Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)

Subject: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 02:49 AM

I've enjoyed Pete Seeger's 1966 recording of this on Dangerous Songs (also on the Link in the Chain box set). Anybody know of other recordings, or know anything about songwriter Robert Schmertz?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 02:56 AM

"Because All Women Melt When You Sing to Them of Architecture.

Finally! I am once again in posession of a digital camera, so I can again share with you all the wonderful records that have been piling up from my thrifting.

I thought I'd kick it all off again with this true oddity, in a genre I never knew existed, and wouldn't have believed until I saw it. The Singing Architect Bob Schmertz was born with a handicap that many men wouldn't be able to overcome. He was named "Schmertz". Threatened with a lifetime of celibacy, he took up the banjo, and studied Architecture, and somehow must have found that combining his two pastimes somehow got the ladies hot. When Bob wasn't plucking his banjo and crooning about the likes of Wright and Pei and Lorenzo Di Medici, he also taught architecture. I assume this was at a School in Pittsburgh, as this record was released to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Pittsburgh Architectural Club.

So here with this piece of vinyl, we can now delight to tunes about John Lally and doric columns, and Queen Anne Fronts, and Walter and Mies and Corbu, all built upon a solid foundation of charm and wit."

from

bentrecords.blogspot.com/2005/ 03/ladies-beware-of-architect-by-robert.html

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 02:58 AM

Lots of info here.

from

www.robertschmertz.com/default.asp

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 03:04 AM

You can hear him singing at this site.

from

www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=949

Subject: DT Corr: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 03:11 AM

Nice work, Peace! Thanks for the information. Here are the differences I hear on the Pete Seeger recording:

^^^ QUEEN ANNE FRONT
(Robert Schmertz)

When Great Grandfather was a gay young blade
And Great Grandmother was his bride
They found a lot, a perfect little spot
Over on the old North Side
It sloped down to the river, from River Avenue
Great Grandma said that it would give her
Such a lovely view
So they took a look in Godey's Ladies Book
To see what they could find
And they found a house, a jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

Now, Great Grandfather was a handyman
Who never wasted any time
He found a crew that knew just what to do
With white pine, common brick, and lime.
He said, "We'll build a big veranda, where Amanda can perch.
"And I'll sit there myself on Sunday mornings
When everybody else has gone to church."
The neighbors said, "He's crazy in the head
He's surely lost his mind."
But he built that house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

Now, Great Grandpa at last was laid to rest
And Great Grandmother at his side.
Old Aunt Amanda said, "My land, a
Vacant house I can't abide.
I'll start a ladies' seminary, it will be very select.
Of course, it will be very necessary
That all my girls be circumspect."
As you may guess, it was a big success
The girls were so refined
In that self-same house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

Well, Aunt Amanda's work at last was done
And she had gone to her reward.
Appeared a sign that bore the line
Announcing simply, "Room and Board."
The old house soon was filled with roomers, of every degree
Red flannel underwear and bloomers
Hung out for everyone to see.
The old porch stoop had started in to droop
The house looked so resigned
That self-same house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

The poor old house got to looking worse and worse,
And so did River Avenue.
Wooden shacks across the tracks
Spoiled Great Grandma's lovely view.
When several very pretty ladies moved in there one day.
They were such charming Sues and Sadies
But a wagon came and took them all away.
One old dame said, "Isn't it a shame
My girls were so refined."
But they closed that house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

@home @nostalgia @whore
filename[ QUANFRNT
JB

---

Note that we don't have a tune. If anybody would like to transcribe it for us, please e-mail it to me for posting.
-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

---

Here's the version from the Robert Schmertz Website, www.robertschmertz.com:

The Queen Anne Front (and the Mary Ann Behind)
(Robert Schmertz)

When Great Grandfather was a gay young blade
And great Grandmother was his bride,
They found a lot, a very pretty spot,
‘Twas over on the old North Side.
It sloped down to the river
From River Avenue.
Great Grandma said that it would give her
Such a lovely view.
They took a look in “Godey’s Ladies’ Book”
To see what they could find.
And they found a house, a jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front and a Mary Ann behind.

