Subject: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: John M. Date: 12 Oct 05 - 03:33 PM Click for the 'PermaThread™: List of all joke threads'Does anyone here know the joke/cante fable like that below? If yes, when was the earliest you remember hearing it? What tune did you use for the song? Are the words to the song different? Any help is appreciated. Sincerely, John Mehlberg ~ My website: www.immortalia.com SINGING TELEGRAM CANTE FABLE |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: frogprince Date: 12 Oct 05 - 04:52 PM No idea of the origen of the thing, but before I heard "Sister Rose" I had heard an even grimmer version, in two slight variations: dada, dada, da, da, Your Sonnnn is Deeeaad... and, to "Camptown Races": Your son was killed in Vietnam, Doo da, Doo da,... |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: John M. Date: 12 Oct 05 - 05:32 PM frogprince, when is the earliest you remember hearing "Sister Rose" ? Would you be willing to sing it over the phone to me for folklore purposes? Any help is appreciated. Sincerely, John Mehlberg ~ Afternoons: 314.647.3883 Evenings: 314.381.0492 |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Suffet Date: 13 Oct 05 - 10:33 AM John, I first heard that joke around 1965. It only had a one line punchline, "Your sister Rose is dead," and the tune was Hooray for Hollywood! --- Steve |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Carrie Date: 26 Apr 10 - 05:43 PM Well this is how my friends say it: Mrs. Murphy. Telegram...... Oh I have always wanted a telegram!! Is it a signing telegram? Um it's actually sad ne- I've always wanted a singing telegram!! Here goes...... Dada dada da (Say it in a sad voice) Your sister rose is dead I'm here to tell you that she died in bed And even though the broad was feeling great She just turned nintey-eight, Your sister rose is dead!!! |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Trevor Date: 02 Mar 11 - 07:44 AM The one I grew up with was: Your sister rosie is dead, we fucked her in the head, the penetration was so great and she died! |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Tim Peierls Date: 06 Jun 11 - 06:13 PM I was challenged to come up with a full song on the basis of the lines "Your sister Rose is dead. / She's buried out behind the bed." I came up with this. --tim |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Tom Date: 23 Feb 13 - 10:56 AM Your sister Rose is dead She got kicked in the head By a horse |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Lighter Date: 23 Feb 13 - 02:04 PM I can't tell you when I heard it. '80s? Anyway, the tune wasn't "Hoory for Hollywood," it was the one I associate with the French can-can. It must have a name. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Lighter Date: 23 Feb 13 - 04:09 PM Come to think of it, when I heard it I believe the telegram contained only the first line. And for some reason I think it may have been on "The Carol Burnett Show." If true, that would probably push it back into the '70s. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST Date: 05 Jun 13 - 10:01 AM The joke was made-up in 1959 or 1960 by a boy in Jacksonville, Illinois, and was soon spread in Quincy, Illinois. The young man has made up jokes all of his life. He is responsible for dozens of legendary jokes. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 05 Jun 13 - 10:46 AM I don't know when this joke was made up, but I first heard it when I was in high school, and I graduated in 19 and 57. When we used to tell/sing this joke Rose was Sue and the line was a bit sorter (ten words...it is a telegram after all). Knock on the door...woman opens. Man in cap and uniform says, "Telegram for Mary Smith". She gushes, "Oh goody, a singing telegram!" "No lady, this is just a regular telegram. I hand it to you and you give me a tip." "Oh, please sing it to me. I've never had a singing telegram." "Lady, you don't understand. This ain't no singing telegram." "Please, please sing it." Exasperated, "O.K., Lady." Tears open the envelope and unfolds the page,and sings, "Da da da da da da 'sister sue is dead you know she died in bed'" |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Mike in Santa Monica, CA Date: 29 Aug 13 - 01:18 AM BEATRICE LILLIE used to tell this joke during her show, "An Evening with Beatrice Lillie" --in the early fifties. It is very representative of her special brand of absurdity. THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL LYRICS because there is no song. That's the joke: it's NOT a singing telegram, it's a single, brief and very grim sentence, that he sings anyway. If additional lyrics have evolved in the past sixty years, I suspect it is the work of children--it sounds like jumprope rhyme--and that it has nothing to do with the joke--besides riffing on its punchline. