her lone vigil keeps
'Neath the light of the pale polar star
And the name that she murmurs, so oft as she weeps
Is Ivan Skivinsky Skivar.


[the part in brackets is not included in the Crumit recording, but I think it's needed to make sense of the story - the fact that each man killed the other is pertinent, dontchathink?]

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: GUEST,Jack Doughty
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 11:00 PM

Here's one for those who know some Russian.
(русско-английский словарь = russko-angliyski slovar = Russian=English dictionary)

Abdul, Ivan and the translator

The sons of the Prophet were brave men and bold,
And quite unaccustomed to fear.
But the bravest by far in the ranks of the Shah
Was Abdul Abulbul Amir.

Now the heroes were plenty and well known to fame
In the troops that were led by the Tsar.
And the bravest of these was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.

Now Abdul and Ivan once fought a great fight,
And each killed the other at last.
And Ivan's young son, to record what they'd done,
Wrote a poem on all that had passed.

Ivan had a girl-friend, a Muscovite maid,
A niece of the Great Russian Tsar.
She tried to translate his great work, with the aid
Of her русско-английский словарь.

Their jibes at each other she coped with OK,
Her translation was well above par.
She managed to find all the right things to say
In her русско-английский словарь.

But at Abdul's weird weapon, she took a hard look.
Thinking "What a strange object you are!"
There was naught in the book when she sought for "skibouk"
In her русско-английский словарь.

In her trouble, she ran to the word "ятаган",
Which isn't the same thing by far,
But it seemed to her mind 'twas the best she could find
In her русско-английский словарь.

Some words she did not even have to translate,
Like the race of her boy-friend's great Pa.
She just had to stick to the same word, "калмык",
From her русско-английский словарь.

When the leaders came by to see their men die,
She paused at the name of the Tsar.
"Petrovich? A gimmick! That's his patronymic!
Not his имя, not in my словарь!"

At the tomb standing by the great river Дунай,
She finally gave it up. "Bah!
That's enough of this guff! I can't find this stuff
In my русско-английский словарь!"

A Muscovite maiden her lone vigil keeps
'Neath the light of the pale polar star
And the words that she murmurs so oft as she weeps,
Are "русско-английский словарь".

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: Mrrzy
Date: 31 Jul 17 - 01:13 AM

I didn't know half this stuff.

Also, the Akond of Swat link no longer functions. Not surprising, it was from May '02.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Abdul Abulbul Amir (Percy French)
From: BobL
Date: 31 Jul 17 - 02:40 AM

Try this one.