Back of Bus Songs

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: The Sandman
Date: 05 Mar 20 - 03:59 AM

whose that man with the helmet on Dixon Dixon
whose that man with the helmet on DIXON OF DOCK GREEN
BEEN ON THE BEAT ALL DAY BEEN ON THE WIFE ALL NIGHT.
whose that man with the helmet on DIXON OF DOCK GREEN

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Mr Red
Date: 05 Mar 20 - 03:51 AM

just to make my link from July 15 2001 more relevant and make it go to the correct page and line

kiddy type songs starting from song 49

reminded of the need by the thread on "A Soldier I will be"

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Ron Davies
Date: 06 May 13 - 08:03 PM

What a great thread!

It's amazing how vividly you can recall these songs.

I definitely recall doing "99 Bottles of Beer " of blessed memory.   Pretty sure we went through all the numbers at least once--and at varying dynamic levels, I think.    Being our bus driver might not have been considered a plum position.

I also remember our version of "Hot Time in the Old Town"

Old Mother Leary put the lantern in the shed
The cow kicked it over and she winked her eye and said
"There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight"

And I think we used to vary the dynamics in the song while repeating it--ad nauseam. In other words we had a great time. The bus driver may not have.

There was even a political song, which I don't think many of us would necessarily endorse now--a parody:

Whistle while you work
Stevenson's a jerk
Eisenhower's got the power
Whistle while you work.

But in fact Eisenhower did have the power--the election of 1956 was not close.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Ukulele Lizzie
Date: 05 May 13 - 08:30 AM

Hi Bert - apologies for the very delayed reply about:

"Have you ever been to Wales
Where they drink Caergwrle ales"

Thank you for the info re "Cosher Bailey" on Mudcat:
Cosher Bailey's Engine

Yes - that is the song - or rather a North Wales version of it as the place names were different in thre version my father used to sing.

I remember this verse was the same,

"Cosher Bailey's sister Hanna
Well, she played the grand pianna
She went hammer, hammer, hammer,
Till the neighbours said, "Goddamn her!"

Although Caergwrle is a small village now it was once very well known as a spa and famous for its ales, so the reference in the North Wales version makes sense.

I found this reference:

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=304444.0

(I could not find the site it was copied from)

In 1902 the owner of Rhyddyn Hall, Lieutenant Roe Brown had the waters there analysed. He saw their potential. In 1907 he sold the hall and the wells there to a syndicate who developed them into a successful tourist attraction - Caergwrle Spa.Caergwrle Spa became a popular resort with people from Manchester and Liverpool at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, like many other Welsh watering places, nothing is left of the spa, except one very solid, but boarded up, red brick building.

In its heyday the now defunct spa at Rhyddyn Hall produced 14,000 bottles of saline fizz every day.

The wells were first referred to in 1740 by Dr. Short of Sheffield and in 1760 it was noted that the clear spring water possessed the ability to cure 'scarbetic disorders and leprosy'.

An account by a young girl from Liverpool "Every Wednesday and Sunday in about 1911/13 the railway company ran one shilling (old money, of course) day trips to 'Caergwrle Castle and Wales' and the trains from Seacombe were absolutely packed with Liverpudlians.

Outside Caergwrle station would be three or four women from Liverpool with shawls over their heads and baskets full of fruit etc. They shouted to the trippers thus:-

'Apples a pound pears – nice ripe nanas for the children – Kig-girlie rock a penny a bar, two bars for three ha'pence' all in the famous Liverpool accent!

The men would go straight into the 'Bridge' by the station (then the railway ticket gave them the right to drink on Sundays) and the women and children went up the Castle Hill , Hope Mountain or into the Spa where you could drink the health-giving waters, walk along the river bank or even listen to the Band. (I have postcards to prove what a pretty place this was). My family lived in Waterloo, near Liverpool and we went on Sundays, usually in September, straight up to Plas-yn-Bwl Woods collecting baskets of lovely blackberries, then down to a grocer's shop in the village where Mrs. Edwards supplied us with ham and eggs and lashings of tea before catching the last train to Seacombe, then boat to Liverpool and train from Exchange Station to Waterloo". How idyllic it sounded.

