The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #82295 Message #1506957
Posted By: Peace
22-Jun-05 - 10:43 AM
Thread Name: Songwriter's Songwriters
Subject: Lyr Add: I'M GONNA MAIL MYSELF TO YOU (W Guthrie)
I'M GONNA MAIL MYSELF TO YOU
(Woody Guthrie)
I'm gonna wrap myself in paper
I'm gonna dot myself with glue
Stick some stamps on top of my head
I'm gonna mail myself to you
I'm gonna tie me up in a red string
I'm gonna tie a blue ribbon too
Climb up inside my mailbox
I'm gonna mail myself to you
When you find me in your mailbox
Cut the string and let me out
Wash the glue from off my fingers
Stick some bubblegum in my mouth
When you find me in your mailbox
Wash the glue from off my head
Fill me up with ice cream sodas
Tuck me into a nice warm bed.
I'm gonna wrap myself in paper
I'm gonna dot myself with glue
Stick some stamps on top of my head
I'm gonna mail myself to you
The story I heard about this song was that Woody wrote it in response to reading/hearing that some European people were trying to mail their children to America (USA). The first I heard the song was by Pete Seeger on his Carnegie Hall album. I have sung the song for kids, young adults and old adults, and it NEVER fails to elicit smiles and laughs. NEVER. I followed Seeger's example and developed an interstitial monologue (talking between the stanzas). Why does it work? I think for many reasons:
A) It is simple and it addresses the childlike sense in all of us (much the way Paxton's "Marvelous Toy" does), and in the 'style' of Steinbeck, it does so with short, uncomplicated words.
B) It tells a story from a child's perspective. But, the story is outrageous, and the singer can present it straight faced or not. It still works. I have on occasion burst out laughing at some of the images in the song.
C) It's hard to screw up.
D) "Stick some stamps on top of my head"—I sometimes sing this and let the last word just carry on and on and on—take a gasping breath, stop playing for a few seconds and start singing the word head again and go for another 20 seconds. Audiences love it. Adults laugh and little kids just join in.
E) The melody is within reach of darned near everyone, and the chords are very simple.
F) It is a song that requires artistry also, because the phrasing is crucial. It gives beginners a chance to play a song and more advanced musicians a chance to 'strut their stuff'. You can make the musical bacup as simple or complicated as ya want; it cannot 'hurt' the song, because the song does the walking and the performer goes along for the ride.
BM