Bawdy songs question

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs question
From: Ed T
Date: 23 Apr 15 - 10:36 AM

And, then there are Kevin Bloody Wilson's songs.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs question
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Apr 15 - 10:13 AM

A friend of mine sings this one....nothing in it is explicit, but it has all the 'meaning' one cares to give it.

Madam Buff's was quite deluxe
Servants by the score
Footmen at each door
Butlers and maids galore


But one day Sam, her kitchen man
Gave in his notice, he's through
She cried, "Oh Sam, don't go
It'll grieve me if you do"


I love his cabbage gravy, his hash
Crazy 'bout his succotash
I can't do without my kitchen man


Wild about his turnip top
Like the way he warms my chop
I can't do without my kitchen man


Anybody else can leave
And I would only laugh
But he means too much to me
And you ain't heard the half


Oh, his jelly roll is so nice and hot
Never fails to touch the spot
I can't do without my kitchen man


His frankfurters are oh so sweet
How I like his sausage meat
I can't do without my kitchen man


Oh, how that boy can open clam
No one else is can touch my ham
I can't do without my kitchen man


When I eat his doughnuts
All I leave is the hole
Any time he wants to
Why, he can use my sugar bowl


Oh, his baloney's really worth a try
Never fails to satisfy
I can't do without my kitchen man


Songwriters
PINKARD, EDNA B. / RAZAF, ANDY

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs question
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Apr 15 - 10:09 AM

In many bawdy or suggestive songs, the particular phrases 'may' not be intended to describe a particular act or ability, but can merely be interesting euphemisms to indicate a general all-around desirability and prowess. In German, they take great pains to construct precise words, often quite long, to clarify meaning, and they don't always see why other languages don't do the same.

There are lists of sexual nouns, verbs and phrases that boggle the mind, and I can liberally interpret "cleans off the table" in a couple of explicit ways, but I would not presume that they are exactly what the author/singer intended. Part of blues lyrics is allowing the listener to process things for themselves.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs question
From: GUEST,BluesBob
Date: 23 Apr 15 - 02:25 AM

Thanks for your comment. I identified the song with Ethel Waters as there are other versions by Alberta Hunter, etc. and sometimes the lyrics are slightly different.

"My HandyMan" has the richest array of references to sex. For a few of the references I some help at "Sex-Lexis.com", but the focus there is on more contemporary language and nor pre-war blues.

Thanks again for your comments!

BluesBob

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs question
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Apr 15 - 11:33 PM

I think he responded to the wrong post. Lighter's Oscar Brand LPs, CDs post is probably what he was intending to respond to. You know when you start talking about bawdy songs you almost have to talk about Oscar Brand.

SRS

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs question
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Apr 15 - 11:25 PM

I'm missing something, Garg - was there something that got lost before your post?
There aren't any deleted messages in this thread.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 22 Apr 15 - 08:53 PM

Mr. Lighter....

Just curious...is there a "wild gaseous blast in Hell" that a random third volume might appear? That it might appear in ANY form?

Sincerely,
Gargoyle


There is so much beyond "O."

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: Lighter
Date: 22 Apr 15 - 06:26 PM

Isn't much of the song's point that almost any phrase involving "he" plus a verb plus "my" sounds bawdy in the right context, without having any specific meaning?

Few the song's metaphors seem to exist anywhere else. Some, like "churns my butter," are more obviously suggestive than others, like "cleans off the table."

"My Handy Man," of course, wass composed by Andy Razaf and Eubie Blake, and not by the singer Ethel Waters.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: GUEST,BluesBob
Date: 22 Apr 15 - 05:44 PM

I am a newcomer, but have been following threads here for some time with great interest. I live grew up in Chicago, but have lived in Germany for over 20 years. I am writing a book here to help German blues fans understand the lyrics. They are crazy about the music, but entirely miss the meaning.

I have a question about one expression in Ethel Water's "My Handy Man" that I can't get my head around and would really appreciate any insights you could provide.

The expression is in this stanza:


"He flaps my flapjacks, cleans off the table,
He feeds the horses in my stable,
My man is such a handy man! He's God's gift!"

Does anyone have an explanation for "cleans off the table"?

I'm stumped.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I love this forum!

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 02 Apr 05 - 04:03 AM

These were sung by the City Waites on one of their early LPs (1970s, not reissued on CD):

(this is quoted from this useful looking site with minor spelling corrections)

"When Celia was learning on the spinet to play
Her tutor stood by her to show her, to show her,
To show her, to show her the way.

She shook not the note, which angered him much
and made him, and made him cry "Zounds! Tis a long prick,
a long prick, a long prick'd note you touch.'

Surprised was the lady to hear him complain
And said, and said and said "I will shake it. I will shake it when I come to it again."

The song is sung by at least three people. When all three verses are
going in round fashion, you get

"To show her, a long prick, I will shake it."
when I come to it again."

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Apr 05 - 12:30 AM

http://immortalia.com/html/field-recordings/mehlberg-collection/sudsuckin-bigfoot-and-enter-the-gerbil/individual-songs/rhode-island-red.htm

---

These links to "immortalia" have evidently been retired and redistributed. They no longer lead to bawdy songs, sad to say. --mudelf

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 01 Apr 05 - 09:17 PM

You must mean Immortalia

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: PoppaGator
Date: 01 Apr 05 - 08:38 PM

We have one member (or maybe he's a regular guest) who often posts requests for bawdy lyrics, and his messages always include the same "boilerplate" text: "Don't be offended, if you don't like this kind of stuff, don't read it," etc. He also always includes a link to his website, which features a collection of rugby songs, hash-house-harrier songs, and other risque stuff.

