Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Airymouse
Date: 09 Feb 14 - 12:44 PM

Here are two verses of an old (=vernacular) song sung by Bertha Hubbard Hicks. If you are interested you can "you tube" Buna and Bertha, but you'll have to wade through all of Buna and some of Bertha to get the song.
Put my knapsack on my back
My rifle on my shoulder
March away to New Orleans
And there I'll be a soldier
(Refrain)
Where the coffee grows on white oak trees
The river flows with brandy
Streets are lined with ten-dollar bills
And the girls all sweet as candy.

Subject: Lyr Add: CHRISTMAS IN NEW ORLEANS (from Armstrong)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Feb 14 - 11:48 AM

My transcription from a recording found on Spotify (There are many copies on various Christmas anthology albums.):


CHRISTMAS IN NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Dick Sherman and Joe Van Winkle.
New York : Regent Music Corporation, ©1955.
As sung by Louis Armstrong

1. Magnolia trees at night,
Sparklin' bright,
Fields of cotton look wintery white,
When it's Christmas time in New Orleans.

2. A barefoot choir in prayer
Fills the air,
Mississippi folks gathering there,
'Cause it's Christmas time in New Orleans.

BRIDGE:You'll see a dixieland Santa Claus leadin' the band
To a good old creole beat.
Golly what a spirit! You can only hear it
Down on Basin Street.

3. Your cares will disappear
When you hear
"Hallelujah! Saint Nicholas is here!"
When it's Christmas time in New Orleans.

[REPEAT BRIDGE AND 3.]

Subject: Lyr Add: STAVIN' CHANGE, THE MEANEST MAN IN NEW O
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 04:20 PM

Lyrics below are from the sheet music at Baylor University. You can also hear a recording at YouTube, and another at the Library of Congress, both made from 78-rpm Edison disks.


STAVIN' CHANGE : THE MEANEST MAN IN NEW ORLEANS
by Al Bernard
New York: Joe Morris Music Co., ©1923.

1. I'm gonna tell you 'bout a bad man, down in New Orleans,
Now you can rave about your Jesse James, but this man sure was mean,
He sure was rough; he used to strut his stuff, up and down the avenues,
He was a long, tall dressed-up brown, from his hat down to his shoes.

CHORUS: Stavin' Change, the good Lord knows he was bad.
Stavin' Change, he made the sweet mammas glad, and sad.
He had a knife long enough to row a boat,
A big forty-four, underneath his coat,
Looking for a tussle, at a fish fry ev'ry night.
Mustard browns, they loved the tiger in his eye.
Satin blacks, they used to feed him rock and rye.
He said: "There's changes in the ocean, changes in the sea,
Never gonna be any change in me,
'Cause I'm Stavin' Change, the meanest man in New Orleans."

2. I'm gonna tell you now how Stave loved a gal named Lindy Lee.
He always told the men around the town, "That gal belongs to me."
She sure was bold, just like the story old, trifled on him one sad day.
He shot poor Lindy through the heart; that's why folks down there all say: CHORUS

[The recording has 2 variations in the last 3 lines of the chorus which are not present in the sheet music:]

2. He'd say that "Once I was happy; once I was free,
But pro-high-bition made a wreck out o' me,"
Said....

3. He'd say that, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
Show me a woman that a man can trust,"
Said....

[This was recorded by Waring's Pennsylvanians, on the flip side of STACK O' LEE BLUES.

Jelly Roll Morton's song WININ' BOY mentions a man with a similar name, but I have always seen it written down as "Stavin' Chain." I have even seen people theorize on what a stavin' chain was, and how it might come to be somebody's nickname. Those theories seemed pretty speculative to me. On the other hand, I have no idea why somebody might be called Stavin' Change, either.

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN A ST. LOUIS WOMAN COMES DOWN TO ...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 03:19 PM

I transcribed this from a recording on Spotify. This song, apparently written for the film, obviously alludes to W. C. Handy's ST. LOUIS BLUES. The instrumental intro and coda even quote from it.

Middle Tennessee State University has the sheet music, but it is not viewable online. The catalog entry quotes a line which does not appear in this recording, however:

"Folks I just got down here on a slow boat from a town I used to think was fast"


WHEN A ST. LOUIS WOMAN COMES DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Sam Coslow, music by Arthur Johnston
New York: Famous Music Corp., 1934.
As sung by Mae West in the film "Belle of the Nineties" a.k.a. "It Ain't No Sin" (1934)

1. When a Saint-Louie woman comes down to New Orleans, (2x)
She'll be wearin' more diamonds than Uncle Sam's got marines.

