Songs from Spanish American War

Subject: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,Julia
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 12:04 AM

For anyone who stays up late or is in another time zone:
I'm writing a paper about popular opinion on the Spanish American War and would like to base it on songs of that period. Anyone got any lyrics or links? I got 2 relevant ones off of this database so far. Paper's due in 9 hours.
Julia

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 12:41 AM

You might like to look at lyrics and info, in this thread: I'll be with you when the roses bloom again.

Nine hours is cutting it close. Usually this lot will turn up scads of info and debate from many angles, so it gets interesting and time-consuming.:-)

Good luck!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 01:40 AM

Well, I looked through five books on songs in American history, and came up with absolutely nothing. Then I pulled out Jerry Silverman's Mel Bay Presents the American History Songbook and came up with a few:

• The Battleship of Maine
  
• In Mindanao
  
• The Carabao
  
• Stung Right (by Joe Hill)

Some we have, and I'll make them into links. I'll post the others in the next hour or so. Watch this thread.
Also see:

• There's Many a Man Been Murdered in Luzon
• Zamboanga (one version, anyhow)
• Filipino Baby
• Break the News to Mother
• My Sweetheart Went Down With the Maine
• What Did Dewey Do to Them?
• There's Room for One More Star (1898)
• The Cuban Soldier
• Marching to Cuba

In a thread I found, somebody said there was a song called "Damn, Damn, Damn the Filipinos," a parody of "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys Are Marching."
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: masato sakurai
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 02:09 AM

Put "Spanish-American War" into the Levy search box, and you'll get "75 documents" (mostly with original sheet music).

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 02:20 AM

I got 77 songs at Levy, but Masato beat me to the punch on posting the link. I found only four songs at the American Memory Collection, but lots of other information.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: DTADD: The Carabao
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 02:55 AM

The carabao, or water buffalo, was the "patron saint" of the Military Order of the Carabao, an organization of officers of the army and navy who served in the Philippines during the insurrection. It is the principal beast of burden in the Islands. It is not known for its speed.


THE CARABAO

O Carabao, old Carabao,
Before they e'er could strike a blow
Invading armies must await
Upon thy slow and measured gait.
For who can say that in his hand
Abides the pow'r at thy command?
'Tis in thy mighty force to wield
The fate of armies in the field

Oh! Carabao, Old Carabao,
Great monarch of the road art thou!
Thy value rests in merit plain,
Old toiler through the mud and rain.
Well bearest thou thy lowly part,
No weakness knows thy giant heart;
With thy broad horn a single blow,
Well could'st thou lay thy master low.

Yet all thy strength thou bindest still
To slave and suffer at his will;
And steady, draw the weary load,
Till death o'ertakes thee on the road.
Oh! Carabao, Old Carabao,
Well could we place upon thy brow
A laurel wreath for work well done
In driving storm and scorching sun.

tune: O Tannenbaum

source: American History Songbook, by Jerry Silverman (Mel Bay Publishing)

Subject: DTADD: In Mindanao
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 03:04 AM

Admiral Dewey sailed his fleet into Manila harbor in May 1898. By August the "liberation" of the Philippines was complete. Almost immediately friction, and then hostilities, broke out between the American forces and Philippine rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo. For the next three years there was fighting between the U.S. Army and Aguinaldo's troops. With the capture of Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901, the "Philippine Insurrection" was effectively terminated. This song describes the difficulties the U.S. Army encountered in building a strategic road on the island of Mindanao.

IN MINDANAO

We said goodbye to the brown babaye in Naic and Santa Cruz
And for Mindanao we took our vow in a glass of foaming booze
We're camped in the sand of a foreign land
By the mighty Agus River
With the brush at your toes and the "skeeters" at your nose
And a kris, perhaps, in your liver.

We've the dhobee-itch and the hamstring hitch,
The jimjams and the fever;
The ping-pong wrist and the bolo fist,
And a bumpus on the liver.
We're going up to Lake Lanao,
To the town they call Marahui;
When the road is built and the Moros "kilt,"
There'll none of us be sorry.

We're blasting stumps and grading bumps;
Our hands and backs are sore, oh!
We work all day just dreaming of our pay,
And damn the husky Moros!
When you're pulled from bed with a great big head,
And a weakness o'er you stealing;
The sick report is a fine resort
To cure that tired feeling.

source: American History Songbook, by Jerry Silverman (Mel Bay Publishing)

---

Click to play

---

OK, so what's the tune? -- "The Girl I Left Behind Me"? I should know this, but it's too late to think.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,Julia
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 05:15 AM

Thanks! This is definately helpful. 4 hours to go, and doing fine (took a little nap...)
Julia

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 09:05 AM

"And beneath the starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag
And return us to our own beloved home."

