Lyr Add/correct: Songs by Paul Kaplan

Subject: Lyr Add: HENRY THE ACCOUNTANT (Paul Kaplan)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Dec 04 - 04:56 AM

Paul stopped by the Attribution PermaThread and said he had some corrections to some of his songs that are in the Digital Tradition. I thought I'd post what we have, to make it easier for Paul to make corrections.
If Paul or anybody would like to post other Paul Kaplan songs, this is a good place for it.
-Joe Offer-

---

Here's "Henry the Accountant":

HENRY THE ACCOUNTANT
(Paul Kaplan)

John Henry was an accountant
He worked with a pencil in his hand
If you had something that you needed added up
Henry, the accountant, was your man, Lord, Lord
Henry, the accountant, was your man,

When Henry was a little baby
Sitting on his daddy's knee
He picked up a crayon and a little piece of paper
And said two plus one equals three, Lord, Lord
Said, Two plus one equals three

The man who bought the first calculator
He thought he was mighty fine
He walked up to Henry with a sneer on his lip, and said
Your job is gonna be mine, Lord, Lord
Your job is gonna be mine
Henry stood up and drew his weapon
He said, "A man isn't anything but a man
We'll have ourselves a race and I'll put you in your place, or
I'll die with my pencil in my hand, Lord, Lord
I'll die with my pencil in my hand

So each man grabbed a fifty pound ledger
And Henry went to work with all his might
Though his hand was getting cramped and his shirt was getting damp, still
He swore he would not give up the fight Lord, Lord
He swore he would not give up the fight

After three long hours of battle
The man with the machine had moved ahead
He had Henry beat 'till on the final sheet
Suddenly his batteries went dead Lord, Lord
Suddenly his batteries went dead

So Henry beat the calculator
Now his powers could never be denied
But the terrible strain had been too much for his brain, so
So he laid down his glasses and he died Lord, Lord
He laid down his glasses and he died

So they buried Henry in the graveyard
With his trusty pencil and his pad
And when the their checks don't clear, they always shed a tear
For the last human being that could add, Lord, Lord
The last human being that who could add

@parody @work
Copyright Paul Kaplan
DT #317
filename[ HENACCT
TUNE FILE: JHNHENRY
CLICK TO PLAY
SOF

Subject: Lyr Add: CALL ME THE WHALE (Paul Kaplan)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Dec 04 - 05:01 AM

We have two versions of "Call Me the Whale." I believe they were both taken from posts in this thread (click):

CALL ME THE WHALE
(Paul Kaplan)

Call me the whale for that's what I am
And that's what I am to be
You may call yourselves the kings of the land
But I am the king of the sea, brave boys
Yes I am the king of the sea

You came after me in your matchstick boats
With your harpoons poised for the kill
When I looked you in the eye I never saw you cry
But I know I gave you a chill, brave boys
I know that I gave you a chill.

But I didn't ever mean you any harm brave boys
When I sent you to the bottom with my tail
I only meant to show you that you should have been at home
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales brave boys
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales

But you never got the message and the more and more you came
Till I ran out of places to hide
When your boats got so big that I could not bring you down
Then I knew you had turned the tide brave boys
I knew you had turned the tide.

Now you hunt me down in your factory ships
And you never even touch me with your hands
In the morning I am playing with my babies in the waves
In the afternoon I'm packed into your cans brave boys
In the afternoon I'm packed into your cans

You've gotten so efficient with your implements of death
That by now I'm barely alive
But if you treat each other the way you've treated me
I think I'm going to survive brave boys
Yes I think I'm going to survive.

Here is the original version as sung by Paul Kaplan on his LP - "Life on the Pla
net" Copyright 1982 - Hummingbird Records 212 W.85St., New York, N.Y. 10024 Amherst, Mass.
Tune - The Greenland Whale Fisheries.

@animal @whale
filename[ GRENFIS5
YM



---

CALL ME THE WHALE (2)
(Paul Kaplan)

They call me the whale, and that's what I am
and a whale I always will be.
You may call yourself the king of the land
But I am the king of the sea, brave boys
I am the king of the sea.

I never meant to do you any harm, brave boys,
When I took you to the bottom with my tail
I only meant to show you, that you should have been at home,
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales, brave boys,
Instead of on the ocean chasing whales

But you didn't get the message, and so more and more you came,
Till I ran out of places for to hide.
And your boats got so big that I couldn't take you down
I knew then that you had turned the tide, brave boys,
I knew then that you had turned the tide.

You hunt me down with your factory ships,
and you never even touch me with your hands.
In the morning, I'm playing with my babies in the waves
In the evening, I'm packed into your cans, brave boys,
In the evening, I'm packed into your cans.

You've become so efficient with your instuments of death
That by now, I'm barely alive.
But if you treat each other in the way you've treated me
I think I'm going to survive, brave boys,
I think I'm going to survive.