2. Had a good man in Memphis, but the fool, he laid down and died.
Oh, I had a good man in Memphis, but the fool, he laid down and died,
Because his old woman, she hung a knife in (or "at"?) his side.

3. Now he was her man, but he came to see me sometime.
Oh, I said he was her man, but he came to see me sometime.
I live six flights up and he sure was willing to climb.

4. When it came to romancing, my man, he sure knew how,
But that narrow-minded woman, she had to spot a vow(?),
And you see he's no good to either one of us now.

5. So bring on your papas from down in New Orleans.
Oh, bring on those fancy lovin' papas you got in New Orleans,
'Cause I just came from Missouri; I guess you know what that means.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Stringsinger
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 10:37 AM

I wrote a song about Katrina.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Jaze
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 09:03 AM

"Louisiana Love Call" by Maria Muldaur and Aaron Neville

Subject: Lyr Add: BIG RIVER (Johnny Cash)
From: Bert
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 07:38 AM

Don't forget this one from Johnny Cash


BIG RIVER
As recorded by Johnny Cash on "I Walk the Line" (1964)

Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry,
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky.
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you, big river.
And I'm gonna sit right here until I die.

I met her accidentally in St. Paul, Minnesota,
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl, Southern drawl.
Then I heard my dream went back downstream cavortin' in Davenport,
And I followed you, big river, when you called.

Then you took me to St. Louie later on down the river.
A freighter said she's been here but she's gone, boy, she's gone.
I found her trail in Memphis, but she just walked up the bluff.
She raised a few eyebrows and went on down alone.

Now, won't you bat it down by Baton Rouge, River Queen, roll it on.
Take that woman on down to New Orleans, New Orleans.
Go on, I've had enough; dump my blues down in the Gulf.
She loves you, big river, more than me.

Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry, cry, cry
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky.
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you, big river.
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die.

Subject: Lyr Add: QUEEN AT THE BALL IN ORLEANS (Wilson,1873
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 01:42 AM

From the sheet music at The Library of Congress:


QUEEN AT THE BALL IN ORLEANS
Words and music by Fred. Wilson
St. Louis: Balmer & Weber, ©1873.

1. At a colored fancy ball the other night,
That was held while I was down in New Orleans,
I'll tell you in my song about the jolly throng,
The real pink of fashion De la creams.
The Noddies mid the Shoddies all were there,
From the wooly-headed nigger to the coon,
Dancing to the fiddle across and down the middle,
And promenading all around the room.

CHORUS: But talk of your swells and dashing young belles,
Black as charcoal to the charming Creole,
But "Dinah" was queen at blushing sixteen
And pride of the ball in Orleans

2. They balanced to each other mighty fine,
The fashionable, long, the short and tall,
For ev'ry colored swell had got a lovely gal,
But Dinah she outshone the darkies all.
"Pompey" fiddled upon a barrel head,
And occasion'ly he'd drank his whiskey skin.
You ought to hear him shout as he called the figures out,
And watched the colored fellows dance and sing.

3. They were dancing all the night until the morn,
Before they ever thought of going home,
So to make the matter worse, they had a little fuss,
But that was done to give themselves a tone.
"Pompey" broke his fiddle upon my head.
The ladies yelled and made such awful screams.
They kicked up quite a row, and so I told you how
The darkies end the ball in New Orleans.

Subject: Lyr Add: CARNIVAL TIME (Estella Daniel, 1912)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 11:40 PM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


CARNIVAL TIME
Words and music by Mrs. Estella Daniel
New Orleans: L. Grunewald Co., Ltd., ©1912.

1. Down to dear old New Orleans we go for Carnival.
That's the time and place for me, the very best time for all.
See your friends from ev'rywhere; 'tis the place to go.
To have the very best time of your life, stay at home? Oh, no!

CHORUS: Hurrah for New Orleans! Hurrah for Carnival!
Hurrah for the good old times we've had in dear old New Orleans!

2. There the folk are jolly, some, jolly enough for me.
Follow just the merry crowd, full of life and glee.
There they go and here they come, up and down Canal.
That's the way to do, you know, when you're at Carnival.


[There are many recordings called CARNIVAL TIME but I think they are mostly of different songs, not this one.]