Sorry, but that's all I know of the song.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,Pete Peterson
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 09:34 AM

I have two more lines:
Damn, damn, damn the Filipinos!
Crosseyed, kakiak Ladrones,
Underneath the starry flag
Civilize 'em with a Krag
And return us to our own beloved homes.

The verse started
In the land of dopey dreams, in the peaceful Philippines. . .

Perhaps some background is needed: President McKinley said just AFTER the Spanish-American war that he had prayed all night on his knees on the question of what to do with the Phil. Islands. . . and "it wouldn't be right to give them back to Spain, and they wren't ready for independence, so the ONLY think left to do was to lift them up and CIVILIZE them so that they could some day assume their place as as nation." (a good history book will have the exact quote)

the Krag-Jorgenson rifle was the standard rifle of US troops

the Ladrones are another names for the Phil. I haven't the slightest idea about the Kakiaks. . . sounds like somewhere in the Aleutians to me and that's 5000 miles away!

I THINK that the song is in one of the early John A Lomax collections but not sure where, sorry!

TOPIC CHANGE:
another song related to the Spanish-American war is "The Cuban Soldier" first recorded by the Carter Family in about 1939; most recently covered by the Well Tempered String Band (coughs modestly) chorus of which starts:
"When Cubie gains her freedom and the Spaniars cease to reign
There's a loved one on this island who will wait for me in vain. . ."

hope this isn't too late-- if I have counted right you still ahve 26 minutes!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Charley Noble
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 04:43 PM

Pete-

"Damn, Damn, Damn the Filipinos!" is certainly a classic Army gripe song. I'm not sure where I first ran across it. I thought it was in Carl Sandburg's SONGBAG but it isn't. However, there is another similar song entitled "A Filipino Hombre" to the tune of "I am a Gay Cavalierio" which I'll happily post if you're still interested or if someone else is. It's got intriguing verses which denigrate the "language, manner and customs, of the invaded, subjugated, and pacified" country. The song was said to be composed by Captain Lyman A. Cotton, USN, about 1900.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Oct 03 - 05:43 PM

Julia, if you think we might like it, why not post your paper here?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: LadyJean
Date: 17 Oct 03 - 12:46 AM

Carl Sandburg's "American Songbag" has a song called "Philipino Hombre" from the Spanish American War.
My grandfather drilled with the Boys Brigade, in case the hordes of Spain invaded Cincinnatti. They sang "El Capitan". It's a vaudeville song, but it's of the period.
My maternal grandmother and her sister had a dog named for one of the generals of the Spanish American war. It made a point of biting all their gentleman callers. That has nothing to do with folk songs, but I thought you'd be amused.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Oct 03 - 12:41 PM

Can't find a link to it, but don't forget "The End Matter." (See The "Books" section in The New Yorker, Oct. 6, 2003, by Louis Menand. Subtitle, "The nightmare of citation."

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Oct 03 - 01:43 PM

"Sound Off, Soldier Songs," has these:

At Naic (1, 2)
Bacon on the Rind
Old Fort San Felipe
The Carabao
Down by Old Manila Bay
A Dream
El Soldado Americano
Emancipation race
Filipino Hombre
Governor General's Song
If a Lady's Wearing Pantaloons
In Mindanao
Little Brown Brothers
On Datu Ali's Trail
On the Road to Old Luzon
Rookie, A
The Soldiers' Song
Transport Song

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 12:56 PM

A quick search for the Phillipines Song turned up this and its source. Bolos were not ties but locally manufactured machetes with which the locals did severe damage to opposing troops. The Moros, especially, did lots of damage this way as they frequently went into battle hopped up on hashish and with bamboo wrappings around their arms and legs to turn bullets, suprisingly effectively, and prevent wounds from gushing blood; which lead to the adoption of the Colt 45 calibre Automatic Pistol, since the then issued 38 calibre revolvers did not have enough stopping power to down an attacking Moro high on whatever he could devise in his camp.


