Lyr Req: Pistol Packin' Mama (Al Dexter)

Subject: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: GUEST,fiddler434
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 01:10 PM

I need to find the complete lyrics for Pistol Packing Mama. Can anyone help? ------Thanks! also the history and date written.

Subject: Lyr Add: PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA (Al Dexter)
From: Mark H.
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 02:15 PM

PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA
Words and music by Al Dexter, ©1943.
As recorded by Al Dexter.

1. Drinkin' beer in a cabaret and was I havin' fun,
Until one night she caught me right, and now I'm on the run.

CHORUS: Lay that pistol down, babe; lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down.

2. She kicked out my windshield; she hit me over the head.
She cussed and cried and said I'd lied and wished that I was dead.

3. Drinkin' beer in a cabaret and dancin' with a blonde,
Until one night she shot out the light; bang! that blonde was gone.

4. I'll see you every night, babe; I'll woo you every day.
I'll be your reg'lar daddy if you'll put that gun away.

5. Now I went home this mornin'; the clock was tickin' four.
Gun in her hand, says, "You're my man but I don't need you no more."

6. Now there was old Al Dexter; he always had his fun,
But with some lead she shot him dead, his honkin' days are done.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Ron Davies
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 02:17 PM

I thought it was "his honkin' days are done"--as in honky-tonkin'.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: 12-stringer
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 02:18 PM

History of the song is found here:

http://www.luftex.com/aldexter.htm

I think the last line of the last verse as given above should read: "his honkin' days are done."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 02:32 PM

Brilliant version by Gene Vincent. Couldn't find a version on my space, but thought this link was worth seeing.

Gene Vincent - live Brussels, Belgium - 1963

Subject: Lyr Add: PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA (Al Dexter)
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 02:49 PM

Thesse lyrics seem to be the full lyrics

PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA
(Al Dexter, 1943)
As recorded by Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters.

Lay that pistol down, Babe; lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down.

Oh, drinkin' beer in a cabaret, was I havin' fun!
Until one night she caught me right and now I'm on the run.

Oh, lay that pistol down, babe; lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down.

Oh, I'll sing you every night, Bing, and I'll woo you every day.
I'll be your reg'lar mama and I'll put that gun away.

Oh, lay that pistol down, Babe; lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that thing down before it goes off and hurts somebody!

Oh, she kicked out my windshield, then she hit me over the head.
She cussed and cried and said I'd lied and she wished that I was dead.

Oh, lay that pistol down, babe; lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down.

We're three tough gals
From deep down Texas way.
We got no pals.
They don't like the way we play.
We're a rough rootin' tootin' shootin' trio
But you ought to see my sister Cleo.
She's a terror; make no error,
But there ain't no nicer terror.
Here's what we tell her:

Lay that pistol down, babe; lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down.

Pappy made a batch of corn; the revenuers came.
The draw was slow, so now they know you can't do that to Mame.

Lay that pistol down, babe; lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down

Oh, singing songs in a cabaret, was I havin' fun!
Until one night it didn't seem right; now I'm on the run.

Oh, lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down.

Oh, pistol packin' mama, lay that pistol down.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Mark H.
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 05:15 PM

Honkin' it is.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Ebbie
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 08:03 PM

I remember one day in elementary school when the 'big' kids put on a skit for the whole school and they sang Pistol Packin' Mama, complete with galloping stick horses. They also sang a song called, probably, Bronco Buster, which goes somethng like this:

Bronco Buster, why don't you trust her.
Go on and woo her or
somebody else will woo her.
She's no shy goose, hop on your cayuse.
Carry her off to Denver town.

Anyone remember that one?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 08:18 PM

Posted by Joe Offer in thread 2372:
Pistol Packin

Brings back memories of WW2 and honky tonks around Dallas and San Antonio.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 08 Apr 07 - 10:52 PM

Gee, folks, I hate to muddy the waters here --BUT:

AUNT MOLLY JACKSON said, on the tapes she made for the Library Of Congress' Archive Of Folk Song, that she had written the song and that she, Aunt Molly, was the actual Pistol Packin' Mama. It was on one of two LP records of her music and remembrances. One LP was actually those Library Of Congress tapes put out in the 1960s. Also, there was a good Folkways Records issue of Aunt Molly Jackson telling her historical insights with JOHN GREENWAY singing her songs. The song recounted an incident where she had packed a pistol to right a wrong done to a friend there in her part of the Appalachian mountains. Her husband, Bill Jackson, as I recall it, was involved somehow too.