Subject: Lyr Add: MONDAY MORNING IN CRESCENT CITY (L Biales
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 07:28 PM

Lisa Biales, Monday Morning in Crescent City
As recorded by Lisa Biales on "Chasing Away the Blues" (2006)

I saw a painted lady dancing with a clown
A kid was wailing cause his ice cream hit the ground
Dixieland music was parading through the streets
Shrimp and crawfish cooking the smell was just like heaven
When I walked the streets of New Orleans

A fortuneteller looked right at me as I drifted by
A second line of Saints Go Marching caught my eye
I love the friendly Southern people who took me in
I sang that night on Bourbon Street and the band played oh so sweet
I sang a song for Jimmy as we cried

CHORUS: Katrina brought a mighty wind
The river flooded and the levy crashed in
Sent people fleeing for miles around
I saw it on the T.V., then it really hit me
What happened Monday morning in Crescent City

Oh I can't believe it happened this a way
I heard tell of people that were dying every day
Bullets were flying and I heard they struck men down
I was horrified while watching; when would help be coming?
I saw Big Easy people get washed away.

CHORUS

I say rebuild; don't let our lady Miss Orleans down
Won't be the same if I can't walk down old Canal
I hope I didn't miss my ride in Mardi Gras
Colorful and fancy with everybody dancing
Throwing beads to people who showed their smiles

CHORUS
What happened Monday morning in Crescent City

Subject: Lyr Add: MY LITTLE OLD HOME DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 06:09 PM

Sheet music exists for this at Indiana University, but it is not viewable online, due to copyright. I listened to it on Spotify.


MY LITTLE OLD HOME DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
Written by Jimmie Rodgers
As recorded by Jimmie Rodgers, 12-Jun-1928.

1. I never knew that the place I grew
Is the grandest place on earth.
Till I roamed around from town to town,
But now I know what it's worth.
Listen while I tell you 'bout the place I mean:
It's my little old home down in New Orleans.
[YODEL]

2. In the sunny south where the black oil flows,
That's where I long to be;
In Dixie land where the white cotton grows
Is calling now to me.
And soon I'll be in the land of my dreams.
It's my little old old home down in new Orleans.
[YODEL]

3. I've been east and way out west;
Been around most ev'rywhere.
Now I'm headed south for a good long rest.
I'll be glad when I get there.
All the wonderful things in the world, it seems,
Are a-waiting for me down in New Orleans.
[YODEL]

[REPEAT 2 AND YODEL]
New Orleans.

[Early recordings were also made by Frank Luther, Burton and Bodine, Tal Henry and His Orchestra; it was recorded somewhat later by Grandpa Jones and Hank Snow.]

Subject: Lyr Add: TE-NA-NA FROM NEW ORLEANS (Robinson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 03:40 PM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


TE-NA-NA FROM NEW ORLEANS
"Words and music by The Two Robinsons" [see J. Russel Robinson.]
Indianapolis: Seidel Music Pub. Co., ©1911.

1. Dearie, let me show to you a dance.
It's not the kind that put you in a trance.
Oh, that "San Francisco Bear" is naughty, so they say,
But, honey, they don't do this dance that way!
Come up close where I can reach you,
And this lovin' glide I'll teach you.
It comes from where magnolias grow,
And balmy southern breezes blow!
It's called the "Te-na-na,"
Oh, the "Te-na-na" from sunny New Orleans!

CHORUS: Oh, that dance! Oh, that dance!
That Te-na-na, oh, the Te-na-na.
Hear that most peculiar music start?
Cuddle right up to my lovin' heart.
Trottin', trottin' all around the hall
Like a turkey gobbler at a ball!
Then toddle, toddle on the tip of your toes,
Way down south, where the Mississippi flows,
Doin' the Te-na-na, oh, the Te-na-na from New Orleans!

2. Dearie, how'd you like me for a beau?
Don't shake your little head and answer "No."
Come up closer, dearie, if you think we can agree,
And buzz sweet words of love like a honey bee.
If I thought that it could win you,
With this rag I would continue,
Till I most fell from off my seat!
Just say I've won your heart complete!
With that "Te-na-na"
Oh, the "Te-na-na" from sunny New Orleans!

[I don't quite know what to make of this. Spotify has several recordings called TEE-NA-NA by Leon Redbone, Eddie Bo, Champion Jack Dupree, Sid Morris, and Straight Whiskey with Robby Cyr, but they do not seem to be the same song. I notice there are a lot of modern New Orleans songs that contain nonsense phrases; maybe they float from song to song? I don't really have enough experience with these songs to know what's going on.]

