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Origins: Pittsburgh Town
| Joe Offer | 15 Aug 22 - 05:50 AM | |
| Joe Offer | 15 Aug 22 - 12:10 AM | |
| Joe Offer | 14 Aug 22 - 11:50 PM | |
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Origins: Pittsburgh Town
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Subject: ADD Version: Pittsburgh Is a Great Old Town From: Joe Offer Date: 15 Aug 22 - 05:50 AM PITTSBURGH IS A GREAT OLD TOWN Pittsburgh town is a great old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a great old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a great old town Solid steel from McKeesport down Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh 2. Pittsburgh is a smoky old town, Pittsburgh! Pittsburgh is a smoky old town, Pittsburgh! Pittsburgh is a smoky old town, Coal piled high in great big mounds. Pittsburgh is a smoky old town, Pittsburgh! 3. Pittsburgh is a river town, Two rivers meet at the Point downtown. 4. Pittsburgh is a hilly old town, Her streets and roads go up and down. George Korson, Pennsylvania Songs and Legends (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1949), pp. 440-441, "Pittsburg Is a Great Old Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Notes from Korson: Pittsburgh Is a Great Old Town (Sung by Matt Gouze at Pittsburgh, 1947. Notated by Jacob A. Evanson. Used by permission of People’s Songs, Inc.) According to Peter Seeger, ballad singer, this song was inspired by the spectacle of Pittsburgh during the war boom: The song was made pretty much by Woody Guthrie, the Oakies’ balladist. That was back in the summer of 1941 when he and I and two other fellows—The Almanac Singers, a jalopyful of modern troubadours—stopped in Pittsburgh on a country-wide junket. The early war boom was on, and Pittsburgh was an awesome sight. This song, with a somewhat different text, was the result of communal effort, but mostly Woody Guthrie’s. Its popularity increased when Alan Lomax used it in 1943 on his C.B.S. broadcast. “Trans-Atlantic Call-People to People.” At least four different versions are now in circulation. Pittsburgh public-school children sing one form in which the stanzas are telescoped into one: Pittsburgh is a river town, Pittsburgh! Pittsburgh is a hilly old town, Pittsburgh! Pittsburgh is a smoky old town, Solid steel from McKeesport down. Pittsburgh is a great old town, Pittsburgh! |
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Subject: Lyr Add: Pittsburgh Town From: Joe Offer Date: 15 Aug 22 - 12:10 AM PITTSBURGH TOWN Well, Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town Solid steel from McKeesport down Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh Well, Pittsburgh town is a hilly old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a hilly old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a hilly old town The streets and the roads go up and down In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh Well, Pittsburgh town is a river town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a river town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a river town The two rivers meet at a point downtown In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh Well now, what did Jones and Laughlan steal? Pittsburgh What did Jones and Laughlan steal? Pittsburgh What did Jones and Laughlan steal? Up an' down the river jus' as far as you can see In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh From the Allegheny to the Ohio, in Pittsburgh From the Allegheny to the Ohio From the Allegheny to the Ohio They're joining up in the C.I.O. In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh Well, Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town Steel on the top and coal underground Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh Recording by Vivien Richman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM89zlGmQ50 I first visited Pittsburgh in about 1966, and I was amazed at how everything was covered with black soot - traffic signs, everything. My next visit was maybe 20 years later, after the steel mills had begun shutting down. I couldn't believe the difference. A city surrounded by hills at the confluence of two magnificent rivers, with amazing architecture and bridges and FUNICULARS. Oh, my. I have been back many times since then. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95400060 |
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Subject: Lyr Add: Pittsburgh Town From: Joe Offer Date: 14 Aug 22 - 11:50 PM PITTSBURGH TOWN Pittsburgh town is a smoky ol' town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a smoky ol' town, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh town is a smoky ol' town Solid iron from McKeesport down Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh Well what did Jones and Laughlan steal? Pittsburgh What did Jones and Laughlan steal? Pittsburgh What did Jones and Laughlan steal? Up an' down the river jus' as far as you can see In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh All I do is cough and choke in Pittsburgh All I do is cough and choke in Pittsburgh All I do is cough and choke From the iron filings and the sulphur smoke In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh From the Allegheny to the Ohio, in Pittsburgh Allegheny to the Ohio Allegheny to the Ohio They're joining up in the C.I.O. Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: based on Woody Guthrie's improvisation (see Cray's biography, Ramblin' Man, page 222). Seeger recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAdxmv-HFMg
Melody: "Mamma Don't 'Low" From Ed Cray's Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie (Norton, 2004, p. 222) Shortly after the recording session, the Almanacs set out for Pittsburgh. Even before they got there, Peter Hawes fell ill with pneumonia, abruptly returned home. Five Almanacs became four. Pittsburgh was daunting. Its steel mills lined the Monongahela River, their blast furnaces lighting the night sky a glowing red. On the Almanacs’ first night in town, they sang in a grimy housing project for steel workers and spent the night in a cockroach-ridden hotel. The next day, performing at the United Steelworkers union hall for Jones and Laughlin employees, Guthrie began improvising:
Pittsburgh town is a smoky old town. Solid iron from McKeesport down In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh. The other Almanacs joined, Lampell contributing:
What did Jones and Laughlin steal? Up and down the river just as far as you can see In Pittsburgh, Lord God, Pittsburgh.
Ballad Index entry: Pittsburg Is a Great Old TownDESCRIPTION: "Pittsburg is a great old town, Pittsburg (x2), Pittsburg is a great old town, Solid steel from McKeesport down." "Pittsburg is a smoky old town... Coal piled high in great big mounds." Pittsburg is a river town, a hilly town....AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (Korson-PennsylvaniaSongsAndLegends) KEYWORDS: nonballad home river technology FOUND IN: US(MA) REFERENCES (1 citation): Korson-PennsylvaniaSongsAndLegends, pp. 440-441, "Pittsburg Is a Great Old Town" (1 text, 1 tune) Roud #7747 File: KPL440 Go to the Ballad Search form Go to the Ballad Index Instructions The Ballad Index Copyright 2022 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
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