The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #4280 Message #2126987
Posted By: GUEST,Bob Coltman
16-Aug-07 - 09:42 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req/Add: Poor Howard / Green Corn (Leadbelly)
Subject: Lyr Add: GANDY DANCER'S BALL (M Howard, P Weston)
Fascinating to see that alternate take of Green Corn with the "demijohn" verse. The version of Green Corn I first heard and always loved on one of Leadbelly's 1950s Stinson LPs didn't include that. Wonder if it was always part of the song, or was a separate play party song, and he just "borrowed it into" Green Corn that one time???
Clearly that's one place where composers Paul Weston and Paul Mason Howard got their inspiration for "The Gandy Dancers' Ball." Since Weston was sometime lyricist and arranger for the Weavers, and Howard was the wonderful zither duettist with Leadbelly on "Ella Speed," it was a natural. Zip! another 50s pop song with folk roots.
Re "stand around the jimmy-john" -- the Weavers, on their recording, seem to pronounce the word somewhere between there and "demijohn." Compare (hope this isn't too much thread creep for a thread that has already crept from Poor Howard to Green Corn):
^^ The Gandy Dancer's Ball
By Paul Mason Howard / Paul Weston. Recorded by the Weavers, Tennesee Ernie Ford and Frankie Laine in 1952. GANDY DANCER'S BALL (M Howard, P Weston)
Oh they danced on the ceiling And they danced on the wall At the Gandy Dancer's ball Hey! Swing around, Swing around, Swing around the Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around The Jimmy, Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around Swing around the Jimmy John Swing the pretty girl round The Jimmy, Jimmy John
The Gandy Dancer is a railroad man And his work is never done With his pick and his shovel and his willing hands He makes the railroad run There's Macanaw Mack and Toledo Jack And the boys from Idaho And the Frisco kid and Saginaw Sid And good old Cotton-eyed Joe
Oh they danced on the ceiling And they danced on the wall At the Gandy Dancer's ball Hey! Swing around, Swing around, Swing around the Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around The Jimmy, Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around Swing around the Jimmy John Swing the pretty girl round The Jimmy, Jimmy John
The boys will gather at the great affair The Gandy Dancer's ball A-kissin' their ladies with perfumed hair And prancin' round the hall They got the biggest band in all the land And the rhythm rocks the room And they holler out with a mighty shout When the big bass drum goes boom
Oh they danced on the ceiling And they danced on the wall At the Gandy Dancer's ball Hey! Swing around, Swing around, Swing around the Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around The Jimmy, Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around Swing around the Jimmy John Swing the pretty girl round The Jimmy, Jimmy John
The railroads bring `em to the great affair The Gandy Dancer's ball An' every line is represented there The big ones and the small There's the MKT and the old SP And the Lee High Valley too The C and J and the Santa Fe The Southern and the Sioux
Oh they danced on the ceiling And they danced on the wall At the Gandy Dancer's ball Hey! Swing around, Swing around, Swing around the Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around The Jimmy, Jimmy John Swing around, Swing around Swing around the Jimmy John Swing the pretty girl round The Jimmy, Jimmy John
They danced all day And they danced all night They all danced till the broad daylight At the Gandy Dancer's ball
(Swing around, swing around Swing around, swing around The Jimmy John)