In the days of dopey dreams -- happy, peaceful Philippines,
When the bolomen were busy all night long,
When ladrones would steal and lie, and Americanos die,
Then you heard the soldiers sing this evening song:

And then the bulls and their guests rhythmically banged their fists on the tables during each rendition of the chorus:

Damn, damn, damn the insurrectos!
Cross-eyed kakiac ladrones!
Underneath the starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag,
And return us to our own beloved homes.

The chorus originally began: Damn, damn, damn the Filipinos! The US soldiers chanted the second line's surviving racial slur about Filipinos as "khaki-colored thieves" while marching through the jungle. Some accounts say that, as the Americans marched and sang, some of them carried ears they had lopped off the Filipinos' heads and kept as souvenirs. ...

(Ian Urbina is a journalist based at the Middle East Research and Information Project in Washington, DC.)

[The full text is available at .] *****

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,NH Dave
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 01:00 PM

Well, maybe THIS blue clickey will work.

The full text is available at http://www.merip.org/newspaper_opeds/insurrecto/good_wallow_time.html (click)

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Wotcha
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 01:25 AM

I do believe that a snippet from a Spanish-American vaudeville song is played in a bar scene in the Paul Newman movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Words to the effect of "Good bye Dolly, I must leave you ..." The sort of song that became very popular in the Great War/First World War.

Cheers,

Brian

Subject: Lyr Add: A FILIPINO HOMBRE (L. A. Cotton)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 03:35 PM

As promised, here's this interesting cultural artifact from this "good" little war. I wish I knew more Spanish.

A Filipino Hombre
(Words by Capt. Lyman A. Cotton, U.S. Navy, circa 1900, tune: "I am a Gay Cavaliero"; in Carl Sandburg's THE AMERICAN SONGBAG, pp. 434-435)

There once was a Filipino hombre
Who ate rice pescado y legumbre;
His trousers were wide, and his shirt hung outside,
And this, I may say, was his costumbre.

He lived in a nipa bahay
Which served as a stable and sty;
He slept on a mat with the dogs and a cat
And the rest of the family near by.

His daddy, un buen' Filipino,
Who never mixed tubig with bino,
Said, "I am no insurrecto – no got gun or bolo,"
Yet used both to kill a vecino.

His mujer once kept a tienda
Underneath a large stone hacienda;
She chewed buyo and sold for jawbones and gold
To soldades who said, "No intienda."

Of ninos he had dos or tres,
Good types of the Tagalo race;
In dry or wet weather, in the altogether,
They'd romp and they'd race and they'd chase.

Su hermana fue lavandera,
And slapped clothes in fuerte manera;
On a rock in a stream where the carabaos dream,
Which gave them a perfume lijera.

His brother, who was a cochero,
Buscare in Manila dinero;
His prices were high when a cop was near by
To help scare the poor pasajero.

He once owned a bulic manoc,
With a haughty, valorus look;
Which lost him a name, y mil pesos tambien,
So he changed to monte for luck.

When his pueblo last had a fiesta
His family tried to digest a
Mule that had died of glanders inside,
And now his familia no esta.

No esta,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 04:13 PM

Also in Dolph, "Sound Off"
legumbre- generic for legumes or vegetables
pescado- fish
nipa bahay- palm shack
tubig with bino- ? Tagalog words
vecino- neighbor
tienda- a shop
buyo- chewing paste or gum
no entienda- don't understand
niñas- female children
Tagala- Tagalog race, a major language group there
lavándera- laundress
fuerte manera- in a vigorous manner
ligera- ?slight odor
cochero- slang, driver of a conveyance
Buscare- dinero- hustled for money
pasajero- passenger
bulic manoc- ? (local term)
y mil pesos tambien- and also 1000 pesos
familia no esta- his family is no longer.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 04:15 PM

Thnaks, Q!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 04:16 PM

bulic manoc, I think, is a fighting cock.
Bino probably is Vino

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 04:29 PM

"Bacon on the Rind," in the DT, is marked @Civil, but it doesn't seem to be pre-Spanish-American War.

Subject: Lyr Add: DAMN THE FILIPINOS
From: GUEST,Tom
Date: 11 Jul 05 - 05:40 PM

Here's the lyrics to Damn the Filipinos, which was actually sung AFTER the Span Am War & during the Moro Uprising, about 1902.I had read that singing of it was forbidden by the army brass-- political correctness muzzling a soldier's right to gripe is nothing new.

Damn the Filipinos

In that land of dopey dreams, happy peaceful Phillipines
Where the bolo man is hiking night and day.
Where Tagalos steal and lie, where Americanos die,
You can hear the soldiers sing this evening lay..