Subject: Lyr Add: I LOVE YOU MY NEW ORLEANS (N. J. Clesi)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 12:09 PM

A classic of civic boosterism, from the sheet music at Indiana University:


I LOVE YOU MY NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by N. J. Clesi
New Orleans: N. J. Clesi, ©1914.

1. Right here, we have the town that's in the game
And soon we'll make things hum!
They cannot stop us in our fight for fame.
You bet! We're going some!
The Panama Canal will pave the way.
Gee whiz! What busy scenes!
Let's get together, then and shout hooray!
Let's boost for New Orleans!

CHORUS: I love you, my New Orleans, my dear old town,
The grandest and most fair.
I love ev'ry breath of perfume in the air
From flowers ev'rywhere!
I feel so inspiréd when I hear your name!
The world to me it means!
I'll fight for you! I'll die for you!
I love you, my New Orleans!

2. The wonder city of the U. S. A.,
The home of the big ideas—
These very words you'll hear the people say
All through the coming years.
Our men are famous for their spirit strong;
Our women, lovely queens;
So all the world must join us in the song:
All hail! to New Orleans.

* * *
Mention of the Panama Canal got me curious, so I found this, in Bienville's Dilemma, by Richard Campanella:

"Much of New Orleans' meteoric rise in the early nineteenth century can be traced to the dramatically increasing population and agricultural productivity of the trans-Appalachian West, which had little choice but to ship downriver to New Orleans to deliver its commodities to market. But even as these shipments increased in absolute numbers, an emerging network of eastern and Midwestern canals, railroads, and roads gave New Orleans unwanted new competition for Mississippi Valley trade. The city's relative share of the market, once at over 99 percent, declined to about 50 percent by the eve of the Civil War. New Orleans' population would continue to grow for a century to come, but its rank among American cities would steadily sink after peaking as the third-largest in the nation in 1840."

It sank to 15th by 1910, 31st by 2000, and 67th right after Katrina. Apparently the Panama Canal had no effect. WWI was more significant.

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M ON MY WAY TO NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 09:48 AM

I'M ON MY WAY TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Sugarfoot Gaffney and Bartley Costello, music by Jimmie Durante.
New York: Triangle Music Pub. Co., ©1921
As sung by Sweet Papa Lowdown on "Til Times Get Better" (2011), also on "Lost & Found" (2011)

[A] I'm on my way today to New Orleans.
I got the blues for Lou'siana scenes.
I want to hear a jazzy melody
Of a chicken fryin' 'cause that's music to me.
I want to see that lovin' sweetie of mine
Wrap her arms around me like a honeysuckle vine.
Gonna hit my home town; you know what that means,
On my way to New Orleans.

[B] Mister Captain, Mister Captain, where's that boat?
Listen, honey: here's my money; got to get afloat.
Got me this date along the Mississippi shore
Where I left my heart when I was there before.
I'll give you ev'ry nickel I've got in my jeans
To keep this boat a-goin' straight to New Orleans.

[REPEAT A, INSTRUMENTAL BREAK, REPEAT A.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 09:29 AM

House Of The Rising Sun

Features in first 2 lines of Pontchartrain, but only to be said adieu to...

~M~

Subject: Lyr Add: FLOATING DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 09:06 AM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


FLOATING DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON MY WAY TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Ballard MacDonald, music by Albert von Tilzer
New York: Shapiro & Bernstein, ©1915.

1. Hear them bells!
Honey, don't you hear them bells?
That's the sound that tells
I'm goin' away and
Never, never comin' back no more.
Down the Mississip',
Goin' to take a trip,
Goin' to spend my days and end my days
On that Lou'siana shore.

CHORUS: [SPOKEN:] (Hear them whistles blowin'!)
[SUNG:] I'm goin'!
Floating down the Mississippi River,
On my way to New Orleans,
There's no wonder that my heart's aquiver.
I'm returning to a lonely heart that is yearning.
Down in Louisiana,
There's a gal by the name of Hannah,
So I'm floating down the Mississippi River,
On my way to New Orleans.

2. Ice and snow,
Honey, they could never grow
Where I'm goin' to go.
The sun is shinin'
Ever, ever where I'm goin' to roam,
'Cept on moonlight nights
When the stars are bright;
Then the darkies sing and banjos ring
In my Lou'siana home.

