Origins: Great American Bum

03 Nov 98 - 08:42 PM (#44093)
Subject: Great American Bum
From: [e-mail]

I'm looking for the lyrics to an old song from the late depression era-30's or thereabout. I don't know the artist, but it was recorded for play on a graphaphone (I don't know what that is). The song may have been called "The Great American Bum" and all I know about it is words to the effect "this land is rolling, now if this is true, roll it here to me and I'll see what I can do." I have found a song "The Pender Harbour Fisherman's Come All Ye" that claims to be a "variation of" "The Great American Bum" but has no words that identify it as the song I'm looking for. Also found reference that this song may have been a hobo song. Any leads will be appreciated. Thanks!

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03 Nov 98 - 11:10 PM (#44113)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Hi - I'm thinking the song may be The Great Historical Bum (click here). It just might be that the reference in the database under "Pender Harbour" could be wrong. Dick Greenhaus, the Esteemed Editor of the Digital Tradition Database, is seldom wrong - but he has been known on occasion to have faulty words flow from his typing fingers. A song that's often sung with "Bum" is Born 10,000 Years Ago (click here).
-Joe Offer-

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03 Nov 98 - 11:17 PM (#44117)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

I shouldn't have doubted the Esteemed Mr. Greenhaus. I found "Great American Bum," and it's a completely different song. I'll post it in an hour or so.
-Joe Offer-

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04 Nov 98 - 01:24 AM (#44143)
Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM
From: Joe Offer

THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM
(traditional)

Come all you jolly jokers if you want to have some fun
And listen while I relate the tale of the great American bum.
From the east and west and north and south like a swarm of bees they come.
They sleep in the dirt and they wear a shirt that's dirty and full of crumbs.

(chorus)
I am a bum, a jolly old bum
And I live like a royal Turk.
And I have good luck and I bum all my chuck
And the heck with the man that works.

It's early in the morning when the dew is on the ground,
A bum arises from his nest and gazes all around.
While going east they're loaded, and going west sealed tight,
"I reckon we'll have to ride aboard the fast express tonight."
(chorus)

Well, I met a man the other day that I never met before,
And he asked me if I wanted a job a-shovelin' iron ore.
I asked him what the wages was and he said: "ten cents a ton."
I said: "Old fellow, scratch your …neck, I'd rather be on the bum.
(chorus)

Oh, lady would you be kind enough to give me somethin' to eat,
A piece of bread and butter and a tender slice of meat.
Some apple pie and custard just to tickle me appetite,
For really I'm so hungry, don't know where I'll sleep tonight.
(chorus)

Some sources attribute the song to Harry McClintock, who wrote "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Dick Greenhaus, you know about these things - did McClintock write "Bum"?? I found the song in the Silverman "Folk Song Encyclopedia," with no songwriter named.

MIDI file: GREATA~1.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: The Great American Bum
Text: By (traditional)
TimeSig: 6/8 24 8
Start
0000 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0448 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0382 0 60 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0046 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0046 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0448 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0448 0 60 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0448 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0046 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0046 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0670 0 60 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:The Great American Bum
M:6/8
Q:1/4=120
K:C
GG2EE2|EE2EE2|EE2EF2|ED5|DD2DDD|DD2DDD|DG2GFE|
DC4G|GG2EE2|EE2EE2|E/2E/2E2EF2|ED5|DDDDDD|
DD2DD2|DGGGF2|DC5|GG2EE2|EEEEEE|EEEEF2|ED5|
D/2D/2D2DDD|DDDDDD|DGGGF2|DC5|-C2||

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Click Here for 1928 recording and sheet music by Harry McClintock

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04 Nov 98 - 05:02 PM (#44221)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: [e-mail]

This is great! My 75-year old mother has mentioned this song several times recently and now I can "refresh" her memory on the song. I haven't tried the midi file yet--I'm just flat dumb when things get too far over my head, but I usually jump in with both feet. FYI--the shortcut to "The Great Historical Bum" doesn't work--gives a web publisher error. This version of "The Great American Bum" doesn't contain the words Mother thought she remembered from her young days, but I understand many of these songs had other versions or verses. Thanks again. Ann Hull

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04 Nov 98 - 06:09 PM (#44232)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: John in Brisbane

The version that I knew from a 78 rpm of the 30's (?) had words something like "You say this land is rolling I'll tell you what to do, just roll it down to some shady nook and I'll see what I can do", plus it was interspersed with some dry humorous exchanges between the bum and a house-lady (I think) such as "Hey missus, I've got a button here, can you sew a shirt on it?" I believe that it was on the flip-side of a Regal Zonophone recording of either The Big Rock Candy Mountain or Hallelujah I'm a Bum.

Likewise Joe's words are not the ones that I used to listen to. I have a very strong memory of the music line - I'm looking forward to listening to Joe's tonight.

Regards
John

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05 Nov 98 - 02:20 AM (#44305)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: [e-mail]

Hello, John from Brisbane You apparently remember the version Mother has talked about. She says the record had Big Rock Candy Mountain on the flip side. Do you remember any more of the verses? Maybe Mother will remember them in more detail after she reads Joe's posted version--if so I will post them (in several days-she lives out of town). Any ideas of the artist on that recording?

Cheers! Ann Hull

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05 Nov 98 - 02:32 AM (#44306)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Hi - I found this in Folk Music - An Index to Recorded Resources, another service of the Milton Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University.

If I read it correctly, maybe the index attributes the song to Harry McClintock, who wrote "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Dick Greenhaus, you know about these things - did McClintock write "Bum"?? I found the song in the Silverman "Folk Song Encyclopedia," with no songwriter named.

