Origins: Methodist Pie

Subject: RE: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: frogprince
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 01:58 PM

Just looked at the lyric in the D.T.; I really have just known the chorus before. It's odd that this version includes "I'm a calvinist"; someone who threw that in really didn't know their theolgical traditions very well. Methodists may have danced in worship back in camp-meeting days, but there were some decades since when good methodists would barely utter the "d" word; that taboo, fortunately, has about died out among those I know.

Subject: RE: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: PoppaGator
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 01:49 PM

In one of Woody Allen's films, his New-York-Jewish alter-ego character has a shiksa (Gentile) girlfriend whose talents in the kitchen are not appreciated by his family ~ they have a thing or two to say about her "Presbyterian pie."

I wonder if Woody made this up out of thin air, or if he had heard of the "Methodist pie" referenced here, but decided to go with a more alliterative version. Or, if there were already a variant folksong about a pie of a different denomination ~ ??

Subject: RE: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: frogprince
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 01:44 PM

Guess, as a Methodist, I always thought of the song as a little tongue in cheek boast/admission of shameful pride about being a staunch member of the fold. Kinda like cowboy humor in it's woven blend of braggadocio and self deprecation.

Subject: RE: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 01:08 PM

Randolph, Ozark Folk Songs, vol. 2, n0. 291, p. 375, also has sheet music.
Hamper McBee sang it on Raw Mash, Rounder 0061.

Bradley Kincaid published it in a songbook, 1928, "My Favorite Mountain Ballads and Old-Time Songs," as well as recording it.
(Berea College, The Appalachian Ballad and Folk Music Collection.

Subject: RE: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 12:48 PM

Thanks, Joe, I found the words in DT last week...I'm trying to figure out why it is something to sing about...

"There was applesauce, butter, and sugar-in-the-gourd and a great big Methodist Pie"

-Greg

Subject: RE: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 12:47 PM

DT lyrics are here (click). Looks like we don't have a tune yet. I'll try to post the one from Randolph later. I understand that MMario might have a tune he can send to me for posting [hint, hint].
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: GUEST,Joe Offer
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 12:40 PM

Hi, Greg - Can't say I know anything about the delicacy, and I didn't know anything about the song. There is a copy of the lyrics in the Digital Tradition, but Mudcat is quirky today and I can't access the DT to link to it. I think the song warrants some discussion - and maybe we'll find out about the pie itself in the process.
According to the Traditional Ballad Index, there at two versions of it and one tune in Randolph's Ozark Folksongs. Here's the Ballad Index listing:

Methodist Pie

DESCRIPTION: The singer attends a camp meeting and reports on the goings-on. (S)he enjoys food and music greatly. (S)he maintains, "Oh, little children, I believe (x3); I'm a Methodist till I die...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (recording, Bradley Kincaid)
KEYWORDS: music religious
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Randolph 291, "Methodist Pie" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 248-250, "Methodist Pie" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 291A)
DT, METHPIE
Roud #7823
RECORDINGS:
Ashley's Melody Men, "Methodist Pie" (Victor 23661, 1932)
Gene Autry, "Methodist Pie" (Oriole 8103, c. 1932)
Bradley Kincaid, "Methodist Pie" (Gennett 6417/Supertone 9210/Silvertone 8220, 1928); (Brunswick 420, c. 1930)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Hard Trials" (floating verses)
File: R291

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Subject: Origins: Methodist Pie
From: GUEST,GLoux
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 12:18 PM

I know there is a old song "Methodist Pie" that all sorts of people have recorded (gene Autry, Grandpa Jones, etc.) and that there's Oscar Fords' "Hideaway" where he sings about a "Great Big Methodist Pie"...

I even found (googled) a recipe for it, to which a friend told me that it couldn't be the real thing because it includes cream cheese, a relatively recent invention.

Does anyone know the origins of "Methodist Pie" and know an old-time recipe for it?

-Greg