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN I GET TO NEW ORLEANS (N Alexander)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 10:18 PM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


WHEN I GET TO NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Newton Alexander
"Originally introduced in vaudeville by Thea and Winnie Lightner and Newton Alexander"
Chicago: Will Rossiter, ©1917.

1. Farewell, ev'rybody; I must say goodbye.
Don't let the parting grieve you, and I'll tell you why:
I'm on my way to New Orleans (take a boat; take a boat),
To New Orleans (all aboard, all aboard),
Back to that southern land of dreams.

CHORUS: I'm goin' to take a train to New Orleans.
I'm goin' to hang around those bayou streams.
I want to hear those darkies singing 'long that river shore.
I'll toss some pennies to those little pickaninnies. (Boo!)
I hear my mother's voice in all my dreams.
It seems to say, "Come back to New Orleans."
Now that I've got my grip and satchel packed,
With my Sunday clothes upon my back,
I'll be happy, I'll be happy, when I get to New Orleans.

2. Goodbye, ev'rybody; I'm all fixed to go
Back to the friends of childhood that I used to know,
That dear old town of New Orleans (happy days, happy days).
To New Orleans (let 'er go; let 'er go),
I'm on my way to home, sweet home. CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 09:35 PM

Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag, recorded by Bob Dylan; lyrics available at http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/bob-dylans-new-orleans-rag

Subject: Lyr Add: NEW ORLEANS (Newton Alexander, 1912)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 09:34 PM

From the sheet music at Duke University:

NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Newton Alexander
New York: Edgar Selden, ©1912.

1. I don't know what to do.
I feel so doggone blue.
I'd like to take a boat.
I'd like to go afloat
Along the Mississippi to old New Orleans
Where I know I've got a good old southern home.
That's where I want to be,
And you'll agree with me
About that feeling grand,
When you put out your hand
And find a welcome there it's worth all you can give.
Well, that's the way folks treat you down where I live.

CHORUS: New Orleans, New Orleans,
In Lou'siana amidst the bayou streams,
Little piccanninies playin' 'round your door,
Steamboat whistles tootin' 'long the river shore,
New Orleans, New Orleans,
There's always a welcome for you there it seems,
'Cause hospitality is a reality
'Way down in dear old New Orleans.

2. About a year ago
I didn't even know
What money really means
Till I left New Orleans
And found that friends are few and people mighty mean
If you ain't got plenty of that old long green.
I'm tired of roamin' now,
And I just feel somehow
If I could lay my head
On my old southern bed,
I'd be contented there until the day I die,
Because it's home, sweet, home, and that's the reason why— CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: DOWN IN DEAR OLD NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 07:18 PM

Lyrics below are copied from the sheet music, which can be seen at the web site of The Hackley Collection of the Detroit Public Library. You can hear two different recordings here: YouTube 1, YouTube 2.


DOWN IN DEAR OLD NEW ORLEANS
Words by Joe Young; music by Con Conrad & Jay Whidden
"As sung by miss Rae Samuels in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1912"
New York: Jerome H. Remick & Co., ©1912.

1. Hear that whistle a-blowing!
Now I know that we're going.
We've just started.
Yes, we've departed.
Why, we're leaving the pier!
I say, we're steaming from New York Bay.
That's why I feel so gay.
If we get there on time,
I'll be mighty happy.
If we're not there on time,
Why, I'll feel mighty bad,
'Cause we'll sure have some time,
'Way down in Lou'siana.
Here's what makes them all feel glad:

CHORUS: Dancing in the moonlight on a bright night, a summer's night in June,
Where darkies all are hummin' and strummin' banjos to that Dixie tune, and soon
You'll find them dancing and prancing 'round the bales of cotton,
In the ev'ning by the moonlight, down in dear old New Orleans.

2. Hear that whistle a-blowing!
See the ropes they are throwing!
We've just landed.
Yes, we've just landed.
Now we'll take in the sights.
Oh gee! I'm sure, honey, you'll agree
There's lots of things to see!
Turn your head to the left;
There's the Mississippi.
Turn your head to the right,
The levee you will see.
Now we'll jump in a cab
And drive around the city,
To a place where we can see: CHORUS

[Recordings on 78s were made by The American Quartet; and Arthur Collins & Byron G. Harlan.]