Special excursion trains would run on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. At busy weekends, seven or eight trains a day would bring hundreds of people. In 1914 passenger numbers were estimated to be 1500 on May Day bank holiday and 2 - 3000 on 20th June.Other visitors came by bicycle or charabanc and later by motor car, motor bike and bus."

The village over the river Alyn is Hope and, as they say in these parts,
"Live in Hope . . . and die in Caergwrle"! :-)

Best wishes,
Lizzie

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Ged Fox
Date: 22 Apr 12 - 02:53 PM

Daisy Daisy the coppers are after you
If they catch you they'll give you a bump or two
They'll tie you up with wi-er
Behind a Black Maria
So ding your bell and peddle like 'Ell
On a bicycle made for two

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,MiketheWildPony
Date: 22 Apr 12 - 11:57 AM

The "Back of the Bus song" the junior high football guys would sing:

Cheers, Cheers for -?-JHS (replace the "?" with the letter of your junior high school)
You shake the cocktails, we'll do the rest
Send a freshman out for gin
Don't let a sober soul burst in

We never stagger, we never fall
We sober up on wood alcohol
When we die we'll be pickled in rye
For the glory of -?- Junior High!(again just replace the "?" with the letter of your junior high school)

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Bert
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 10:41 AM

Lizzie.

That is a version of Cosher Bailey

We used to sing it with a very fake Welsh accent

There's a little pub in Wales
Where they sell all sorts of ales
If you want a drink on Sunday
You will have to wait 'till Monday

Did you ever saw
Did you ever saw
Did you ever saw
Such a funny thing before

Plenty more verses under Cosher Bailey in the DT

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Amy Barry
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 09:34 AM

'EVERYWHERE WE GO'

THIS IS A REPAET AFTER 'ME' ONE. IT GOES
EVERYWHERE WE GO PEOPLE WANA KNOW WHOOO WE AREE
WHERE WE COME FRROM
SOO WE TELL THEM WHERE FROM (WHERE EVER YOUR FROM)
MIGHTY MIGHTY (WHERE EVER)
AND IF YOU CAN NOT HEAR US WE SHOUT A LITTLE LOUDER..

THEN GO THROUGH IT AGAIN

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: janemick
Date: 27 Feb 11 - 07:32 AM

Saw the list posted by Fliss:

*Green grow the rushes o
Ten green bottles
Quartermasters store
One man went to mow
She ll be coming round the mountain
On top of old Smokey
Underneath the spreading chestnut tree
Found a peanut
John Browns Baby has a pimple on its tum*

we sang practically the same repertoire on the way to and from school in RAF garrys in Singapore in the late 1950s to early 60s

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Have you ever been to Wales
Date: 27 Feb 11 - 07:02 AM

The version my dad used to sing, and I do wish I could remember the rest because it is a different version again, started:

"Have you ever been to Wales
Where they drink Caergwrle ales"

So a North Wales variant :-)

Lizzie

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 18 Jul 10 - 06:07 PM

Back in the late 40's (seems like only yesterday), the Columbia Band traveled to away games by bus. THis could involve a seven or eight hour trip, starting at midnight---we used to have a limerick pool. Everyone pitched in five dollars, we took turns at limericks (interspersed with Ay! Ay Ay Ay! choruses), and you were out if you couldn't come up with one that hadn't been sung. Last one left got the pot. And I recall some sessions going four hours or more.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jul 10 - 04:54 PM

this song has lots of verses I can only remember the first can anyone help with the rest.
"We break up,
We break down,
We don't care if the school falls dowm.
No more English no more French
No more sitting on th old school fence."