The Great American Bum - McClintock, Harry "Haywire Mac"
Recordings:
Greenway, John. Big Rock Candy Mountain. Songs of the American Hobo & Migrato.., Washington WLP 710, LP (195?), cut#A.01
Holstein, Fred. Chicago and Other Ports, Philo 1030, LP (1977), B.02b

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05 Nov 98 - 04:41 AM (#44311)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Jon Bartlett

Sorry for the confusion over this: I posted "Pender harbour Fisherman's Lament", a BC variant of what I took to be "The Great American Bum", which I always thought was by Haywire Mac. Any error is thus mine and not Dick's. As the French say, "je suis desolee." The words given above in the thread have also been collected in BC. Jon

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06 Nov 98 - 10:17 AM (#44451)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Paul

On Woody Guthrie's, "The Asch Recordings - Vol. 1", there is a song called "The Greatest Thing That Man Has Ever Done". In the liner notes they also credit it as "The Great Historical Bum". It sounds something the same as what you may be looking for, but has slightly different lyrics than the others that are posted here.

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06 Nov 98 - 02:18 PM (#44479)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Doctor John

There are two distinct songs: "The Great American Bum" (Come all you jolly jokers ...) recorded by Cisco Houston and the "Great Historical Bum" which is very similar to "I was born about ten thousand years ago"

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10 Nov 98 - 04:26 AM (#44786)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: [e-mail]

I've heard from the boss and have no additional verses/variations to add to this song. Ann

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10 Nov 98 - 12:22 PM (#44818)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

I'm still confused. the requested song had the line

"this land is rolling, now if this is true, roll it here to me and I'll see what I can do."

Did we ever figure out what that song might be?

Did we ever figure out for sure if it was Harry McClintock who wrote the version of "Great American Bum" that I posted?
-Joe Offer-

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10 Nov 98 - 09:00 PM (#44888)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: dick greenhaus

Joe- I don't know. As I recall, Sandburg's "American Songbag" contained the version you posted, which would make it predate McClintock.

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10 Nov 98 - 09:15 PM (#44891)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Kansas Annie

I don't think this is figured out yet. My source is adamant that the recording she remembers as "The Great American Bum" was on the flip side of "Big Rock Candy Mountain," but the words to "The Great American Bum" as posted above don't match her memory. She's very insistent the song contained the words "You say this land is rolling, now if this is true (I'll tell you what to do-John in Brisbane's quote), just roll it down to this shady nook,and I'll see what I can do." I don't think the song I'm looking for is "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum," which is attributed to Harry McClintock. I think the next step is to find a source that contains the above words and/or delve into John Greenway recordings and go from there.

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11 Nov 98 - 05:11 AM (#44946)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Annie, take a look at Folk Music - An Index to Recorded Resources (click me). Search under McClintock and Greenway and you'll see many of the songs they recorded. The verse you give about the rolling land seems to fit the tune of "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum," which has countless verses.
In Songs of Work and Protest, Edith Fowke and Joe Glazer say 'Harry McClintock, an old Wobbly songleader who recorded the song ("Hallelujah I'm a Bum") in 1926, has made a good case for his authorship. While hoboing on the open road in 1897 or 1898, bumming his meals for his supper, McClintock says he put new words to "Revive Us Again," and called it "Hallelulia on the Bum"'
The "Hallelujah on the Bum" song is in the Lingenfelter-Dwyer book called "Songs of the American West." Anybody got a copy of that book?-please check to see if the lyrics are different from what we have in the database.
-Joe Offer-

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11 Nov 98 - 05:16 AM (#44947)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM (from Sandburg)
From: Jon Bartlett

The words posted at the head of the thread are very close to the Cisco Houston set in Sing Out! 11-4. The headnote says "...MacMcClintock claimed to have written this song -- and perhaps he did." I don't know why Dick brings in Sandburg's Songbag. The short version given there ("We Are Four Bums") gives two all but identical verses:

THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM
(from Sandburg)

"We are four bums, four jolly good chums,
We live like royal Turks;
We're having good luck in bumming our chuck
God bless [to hell with] the man that works."

Sandburg's source "heard among glee club boys" doesn't really help us, but the Songbag was published 1927, when Mac (1882-1957) would have been 45. No problem there, surely?

The BC set was collected by Phil Thomas from the Lindsley brothers, principally George, at Beaton, BC 28 June 1967 runs as follows:

1: Come all ye jolly jokers now listen while I hum
A story I relate to you of the great American bum
East and west and north and south like a swarm of bees they come
They lay in the dirt and wear a shirt that's dirty and full of crumbs.

2: Now lady would you be kind enough to give me something to eat?
A piece of bread and butter or a ten-foot slice of meat
A piece of pie or a custard to tickle me under the tight
For I'm so bloody hungry and I don't know where to sleep tonight

3: Now I beat my way from Frisco Bay to the rock-bound coast of Maine
I went right into that Beaton country but I walked right out again
Now sleeping in the station, now that's a recommendation
haree harah harum

4: Oh we jolly old bums, we jolly old bums
We live like royal Turks
We have good luck at bummin' our chuck
Goddamn the man that works.

5: Now I met a man the other day I never had met before
He asked me if I wanted a job a-shoveling iron ore
I asked him what the wages was and he said, "ten cents a ton"
I said "Old fellow, go chase yourself, I'd rather be on the bum.

6: As I was sleeping in the shade just to pass the time away
A man he came to me and he said, "You want to shovel some hay?"
He said his land is rollin', I said, "If that is true
Just roll it around to a shady spot and I'll see what I can do."

7: Oh ogee ogee ogee, all we have to do
Is sleeping in the station, that's the way we do
Oh sleeping in the station, that's a recommendation
Haree harah harum.

8: Oh we jolly old bums...[as above].

Lindsley sang this song directly after singing "The Big Rock Candy Mountain."

Since these songs are Siamese twins, I'd venture that Haywire Mac recorded them both on the one disc, and when Houston recorded it he dropped the "rollin'" verse. Mac may have written both or neither, but I think he was in the hospital (to continue the metaphor) when they were born. IMHO Jon the offsider

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19 Oct 01 - 11:13 AM (#575595)
Subject: ADD Version: Great American Bum (Cisco Houston)
From: Uncle_DaveO

THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM

Come all you jolly jokers if you want to have some fun,
And listen while I relate the tale of the Great American Bum.
From the east and west and north and south, like a swarm of bees they come.
They sleep in the dirt and they wear a shirt that's dirty and full of crumb*.