If you search out enough "bawdy" threads, I'm sure you'll come across some of his postings. Do check out his website, a real treasure trove of good old-fashioned naughtiness.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: GUEST,Jack
Date: 01 Apr 05 - 07:56 PM

does anyone know of the earliest recording of this bawdy song "Big Rhode Island Red", also would like to know if the song is still availbale...


BIG RHODE ISLAND RED

Some folk like a pussy a budgie or a tit
Some take up with a mongrul pup
That fills the house with shit
Myself now I keep chickens and I've a favourite one
It's dick my little cockeral
And I don't know where he's gone

Has anybody seen my cock
My big rhode island red
He's mostly pink with a little bit of blue
And he's purple on his head
He satnds straight up in the morning
And he gives my wife a shock
Has anybody seen, has anybody seen
Has anybody, anybody seen my cock

He's a stiff necked upstart
And I've known him all my life
He's my pride and pleasure
And a torment to me wife
Sometimes he's magnificient
Sometime tall and thin
But he puffs up like a pigeon
When you tickle him under his chin


Jack

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 Jul 02 - 04:10 PM

There was a previous thread about Mike Absolom, now he's the one for a bawdy song or two!
Giok

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: alanabit
Date: 10 Jul 02 - 07:15 AM

Ah! Some good old fashioned filth. There's no beating it, is there?

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: Joe_F
Date: 09 Jul 02 - 09:05 PM

Kaleea: That may have been _Catch As Catch Can_. I thought I owned it, but it seems not.

Some of the rounds were written so that when the parts were sung, meanings emerged that were not evident in unison. For example,

He would an alehouse keep must
Have three things in store:
A chamber with a featherbed, a
Chimney and a hey-nonny-nonny,....

Likewise, I see in _The Penguin Book of Rounds_

Here dwells a pretty maid whose name is Sis, you may come in and kiss.
Her whole, her whole, her whole, her whole estate is sev'nteen pence a year. Yet
you may kiss, you may kiss, you may kiss, you may kiss her if you come but near.

If the company sings "I've been working on the railroad" & "Old Black Joe" simultaneously, it sort of harmonizes, and "Dinah, won't you blow" is synchronized with "I'm coming".

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: Kaleea
Date: 09 Jul 02 - 01:27 AM

Back in my college days, I once recieved from a boyfriend (also a music major) a book of "catches" (3 & 4 part songs for men to sing in public houses i.e., drinking establishments of olden times) which were bawdy &/or drinking songs by some of the master composers such as Handel--yes, that one, the one who wrote Handel's Messiah! The book is a scream! If only those pious folks in the choir knew about the rest of the songs he wrote!

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: MMario
Date: 08 Jul 02 - 10:30 PM

Sean - it's really surprising what will set off some content filters - and what gets through. But I think they've finally gotten tired of blocking the DT - I haven't had to get it released in almost a month.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 08 Jul 02 - 08:29 PM

Coyote- "A little over one with t'other" was recorded by Ed McCurdy; it dates back at least to D'Urfey's "Pills to Purge Melancholy". It's already in DigiTrad.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: SeanM
Date: 08 Jul 02 - 05:53 PM

If content filters aren't already being set off by Eskimo Nell, then NOTHING will.

If your bawdy songs can top THAT for 'potentially offensive content of sexual nature'... I REALLY wanna see it. That'd be a feat.

M

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: MMario
Date: 08 Jul 02 - 02:57 PM

From the sounds of it the type song Coyote was thinking of posting wouldn't cause problems with most people's content filter. Most content filters go for the obvious

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: alanabit
Date: 08 Jul 02 - 02:44 PM

Welcome home Coyote. What have you got for us?

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 07:40 PM

computers don't see any smut when you couple Rams with bus drivers
the definition of Bawdy is all a bit woolly anyway.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 07:22 PM

The best bawdy songs rarely use any vocabulary that a conputer would be alarmed at.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: Hollowfox
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 03:37 PM

Thanks for asking, though. I've been able to address bawdy and controversial threads on my terminal at work in a library without getting yelled at or fired, including some rather saucy quotes, so sometimes you can dodge this bullet by your choice of vocabulary. Have fun, hollowfox

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 03:20 PM

I think the general answer is - make sure the title is clear and go for it... those who will be offended can avoid it, those who like the naughty stuff will lap it up. There will always be someone who is offended no matter what you call it or what it's content is, so just ignore them... it's called free will and comes with every computer - it's called the off button!

LTS

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 02:41 PM

The only "problem" is that some members' work computers have settings that make Mudcat inaccessible if certain words are here... but I am sure those words are ALREADY here, and so are those members, so--- ???

The member most "up" on that angle would be, IMO, MMario.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: artbrooks
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 02:06 PM

Oscar Brand...bawdy??? Well, perhaps slightly suggestive.

Subject: RE: Bawdy songs queston
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 01:24 PM

Try a search for @bawdy , and you can see what we have. As for policy---we don' need no steenking policy.

Subject: Bawdy songs queston
From: Coyote
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 01:16 PM

I'm a newbie at Mudcat, so I want to play by the rules. What is the policy on "bawdy" songs? I have in mind the kind of thing that Oscar Brand has recorded: " A little of the one with t'other", and that sort of thing. Does Mudcat have them? Want them?

Thanks for a great site. My wife and I use it frequently to find material for our musical offerings.

the Coyote