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Feb 10 - 08:25 AM

What a feast of reading!
I thought of answers to so many questions as I trolled through, but every one has been answered. Even the words to the alternate hymn 'Build on the rock' ... except the version I was taught had a minor variation or two.
My family [circa 1940's] always went out for a Sunday afternoon drive, and when my Dad was in a relaxed mood he would tunelessly sing a huge variety of silly songs. Apparently, when HE was a child at school [born 1907], on Friday afternoons each student had to do a 'turn' such as play an instrument or sing or recite. Dad had no musical skills whatsoever, but he HAD to perform. He did a little research on old Vaudeville songs, which were 'naughty but nice' and would stand up and sing them absolutely flat, with usually one constant note. He became very popular.
Unfortunately, we never managed to get him to write down all the words, but I can remember parts of some of the songs. Some had dozens of verses, and are lost.
I was fortunate enough to find some tonight, in a search which led me to this interesting Site.
Thanks for all the entertainment.
What was I searching for?
Songs like 'Swim Sam' and 'Played my concertina' [successful ... even to a soundtrack!]
'Ro-tiddly-ho', 'As I was looking back to see if ...' 'Oh she was so good and so kind to me ...' and numerous others [unsuccessful yet]

Thanks for the Memories.
Ah! Nostalgia! Half the fun of remembering is the rearranging.

Cheers
Sally Forth

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Artful Codger
Date: 13 Jan 10 - 02:45 AM

Here's another verse to "Shine Your Buttons with Brasso" ("My father's a lavatory cleaner"):

My sister's an exotic dancer;
"Exotic"'s a term that's quite fit:
If you ask her, for twenty quid extra,
She'll squat on your lap and then...
        Shine your buttons with Brasso...

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Nov 09 - 03:29 AM

Can't believe someone else knows this song. We have been singing it in our family since we were little kids. Passed down from our grandad through all the generations since.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,GUEST
Date: 22 Jul 09 - 01:28 PM

I don't wanna go to mexico no more more more
there's a big fat policeman at the door door door
if you ask him for a dolla?
girl you betta holla!
I don't wanna go to Mexico, no more more more
SHAME!

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 11:02 AM

We didn't sing many bus songs. We were too busy wreaking havoc in other ways, such as climbing over the seats (yes, really! My sister was a bus monitor and never let me. The year she went into middle school I was very annoyed that they started enforcing the actual rules!)

But I remember a few... endless repeats of all zillion verses of so-and-so and you-know-who kissing in a tree, "as long as possible" versions of "the green grass grows all around", Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider*, Our Teacher Died Today, and the Vomit-Comet song.

And when I was in Chorus in Staten Island I learned "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves". I sang it to my nieces recently and the younger one went "You're annoying me!" "I'm getting on your nerves?" "No, you're just ANNOYING me! The song is ANNOYING!"


*Just a few years ago I heard some boys on the back of a public bus singing that. They were very irked that they couldn't figure out how to make it insult girls instead, LOL!

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Glenford
Date: 19 Jul 09 - 05:51 PM

1. Now My old man works down the toilets
He does it to keep himself fit
But when he comes home over night time
He smell like a great lump of......

Shine yor windows with rhubarb
It's only three halfpence a tin
you can buy or nick it from woolworths
But i dont think they've got any in

2. Some say he died of a fever
Some say he died of a fit
But I know what he died of
He died of the smell of the......

Shine yor windows with rhubarb
It's only three halfpence a tin
you can buy or nick it from woolworths
But i dont think they've got any in

3. Some say he's buried in gravel
Some say he's buried in grit
But I know where my old mans lying
covered 6 foot deep under some.....