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Brian Date: 13 Sep 13 - 10:56 AM Yes, I first heard it when Beatrice Lillie told it on a talk show in the 1960's. It was just the one line that was sung, dadadadadada, your sister Rose is dead. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Jim Wright Date: 28 May 14 - 06:56 PM I heard it was from early vaudeville star Fannie Brice The telegram was just one line: Da da ta da Your Sister Died today. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,# Date: 29 May 14 - 06:35 PM http://themindsetlist.com/2012/08/the-honor-roll-of-what-america-has-almost-totally-forgotten/ |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST Date: 21 Jul 15 - 03:01 AM First heard Bea Lillie tell it on early 60s TV. And she tap-danced. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Mrrzy Date: 21 Jul 15 - 11:49 AM Tarara boum-de-ay? Is that the one "that must have a name?" |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Cool Beans Date: 21 Jul 15 - 02:19 PM I heard it to the tune of "Milord." |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Joe Date: 20 Aug 15 - 12:46 PM I heard this joke from my Aunt when I was a kid, never knew what the tune was taken from but I just looked up "Milord" and that's definitely it. This would have been somewhere around 1986, and the punchline was longer: "Your sister Rose is dead, your mother father and your Uncle Fred. She had a heart attack, and now she'll never come back..." And it always kind of trailed off at the end. I came upon this forum actually because I was wondering if there was an end to it, about how everyone else died. But this is how the joke was always told in my family who were all from The Bronx NY. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Joe Date: 20 Aug 15 - 12:50 PM Oh also, my family is Irish, my great grandparents were from Ireland, and the joke seems sort of like Irish humor. It seems likely that could be the origin especially since many remember it starting with "Mrs. Murphy." |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Lighter Date: 20 Aug 15 - 04:16 PM The can-can tune (if that's what it is) I had in mind was definitely not "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-Di-Ay," which isn't French anyway. I believe the tune is the one often heard - at least as I recall - in Pepe LePew cartoons. Each note rises higher. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Lighter Date: 20 Aug 15 - 04:32 PM The joke was elaborated into an entire song by American pilots during the Vietnam War. Those not offended by black, black humor can find several versions by searching for "Your son is dead,/ He bought the farm today." I think I knew the tune at one time, but can't recall it now. This one could well have been "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay." |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,Ebor Fiddler Date: 21 Aug 15 - 09:04 AM The usual cancan tune is "The Can Can" from Offenbach's "Orpheus in The Underworld",or as my Grandad used to call it, "Orpheus in His Underwear". |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Lighter Date: 21 Aug 15 - 09:32 AM Absolutely. And that wasn't it. The tune I'm thinking of goes: CDEFGA, with a lengthened F and A. Then the line is repeated. There's more, but the words of the joke didn't go that far. What's that tune called? |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST Date: 01 Jan 17 - 10:47 PM I heard this as a child, the lyrics I remember though were: da da, da da da da, your sister rose is dead, she died in bed last night, she had a heart attack, she's never coming back, they put her in the ground, she's never coming 'round, da da, da da da da. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,limapapa Date: 05 Apr 17 - 08:06 PM Flying army helicopters in Korea in 74 and 75 (after tours in Vietnam 5 years earlier) we had a spinoff on this theme using Army Aviation metaphors and sung to a vaudeville tune I cant remember the name of: Your... son... is..(pause) dead they say, he bought the farm today he shouldnt fly when skies are cloudy and gray. He pulled his thirty eight, he couldn't shoot it straight, so now he gets his pay at the pearly pearly gates. While... fly...ing..