CHORUS: I am a bum, a jolly old bum, and I live like a royal Turk,
And I have good luck and I bum all my chuck, and to heck with the man that works!

It's early in the mornin', when the dew is on the ground,
The bum arises from his nest and gazes all around.
While goin' east, they're loaded, and goin' west, sealed tight.
I reckon we'll have to ride aboard the fast express tonight!

(Chorus)

I beat my way from Frisco to the rockbound coast of Maine,
From Canada to Mexico, and then all the way back again.
Well, I met a man the other day that I never had met before,
And he asked me if I wanted a job a-shovelin' iron ore.
I asked him what the wages was, and he said ten cents a ton.
I said, "Old fellow, go scratch yer-----neck; I'd rather be on the bum!"

(Chorus)

Oh, lady, would you be kind enough to give me somethin' to eat?
A piece of bread and butter, and a tender slice of meat.
Some apple pie and custard, just to tickle me appetite,
For really I'm so hungry, don't know where I'll sleep tonight!

(Chorus)

* "crumb" or "crumbs" here are not little scraps of bread or cake; they're body lice. The adjective "crumby" is "lousy" in the literal sense.
DRO+

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Note from Joe Offer (12 Dec 2014): This is the version recorded by Cisco Houston on the 1953 Folkways album, 900 Miles and other R.R. Songs.

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19 Oct 01 - 01:20 PM (#575692)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: nutty

I thought this was going to be a thread about dieting ....lol

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19 Oct 01 - 04:15 PM (#575805)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: 53

roger miller and king of the road is a good bum song.

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22 Oct 01 - 11:11 AM (#577351)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

refresh

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22 Oct 01 - 01:08 PM (#577428)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Metchosin

re crumbs, also the origin of the word "crummy", a truck with a roofed box for transporting logging crews to and from work.

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22 Oct 01 - 01:12 PM (#577429)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Mrrzy

What a great song. Wish I could rememeber who I had it by, it was one of those intermediate-sized records - another Cisco Houston, perhaps? Anybody know?

Also, if crumby is lousy, what is grumly, which I think is a compliment?

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22 Oct 01 - 03:59 PM (#577524)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

Grumlie in the Scots, as I understand it, is "grim".

Dave Oesterreich

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22 Oct 01 - 06:10 PM (#577612)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Steve in Idaho

I had this once - Thanks for bringing it back up for me Dave - I appreciate it!

Steve

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22 Oct 01 - 11:32 PM (#577857)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: paddymac

DaveO - What's the melody? Doesn't seem to quite fit "The Great Historical Bum."

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23 Oct 01 - 10:40 AM (#578060)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

No, no relationship, as far as I can see, to "The Great Historical Bum".

Would that I had a way of posting the tune. It doesn't remind me of any other song, so I can't say "It's to the tune of" or "sort of like" so-and-so.

All I can think of to say is, try to catch me on Paltalk sometime and I'll sing it on request. I currently frequent Live Music for Serious Musicians, and when I'm aware the Mudcat Snug is open I will try to show up there. If neither of those is open, I patronize rooms with "Live" in the title.

DAve Oesterreich

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23 Oct 01 - 10:49 AM (#578067)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

Norton, I saw you at Paltalk Monday night, and would have sung this, but I think you were gone by the time I got to sing.

Dave Oesterreich

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23 Oct 01 - 10:55 AM (#578071)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Steve in Idaho

Hi Dave - I got bumped by my server - I came back just as you were leaving. Not a large as I'll see you there one of these nights. BTW - your volume is awfully low - could hardly hear you. Maybe the battery is getting weak in your mixer?

Later Friend,
Steve

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23 Oct 01 - 01:29 PM (#578164)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Mrrzy

(Thread creep) if Grumlie means grim, why was the Great Silkie of Shul Skerrie "a grumly guest" when he came to her bed in? I thought it would mean welcome, or something.

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23 Oct 01 - 02:11 PM (#578210)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Cap't Bob

Last chorus (alternative)

Sleeping in the station,
Tra, la, la, la, lation,
That is my recommendation
Hurrah, hurree, hurrum.

Cap't Bob

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23 Oct 01 - 04:15 PM (#578289)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

He's supernatural, a grim and frightening guest.

I got that definition from the liner notes of a set of LPs (SEVEN HOURS of unaccompanied English and Scottish ballads) sung by Ewan McColl and A.L. Lloyd.

My, I wish I could lay hands on that set, or CD version! I have the Smithsonian's CD reissue of McColl's Folkways CD with the same title, "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads", but it's not the same assortment and not the same recording session as McColl's portion of the LP set, and A.L. Lloyd is not part of this set. There were a number of ballads I'd love to have that are not involved in the Smithsonian/Folkways set.

I've been informed that the masters were bought by a British company, but they have not re-released them, at least as this complete set, but that they may from time to time use individual tracks in compilation recordings. I forget the name of the original label and the successor owner.

Dave Oesterreich

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24 Oct 01 - 09:27 AM (#578657)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Mrrzy

Ah, so it was rape, I had never gotten that. But back to the thread - who DID sing this song? The great american bum, I mean?

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24 Oct 01 - 01:11 PM (#578824)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

Frankly, I don't remember where I learned this song. Maybe Cisco Houston? Can't place it.

Dave Oesterreich

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24 Oct 01 - 01:50 PM (#578855)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

Aha! I was right!

Cisco Houston sang it on "900 Miles and Other R.R. Songs", Folkways FP-13. Copyright 1953.

What on some records would be called "liner notes", in a three-sheet (6 page) saddlestitched insert, gives no further information on the origin of this song or its tune.