Shine yor windows with rhubarb
It's only three halfpence a tin
you can buy or nick it from woolworths
But i dont think they've got any in

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Keith
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 09:15 AM

Why not check out http://bussongs.com - BusSongs.com contains the largest collection of nursery rhymes and children's songs that I've ever found.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Mo the caller
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 06:33 PM

Build on the rock ,the rock that ever stands,
Build on the rock and not upon the sands.
You need not fear the storm or the eathquakes shock
You're safe for evermo-ore if you
Build on the rock

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,nameldog
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 09:23 AM

Can anyone remember an old Sunday School song that goes sort of like this.Build on the rock ,the rock that never stands,Build on the rock but not upon the sand.I cant remember the rest.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Mar 08 - 09:06 PM

I remember Fred in the Backseat going like this..."seven little girls sittin in the backseat huggin and a kissin with Fred, Why don't 1 of you come up and sit beside me and 1 of the whispered low...altogether now 1,2,3...keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snooky eyes on the road ahead, we're having fun sittin in the backseat huggin and a kisiin with Fred, dee da dee dum dum..." It was a favorite of mine when I was little in the 1980's of 50's music!

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 Mar 08 - 06:30 PM

sitting on the back seat, hugging and a-kissin with Fred
Lonnie Donegan. (Who was 50's my mother told me).

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Isabelle
Date: 10 Mar 08 - 07:46 AM

This one has come down through the family..
When I was young I went to school to learn my ABC
I stepped upon a nanny goat trap and saw the open sea
A chinese man came up to me and said I was a spy
And if I didnt sing a song he'd punch me in the eye
So in the eye he punched me and I began to cry
While I was crying I was standing on my head
Singing esa esa rumba, a fish came up to me
I love the fishies and the fishies love me
He chopped me up with a knife and fork
And put me on a cabbage stalk
I grew so fat I couldnt walk
I had to join the army.
The captain there was a very nice man who had two black eyes
and he played on his whiskers do the cha cha boys
do the cha cha boys, do the cha cha boys
He played on his whiskers do the cha cha boys......

Does anyone else know this one.. we used to sing in on trips in the car and we teach it to our new generations... why, Im not sure... lol

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 26 Feb 08 - 02:38 PM

Was fascinated by the story that Bob Dylan had to be shamed into taking part in the Civil Rights protests.
His manager said he could not afford the fare, so actor-singer Theodor Bikel bought him a ticket, leaving our 'revolutionary hero' no choice.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 26 Feb 08 - 09:26 AM

Thanks for that information, Seku.

It's important to make sure that the history about the origin of these types of songs is preserved along with the songs themselves.

Your efforts on behalf of human rights for all are greatly appreciated.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Seku Neblett aka Carver Neblett aka Chico Ne
Date: 25 Feb 08 - 09:35 PM

"If you miss me at the back of the bus" was composed and copywrited by Carver Neblett, aka, Seku Neblett . The original title was "If you miss me in the Mississippi River and you can't find me nowhere, come on down to the swimming pool and I'll be swimming down there". The song was written during a trial sourounding protest at the public swimming pool in Cairo, Illinois. The brother of one of the defendants drowned in the river because the public pool did not admit people of African decent. As the song spread throught the south, the people changed the the song into, "If you miss me at the back of the bus". Thank you, Seku Neblett, Charles Neblett's brother. -

I am very much alive and still struggling for "The Liberation, and Unification of Africa and all
of her scattered and suffering People and for the forward progress of the human family.

Thank you,
http://www.seku.com      http://www.youtube.com/nkrumahseku

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: paula t
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 10:44 AM

While on holiday in California a number of years ago, Kathryn and Sarah were singing "The wheels on the bus " to some American friends of ours.When they got to the line which says"The driver on the bus says move along please", our friends started to roar with laughter. They made a comment that English politeness is priceless. Apparently they sing "The driver on the bus says move on back".
Kathryn knows exactly how to wind us up on long journeys. She will begin to sing "Found a peanut".For those fortunate enough not to have heard it , let me enlighten you.......

Found a peanut, found a peanut ,
Found a peanut yesterday.
Found a peanut, found a peanut,
Found a peanut yesterday.

I was hungry ,I was hungry ,
I was hungry yesterday,
I was hungry, I was hungry ,
I was hungry yesterday.