Ch.
Damn! Damn! Damn the Filipinos,
Cross eyed khaki-ak ladrones.
Underneath our starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag,
And return us to our own beloved homes.

Underneath the nipa-thatch, where the scrawny chickens scratch,
Only place to rest when hiking all day long.
As I lay me down to sleep, slimy lizards o'er me creep,
In that land where soldiers sing this evening song..

Social graces there are few, all the ladies smoke and chew,
And the men do things the padres say are wrong.
But the padres cut no ice, as they dine on fish and rice,
In that land where soldiers sing this evening song..

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Le Scaramouche
Date: 11 Jul 05 - 05:58 PM

Not political correctness so much as fear of mutiny.

Subject: ADD: That Ole War
From: Goose Gander
Date: 11 Jul 05 - 06:34 PM

From Arkansas, sung by Mrs Lulu Davis in 1958.

"That Ole War"

VERSE 1
The ole black Spaniards, they got mad
And sunk the battleship Maine
And caused the war
Caused that ole war

VERSE 2
I traveled over to Cuba
And I fell upon my knees
Th very first thaing that I spied
Was a big fat dish of peas
In th war
In that ole war

VERSE 3
Th peas they were so greasy
And th meat it was so fat
While the other boys were fighting Spaniards
I was fighting that
In th war
In that ole war

VERSE 4
Well, the peas they was so greasy
And th meat it was so fat
Made me wish I was a babe at home
And a baby gal at that
From th war
From that ole war

VERSE 5
Saw forty thousand Spaniards
All coming two by two
Just gave my big foot exercise
Had nothin else to do
In th war
In that ole war

VERSE 6
Saw forty thousand Spaniards
All coming blood or fun
I did'nt have any blood to spare
So I lit out and run
From th war
From that ole war

VERSE 7
Saw forty thousand Spaniards
All coming in a row
Dewey grabbed an eight inch gun
An shot em all down but four
In th war
In that ole war

VARIANT: 0123 That Ole War

OTHER COLLECTIONS:
Brown: II-239 That Bloody War

---

"That Ole War"

VERSE 1
Well, I run all over Cuba
And landed down in Spain
The ole black Spainards they got mad
And sunk the battleship Maine
Caused th war
Caused that ole war

VERSE 2
Along came the preacher
With his high top derby on
Hugg'n them pretty girls round the neck
Saying, honey, aint your husband gone
To the war
To that ole war

VERSE 3
Well, I run all over Cuba
And I fell upon my knees
The very first thing I spied
Was a big fat dish of peas
In the war
In that ole war

VERSE 4
Well, th peas they were so greasy
And the meat it was so fat
Made me wish I'se a girl at home
And a baby girl at that
From th war
From that ole war

VERSE 5
Well, the peas were so greasy
And th meat it was so fat
While th other boys were fighting Spainards
I was fighting that
In th war
In that ole war

VERSE 6
I saw forty thousand Spainards
All coming blood or fun
I did'nt have any blood to spare
So I lit out and run
From th war
From that ole war

VERSE 7
I seem forty thousand Spainards
All coming two by two
Just gave my big foot excerise
And nothin else to do
From the war
From that ole war

VERSE 8
Saw forty thousand Spainards
All standing in a row
Ole Dewey snatched an eight inch gun
And shot 'em all down but four
In th war
In that ole war

VERSE 9
If'er nother war comes up like this
Before I lose my life
I 'll stay at home and mind the kids
And send my darling wife
To th war
To that ole war

VERSE 10
Now I guess you'd like to know
Bout who composed this song
'Twas old General Hobsen
And he did'nt compose it wrong
Bout th war
Bout that ole war

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Goose Gander
Date: 11 Jul 05 - 06:40 PM

But it's a variant of "That Crazy War", which the Ballad Index dates no earlier than 1929. I don't know if there are recorded versions contemporary to the Spanish-American war (or earlier).

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Pete Peterson
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 03:33 PM

CONTEMPORARY TO the Spanish-American war? can't do that, but-- Red Patterson and his Piedmont Log Rollers recorded "Battleship of Maine" in 1927. No idea when it was put together, but it certainly predates 1929. Crazy War is the WWI variant

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 12 Jul 05 - 11:29 PM

The Sing-out book, (Rise Up Singing), says that "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" became the "official" song of the 1898 Spanish-American War. p 19

It's in the Digitrad.

