CHASED OLD SATAN THROUGH THE DOOR

Well, I got no skillet and I got no lid
But ash cake tastes like shortening bread
And I'm gonna wear that starry crown over there

Chorus:
Over there, over there
I'm gonna wear that starry crown over there
For I got no skillet and I got no lid
But ash cake tastes like shortening bread
And I'm gonna wear that starry crown over there

Now I met old Satan down the lane
And I hit him in the head with a walking cane
And I'm gonna wear that starry crown over there

Chorus

Now I chased old Satan around the stump
And I gave him a kick for every jump
And I'm gonna wear that starry crown over there

Chorus

Now I run old Satan through the door
And I hit him in the head with a two-by-four
And I'm gonna wear that starry crown over there

Chorus


Source: transcription of Woodie Brothers (Ephraim and Lawton) 'Chased Old Satan Through the Door' recorded on 29 May 1931 in Charlotte, NC, and issued as Victor 23579 in August 1931. Evidently, it sold only 864 copies. Reissued on Various Artists 'Music From the Lost Provinces: Old-Time Stringbands from Ashe County, North Carolina & Vicinity, 1927-1931' Old Hat CD-1001 and also on Various Artists 'Black & White Hillbilly Music: Early Harmonica Recordings from the 1920s & 30s' Trikont CD US-0226'.

I wasn't able to decipher the 'ash cakes' line, but a message to the old-time music newsgroup clarified it for me. I subsequently found the following in Google's achives of the rec.food.cooking newsgroup:

Foods such as potatoes, corn, onions, and nuts could be roasted by burying them in hot ashes for insulation and placing live coals on top of the ashes. Ash cakes were baked by wrapping the dough in cloth, placing them in a cleaned out corner of the fireplace, and covering them with ashes and coals. They were supposed to have a delicious flavor when baked that way, but it was difficult to control the heat, or keep the bread clean. From 'Don's Spicy Kitchen'.

--Stewie.