(this is driving me to distraction and I'm only typing it!I'll cut it short and let you fill in the rest). The format is exactly the same for every verse. The lead lines of the rest of the verses are as follows.....

So I ate it........

It was mouldy.....

I was sick......

Went to the doctors.......

But I died........

Went to heaven.......

Guess what I found there ?......

Found a peanut......

I was hungry.....


(and so on - ad infinitum....Aargh!)

No matter how hard we try, we have never managed to get past about 6 repeats before we beg for mercy. We are considering playing festivals and clubs in the near locality to avoid long journeys!

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Ian Burdon
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 08:36 AM

Celtaddict/Snuffy

There are a couple of recordings of Hot Nuts floating around. I think I have one somewhere by Roosevelt Sykes and I know the late George Melly recorded it years ago. Verses I recall

Nuts, hot nuts, get them from the peanut man
Nuts, hot nuts, you'd better get them while you can

See that man dressed in red? He plays with his nuts while he's in bed
See that man dressed in green? He's got the biggest nuts I've ever seen
See that man dressed in black? He carries his nuts around in a sack

etc. etc.

A somewhat different version was recorded by L'il Hohnson in 1934. The lyric is here

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Bert
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 12:14 AM

LOL Weelittledrummer.

Free beer for all the workers
Free beer for all the workers
Free beer for all the workers
When the Red revolution comes.

We'll hang Anthony Eden from a sour apple tree...

We'll make Hugh Gaitskell scub the steps of Transport House...

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Melissa
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 09:04 PM

Yesterday's Guest..are you sure you're not thinking of Andrew's Sisters "Six Jerks in a Jeep"?

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Suffolk Miracle
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 07:28 AM

Lloyd George knew my father, my father knew Lloyd George ... ad nauseam to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers.
Once saw a fabulous cartoon of a baby with LJ's features sitting in a pram singing Lloyd George knew my mother....

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Feb 08 - 08:16 AM

Help! Believe it or not I actually need a copy of the seven little girls sitting in the backseat with Fred!!! BUT not the 50's version...It was redone sometime in the 80's and starts off with "beep beep ahhh beep beep" and it quite a pop song!! I did have a copy but it's no good anymore and I need to use the song again.
My email is hvncent @ hotmail.com

Hope someone still reads these posts...

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 09:23 PM

The CN Bus
It was a cold winter's night and not a star was in sight
As we rolled down the hill to Random West
On the CNR* bus that had caused quite a fuss
For replacing our Newfoundland express.
Now in a seat in the rear sat a man who was here
To see how long t'would take to make the dash.
Old MacMillian they said a promotion would get
If his buses could save the railway cash.
In a seat just ahead sat a lady in red
Maggy Hawkins from Upper Gullies Trap.
She weighed 23 stone and the bus gave a groan
As she got up and started for the back.
It was Maggie's intent as the floor boards she bent
To enter the powder room in back.
It was a small 2 x 4 with a hatch for a door
Situated beneath the luggage rack.
Now all the crowd gave a roar as she opened the door
And old Maggie to force herself she tried
But alas she got stuck like a Lundrigan truck
It was plain she would never get inside.
She went back to her seat dripping sweat in the heat
Saying ooh how I miss the good old train.
And if this thing doesn't park until well after dark
My poor kidneys will never stand the strain.
Said a man turning pale, she's been drinking peg ale
Give her first aid - this surely is a crime.
That's when MacMillian did jump up in the aisle and did shout
Keep her rollin', we're making record time!
For an hour they drove until outside Arnolds Cove
Old Mag got up and started for the door.
And his stop watch in his hand Gordy MacMillian took his stand
Told the driver to put her to the floor.
Now with a final lashing Maggie sucked in her cheeks
And a brave burst of fire and of steam
And a thunderous roar that shook the valley and the shore
And the bus blew apart beside a stream.
There were 20 men maimed as the rescue squad came
Not a trace of Maggie could be seen.
Old MacMillian went blind, one poor man blew his mind
And the driver woke up in Lamalene.
Well on the crest of a hill just outside of Clarenville
Stands a tombstone to mark Mag's last remains.
May her soul ever fly to that great bathroom in the sky
For she's the lady that gave us back our TRAAAAAIIIIINNNN.
####.... Tom Cahill Tune: Wreck Of The # 9