I was surprised to learn that the original had nothing to do with the Chicago fire.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 12:05 AM

THANK YOU TOM!

Great lyrics, woven with threads of genuine Tagalog i.e.:

BOLO= large long handled knife - like a Mexican machete
BUT - VERY Different - each tribe/provence has its' own UNIQUE design to the blades - (if the MC permitted pictures I could provide you with a dozen different examples) it is hard to imagine a "blade" could have so many different configurations.

TAGALOS= Native Phillipinos

Nipa-Thatch = palm leaves used in constructing native homes.

Underneath crawny chickens scratch = Native homes are built on stilts for the monsoon season, the pigs and chickens live underneath on the ground.

Lizards - "house lizards" (3-4 inches) are EVERYWHERE!!! Walls, floors, ceiling.

Ladies smoke and chew = grandmothers smoke cigars with the IGNIGHTED end INSIDE the mouth. aka backwards

Padres & Men = Women fondle their male infants and "as the situation arises" they may remark "its a bird - its a fish."

Fish and Rice = the standard noon meal (tiny little fishys)

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

NEVER CONSIDERED IT BUT - Since we have broken from American FOLK, and the BLUES - perhaps I should continue the newer international influence from the UK and post some songs from the Flips...."planting rice is never fun" etc.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 12:11 AM

BTW - the 45 caliber pistol was developed because of the Moro Uprising.

The local natives high on ethics, morals, adrenaline, drugs, could be shot again and again - but they just kept coming with their machetes. The need was met by the development (Teddy Roosevelt) of the 45 caliber pistol. A bullet that could hit a running man in any part of the body, chest, sholder, thigh, and immediately bring him flat to the ground.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

No source - only hear-say pre-Magsaysa<

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,Clifton Palmer McLendon
Date: 21 Dec 05 - 10:04 PM

In re "Damn the Filipinos":
"Ladrones" is the Spanish word for "thieves."

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 21 Dec 05 - 10:34 PM

My friend's grandmother used to sing:

            Spain Spain Spain
            They ought to be ashamed
            For doing such a thing
            As blowing up the Maine
            And when we war
            We'll sock them in the jaw
            Ther'll be a hot time in the old town tonight.


                                              SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Dec 05 - 10:35 AM

Speaking of the .45 developing from experiences in the Moro insurrection, the .38 Long Colt bullet fired from the M-1901 Colt double-action service revolver had about the same ballistics as the 9mm parabellum, the standard pistol and submachinegun round of the Wermacht in both World Wars.   

Some 3 or 4 years ago (i think it was) the US military decided to obsolete the battle-proven "Old Slabsides" M-1911A1 .45 in favor of the NATO standard 9mm in the Beretta M-9.

And now the Troops in Iraq are fervently complaining about how the 9mm is woefully inadequate for grounding "insurgents" they encounter in close combat, who they are increasingly finding are hopped up on heroine and such, much as the Moros were.

They are begging the Pentagon to re-issue the old .45as, just like the Yanquis in the Phillipines begged for the old single- action M-1873 Colt "Peacemaker" back.

My; how History repeats itself...

The last I heard, the US Army is planning to go back to the old reliable .45, albeit in a somewhat modernized incarnation.

Special Ops troops, SEALS etc. apparently have been packing .45s all along, since the "elite" units get to pretty much carry whatever they want to - and they know what works.

I once heard a song about "The Yanqui Pistollero" - not sure if that's the title or not - which was set in the Mexican "Expedition" circa 1915 and makes mention of the 1903 Springfield rifle as well as the .45 auto.

Has anyone else heard of it? I'd love to get the score and lyrics to it.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 03:42 PM

Hi, you mentioned a song On Datu Ali's Trail. Can you post here the lyrics of that song? Thank you very much.

Elin

Subject: ADD: Goodbye Dolly Grey
From: The Walrus
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 08:17 PM

Taking a quick scan through this thread - Wasn't "Goodbye Dolly Grey" from the Span-Am period?

Walrus


If anyone wants the lyics:

Goodbye Dolly Grey

I have come to say goodbye, Dolly Grey,
It's no use to ask me why, Dolly Grey,
There's a murmur in the air
You can hear it every where,
It is time to do and dare, Dolly Grey.
Don't you hear the tramp of feet, Dolly Grey,
Sounding thro' the village street, Dolly Grey,
'tis the tramp of soldiers feet,
In their uniforms so neat,
"So goodbye until we meet, Dolly Grey!"

