Origins: The Old Armchair

Subject: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: MickyMan
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 08:49 PM

Any background information on this song? The words tell the story of Granny leaving an old armchair to her grandson. He keeps it for years and then discovers that it is stuffed with money. The words are on digitrad but I'm curious about its' background. Anybody know?

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: Allan C.
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 09:08 PM

MickMan, if you look above you'll see a Lyrics & Knowledge Search box. If you enter the word, armchair into it and hit the search button, you'll see numerous links to discussions of this song.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: Allan C.
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 09:10 PM

Sorry, I meant to include the Y in MickyMan.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: Flash Company
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 11:13 AM

I originally heard this sung by Frank Crumit.

FC

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: GUEST,Lindswidder
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 03:49 PM

Yep I have the Frank Crumit version and the Yetties one...

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: GUEST,Pat Cooksey.
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 07:58 PM

When I was seven years old my father would drink for the whole
night upon my rendition of this song in pubs in Limerick, the armchair was stuffed with gold for him at least.

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: MickyMan
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 09:04 PM

Many thanks to Allan C for the search tips, although the origin of the song still remains a mystery, even at the US Library Of Congress. A man Named Frank Carr has claimed composition, but that is not perhaps to be trusted. (By the way, how does one set the search for three years back as Allan directed.) Mike

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: masato sakurai
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 09:54 PM

There's another "old armchair" song at Levy.

Title: The Old Arm Chair. Fourth Edition.
Composer, Lyricist, Arranger: Words by Eliza Cook. The Music Composed by Henry Russell.
Henry Russell Publication: Boston: Wm. H. Oakes, 13 Tremont Row, 1840.
Form of Composition: strophic
Instrumentation: piano and voice
First Line: I love it, I love it, and who shall dare to chide me for loving that old armchair

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: CraigS
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 07:41 PM

Oldest recorded version I know of is a US 1930s country song by the Williamson Bros and Curry
href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B000000JJK001005/026-9883656-4897202">
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B000000JJK001005/026-9883656-4897202

The sleeve notes say it is undoubtably of older music hall origin

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: GUEST,Jim Ward
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 08:34 PM

"Grandmother's Chair", written and composed in 1880 by John Read, an Englishman who also performed the song in Britain and America. It was later popularised by American, Frank Crumit, who recorded it as "Granny's Old Armchair" around 1920. The song is a parody on the Henry Russell / Eliza Cook parlour ballad, "The Old Armchair", published in 1840

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: MickyMan
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 07:56 AM

Many thanks for the specifics there Jim. So many of these songs have such a convoluted past.   Mike

Subject: RE: Origins: The Old Armchair
From: nutty
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 03:03 PM

There's a great version here on the Honking Duck Site

Click