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Nov 07 - 04:37 PM

Here's a song that was sent to my website www.cocojams.com

"this is what we sing on our bus ride home from winning games : we must! we must! we must increase our bus the bigger the better the tighter the sweater the boyz depend on us... say it 5 times fast"
-houston Jr high cheer; 1/9/2007

-snip-

I think it's a pretty good guess that "bus" here is a typo for "bust".

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Ol' Gray Mare
Date: 18 Nov 07 - 04:42 PM

I came in here looking for 'Five Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat' which I remember from about age 5 years in the later 50's. (funny how we all remember a different number of girls). Thanks for posting the singer's link. The song link doesn't work, but the name does - there is quite an enjoyable website attached to it with a funny Christmas song by Paul Evans and others he has on there too. It turns out he wrote "Midnight Special" and "Roses are red, Violets are blue" so "Seven Little Girls" was just the beginning for him. Mare

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Celtaddict
Date: 11 Jul 07 - 10:36 PM

Thanks, Snuffy. I think.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Snuffy
Date: 10 Jul 07 - 12:26 PM

Celtaddict,

The verses I recall for "Hot Nuts" were parodies of verses from things like Ray Charles' What'd I Say and older Gospel stuff (Let My People Go?):

See that girl, all dressed in red
Makes her living on a feather bed

See that girl, all dressed in black
Makes her living on her back

See that girl, all dressed in pink
She's the one that made my fingers stink

etc., etc.,

And that was just the sort of thing we'd sing on the bus (a chara, that is, not the 25 into town), or at the rugby club or students union bar or similar places.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 04:40 PM

Q asked me to post the text of these two pms that he sent me last night/this morning:


BACK OF THE BUS- legal title of "If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus," composed by Carver Neblett, copyright Sanga Music, Inc., BMI Work No. 76696.

Sung by Kim and Reggie Harris (with Peter Yarrow (of P, P, and M) and Bethany and Rufus; the cd "Let My People Go." [NOT the current 2005 release by Kim and Reggie Harris]

Current affiliation of Carver Neblett not known by BMI; probably deceased.

Expect invoice for my finder's fee.

Regards, Q

Also recorded by Harry Belafonte.

**

I got it [information about "If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus"] from about three or so websites and didn't keep a copy. Those BMI, ASCAP etc. websites take time to peruse and sort out the info, and I don't want to go through them again.

Added notes: Written in the 1950s but I couldn't find the date- one would have to write BMI, giving the work number 76696, to get that.
At one site the song was noted as traditional/Neblett, but it was not one of those with the recording data and list of licensed performers, and a lot of sites, like wackypedia, have as much fiction as fact.

I would guess that Neblett might have used a tune, or revised one, that he borrowed, but this is a song written in the folk revival heyday of the 1950s, and unless one knew Peter Yarrow or someone else who worked with Neblett, the facts may be hard to find.

The words are copyright, but one probably would have to have the old Belafonte recording to know what the original words were. I couldn't find sheet music. Peter (Yarrow), Paul and Mary also may have recorded as well as sung it, but I don't have any of their recordings.

Regards, Q

-snip-

Thanks Q!

I'll be on the look out for that invoice.

:o)

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Celtaddict
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 10:25 PM

Thanks, I will pass that along to him!

