To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=893
7 messages

Lyr ADD: The Martins and the Coys (Cameron, Weems)

27 Feb 97 - 07:43 PM (#2630)
Subject: hillbilly
From: paulebs

Need lyrics for The Martin's and the Coy's. First line is " Gather round my children and I"ll tell a story

27 Feb 97 - 09:51 PM (#2640)
Subject: RE: hillbilly
From: dick greenhaus

If I get a chance, I'll post it. In any case, it will appear in the April 1997 Digital Tradition database.

02 Mar 97 - 11:23 PM (#2731)
Subject: RE: hillbilly
From: Paulebs

Thanks, Dick. I'll be waiting

18 Sep 97 - 02:40 PM (#12491)
Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: THE MARTINS AND THE COYS
From: Gene

THE MARTINS AND THE COYS
Recorded by Gene Autry (with Smiley Burnette)
Words and music by Alan Cameron and Ted Weems

[D] Gather 'round me children and I'll [A7] tell a [D] story
Of the mountains and the days when guns was [A7] law
When two [D] fam'lies got to feudin'
It was [G] bound to end in shootin'
So just [D] listen close, I'll [A7] tell you what I [D] saw.

Oh! the [G] Martins and the Coys they were [D] reckless mountain boys
And they took up family feudin' when they'd [A7] meet
They would [D] shoot each other quicker
Than it [G] took your eye to flicker
They could [D] knock a squirrel's eye [A7] out at ninety [D] feet.

All this fightin' started out one Sunday morning
When old grandpa Coy was full of mountain dew
Just as quite as a churchmouse, he stole in the Martin's henhouse
'Cause the Coys they needed eggs for breakfast, too.

Oh! The Martins and the Coys, they were reckless mountain boys
Now old grandpa Coy's gone where angels live
When they found him on the mountain
He was bleedin' like a fountain
'Cause they punctured him 'til he looked like a sieve.

After that they started out to fight in earnest
And they scarred the mountains up with shot and shell
There was uncles, brothers, cousins
Why they bumped them off by dozens
Just how many bit the dust is hard to tell.

Oh! The Martins and the Coys, they were reckless mountain boys
At the art of killin' they become quite deft
They all know'd they shouldn't do it
But before they hardly knew it
On each side they only had one person left.

Now the sole remainin' Martin was a maiden
And as purty as a picture was this Grace
While the one survivin' boy was the handsome Henry Coy
And the folks all knew they'd soon meet face to face.

Oh! The Martins and the Coys, they were reckless mountain boys
But their shootin' and their killin' sure played [hob]
And it didn't bring no joy to know that Grace and Henry Coy
Both had sworn that they would finish up the job.

So, they finally met upon a mountain pathway
And young Henry Coy he aimed his gun at Grace
He was set to pull the trigger, when he saw her purty figure
You could see that love had kicked him in the face.

Oh! The Martins and the Coys, they were reckless mountain boys
But they say their ghostly cussin' gives them chills
But the hatchet sure was buried, when sweet Grace and Henry married
It broke up the best durn feud in these here hills.

You may think this is where the story ended
But I'm tellin' you the ghosts don't cuss no more
'Cause since Grace and Henry wedded
They fight worse than all the rest did
And they carry on the feud just like before.

SOURCE: "THE BIG SHOW" with Gene Autry.

YouTube Video (click)

05 Jul 12 - 03:17 PM (#3372483)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Martins and the Coys (Cameron, Weems)
From: GUEST,Ludy Wilkie

Is this song still under copyright?

05 Jul 12 - 03:47 PM (#3372498)
Subject: RE: req/ADD: The Martins and the Coys (Cameron, Weems)
From: Joe Offer

Hi, Ludy -

The Database of Popular Music and other sources say that this song was written by Alan Cameron and Ted Weems, and published in 1936. In the US, 1923 is the cutoff date for songs under public domain. The Sonny Bono copyright extension act of 1998 made it so later songs won't come into public domain in our lifetime.

You'll find some interesting information on the song and on movies based on the song on this page (click). There's even a Disney cartoon. It was part of the Disney movie, Make Mine Music - and it peeves me that "Martins and the Coys" was left off my DVD of the movie. It wasn't politically correct enough for the DVD era because it had because it had "graphic gunplay not suitable for children."

-Joe-

06 Jul 12 - 11:15 AM (#3372834)
Subject: RE: req/ADD: The Martins and the Coys (Cameron, Weems)
From: EBarnacle

When I saw this thread title, I immediately thought of a very good Science Fiction story from around the same time titled "the Martians the the Coys." A quick search did not find it.