To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=38632
23 messages

Lyr Req: Don't Slay That Potato (Tom Paxton)

06 Sep 01 - 04:54 PM (#543754)
Subject: Don't slay that potatoe
From: Tom French

Anyone out there acquainted with a song that has a chorus of something like the following:

Please, please, don't slay that potatoe It's never done nothing to you. Don't boil it or bake it Or dice it or fry it For goodness sake, Please don't freeze-dry it

06 Sep 01 - 05:06 PM (#543768)
Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T SLAY THAT POTATO (Tom Paxton)
From: Sorcha

DON'T SLAY THAT POTATO
(Tom Paxton)

How can you do it? It's heartless, it's cruel.
It's murder, cold-blooded, it's gross.
To slay a poor vegetable just for your stew
Or to serve with some cheese sauce on toast.
Have you no decency? Have you no shame?
Have you no conscience, you cad,
To rip that poor vegetable out of the earth
Away from its poor mom and dad?

CHORUS:
Oh, no, don't slay that potato!
Let us be merciful, please.
Don't boil it or fry it, don't even freeze-dry it.
Don't slice [dice?] it or flake it.
For God's sake, don't bake it!
Don't shed the poor blood
Of this poor helpless spud.
That's the worst kind of thing you could do.
Oh, no, don't slay that potato
What never done nothing to you!

Why not try picking on something your size
Instead of some carrot or bean?
The peas are all trembling there in their pod
Just because you're so vicious and mean.
How would you like to be grabbed by your hair
And [be?] ruthlessly yanked from your bed
And have done to you
God knows what horrible things,
To be eaten with full-fiber bread?

(CHORUS)

It's no bed of roses, this vegetable life.
You're basically stuck in the mud.
You don't get around much. You don't see the sights
When [If?] you're a carrot or celery or spud.
You're helpless when somebody's flea-bitten dog
Takes a notion to pause for relief.
Then somebody picks you and cleans you and eats you
And causes you nothing but grief.

(CHORUS)

There ought to be some way of saving our skins.
They ought to be passing a law.
Just show anybody a cute little lamb
And they'll [they?] all stand around and go "Aw!"
Well, potatoes are ugly. Potatoes are plain.
We're wrinkled and lumpy [bumpy?] to boot.
But give me a break, kid. Do you mean to say
That you'll eat us because we're not cute?

(CHORUS)


I added a few suggested corrections in italics. -Joe Offer-

06 Sep 01 - 05:07 PM (#543769)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: SharonA

Yes! It's by Tom Paxton. My favorite part is the comparison of the potato's plight with that of the cute little lamb, which everyone wants to save from slaughter while saying "Awww".

I can't believe this song's not in the DigiTrad, but I don't see it there! Can anyone post the complete lyrics?

06 Sep 01 - 05:13 PM (#543777)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: Sorcha

grin, I just did, Sharon. I was surprised to find it, Paxton lyrics are hard to find on the web.

06 Sep 01 - 05:18 PM (#543785)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: SharonA

Curses, cross-posted again! Sorry, Sorcha. Where the heck did you find the lyrics?

06 Sep 01 - 05:21 PM (#543788)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: JedMarum

I notice, Tom, that you use the Republican spelling.

06 Sep 01 - 05:23 PM (#543794)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: Sorcha

I just went to Google and typed in the title in quotes. It was the first hit!

06 Sep 01 - 05:32 PM (#543806)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: SharonA

Quotes! Aha! That's the secret! Thanks.

06 Sep 01 - 05:35 PM (#543810)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: Sorcha

Yea, the quotes (double inverted commas) tell it to search for the phrase, not each word.

06 Sep 01 - 09:09 PM (#544022)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: GUEST,breezy

recorded by artisan, jacey bedford & co

06 Sep 01 - 10:06 PM (#544059)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: Tom French

Thanks to Sorcha for the words and everyone else who helped out thereafter. This ends a 17 year quest. You folks are great and I'll try to reciprocate. Pardon the Republican spelling of Potato - e. Ever since Dan's mistake, I've been confused about which is correct. Also, the lyrics are better than I remembered them. Kudos to Tom Paxton. Although I have a collection of his songs, I missed that one somewhere along the line. How old is it? Thanks again everyone!

09 Sep 03 - 07:06 PM (#1015850)
Subject: Chord Req: Oh No Don't slay that Potato
From: Raggytash

I've figured out the basic chords to this Tom Paxton song but would be grateful if anyone has the definative chord structure for it

Cheers

Raggy
I moved this message here from another thread on the same topic.
-Joe Offer-

09 Sep 03 - 07:54 PM (#1015873)
Subject: RE: Chord Req: Oh No Don't slay that Potato
From: Sorcha

Sorry, all I found was lyrics.

10 Sep 03 - 07:23 AM (#1016171)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chord Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: kendall

what key do you want to sing it in?

10 Sep 03 - 07:51 AM (#1016179)
Subject: Chords Add: DON'T SLAY THAT POTATO
From: kendall

I'll give you the chords for the key of "G".

G                              D       G
Well how can you do it.... cold blooded gross
    A             D      D7th         G       D          B7
....serve with ..toast.. decency... shame...concience ..cad to
C          G
rip that... out

E    A      D
earth..away...dad
C    G         D
Oh no..potato....please...
G                E   A      D
even... freeze dry dice...gods sake
G          C
shed.... could do
         G    E          A    D
Oh no slay...potato....never...nothing..    you

10 Sep 03 - 07:56 AM (#1016183)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chord Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: kendall

Damn, some of the chords are not lined up right with the words. I was trying to avoid typing out all the lyrics again.

10 Sep 03 - 08:17 AM (#1016194)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chord Req: Don't slay that potatoe
From: Raggytash

Thanks Kendall I think I can work it out frpm there, just couldn't seem to get it to sound the same as Artisan do it, although they sing it unaccomplished (sorry) Unaccompanied

04 Apr 18 - 06:55 PM (#3915228)
Subject: Don't Slay That Potato
From: topical tom

Can anyone tell me if this Tom Paxton song is available as a video online?

05 Apr 18 - 02:14 PM (#3915417)
Subject: RE: Don't Slay That Potato
From: Joe Offer

Hi, tt - Hope you don't mind that I moved you to the existing thread on the song.

Here's a pretty good YouTube Paxton playlist with 249 songs, but no potatoes:
There is a not-very-credible recording of the song by another artist: -Joe-

05 Apr 18 - 03:07 PM (#3915431)
Subject: RE: Req: Don't Slay That Potato (Tom Paxton)
From: GUEST

As far as I know, there is no live version of this song, video or audio.

05 Apr 18 - 05:04 PM (#3915452)
Subject: RE: Req: Don't Slay That Potato (Tom Paxton)
From: topical tom

Thanks ,Joe, for moving my thread to this existing one. Thanks to all for all the info. I actually have the cd containing this song but I wanted to send it to someone and I finally found out how to share it from the album.My granddaughter loved this song when she first heard it and will get a kick out of hearing it again.Muchos gracias, everyone!

07 Apr 18 - 04:43 PM (#3915767)
Subject: RE: Req: Don't Slay That Potato (Tom Paxton)
From: keberoxu

This is one hilarious lyric. Thanks for sharing.

20 Oct 18 - 12:47 PM (#3957577)
Subject: RE: Req: Don't Slay That Potato (Tom Paxton)
From: GUEST

GUEST - I do have a live version of this song. It's from his performance at the Bottom Line in 1987.