We sang
If you miss me at the back of the bus,
You can't find me nowhere,
Come on up to the front of the bus,
I'll be riding up there.
I'll be riding up there,
I'll be riding up there, oh-oh,
Come on up to the front of the bus,
I'll be riding up there.
And a lot of other verses, very close to both those you posted above. One summer about a dozen of us built some bath houses, concrete block with showers, toilets, sinks for a community that had none. That was basically our theme song, and was far my favorite of all of that ilk. Some verses were made up on the spot, not surprisingly, but some were very like the Carawan verses. I like the 'swim' verse because of the rhythm of fitting in 'Mississippi River.'

We differentiated between 'road' songs and 'basement' songs which seem to be both included in these 'back of the bus' songs in this thread. A 'road' song is solely to pass the time (99 bottles or the ants for the little kids, more elaborate ones for the older kids, maybe cumulative, or lots of verses, or harmony or rounds). A 'basement' song is one we 'young ladies' did not sing in public, usually bawdy, sometimes pretty vulgar.
I learned 'Back of the Bus' on the same night and from the same teen from whom I learned 'Hot Nuts' of the basement genre. ('Nuts, hot nuts, you get them from the peanut man; nuts, hot nuts, you get them any way you can' seemed terribly racy then though I am not sure why; I suspect the verses were noticeably ruder but I do not happen to recall any of them.)

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 09:33 PM

Hey, Celtaddict!

I really like your friend's Rosa Parks verse for the "Wheels On The Bus" song.

Both versions!!

My compliments to him or her.

:o)

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 09:27 PM

Charley, you mentioned that Leland thought this was a thread on freedom songs. I take it that Leland is the same person as Harou. [?]

Haruo [20 Jul 01 - 06:40 PM] posted a verse to If You Don't See Me At The Back Of The Bus {also known as If You Miss Me In [or "From"] The Back Of The Bus"}

Here's verses to that song as I hearing them sung:

IF YOU DON'T SEE ME AT THE BACK OF THE BUS
If you don't find me at the back of the bus
If you can't find me back there.
Come on up to the front of the bus.
I'll be sittin up there.
I'll be sittin up there.
Come on up to the front of the bus
I'll be sittin up there.

If you can't find me in the schoolroom
If you can't find me in there
Come on out to the picket line
I'll be standin right there
I'll be standin right there
Come on out to the picket line
I'll be standin right there

If you can't find me in the picket line
If you can't find me out there
Come on down to the jail house
I'll be singin in there
I'll be singin in there
Come on down to the jail house
I'll be singin in there

If you can't find me in jail house
If you don't see me in there
Come on over to the church yard
I'll be prayin out there
I'll be prayin out there
Come on over to the church yard
I'll be prayin out there.
-snip-

[Here are some additional verses from a 1963 book on Civil Rights songs edited by Guy and Candie Carawan, published by Oak Publications; New York ; p. 50; {Library of Congress Number 63-23278}. I lost the cover page of the copy I reproduced and don't have a title page].

If you miss me from the front of the bus,
and you can't find me nowhere,
Come on up to the driver's seat,
I'll be driving up there. etc.

If you miss me from Jackson State,
and you can't find me no where
Come on over to Ole Miss,
I'll be studyin' over there. etc.

If you miss me from knockin' on doors
and you can't find me nowhere
Come on down to the registrar's room,
I'll be the registrar there. ect.

If you miss me from the cotton field,
and you can't find me nowhere.
Come on down to the court house,
I'll be voting right there. etc

If you miss me from the picket line,
and you can't find me nowhere.
Come on down to the jail house,
I'll be rooming down there. etc.

If you miss me from the Mississippi
River
and you can't find me nowhere
Come on down to the city pool
I'll be swimming in there. etc.   

-snip-


Btw, some time ago I posted words to this song on my website http://www.cocojams.com/freedom_songs.htm along with this note: "adapted from the song composed by C. Neblett".

Though I posted that note then, now I don't have a clue where I got that information from. Which song did C. Neblett write? Please help, Q or anyone else!