From the singing of Iain Mackintosh, recorded on "Home for a While", Kettle Kop-
14.

The tune is the "Greenland Whale Fisheries", and Iain sings verses 1 & 3 of a va
riant of that song, before starting Paul's song

@animal @whale
filename[ GRENFIS6
JMcR

Subject: Lyr Add: I HAD AN OLD COAT (Paul Kaplan)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Dec 04 - 05:04 AM

Here's "I Had an Old Coat," which is mistitled and unattributed in the Digital Tradition - written by Paul Kaplan in 1985, I believe. I sing this one a lot - I really like it.

I HAD AN OLD COAT

I had an old coat and the coat got torn, what'll I do
I had an old coat and the coat got torn, what'll I do
I had an old coat and the coat got torn
So I cut it down and a jacket was born
And I sing every day of my life.

In a couple of years those threads got thin, what'll I do.
In a couple of years those threads got thin, what'll I do.
In a couple of years those threads got thin
So I called it a shirt and I tucked it in
And I sing every day of my life.

Then the sleeves (arms) wore out in the East and West, what'll I do.
Those sleeves (arms) wore out in the East and West, what'll I do.
The sleeves (arms) wore out in the East and West
So I pulled them off and I had a vest
And I sing every day of my life.

Then the vest got stained with cherry pie, what'll I do.
That vest got stained with cherry pie, what'll I do.
The vest got stained with cherry pie
So I cut and sewed 'til I had a tie
And I sing every day of my life.

Soon that tie was looking lean, what'll I do
Soon that tie was looking lean, what'll I do
Soon that tie was looking lean
But I made a fat patch for my old blue jeans
And I sing every day of my life.

Soon that patch was next to nuttin', what'll I do
And when that patch was next to nuttin', what'll I do
When that patch was next to nuttin'
I rolled it up in to a button
And I sing every day of my life.

When that patch was next to nuttin', what'll I do
When that patch was next to nuttin', what'll I do
When that patch was next to nuttin'
I rolled it up into a button
And I sing every day of my life.

When that button was almost gone, what'll I do
When that button was almost gone, what'll I do
When that button was almost gone
With what was left I made this song
Which I sing every day of my life.

@clothing @music
filename[ HADCOAT
LW

---

I'm sure we have some mistakes on the lyrics, too; and we don't have notation for the tune. If you'd like to share the tune with us, e-mail it to me for posting. MIDI format or Noteworthy Composer work best.

I see at http://www.paulkaplanmusic.com/ that Paul is the Paul Kaplan who co-wrote the Bonny Bunch of Roses songbook with Dan Milner (Liam's Brother).
-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs by Paul Kaplan
From: EBarnacle
Date: 26 Dec 04 - 10:16 PM

He's also the Paul Kaplan who wrote Old Zeb. His secret life is as a doctor in Connecticut.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs by Paul Kaplan
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 26 Dec 04 - 11:54 PM

It was LARRY Kaplan who wrote Old Zeb, not Paul.

                                                SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs by Paul Kaplan
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 26 Dec 04 - 11:56 PM

Joe,
         
    Paul also wrote "Take Out The Garbage". Can you post the words to that song ?
                                                SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs by Paul Kaplan
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Dec 04 - 12:40 AM

I haven't transcribed the song, Sol - but there's almost a full recording at CDBaby (click).
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs by Paul Kaplan
From: GUEST,Paul Kaplan
Date: 30 Dec 04 - 01:52 AM

Thanks for this opportunity, Joe et al.

First of all, if anyone wants lyrics to any of my songs, just ask, and I'll send them. For recordings, you can find my full discography (at least my own full-length recordings) and a lot more information at www.paulkaplanmusic.com.

The most pressing correction is the First line of "Henry," where there should be no "John," just "Henry was an accountant." Ironically, I suspect that this mistake, though annoying, worked to my advantage in one instance. When the people collecting material for "Being Human--Readings From the President's Council on Bioethics" were researching the song "John Henry" they found my song and included it in the book, along with writings by Shakespeare, Homer, Tolstoy, etc. It was all probably due to that erroneous first line.

Of course, "I Had an Old Coat" should be titled "I Had an Old Coat." Also, my address at the bottom of "Call Me the Whale" has been wrong since 1988, when I moved to Amherst, Mass.

The only other mistakes are small ones: I have changed "arms" to "sleeves" in "Coat," and verses 6 and 7 are repeated (leave out 6). The last verse of "Henry" should go "their checks," and he is the "last human being who could add." No big deal.

Again, thanks for the interest. I am thrilled to be included in DT, which is an incredible resource.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs by Paul Kaplan
From: EBarnacle
Date: 30 Dec 04 - 10:30 AM

Sorry about that. I know both of them [Paul was also a Sloop Singer] and occasionally get their works confused.