CHORUS
Goodbye Dolly, I must leave you,
Tho' it breaks my heart to go.
Something tells me I am needed
At the front to fight the foe.
See the soldier boys are marching,
And I can no longer stay.
Hark! I hear the bugles calling,
"Goodbye Dolly Grey".


Hear the rolling of the drums, Dolly Grey,
Back from war the reg'ment comes, Dolly Grey,
On your lovely face so fair,
I can see a look of care,
For your soldier boy's not there, Dolly Grey.
For the one you loved so well, Dolly Grey,
In the midst of battle fell, Dolly Grey,
With his face towards the foe,
As he died he murmured low,
"I must say goodbye and go, Dolly Grey!"

CHORUS

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 09 Jul 07 - 10:49 PM

IF A LADY'S WEARIN' PANTALOONS

If a lady wearin' pantaloons is swingin' wit' a knife,
Must I stop an' cross-examine as to sex?_
"Air you Datto Mudd, his ownself, m'am, or air you jest his wife?
Kindly answer 'fore I reach your solar-plex!"
If a lady wearin' britches is a-hidin' in the ditches,
An' she itches fer me ears as souvenirs,
Must I arsk, afore I twists 'er, "Air you miss or air you mister?"
How shall a bashful man decide the dears?

cho: Ladies, if yer wearin' o' yer husband's pantaloons-
Mercy!_ How you makes a soldier blush!
You will have ter take the chances which is tied to husbands' pantses
Or stay at home an' make the babies hush !
We ain't no clairvoyants. lf yer wearin' pantaloons
We must take you as we find you when the guns begin their tunes
An' we cannot be caressin', though you puzzle us distressin'
When yer wearin' o' yer husband's pantaloons.

If a lady wearin' pantaloons is in a soldier jam,
An' she's tryin' mos' distinct to take yer life,
Jus' tell her that yer needed by yer own dear Uncle Sam
An' ax her pardon as you dodge her knife !
When she cuts an' jabs so sprightly, try ter speak ter her politely,
An' excuse yerself as nicely as ye can.
But ye mustn't take no chances---an' don't always jedge by pantses
'Cause ye cannot tell but wot she is a man.

Note: During the Phillipine Insurrection, women, dressed as men, fought in
the same guerilla bands as did the men. There was an U.S. Army order which
forbade firing on parties of Filipinos that contained women.
From Sound Off!, Dolph
(No tune given; I modified Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! to fit; RG)

@America @army @battle
filename[ LADYPANT
TUNE FILE: LADYPANT
CLICK TO PLAY
RG

---

Now in the Digital Tradition

Subject: RE: Folklore: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,Frank
Date: 13 Jun 10 - 03:07 PM

Somebody has to help here, but I recall the great one that begins with the sinking of the Maine:

There the Maine lies down below
Our boys are feeling mighty low

Subject: Lyr Add: MA FILIPINO BABE (Charles K Harris)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Jun 13 - 09:40 AM

It's interesting to compare this with the version in the DT: FILIPINO BABY.

Sheet music for the following version can be seen or downloaded at Baylor University, the Levy Collection (PDF), Mississippi State University, or Washington University (PDF).


MA FILIPINO BABE
Words and music by Charles K. Harris, ©1898.

1. On a war boat from Manila steaming proudly o'er the foam,
There were many sailors' hearts filled with regret,
Gazing backwards at the islands where they'd spent such happy days
Making love to ev'ry pretty girl they met.
When up spoke a colored sailor lad with bright eyes all aglow,
"Just take a look at ma gal's photograph."
How the white crew laughed and chaffed him when her shiny face they saw!
But he said, "I love ma Filipino baby.

CHORUS: "She's ma Filipino baby; she's ma treasure and ma pet.
There's no yaller gal that's dearer, though her face is black as jet;
For her lips are sweet as honey and her heart is pure, I know.
She's ma pretty black-faced Filipino baby."

2. In a little rustic cottage in the far-off Philippines
Sits a little black-faced maiden all alone,
Waiting for her sailor lover, though he's black as black can be,
Yet she loves him and her heart for him does yearn.
Suddenly she hears his dear voice as he cries out: "Caroline,
I've come back to the only gal I love."
And that night there was a wedding; all the ship's crew gathered there
When he wedded his black Filipino baby.