Dave Oesterreich

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24 Oct 01 - 07:27 PM (#579044)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM
From: Cap't Bob

This song was the first song that I learned to sing from beginning to end. I learned it from my Dad around the end of the l930's. I have no idea where he got the song. The song I learned is basically the same as the one listed above by DaveO. It's funny how some things stick in the old memory. The first time I sang it all the way through was at Manitou Beach MI and I was standing on the floor board of a 1936 Chevy coupe.

There are just a few differences in the words I learned. They are as follows:

Oh gather around you jolly old bums and listen while I hum
A story I relate to you of a great American bum.
From north to south to east to west like a swarm of bees they come
They sleep in the dirt and wear a shirt that's dirty and full of crumbs.

It's early in the morning, the dew is off the ground.
The bum arises from his nest and gazes all around.
From the boxcar to the hay stack he wanders everywhere.
He never gets back upon his track until he gets a square.

Oh lady would you be kind enough to give me a bite to eat
A piece of pie or curtard or a ten foot slice of meat
A piece of pie or custard would tickle my appetete
For lady I'm so hungry I don't know where to sleep tonight

Sleeping in the Station, Tra la la la lation.
That is my recommendation hurrah, hurree, hurrum

I met a man the other day I never had met before
He asked me if I wanted a job shoveling iron ore
I asked him what the wages were, he said ten cents a ton
I told the fellow go sit on a brick, I'd rather be on the bum

We three bums, we jolly three bums we live like royal Turks
We have good luck and bum on our chuck God bless the man that works.

Cap't Bob

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24 Oct 01 - 09:00 PM (#579105)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,MAG at work

Fred Holstein sings this, and I wouldn't be surprised if Utah Phillips did too, tho' I can't bring him to mind on it.

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25 Oct 01 - 07:35 PM (#579931)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: John in Brisbane

Refresh. This thread pre-dates one which started in November 2001.

Joe Offer asked above whether anyone has a copy of the Lingenfelter-Dwyer book called "Songs of the American West." I now own a copy of this book, as does Joe as I recall. It'll be 24 hours before I get the chance to look, but my memory is that the version of GAB therein is not the one that I learned as a kid.

Regards, John [e-mail]

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25 Oct 01 - 07:37 PM (#579932)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: John in Brisbane

I have refreshed an earlier thread from a few years back.

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25 Oct 01 - 10:05 PM (#580021)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Art Thieme

Mary Ann

I just found a recording of Fred H. 40 years back when he was in a trio in Old Town called THE FRETS. He replaced Guy Guilbert in that group. (Guy had replaced Jim (Roger) McGuinn.)

The other 2 guys in the group were John Carbo (banjo) and Louis McDonald (conga drum).

Art

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26 Oct 01 - 10:35 AM (#580347)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: MAG

Art, you are incredible. I don't suppose The Frets recordings are available for love or money? Good to hear from you. -- MAG

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26 Oct 01 - 11:14 AM (#580372)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

Joe posted these words AND THE TUNE in November of '98. How is it that it never got into the DT?

Dave Oesterreich

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26 Oct 01 - 01:41 PM (#580478)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

The tune was provided in the other thread, in ABC.

Dave Oesterreich

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02 Nov 01 - 08:15 AM (#584540)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: John in Brisbane

Be still oh beating heart - I finally found a recrding of this song after 40 years, all due to Mudcat. It's at The Record Lady's site in Volume 23 of her hits, sung by Vernon Dalhart.

http://recordlady.webgcs.com/23r/51ae.ram

I haven't had a chance to transcribe the lyrics but they're just as I remember them (as would Kansas Annie's mum). I don't know anything about Dalhart, but it is possible that this is a sequel to the original "...I've got some more to tell you about the great American Bum ..."

Regards, John

---

06 Nov 01 - 02:23 PM (#586891)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

Sounds more like it's the predecessor to that one. What you list is "some more", so I expect that one followed the one given here.

Dave Oesterreich

---

07 Nov 01 - 04:12 PM (#587726)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Leeder

My dad used to sing this song, but I'd forgotten about it. I loved it as a kid. This is a nostalgia trip for me. I assume he would have learned it from the Vernon Dalhart recording.

Hi Jon. I'm legal now.

---

07 Nov 01 - 09:56 PM (#587956)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Leeder

Here's a verse my father sang which is not included in, or is significantly different from, the sets above:

Sleeping beside the station, tra-la-la-la-la-la-lation,
That's a recommendation, hurrah, hurree, hurrum,
For we're three bums, three jolly good chums, we live like royal Turks;
We have good luck at bumming our chuck; God bless the man that works!

The latter two lines were his version of the chorus as well.

This is reconstructed from memory, by the way; I have my dad's song lyrics, but not handy, and this one may or may not be in it.

He also sang "I Was Born One Hundred Thousand Years Ago"; other versions I've come across use "About Ten Thousand".

---

17 Aug 04 - 01:14 AM (#1249133)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,John Canada

What I'm seeing here is lyrics from Harry Mcclintock's Victor records "The Bum Song" and "Bum Song No. 2", records made in 1928.
I have "The Bum Song", But I'll be darned if I'll Transcribe the Lyrics!

John

---

17 Aug 04 - 03:43 AM (#1249174)
Subject: RE: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Are the McClintock recordings available on CD, John?
-Joe Offer-

---

17 Aug 04 - 07:28 PM (#1249863)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,John Canada

A Harry McClintock compilation was issued on CD in 1990, but I don't think it's available now. I see "Bum Song" listed on e-bay, but it turns out to ne the original 78 of "Bum Song No.2.
I'll bet a diligent search of the web would turn up a CD for sale or a download, though.

John

---

18 Aug 04 - 07:42 AM (#1250214)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,John Canada

Harry Mcclintock "The Great American Bum" CD D082 is available from Britain from "the British Archive of Country Music", http://bacm.users.btopenworld.com/CD-details5.html. 22 of his records, restored, including both "Bum" songs, "the Big Rock Candy Mountain" and a few I've never heard of.