Great Grandfather was a handy man
Who never wasted any time -
He found a crew who knew just what to do
With white pine, common brick and lime -
He said “We’ll build a big veranda
Where Aunt Amanda can perch,
And I’ll sit there on Sunday morning
When everybody else has gone to church” -
The neighbors said, “He’s crazy in the head,
He’s surely lost his mind!”
But he built that house, that jolly little house
With a Queen Anne front and a Mary Ann behind.

When Great Grandpaw at last was laid away
With Great Grandmother by his side
Dear Aunt Amanda said “My land,
A vacant house I can’t abide
I’ll start a lady’s seminary
Make it very select
It will be very necessary
That all my girls be circumspect!”
As you may guess it was a great success
And her girls were so refined
In that self-same house, that jolly little house
With the Queen Anne front and the Mary Ann behind.

When Aunt Amanda’s work at last was done
And she had gone to her reward
Appeared a sign which bore the line
Announcing simply “Room and Board”
The old house soon was filled with roomers
Of every degree,
Red flannel underwear and bloomers
Were hanging out for everyone to see -
The old front stoop had started in to droop
And the house looked so resigned
That self-same house, that jolly little house
With the Queen Anne front and the Mary Ann behind.

The poor old house got looking worse and worse
And so did River Avenue
And wooden shacks across the tracks
Spoiled Great Grandma’s lovely view.
When several very pretty ladies
Moved in there one day
They were such charming Sues and Sadies
But a wagon came and took them all away -
There was one old dame said, “It’s a dirty shame,
My girls are so refined!”
But they closed that house, that jolly little house,
With the Queen Anne Front and the Mary Ann behind!

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 03:17 AM

It's also on Pete's album "A Link in the Chain".

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Peace
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 03:21 AM

Queen Anne Front
(Schmertz)

When Great Grandfather was a gay young man
And Great Grandmother was his bride
They found a lot, a jolly little spot
Over on the old North Side
It sloped down toward the river, from River Avenue
Great Grandma said that it would give her
Such a lovely view
So they took a look in Godey's Ladies Book
To see what they could find
And they found a house, a jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

Now, Great Grandfather was a handy man
Who never wasted any time
He found a crew that knew just what to do
With white pine, common brick, and lime.
He said, "I'll build a big veranda, where Amanda can perch.
"And I'll sit there myself on Sunday mornings
"When everybody else has gone to church."
The neighbors said, "He's crazy in the head
"He's surely lost his mind."
But he built that house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

Now, Great Grandpa at last was laid to rest
With Great Grandmother at his side.
Old Aunt Amanda said, "My land, an
"Empty house I can't abide.
"I'll start a ladies' seminary, it will be very select.
"Of course, it will be very necessary
"That all my girls be circumspect."
As you may guess, it was a big success
Those girls were so refined
In that self-same house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

Now, Aunt Amanda's work at last was done
And she passed on to her reward.
Appeared a sign that bore the line
Announcing simply, "Room and Board."
The house was soon filled with roomers, of every degree
Red flannel underwear and bloomers
Hung out for everyone to see.
The old porch stoop had started in to droop
The house looked so resigned
That self-same house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

Now that old house was looking worse and worse
And so was River Avenue.
Wooden shacks across the tracks
Spoiled Great Grandma's lovely view.
A group of very pretty ladies moved in there one day.
The were such pretty Sues and Sadies
But a wagon came and took them all away.
Said one old dame, "Now isn't it a shame
"My girls were so refined."
But they closed that house, that jolly little house,
With a Queen Anne front
And a Mary Anne behind.

located at

www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Queen_Anne_Front.htm

---

This version was taken from the Digital Tradition.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Snuffy
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 07:48 AM

I'd never heard of a Queen Anne front until I came across this yesterday:

Industrious Carpenter Dan

An honest man what loves his trade
Deserves me honest grip ;
And Carpenter Dan was a handy man
To have about the ship.

The things he couldn`t hammer up
Them things he hammered down ;
He sawed the rails and spliced the sails
And done his bizness brown.

