Lyr Req: Old Smoky / Old Smokey (Roscoe Holcomb)

Subject: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Taber Smith
Date: 24 Apr 99 - 01:11 AM

Hi, I'm looking for the lyrics to a song called "Old Smoky," which I heard on the album "the high lonesome sound" by Roscoe Holcomb.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Art Thieme
Date: 24 Apr 99 - 01:33 PM

Was a huge hit for Pete Seeger and the Weavers in the 50's. Roscoe's version was all old timey Apalachian & amazinly intense. Shared some of the same wods but that's about all.I'll try to dig out the lyric later..

Art

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 24 Apr 99 - 01:50 PM

ON TOP OF OLD SMOKY Is this the song you want? Popularized by Burl Ives. This is in the DT.

ON TOP OF OLD SMOKY
On top of old Smoky, all covered with snow
I lost my true lover from courting too slow

Though courting's a pleasure and parting is grief
A false-hearted lover is worse than a thief

For a thief will just rob you and take what you have
But a false-hearted lover will lead you to the grave

The grave will decay you and turn you to dust
Not one boy in a thousand a poor girl can trust

He'll hug you and kiss you and tell you more lies
Than cross-ties on a railroad or stars in the skies

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Taber Smith
Date: 24 Apr 99 - 03:31 PM

Those are the lyrics! Thanks a lot! Taber in Boston

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Taber Smith
Date: 24 Apr 99 - 05:17 PM

There are a couple missing verses, one about a log cabin, and one about her "parent's are against me"

Thanks!

Taber in Boston

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From:
Date: 24 Apr 99 - 10:18 PM

You can see Hoolcomb play that on a Yazoo video "Traditional Music Classics". I will see if I can figure out the words from that, but I hope Art beats me to it.

Murray

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Art Thieme
Date: 27 Apr 99 - 12:07 AM

I haven't found it yet. But I'll never forget Roscoe Holcomb picking my guitar up in a small alcove of an upper floor of Ida Noyes Hall (U. of Chicago--1962) and tuning it to an open-G chord (I think) and doing this song. Unbelievable. If John Cohen is lurking out there, PLEASE??---I know you've got the words to this! And I guarantee that uncloaking will not result in any loss of your cool at all.

pretty please????

Art

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:00 PM

I can't imagine John "lurking" anywhere, Art. He's much too much of an active participant in everything he approaches! Read his contributions to Wasn't That a Time, the book that published the papers that were read and transcripts of the sessions that took place at the University of Indiana conference on the folk revival a few years ago. Nope. I'm sure that John would be a regular contributor here, if he were monitoring these threads.

Sandy

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Art Thieme
Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:25 PM

Alas, I'm sure you're right, Sandy. Just wishful thinking on my part. But I often do wonder just who is lurking silently out there in the darkness...

Art

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Frank Of Toledo
Date: 27 Apr 99 - 11:51 PM

Now come all you fair maidens
Take a warning from me
Never place your affections
On a green willow tree
For the leaves they will wither
And the roots they will die
And we'll all be forsaken
And never more lie...

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Frank Of Toledo
Date: 28 Apr 99 - 12:01 AM

Just picked up a 1951 Weavers Songbook, and on the last part of that song. I goofed. Instead of never more lie, it shoud be "and never know why". On the inside of the front cover is a fine introduction to the Weavers. It goies like this " The Weavers are out of the grassroots of America. I salute them for their great work in authentic renditions of ballads, folk songs, ditties, nice antiques of word and melody. When I hear America singing the Weavers are there... signed.....Carl Sandburg

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 28 Apr 99 - 01:57 AM

I collected a version of this song from Joseph Able Trivett in the mountains of East Tennessee. He called it "Go Away From Me, Young Man." I could post his lyrics, but Taber is looking for the words as sung by Rosco Holcomb. I'll have to see if it's included on the original LP that John Cohen recorded of Roscoe -- the one with that great photograph of Holcomb on the cover. If the song is on that record, the text will be in the booklet that came with it (and bless the late Moe Asch for those booklets!). If it's there, I'll post the text tomorrow.

Sandy

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From:
Date: 28 Apr 99 - 05:58 AM

Taber:

I listened to the video I mentioned. It is not the Yazoo I though, but on the Vestapol Video called "Shady Grove". He does it with a banjo rather than a guitar.

The bad news is that I can't make out the part about the log cabin or the parents.

These two themes appear a lot in mountain songs. Usually the "log cabin" one is of the form:

Gonna build me a log cabin
On a mountain so high
so I can see my darling
as she goes riding by

I suspect it is of British origin and the "log cabin" was a "castle".

The "parents" one usually goes something like:

Your parents don't like me, because I am poor
They say I'm not worthy to enter their door
Although I drink whiskey, my money's my own
and if they don't like me they can leave me alone

The oldest song I know using these words is "The Waggoner's Lad" which is certainly of English origin.

I am not saying he sings these words; but you can listen again with them in mind.

Murray

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: harpgirl
Date: 17 Oct 04 - 01:19 PM

I have the CD and the song but he is sure hard to understand. I'll work on it

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: harpgirl
Date: 17 Oct 04 - 01:50 PM

Let's see, he tunes the banjo F#ADAD for this tune...

Subject: Lyr Add: OLD SMOKEY (from Roscoe Holcomb & W Ward)
From: Stewie
Date: 17 Oct 04 - 06:12 PM

Harpgirl, I'll help you out. Here are the lyrics, probably transcribed by Cohen, as printed in the booklet that accompanied 'The Music of Roscoe Holcomb & Wade Ward' Folkways LP FA2363:

OLD SMOKEY

All on old Smokey, all covered with snow
I lost my own true lover by courting too slow

It's courting it is pleasure, and parting is grief
The false-hearted true lover is worse than a thief

They'll hug you, they will kiss you, they will tell you more lies
Than the crossties in the railroad or the stars in the skies

It's ashes to ashes and dust is to dust
One boy in a hundred that a poor girl can trust

I'll build me a log cabin on top of some rise
Where the wild geese and the pretty women can hear my sad cry

Your parents they are against me, they say I'm too poor
They say I aint worthy of entering your door

They say I drink whiskey, my money is my own
And if they don't like me, they can leave me alone

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 18 Oct 04 - 12:38 PM

thanks Stewie and the rest of you - enjoyed that!

Subject: RE: Roscoe Holcomb
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 18 Oct 04 - 01:49 PM

Keep in mind that Roscoe's tune is very different than the usual one (the Weavers' version, for instance).