Subject: Lyr Add: THE NEW ORLEANS HOP SCOP BLUES (Thomas)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 03:51 PM

These lyrics are from the sheet music at Tulane University:


THE NEW ORLEANS HOP SCOP BLUES
Words and music by George W. Thomas
New Orleans: George W. Thomas Music Publishing House, ©1916.

Old New Orleans is a
Great big old southern town,
Where hospitality
You will surely find.
The population there
Is very very fair.
With ev'rything they do
They all seem to be true.
The blues they have down there
Surely is something rare there.

Now listen: they sound so good to you
It will make you dance the Hop Scop Blues.
The girls in New Orleans
Just simply are a dream.
They all are southern raised.
You got to give them praise.
They have a dance that's late.
They sure are up to date.
Now honey, you see them colored folks going to that big old Lincoln,
What I mean, that big old Lincoln Park.
They dance the Hop Scop Blues.
They are the best old blues.
The white folks dance them too,
Out at the Spanish fort.
They even dance these blues
Down on the old Sidney boat.

CHORUS: Right here you glide, slide, dance, prance,
Hop, stop, um, um.
I can never get tired
Dancing them Hop Scop Blues, {girls/boys},
Once more you slide, glide, prance, dance.
The Hop Scop Blues will make
You do a lovely shake.
It makes you feel so grand
When you join hand and hand
Dancing them Hop Scop Blues
Down in old New Orleans town.

[There was an early recording of this by Bessie Smith, but she omitted most of the lyrics, beginning the chorus after line 10. Another version was sung by Sara Martin. Early instrumental versions were recorded by Jimmy Noone, Clarence Williams, and Sidney Bechet.

These other artists made early recordings, but I haven't heard them and so can't say whether they contain vocals: Louis Armstrong with Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools; Richard M. Jones Jazzmen.

There were later vocal recordings by Dave Van Ronk, Maria Muldaur, Bobby Short, and a few others.

"Hop scop" seems to be an old term for a children's game, and it may be related to "hopscotch" or "hop, skip and jump."

Subject: Lyr Add: CRY FOR NEW ORLEANS (Johnstone/Carson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 02:15 PM

This song appeared as CRY FOR NEW ORLEANS on Jude Johnstone's album "Quiet Girl" (2011) and was also released as a single titled CRY, CRY, CRY (FOR NEW ORLEANS). You can see/hear a video of this song sung by Gayneille Neville and Cyril Neville on YouTube.


CRY FOR NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Jude Johnstone and David Lee "Goat" Carson

Brother, let me just say this
Before we go much further:
She didn't die a natural death.
New Orleans was murdered,
Cold-blooded, first-degree
Crime of the century—
Half a million souls hung out to dry;
And the very powers that be
Who bore responsibility,
Left the innocent be left to die.

Cry, cry, cry,
Cry, cry, cry for New Orleans.

Some who laid their badges down,
Let the looters take the town,
Will feel the heat for all eternity.
But a darker deed was done
In front of God and everyone
By those who were the last to come and see:
Waving flags to hide the blame
For the scandal and the shame,
Strangers from the land of liberty.

Cry, cry, cry,
Cry, cry, cry for New Orleans.

It could never be justified
The way that they were crucified,
And the truth, no, it could never be denied.

The spirits of the ones that lay
In the streets day after day
Say: "Don't you dare forget the way
We died."

Cry, cry, cry,
Cry, cry, cry for New Orleans,
For new Orleans.

Subject: Lyr Add: I WISH I WAS IN NEW ORLEANS (Tom Waits)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 11:56 AM

These lyrics copied from Tom Waits' official web site. Spotify has the recording.


I WISH I WAS IN NEW ORLEANS (IN THE NINTH WARD)
Words and music by Tom Waits
As sung by Tom Waits on "Small Change" (1976)

Well, I wish I was in New Orleans
I can see it in my dreams
arm in arm down Burgundy
a bottle and my friends and me
hoist up a few tall cool ones
play some pool and listen to that
tenor saxophone calling me home
and I can hear the band begin
When The Saints Go Marching In
by the whiskers on my chin
New Orleans I'll be there

I'll drink you under the table
be red nose go for walks
the old haunts what I wants
is red beans and rice
and wear the dress I like so well
meet me at the old saloon
make sure there's a Dixie moon
New Orleans I'll be there

and deal the cards roll the dice
if it ain't that ole Chuck E. Weiss
and Claiborne Avenue me and you
Sam Jones and all
and I wish I was in New Orleans
I can see it in my dreams
arm in arm down Burgundy
a bottle and my friends and me
New Orleans, I'll be there

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M SAVING UP THE MEANS TO GET TO NEW ORL
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 11:22 AM

This song was sung by Al Jolson. Spotify has the recording.