John

---

21 Aug 04 - 10:14 PM (#1253180)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Jim Dixon

Cisco Houston sings THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM on "The Folkways Years 1944-1961," Smithsonian Folkways CD 40059, 1994. On that album, it is attributed to "M. McClintock." There is a sound sample at allmusic.

---

22 Aug 04 - 12:39 AM (#1253238)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Cap't Bob

I learned this song from my dad back in the late 30's. The first song I can remember singing. His version was a combination of the above verses with a few slight changes.

"Oh gather around you jolly old bums and listen while I hum,
A story I'll relate to you of a great American bum,
From north to south to east to west, like a swarm of bees they come,
They sleep in the dirt and wear a shirt that's dirty and full of crumbs."


"It's early in the morning when the dew is on the ground,
The bum arises from his nest and gazes all around.
From the boxcar to the hay stack, he wanders everywhere,
He never gets back upon the track until he gets a square."

"We three bums, we jolly three bums; we live like royal Turks,
We have good luck, and bum on our chuck, God bless the man that works."

Cap't Bob

---

22 Aug 04 - 12:28 PM (#1253527)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Uncle_DaveO

For those few who don't already know it, "crumb" or "crumbs" in this song are not those little pieces of torn-off bread or cake that we sweep off the table. "Crumbs" here are body lice.

Dave Oesterreich

---

23 Aug 04 - 12:36 PM (#1254553)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Strollin' Johnny

I thought the Great American Bum belonged to Jennifer Lopez?

OK, I'll leave now...............

---

24 Aug 04 - 08:26 AM (#1255201)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Strollin' Johnny

I knew you Americans had no sense of humour............:0)

---

25 Jun 08 - 12:39 PM (#2374047)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM
From: GUEST,Bill Hamilton

The number of verses and versions give a real insight to this county. I grew up in a railroad town and most of the men in the family for several generations were railroad men. They sang this song and similar ones on a regular basis. I learned the words below in the late thirties and early forties as well as many of the other verses floating around. Some versions leave the word "bay" off after "Frisco" and this doesn't make sense to me. As a side note, when I visited Maine for the first time last years, I confirmed the rock bound coast and remembered this song my dad sang. Hope someone likes the "town clowns and harness bulls" bit.



Come all you jolly jokers
And listen while I hum
The story I'll relate to you
The great American bum

From north to south
From east to west
Like a storm of bees they come
They lay in the dirt
And where a shirt
All dirty and full of crumb

Tra-la-la-la-la-lation
That's my recommendation
Hurrah, horree, horrum
For we're three bums
Three jolly old bums
We live like royal Turks
We have good luck in bumming our junk
God bless the man that works

I beat my way from Frisco bay
To the rockbound coast of Maine
From Canada to Mexico
And wandered back again
I met town clowns and harness bulls
As tough as the cops could be
I've been in every calaboose
In this land of liberty

Oh we're three bums....

---

25 Jun 08 - 10:29 PM (#2374485)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Abby Sale

I added the Cisco Houston in 1996 and Joe Offer did again in 1998. Still not in the data base. But search on the song for the several discussions and versions. I like the Vernon Dalhart recording. I've got a .ra but I don't know where I got it. There's a fair copy at Clicky

---

26 Jun 08 - 12:29 AM (#2374533)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Jon Bartlett

I wouldn't be surprised if Haywire Mac McClintock recorded this, too.

Jon Bartlett

---

26 Jun 08 - 01:08 AM (#2374553)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,NYMusicLover

Hey Uncle Dave, The Chad Mitchell Trio did the Great Historical Bum combined with The Braggart's Song (I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago) I have it, and if it's possible to upload music to this site, I can try to bring it here...

---

26 Jun 08 - 03:18 PM (#2375007)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Mark Ross

Haywire Mac wrote it! And also recorded BUM SONG #2.

Mark Ross

---

27 Jun 08 - 08:41 AM (#2375488)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Great American Bum
From: Newport Boy

The combination of the Great Historical Bum (Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done) and I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago was in Sing Out in 1961.

The first (which begins "I'm just a lonesome traveller, the great historical bum") is credited words and music by Woody Guthrie. The version printed says "One of Woody Guthrie's finest songs brought up-to-date."

Ten Thousand Years is credited as collected, adapted and arranged by John & Alan Lomax.

The combination is entitled "Just The Facts, Ma'am", and uses 5 verses of Ten Thousand Years and 4 verses of Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done.

The notes say: Larry Mohr has put a new tune to Woody's song, and he and Odetta Feilous perform this friendly competition on a new disc called "Odetta and Larry" (Fantasy).

Woody's original version of Biggest Thing had about a dozen verses and dates from around 1936. He added verses later and the last one about Hitler is about 1944/5. I don't think there's any real relationship to Great American Bum, except that Woody might have known and modified the phrase.

Phil

---

20 Mar 12 - 10:23 PM (#3326069)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: GUEST

Owen Clark, Murray UT 84107 Ph 801-266-8308
I heard and sang this song when I was age eight, in Star Valley, Wyoming, on the Dairy farm of my Uncle & Aunt. I am now age 92. We played those 78 records on a Wind-Up Victrola. They had two records, one was McClintock`s "Big Rock Candy Mountain," with the flip side of "Hallelujah, I`m a Bum." "Oh I went to a house and I knocked at the door, And the lady said Bum, Bum, you`ve been here before! (Chorus after each verse) "Hallelujah, I`m a Bum; Hallelujah, Bum again! Hallelujah, give us a handout to revive us again."
   The 2nd two-sided recording was already mentioned here by someone else: "The Bum Song #1" and "The Bum song #2. The lyrics and the performer are now a dim blur, but I sang with the recording, "Come all you jolly jokers, and listen while I hum; A story I`ll relate to you of the Great American Bum; On the highways and the railroad tracks, You`ll find theme everywhere! They`re shootin` Snipes or smokin` pipes, Or Bummin` for a square. "Oh once I met John Farmer, he stopped me on me way, He says, "I`ve got some potatoes, and I want them dug today." Now I can`t dig no potatoes, because I`m gettin` fat! Go hire the guy what planted `em, cause he knows where they`re at! Oh, leave the work to the other guys, To honest working men, but I dowanna dig no spuds, I`m on the bum again.
   "As I was sleepin` in the shade to pass the time away, A man came up and asked me To help him pitch some hay; He said his land was rolling, I said, "Now if that`s true, Just roll it here to this shady spot, and I`ll see what I can do." "Oh the weather`s gettin` chilly, and soon we`ll all be froze, I`ve got to a sunny state, where the weather fits me clothes." And the closing phrase: "I`ll see you in Califoria, I`m on the Bum again." I also remember "Mum, I have a button here. Could you sew a shirt on it for me?" The lady sharply says, "Where`s that broom? Outta here! On yer way! And the bum hastily answers,"I`m goin` Mum, Goodbye Mum! The lady responds gruffly, "Goodbye Bum!"
    I have a cousin who is still living, whose Dad & Mother were the owners of the 78`a and the Victrola, so am gonna phone her to see how many of those lyrics SHE remembers, and will get back to you all.