(pause) IFR, on his horizon bar, he started climbing, spinning, falling much too far. On his recovery, to his discovery, he came in contact with a... great big fucking tree. Hey! |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Helen Date: 06 Apr 17 - 04:16 PM Video search: Your sister Rose is dead This version is definitely the Milord tune Vietnam version Edith Piaf - Milord BTW, I've never heard this joke in Oz. Helen |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: Helen Date: 08 Apr 17 - 04:06 PM refresh |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,IndigoHawk Date: 16 Jun 20 - 12:39 AM This is the version I know.... Your sister Rose is dead Your sister Rose is dead After she got shot in the head. A sound she did not utter As she fell into the gutter. She didn’t even get to die in bed. No use crying She’s gone away. No use sighing. The funeral’s coming Saturday. Your sister Rose is dead Your sister Rose is dead. Your sister Rose ain’t comin’’ back no more |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST,AH Date: 02 Jun 23 - 04:09 PM Welcome Back Kotter into joke |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST Date: 26 Oct 23 - 09:51 AM I heard it a bit differently and can't exactly remember when but sometime in the late 60s. It went. "Your sister Rose is dead. The car rolled over and it crushed the dog. Your Uncle Fred, he died in bed. You're all alone, you'll have to fend for yourself." |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: GUEST Date: 26 Oct 23 - 09:51 AM I heard it a bit differently and can't exactly remember when but sometime in the late 60s. It went. "Your sister Rose is dead. The car rolled over and it crushed the dog. Your Uncle Fred, he died in bed. You're all alone, you'll have to fend for yourself." |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 02 Mar 24 - 09:32 PM Dear Mom Your Son Is Dead [aka The FAC (forward air command) Song] This is transcribed from the CD A Night at the Bar with the Boys by a trio of Warthog pilots. It was recorded in Scotland in 1989 and originally issued on cassette. The tune is "Milord". The song shows up in numerous Air Force fighter pilot songs books from Vietnam and after. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 02 Mar 24 - 09:42 PM Your son was killed in Vietnam, From autobiography I Served by Don C. Hall & Annette R. Hall. 2001. pg 273. The setting is the NCO club. Google books here: https://books.google.com/books?id=kRxfrchUBncC&pg=PA273&lpg=PA273&dq=%22was+killed+in+vietnam%22+%22do+dah%22&source=bl&ots=33d3cIleDn&sig=ACfU3U1P_fdXvTUqxg99Zf3ATIBW6fq4IA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1qs7ahNeEAxVTKlkFHc9ZDSYQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=%22was%20killed%20in%20vietnam%22%20%22do%20dah%22&f=false |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 02 Mar 24 - 10:30 PM This guy delivers a telegram to an old lady. From the 1978 book Teen Angel by Sonia Pilcer. See online here: https://archive.org/details/teenangel0000pilc/page/96/mode/2up?q=singing |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 02 Mar 24 - 10:57 PM DEAR MOM Note: "FAC" = forward air controller; "DASC" = direct air support coordinator; "Stinger Flight," "Hornets" = aircraft and crews of the 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. Contributed the Ed Cray's unpublished Erotic Muse. 3rd ed. by Paul "Flying Booger" Woodford https://archive.org/details/ed-cray-collection-aka-erotic-muses-iii/page/352/mode/2up?q=dear+mom Lacks the "singing telegram" introduction by has the camptown races addition. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 03 Mar 24 - 09:35 AM THE SINGING TELEGRAM From The Crusader Hymnal. 1967. Pg 11. See online here: https://archive.org/details/1967thecrusaderhymnal/page/12/mode/1up |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 03 Mar 24 - 10:11 AM PHU BAI G C A From The Spud Hymnal. 1970. 1st ed. pg 6. See online here: https://archive.org/details/1971spudhymnal-1stedition/page/6/mode/1up |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 03 Mar 24 - 11:00 AM your son's been killed in vietnam, doo-dah, doo-dah From the the telegram.txt file, in the folder "vietnam war songs 1" in the Sam Hilt digital collection. Sam Hilt was an American who served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam, immigrated to Australia after the war and became a citizen of that country. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 03 Mar 24 - 11:20 AM A man knocked on my door last night As transcribed from the video of John Wayne on Don Rickles and John Wayne (1975 TV Special) on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-AlVDghSio&t=410s |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 03 Mar 24 - 02:20 PM Here's a joke for you: Transcribed from a youtube video by Parmesana posted June 9, 2011. See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id5AC_otFIg |
Subject: RE: Origins: Singing Telegram Cante Fable (Joke) From: and e Date: 03 Mar 24 - 03:16 PM An old lady, unused to receiving telegrams, was put into a pleasurable Brackets & indicated tune in the original From Bennett Cerf's The sound of laughter. 1970. Pg 290. See online here: https://archive.org/details/bennettcerfssoun00cerf/page/290/mode/2up?q=%22singing+telegram%22+%22rose+is+dead%22 |
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