Lyrics below copied from the sheet music found at the website of the University of Mississippi (Click for the PDF.):


I'M SAVING UP THE MEANS TO GET TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Howard Johnson; music by Harry de Costa
New York: Leo. Feist, ©1916.

1. I've been around your town and seen the sights,
But now I'm through.
I'm telling you,
That I've made up my mind to stay home nights.
There's lots to do;
I mean it too,
Because my old friend bankroll was getting thinner, and before it got too late,
I hired a furnished room,
Goodbye to gloom,
And now I'm mighty glad to state:

CHORUS: I'm saving up the means
To get to New Orleans.
I'll buy a trunk and pack it,
Leave this racket.
I'll be happy when I'm bound
Back to those childhood scenes
And mother's homemade beans.
I'm thirsty, gee whiz!
I want a silver fizz,
Like they make in my home town.
Down there in New Orleans,
I'll wear my old blue jeans.
I'll find the girl I left behind me in her teens.
I know a train that goes a mile a minute.
You bet your life I'm going to be right in it,
On my way back home to New Orleans.

2. Now you can have your great big northern town,
Your city ways,
And problem plays.
They're just a bunch of worries, cares and frowns.
In cabarets
The nights are days.
I'd rather be in Dixie, where I can rough it in the good old country style,
And when I get back there,
I'll breathe that air,
And change my wrinkles to a smile.

Subject: Lyr Add: WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 10:18 AM

This version is more complete than the version I linked to above. Lyrics are copied from the sheet music at UCLA's Archive of Popular Music:


'WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Henry Creamer & J. Turner Layton
New York: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., ©1922.

1. Guess! Where do you think I'm going
When the winds start blowing strong?
Guess! Where do you think I'm going
When the nights start growing long?
I ain't going east; I ain't going west.
I ain't going over the cuckoo's nest.
I'm bound for the town that I love best,
Where life is one sweet song:

CHORUS: 'Way down yonder in New Orleans,
In the land of dreamy scenes,
There's a Garden of Eden; that's what I mean.
[§] Creole babies with flashing eyes
Softly whisper with tender sighs:
Stop! Oh, won't you give your lady fair
A little smile?
Stop! You bet your life you'll linger there
A little while.
There is heaven right here on earth with those beautiful queens*
Way down yonder in New Orleans.

[* On repetition of chorus, substitute this line:]
They've got angels right here on earth wearing little blue jeans,

"PATTER" [BRIDGE?]: The orange blossoms' sweet aroma
And the strains of La Paloma
Seem to throw me into a coma
When the shadows play.
Again I see a peacherino
Dance the you-know-what-I-mean-o
She could shake a mean tambourino—
So I hear the folks say.
But when those— [REPEAT FROM §]

2. Guess! What do you think I'm thinking
When you think I'm thinking wrong?
Guess! What do you think I'm thinking
When I'm thinking all night long?
I ain't thinking this; I ain't thinking that.
I cannot be thinking about your hat.
My heart does not start to pit-a-pat
Unless I hear this song: CHORUS

[This has been recorded many times, but usually as an instrumental or with the chorus only. Blossom Seeley recorded a version with the verse and bridge, although the words differ somewhat from those above. Bing Crosby's version includes the bridge, but no verse. Both can be heard on Spotify.]

Subject: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 08:45 AM

These are the ones I have found that have already been posted at Mudcat. I will be adding more to this thread.

Country Boy Down in New Orleans (Snooks Eaglin)

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? (from Louis Armstrong)

Down in New Orleans (Memphis Minnie)

Little Old Town Called New Orleans (Jerry Jeff Walker)

Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Henry R Bird a.k.a. Professor Longhair)

New Orleans Is Sinking (Tragically Hip)

Sadie Green, the Vamp of New Orleans

Take Me Back to New Orleans (Chris Barber)

The Battle of New Orleans (written by Jimmy Driftwood, recorded by Johnny Horton)

The City of New Orleans (written by Steve Goodman, recorded by Arlo Guthrie et al.)

Way Down Yonder in New Orleans

Witch Queen of New Orleans (from Redbone)