---

21 Mar 12 - 09:59 AM (#3326295)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Mark Ross

Written and recorded by Harry Kirby "Haywire Mac" McClintock.

Anyone out there know if Mac and Woody Guthrie ever crossed paths? Ther were both in California at the same time.

Mark Ross

---

16 Apr 12 - 09:33 PM (#3339327)
Subject: ADD Version: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,Bob Coyle

These are the lyrics I heard on an old 75 rpm in 1955. The record was much older and I know nothing about it. but it had more verses than the others here... so here it is.. as far as I can member


THE GREAT AMERICAN BUM

Come all you jolly jokers if you and listen while I hum
I'll relate to you the story of of the great American bum.
From the east and west and north and south like a swarm of bees they come.
They sleep in the dirt and they wear a shirt that's dirty and full of crumbs.

(chorus)
I am a bum, a jolly old bum
And I live like a royal Turk.
And I have good luck and I bum all my chuck
God bless the man that works.

It's early in the morning when the dew is on the ground,
The bum arises from his nest and gazes all around.
From the boxcars and the haystacks they get up everywhere
and they never look back upon their track until they had a square.
(chorus)

Now I beat my way from Frisco Bay to the rock-bound coast of Maine
Througth Canada and Mexico and I been back again
I've met town clown and railroad bulls as tough as tough can be
and I've been in every calaboos in this land of liberty.
(chorus)

well I've topped the spruce and worked the sluice and taken my turn at the plow
I've panned for gold in the rain and cold and worked on a river scow.
I built the dam and dug the clam and packed the elusive prune.
But my troubles fail when I hit the trail packin my ol maloon.
(chorus)

I'm waiting in the station, waiting for a train
waiting for a west bound freight, I think it's all in vane.
While going east they're loaded, and going west sealed tight,
"I reckon we'll have to ride aboard the fast express tonight."
(chorus)

Well, I met a man the other day that I never met before,
And he asked me if I wanted a job a-shovelin' iron ore.
I asked him what the wages was and he said: "ten cents a ton."
I said: "Old man go chase yourself", I'd rather be on the bum.
(chorus)

Oh, lady would you be kind enough to give me somethin' to eat,
A piece of bread and butter and a tender slice of meat.
Some apple pie and custard just to tickle me appetite,
For really I'm so hungry, don't know where I'll sleep tonight.
(chorus)

(end chorus)
sleeping in the station, tra la la lation
perpetual vacation, that's my recommendation, haree, haree, harum
We are three bums, three jolly ol bums we live like royal turks
we have good luck in bumming our chuck
And we never bother to work

---

>The Great American Bum
It's early in the morning
The dew's still on ground
The bum crawls out from his nest
And gazes all around
From the boxcar and the haystack
He gazes everywhere
He'll never turn back upon his track
Untill he gets a square

I was sleeping in the shade
To pass the time away
A man woke me up and asked me
To help him get in some hay
He said his land was rolling
I said now if that is true
Roll it here to this shady spot
And I'll see what I can do

Once I met John Farmer
He stopped me on my way
He said he was digging potatoes
And they had to be dug today
Now I can't dig any potatoes
'Cause I'm getting fat
Go hire the man that planted them
He knows where they are at

(dialogue)
"Good mornin' mum"
"Good morning bum"
" I was just passing by"
"Why did you stop"
"I haven'nt eaten yet today"
"SO"
"I have'nt seen my wife for many years
"SO"
"Well mum I have a button here"
"Would you sew a shirt on it for me"
"WERE IS MY BROOM GET OUT HERE
ON YOUR WAY"
"Goodby mum"
"Good bum"

My clothes are getting ragged
My shoes are getting thin
But what do I care
I've got to wear
I'm on the bum again

The weathers getting chilly
Soon all will be froze
I've got to go to a sunny state
Where the weathers fit for clothes

---

12 Dec 14 - 02:46 PM (#3685163)
Subject: ADD Version: We Are Four Bums (Sandburg)
From: Joe Offer

Sandburg's version is just a bit longer than what Jon Bartlett posted above.

WE ARE FOUR BUMS
(from Sandburg)

We are four bums, four jolly good chums,
We live like royal Turks;
We're having good luck, in bumming our chuck,
God bless the man that works.

We are four bums, four jolly good chums,
We live like royal Turks;
We're having good luck, in bumming our chuck,
To hell with the man that works.

from Carl Sandburg, The American Songbag (1927), page 192

Notes: If a man shall not work neither shall he eat...Is that so?...A bums' song...heard among glee club boys and among persons who go to the Barber's College for a haircut...

---

12 Dec 14 - 02:52 PM (#3685168)
Subject: ADD: Shovellin' Iron Ore (from Sandburg)
From: Joe Offer

But there's more in Sandburg:

SHOVELLIN' IRON ORE

Something happened the other day, that never happened before.
A man tried to get me to shovel iron ore.
Says I, "Old man, now what will you pay?"
Says he, "Two bits a ton."
Says I, "Old man, go diddle yourself,
I'd rather bum."