She said that Al Dexter had taken the song, re-written it EXTENSIVELY, and run off with the proceeds into the sunset.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: GUEST,fiddler434
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 02:20 AM

Did Aunt Molly Jackson say when she wrote the song?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Flash Company
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 10:24 AM

The words quoted by The Villan are pretty much as sung by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters, 'cept I have the line in the verse about 'the revenuers' as 'The draw was slow'

FC

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 12:15 PM

I can't locate the lyrics right now at this moment, but I believe Molly Jackson did say either she wrote it, or someone close to her -- not Al Dexter "that guy who had made a hit of it" had written it -- a guy nemed Baker maybe.

Whoops-----I just found the info: Jesse Baker, her cousin wrote it!!

The Library of Congress material was an LP on Rounder Records.

But the song "PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA" is sung by John Greenway with the story of the song by Aunt Molly on the Folkways record FH-5457. "THE SONGS AND STORIES OF AUNT MOLLY JACKSON". Here it is:

Now this song I'm goin' to sing
Is about my cousin Bill,
Late one Saturday evening
He slipped off to a still.

His wife picked up her pistol
And come to the foot of that hill,
And the very first word we heard her say,
:I'm comin' to get you, Bill.

CHORUS:
Lay that pistol down, Ma
Lay that pistol down;
You pistol packin' woman,
Lay that pistol down.

Then old Bill began to tremble,
Then he looked around,
And Bill began to holler
"Ma, put that pistol down."

Then my cousin Molly
Put her husband on the run,
She chased him home to her children
And broke up his drinkin' fun.

My cousin Molly carried a pistol,
And so did cousin Bill,
And did he get drunk and raise old Ned
When he went to the still!

One Sunday night Bill got drunk
And he fell against the wall,
His wife cried out, "You drinkin' man,
That moonshine caused it all."

I don't drink strong moonshine, boys,
I'll tell you the reason why,
It caused me to mistreat my woman,
It caused my children to cry.

If anybody ask you
Who composed this song,
Tell them it was Jesse Baker
A man that's dead and gone!

(Just more mud for the water

Art Thieme ;-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 12:40 PM

And very interesting mud!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Joe_F
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 09:32 PM

When Linus Pauling got his first Nobel Prize, somebody at Caltech (probably Kent Clark) wrote him a song:

Digging rocks in the chandelier,
And was I having fun!
Then one night, I got it right --
Now Stockholm, here I come.

Lay them crystals down, man,
Lay them crystals down.
Crystal-crackin' papa,
Lay them crystals down.

I measured all the bond lengths.
The contacts all looked swell.
The H bond's straight (now ain't that great?) --
It filled the unit cell.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 09:35 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 09:44 PM

Round danced to it in 1960 - believe the flip side might be "A Spanish Cavalier" or a complicated Irish Jig (for beginners) "Nola."

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packing Mama
From: Snuffy
Date: 10 Apr 07 - 03:20 PM

In Britain it was used in an ad for Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles in the 60s (or 70s?). Something like

Hand them pastilles round, ma,
Hand them pastilles round,
Pastille picking mama
Hand them pastilles round.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pistol Packin' Mama (Al Dexter)
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 08 Mar 24 - 05:38 PM

OK ... It is an American Square Dance

Dosado round that corner, see saw round your taw
Then join your hands and circle to the left go round that hall
Do an allemande left that corner, grand old right & left
Meet pistol packin' mama and box the gnat like that
Then pull her by, do a U-turn back and give that gal a swing
Left allemande just once again and promenade that ring
Hey lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down
And we'll have fun without that gun, so lay that pistol down


Now the head 2 couples square thru 4 hands around you go
When you meet that corner lady you're gonna do a dosado
Then swing thru and don't stop, spin the top for me
Now slide thru and swing that corner lady go round you see
Do an allemande left new corner, come home do a dosado
Take pistol packin' mama and promenade you know
Hey lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down
And we'll have fun without that gun, so lay that pistol down

SOURCE:

https://www.ceder.net/recorddb/viewsingle.php?RecordId=2480

Sincerely,
I met a woman today ... she was cutting cactus with a machete. Startled her, she jumped, turned, and I sang out, "Pistol Packing' Mama won't you lay that machete down."