Subject: RE: Songs from Spanish American War
From: kendall
Date: 20 Jun 13 - 07:20 PM

My Great Aunt Effie Morse Bryant taught me this song when I was a boy, and TAKE THE NEWS TO MOTHER is now on a cd that is headed for the state of Maine archive of folk music.

Subject: RE: Songs from Spanish American War
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 21 Jun 13 - 03:36 PM

Lyr. Add: ON THE ROAD TO OLD LUZON

In a little nipa cottage on the Pasig's muddy shore
Sits a sweet Tagala maiden as she sat in days of yore
When she listened to my story 'neath the golden mango tree
And I clean forgot my family as she sang *"Porgue" to me

Chorus-
On the road to old Luzon, where the church bells still chime on
And the rain comes down in torrents from the mountains of Bataán.
On the road to old Luzon, where the church bells still chime on
Can't you hear them calling, calling, calling back to old Luzon?

For her little feet were shoeless, and her pretty shoulders bare
And the cocoa oil shone glossy from her mass of raven hair.
How her dark eyes danced with laughter, and her teeth gleamed pearly white,
As she coquettishly answered; "Me no sabe- yes- all right."

Ship me somewhere west of Frisco, where the golden sunset dies,
And the languid, limpid love-light lies in oriental eyes.
And I hear Manila calling and the church bells chiming on,
"Come ye back, ye Yankee soldier, come ye back to old Luzon."

How I hates the fogs of Frisco and Chicago's streets of stone!
And the fierce Dakota blizzards freeze the marrow in my bones.
How I long for days of sunshine, cocoa grove and mango tree,
And my sweet Tagala maiden just to sing "porgue" to me.

Chorus-

*porgue- There is a small town in the Philipines, but I couldn't find a translation of the word.

There are several of these parodies of "On the Road to Mandalay."

E. A. Dolph, 1929, "Sound Off", Soldier Songs, p. 221.

Subject: RE: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,vernon brewer
Date: 09 Jan 18 - 10:46 PM

McKinley called for volunteers I loaded up my gun, the first Spaniard I saw coming I dropped my gun and run in that war that crazy war

Subject: RE: Songs from Spanish American War
From: cnd
Date: 15 Apr 21 - 11:31 PM

From the singing of Will Starks of Clarksdale, Mississippi on August 9th, 1942. listen.

THE LATE WAR

The reason McKinley was so slow about sending men to war
He was an old soldier, had been in war before
Before the war
The late war

The reason he called single men who wasn't afraid to die
He didn't want to send no married man, leave his wife to cry
To the war
The late war

I went over to Cuba, I went against my will
I thought o'er one thing a thousand times, oh then I'd get killed
In the war
The late war

The soldiers, they went to running, I went to running too
Get my feet a little exercise, I had nothing else to do
In the war
The late war

McKinley asked me why did I run, "You ain't afraid to die?"
I told him, "No, that wadn't why I run, cause I couldn't fly"
In the war
The late war

Subject: RE: Songs from Spanish American War
From: cnd
Date: 15 Apr 21 - 11:57 PM

A second from Will Starks is a version of Show Me The Way To Go Home. Recorded August 9th, 1942 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, listen here.

SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME

Two weeks again, if I remember right
I went up town, just out of sight
The suit of clothes on cost three-and-a-half
No cheap coon couldn't give me the laugh
I went in a saloon to get some gin
I wasn't very dry when I went in
But when I come out, I lost my way
I met a cop and to him I say:

"Mr. Cop, won't you show me the way to go home
I'm tired and want to go to bed
I had a drink of gin about an hour ago
And it's just going to my head
There's no other one going down my way
And I'm afraid to go alone
There's one kind favor I'll ask of you
Please show me the way to go home"

I went to Cuba when the war begin
The people all thought I was a desperate one
I took my razor and my Gatling gun
I figured on having a battle of fun
I'se on picket duty from ten to ten
Picking the fellers from a big fat hen
A cannonball came o'er my head
I rushed to the captain and quickly said:

"Mr. Cop, won't you show me the way to go home
I don't want to fight
I believe to the Lord I got the heart disease
I don't feel just right
If I'se to die so far from home
My people would weep and moan
Just right down the pension for the balance of my life
And show me the way to go home."

Subject: RE: Songs from Spanish American War
From: GUEST,Joseph Scott
Date: 16 Apr 21 - 07:31 PM

Will Starks was born in 1875 per John Work.