Notes: "I got a snootful of it and I'll never go back," a fellow coal shoveler told me once in Omaha. He was speaking of iron ore, heavier, dirtier, more infiltrating than coal dust...Those who sing this usually hook it up with "We Are Four Bums."

from Carl Sandburg, The American Songbag (1927), page 182

---

12 Dec 14 - 07:34 PM (#3685236)
Subject: ADD: The Bum's Song (Harry McClintock)
From: Joe Offer

Here's my transcription of 1928 sheet music I found of "The Bum's Song," which claims words and music are by Harry McClintock
http://78records.cdbpdx.com/BumSong/BumSong-s.pdf

THE BUM'S SONG
(Harry "Mac" McClintock)

1. Come all you jolly jokers And listen while I hum
A story I'll relate to you Of the great American Bum
From the East, the West, the North, the South Like a swarm of bees they come
We sleep in the dirt and wear a shirt That is dirty and full of crumbs.

2. Oh it's early in the morning And the dew is off the ground
The Bum arises from his nest and gazes all around
From the boxcar and the hay stack He gazes everywhere
He never turns back upon his track, until he gets a square.

3. I beat my way from Frisco Bay To the rock-bound coast of Maine
To Canada and Mexico, Then wandered back again
I've met town clowns and harness 'bulls' As tough as a cop could be
And I've been in every calaboose In this Land of Liberty.

4. I've topped the spruce and worked the sluice And taken a turn at the plow
I've searched for gold in the rain and cold And worked on a river scow
I've dug the clam and built the dam And packed the elusive prune
But my troubles fail when I hit the trail, A-paddlin' my own balloon.

5. Oh a-standin' in the railroad yard A waitin' for a train
A-waitin' for a West bound freight, But think it's all in vain
Going East they're loaded, Going west sealed tight
I think we'll have to get aboard The fast Express tonight.

6. Oh lady would you be kind enough to give me something to eat,
A piece of bread and butter And a ten foot slice of meat.
A piece of pie and custard To tickle my appetite,
For really I'm so hungry, I don't know where to sleep tonight.

7. Oh sleepin' against the station, Tra la la la la lation
Well that's our recommedation, Hurrah Hurree Hurrum
For we're three Bums, three jolly old Bums, we live like royal Turks
We have good luck a-bummin' our chuck, And never bother to work.

8. I met a man the other day, I'd never met before
He asked me if I wanted a job, A-shovlin' iron ore
I asked him what the wages were, And he said, "Ten cents a ton"
I said, "Old feller, go chase yourself, I'd rather be on the bum."

9. Oh sleepin' in the pogies, Ogie, Ogie, Ogies
A-smokin' snipes and stogies, Hurrah Hurree Hurrum
For we're three Bums, three jolly old Bums, we live like royal Turks
We have good luck a-bummin' our chuck, God bless the man that works.


Living in the Land of Prunes, I appreciate the line about the "elusive prune." Most of the U.S. prune crop is grown not far from here in Yuba City, California. The marketing people tried to rename them "California Dried Plums," but the onslaught of ridicule brought the word "Prune" back into favor.

---

13 Dec 14 - 05:04 PM (#3685436)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Mrrzy

Ah, yes, Cisco Houston. I should read before I post, apparently.

---

13 Dec 14 - 05:55 PM (#3685445)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Great American Bum
From: Mark Ross

Cisco paired a cut down version of THE BUM SONG with I DON'T WANNA BE RICH. I learned that version from Fred Holstein.

Mark Ross

---

27 Apr 20 - 02:52 PM (#4048948)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Here's the Vernon Dalhart recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcBxX-PCFaM

Here's the 1928 recording from Harry McClintock of "The Bum Song":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CynLdVRN8ZM

And here's the Cisco Houston recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TiMIgrBlUY

As Mark Ross says above, Cisco Houston combines "Great American Bum" with "I Don't Wanna Be Rich," which he uses very nicely as a chorus.

---

27 Apr 20 - 04:27 PM (#4048976)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: cnd

Joe, I have nothing to contribute to this thread itself, but I wanted to comment that ever since your 17 Apr 12 - 02:54 AM post the text has been larger and the margins shifted to the left some. Though normally HTML issues only live in one comment, I suspect there's some sort of way that a closed tag from that comment worked its way down into the rest of the thread.

---

Whew! Found it. -Joe-

---

29 Apr 20 - 02:49 PM (#4049379)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Gallus Moll

OK I confess to not having read every post, but - am I the only person that feels the giggles coming on when I see a discussion about 'bums'?!!!!
I realise it is a cultural thing - when my Californian pal went on about her 'fanny' or her love for 'nookie' brown ale back in the 1980s she couldn't understand why we in Scotland were howling with laughter!!!!!

---

29 Apr 20 - 03:07 PM (#4049382)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Raedwulf

Gallus - Actually, my thought on seeing the title was, "Well, surely y'all know that Ma Trump & Pa Trump did That Thing and..." ;-) Therefore curiosity made me click!

But cnd is right Joe - looks like there's an unclosed tag since your 17/4/12 post... and since you're the next post... Joe, you naughty little man! ;-)

---

29 Apr 20 - 05:51 PM (#4049414)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Bill D

Uncle Dave O said years ago up there ^ that he had found The Bum Song on Rose, the Record Lady's site.. which is long gone. But sneaky old me downloaded those about the time Dave was posting. I went to the listing he mentioned,51ae.ra .. and LO! There was the recording by Vernon Dalhart. Rose didn't include the song title and artist in the online version, but somewhere I got most of them named and printed. I have not renamed the Real Audio files on my computer, though... and can't do a direct search. It was great to find Uncle Dave's post.

Hooray for Mudcat keeping all our discussions...