He scroll-sawed all the masts and spars
And varnished `em with ile,
Then he shingled the poop of our gallant sloop
With a gable,Queen Anne style

Along the basement porthole sills
He worked for hours and hours
A-building tiers of jardineers
And planting `em with flowers

He filled the deck with rustic seats
And many a grapevine swing —
Yes a handy man was Carpenter Dan,
For he thought of everything

Then pretty soon he got a scheme
To ease the Capting`s cares,
So he fitted the sloop with a fine front stoop
With rugs and Morris chairs

And there we sat a-drinking tea,
The Capting and his crew,
When we heard arise, to our great surprise
A nawful hulleroo

The Capting looked across the rail
And sort of chawed his lip —
For Carpenter Dan was building an
Extension to the ship

"Avast there,Dan", the Capting cried
"What have you gone to do?"
"Don`t bother me man", said Carpenter Dan,
"I`m fixing things for you."

Then he toe-nailed on a rafter beam
And sawed a two by four;
Then he gave a yank to a six-inch plank
And started on the floor.

So Dan he worked three solid weeks
Till on a happy day
A double craft with a Queen Anne aft
We sailed into the bay

And from that bonny lean-to boat
We vowed no more to roam;
From window panes to weather vanes
We loved our stately home

And as we sat among the vines
On many an ocean trip
We vowed that Dan was a handy man
To have about the ship.

- Wallace Irwin

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Ernest
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 09:58 AM

I got one recording (Sing oh the city oh) which I found very entertaining - great to know that there is a website.
Has anyone transcribed "Ohio Company" or "Flintlock Finnegan" yet?
Best
Ernest

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 10:41 AM

For some more Schmertz, check out Monogahela Sal in Digitrad.

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Jun 06 - 09:53 AM

Interesting songs. Thanks.

For those who didn't know, "Schmertz" is German for "pain." A strange last name, certainly.

I do have to wonder why the person who indexed this song thought that it was worthwhile to index it under "whore" and ignored such possibilities as

house
great-grandfather/mother
ladies seminary
porch
architecture
Queen Anne

Surely we've got enough songs about whores.

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jun 06 - 09:52 PM

Hi, Leeneia - we have a "whore" category among the 500-some categories we already have, but we don't have any of the ones you list. They show up in a full-text search, but they're not common enough to warrant a separate category in the DT - or at least, I think that's the philosophy. I'd like to see fewer categories, not more.
-Joe Offer-


(but since I see Dick or Susan posted a redundant harvesting birdie on the corrected lyrics, does that mean they're not going to accept the corrections? Surely it would be good to use the lyrics from the songwriter's own website - no?)

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Dec 16 - 05:18 AM

This article says the phrase "Queen Anne front with a Mary Ann behind" comes from Mark Twain. Can anybody verify or disprove that?

Somewhere in my 31-state trip in the last three months, I heard that a building with a "Queen Anne front with a Mary Ann behind," is one that has a fancy front facing the street with the unseen parts of the buildings exterior very plain.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: GUEST,MrNoName
Date: 25 Mar 17 - 06:19 AM

The Phrase "A Queen Anne front and a Mary Anne behind" was originally used to describe the Terrace Houses (built to resemble an English Grand House) on the famous Georgian Bath Circus - the fronts were all Grand and imposing and identical, but the rears were all individual and different.


Circus (Bath) - Wikipedia

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Mar 17 - 01:58 PM

I probably used that phrase about my house when you were here, Joe. A friend whose spouse is an architect uses that term to describe this kind of situation (limestone on the front, bricks on the back). She's the one who taught it to me.

I'll have to poke around re: the Mark Twain attribution.

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Jack Campin
Date: 25 Mar 17 - 08:38 PM

In Scots the phrase is "fur coat and nae knickers".

Subject: RE: Origins: Queen Anne Front (Robert Schmertz)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Mar 17 - 01:25 AM

I'm sure MrNoName has good intentions, but I'm not sure I'm ready to believe that the Georgian houses in Bath have a "Queen Anne Front." I'm tempted to think that the phrase "Queen Anne front and a Mary Ann behind" was coined by Robert Schmertz. The expression just sounds American to me, and it sounds like something Schmertz would come up with - remember that Robert Schmertz was an architecture professor at Carnegie Tech.

Wikipedia has an interesting article on the Queen Anne Style of architecture. If the article is correct, what is called "Queen Anne" in England, is close to what I would call "Georgian." What is called "Queen Anne" in North America, is much more ornate.

-Joe-

P.S. Most of what I remember of Acme's house, was the beautiful and delicious eggplant growing in the garden. After eating that eggplant Parmesan, I felt I had died and gone to heaven. Who needs architecture when there's eggplant to eat?