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 04:21 PM

I was thinking, along with Leland up above, that this was a thread about "freedom riders" from the 1960's. I have vivid memories of a SNCC group leading "If You don't see me in the back of the bus" at some special event in NYC in the early 1960's.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Celtaddict
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 10:47 AM

'The Wheels on the Bus' is ubiquitous as a children's song (though I just checked the DT and did not find it), but a friend often starts it up at his gigs in pubs and it invariably goes over big with the college-through-retiree gang.
Some other verses:
The babies on the bus go wah-wah-wah
The mommies on the bus go shh-shh-shh
The wipers on the bus go swish-swish-swish (I like the hand movements to this one)
And I think he originated
The driver on the bus goes 'Move on back!'

And Rosa Parks said 'Not for me!'

Now the people on the bus sit where they want,
Left or right, back or front,
Now the people on the bus sit where they want,
All through the town.
Actually, that is the school kid version (he does lots of schools too). In the pub it is usually
Rosa Parks said 'Kiss my ass!' which gets applause every time.
For our friends across the pond: Rosa Parks (1915-2005) is called the 'Mother of the Civil Rights Movement' in the U.S. She was involved with youth and civil rights causes through her adult life. In the 1950's 'coloreds' were routinely made to sit in the back of public buses. On December 1, 1955, Ms. Parks was riding a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and declined to give up her seat to a white male.
Social history in a preschoolers' song performed in a pub. Who knew.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 04 Jul 07 - 12:20 PM

Here's two [more?] example of songs for the bus driver:

HOORAY FOR THE BUSDRIVER
hooray for the busdriver,the busdriver,the busdriver hooray for the busdriver the busdriver hooray he drinks and he cusses he wrecks all our busses horray for the busdriver the busdriver hooray
-Anonymous; http://www.cocojams.com/teacher_taunts.htm ; 3/17/2007

**

HAIL 2 THE BUS DRIVER
Hail to the busdriver, busdriver, busdriver
Hail to the busdriver, busdriver man.
He drinks and he cusses,
And smokes on the busses,
All hail the busdriver, busdriver, busdriver
All hail the busdriver, busdriver man.
-Source: Cassi ; http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php ; April 17, 2004

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Ross
Date: 06 Jun 07 - 04:39 AM

The wheels on the bus go round and round. round and round. round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round all day long.
lol

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: Darowyn
Date: 03 Apr 07 - 04:41 AM

I used to run a Youth Centre in the seventies, and I felt really sorry for a group of lads I took on a trip to another centre about thirty miles away.
You see, they were all Punk Rockers. They had a go at "Pretty Vacant", but apart from that they had nothing to sing on the back of the bus.
Sad isn'it?
Imagine how much worse it is for the poor souls who are into Drum and Bass......
"Altogether now! 1,2,3,4
Boboom, chish,badabadaba,ka-chish"
or Gangsta Rap...
"M******* f****** h****"
I lament the lost innocence of harmless vulgarity.

Cheers
Dave

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,Shotzie
Date: 02 Apr 07 - 04:44 PM

I know a song that gets on everybodys nerves,
everybodys nerves, everybodys nerves.
I know a song that gets on every bodys nerves
and this is how it goes:
I know a song that gets on everybodys nerves...etc etc.


Repeat as many times as needed.

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: GUEST,lambchop
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 05:29 PM

mercy on you if your kids ever get started on this one
on a road trip:

    this is the song that never ends
    it just goes on and on my friend
    somebody started singing it
    not knowing what it was
    and they'll continue singing it
    forever, just because..

    this is the song that never ends... (etc. till your teeth melt)

Subject: RE: Back of Bus Songs
From: melodeonboy
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 05:22 PM

Most of the songs in Fliss's list were commonly sung on trips when I was a schoolboy/boy scout.

Of particular merit was "The Quartermaster's Store", because whoever decided to lead the song, or even a particular verse, could invent the first line, which everyone else would then follow. For example, one of our teachers was called Danny; this led to the leading line "There was Danny, Danny, playing with her f***y".

Oooooh, how we laughed!!!!!!

If anyone wants the words to it, please let me know.