---

01 Nov 23 - 10:21 PM (#4185029)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,Jon Bartlett

I'm writing a longish paper on Haywire Mac and pulling together all the bits of info I can find. I've got the Folkways recording and the British Archive of Country Songs CD etc., but I'd like to know what this line is all about:

... and packed the elusive prune

I suspect it's a slang term and nothing to do with actual prunes. Any ideas out there?

Jon Bartlett

---

01 Nov 23 - 10:21 PM (#4191182)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,Jon Bartlett

I'm writing a longish paper on Haywire Mac and pulling together all the bits of info I can find. I've got the Folkways recording and the British Archive of Country Songs CD etc., but I'd like to know what this line is all about:

... and packed the elusive prune

I suspect it's a slang term and nothing to do with actual prunes. Any ideas out there?

Jon Bartlett

---

07 Nov 23 - 01:43 AM (#4191187)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Hi, Jon - I come from prune picking & packing country in Central California (Yuba City is the center). Prunes are a bit difficult to pack. Like raisins, they have to be picked, then dried on cardboard trays on the ground, then packed before they get wet and moldy. A rain will ruin them. It's hard work in hot weather. So, yes, prune packing is an elusive quest.

People just don't take prunes seriously, and it's a shame.

---

07 Nov 23 - 01:43 AM (#4185442)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Hi, Jon - I come from prune picking & packing country in Central California (Yuba City is the center). Prunes are a bit difficult to pack. Like raisins, they have to be picked, then dried on cardboard trays on the ground, then packed before they get wet and moldy. A rain will ruin them. It's hard work in hot weather. So, yes, prune packing is an elusive quest.

People just don't take prunes seriously, and it's a shame.

---

10 Nov 23 - 12:02 PM (#4185661)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Mrrzy

Plums? Prunes don't grow, do they?

---

10 Nov 23 - 12:02 PM (#4191190)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Mrrzy

Plums? Prunes don't grow, do they?

---

10 Nov 23 - 05:59 PM (#4191191)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Lighter

Historical fun fact:

McClintock's song (12 Dec 14, from Joe) was entered (without his name) as evidence in the U.S. House of Representatives, "Investigation of Communist Propaganda: Hearings Before a Special Committee to Investigate Communist Activities in the United States" (1930).

It was being promoted, along with "The Red Flag" and other songs for "workers' education," by Communist Party members in Pontiac, Michigan.

In 1928 McClintock copyrighted the following titles:

Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

Hallelujah I'm a Bum.

Bum's Song.

Bum Song No. 2.

---

10 Nov 23 - 05:59 PM (#4185671)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Lighter

Historical fun fact:

McClintock's song (12 Dec 14, from Joe) was entered (without his name) as evidence in the U.S. House of Representatives, "Investigation of Communist Propaganda: Hearings Before a Special Committee to Investigate Communist Activities in the United States" (1930).

It was being promoted, along with "The Red Flag" and other songs for "workers' education," by Communist Party members in Pontiac, Michigan.

In 1928 McClintock copyrighted the following titles:

Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

Hallelujah I'm a Bum.

Bum's Song.

Bum Song No. 2.

---

10 Nov 23 - 05:59 PM (#4185672)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Mrr....the line is "packed the elusive prune." For a while, the local growers tried to market their produce as "California dried plums." That was a fiasco, and they're back to calling them prunes.
And yes, if you want to be pedantic, I guess I have to say I'm from "plum picking and prune packing" country. Is that satisfactory?
-Joe-

---

10 Nov 23 - 05:59 PM (#4191188)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

Mrr....the line is "packed the elusive prune." For a while, the local growers tried to market their produce as "California dried plums." That was a fiasco, and they're back to calling them prunes.
And yes, if you want to be pedantic, I guess I have to say I'm from "plum picking and prune packing" country. Is that satisfactory?
-Joe-

---

11 Nov 23 - 01:49 AM (#4191184)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,RJM

on the subject of prunes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgVlRvl2DI0 subject of prunes

---

11 Nov 23 - 01:49 AM (#4185682)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,RJM

on the subject of prunes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgVlRvl2DI0 subject of prunes

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11 Nov 23 - 10:22 AM (#4185693)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,RJM

Is not the phrase "the Grear American Bum" a little unfortunate?, since there seem to be an increasing amount of overweight obese weserners

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11 Nov 23 - 10:22 AM (#4191185)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,RJM

Is not the phrase "the Grear American Bum" a little unfortunate?, since there seem to be an increasing amount of overweight obese weserners

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11 Nov 23 - 10:27 AM (#4191192)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Lighter

"Bum" isn't used for "buttocks" very much in the USA. So there's little ambiguity.

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11 Nov 23 - 10:27 AM (#4185694)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Lighter

"Bum" isn't used for "buttocks" very much in the USA. So there's little ambiguity.

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11 Nov 23 - 11:47 AM (#4185697)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,RJM

"Bum" is used for "buttocks", Elsewhere in the English speaking west,so it is reasonable to say it is ambiguous,

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11 Nov 23 - 11:47 AM (#4191186)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: GUEST,RJM

"Bum" is used for "buttocks", Elsewhere in the English speaking west,so it is reasonable to say it is ambiguous,

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13 Nov 23 - 03:19 PM (#4191189)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

A better-known song is Hallelujah, I'm a Bum. And we don't find that ambiguous, either.

-Joe-

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13 Nov 23 - 03:19 PM (#4185855)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Joe Offer

A better-known song is Hallelujah, I'm a Bum. And we don't find that ambiguous, either.

-Joe-

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18 Nov 23 - 02:33 AM (#4185944)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Thompson

My thought exactly: is this about the growing obesity problem?

More seriously, is this a song sung by comfortable middle-class people (probably with great bums) or by actual hoboes?

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18 Nov 23 - 02:33 AM (#4191193)
Subject: RE: Origins: Great American Bum
From: Thompson

My thought exactly: is this about the growing obesity problem?

More seriously, is this a song sung by comfortable middle-class people (probably with great bums) or by actual hoboes?

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