Lyr Add: Save the Bones for Henry Jones

Subject: ADD: Save the Bones for Henry Jones
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jun 99 - 01:28 AM

I woulda swore Johnny Mercer wrote this one, but I guess he didn't. Good song, though - and the Mercer-Cole recording is a classic.

Save The Bones For Henry Jones
by Danny Barker and Vernon Lee
©1947, Criterion Music Corp.
(recorded by Johnny Mercer with Nat King Cole in 1947)

Tonight I'll serve a supper, we'll eat some food that's rare.
And at the head of the table, I'll place brother Henry's chair.
Invite all the local big dogs, we'll laugh and talk and eat,
But we'll save the bones for Henry Jones, 'cause Henry don't eat no meat.

Today I'll go to market and buy a lot of fish,
That will thrill brother Henry, because that's his special dish.
Get a large can of molasses, so we'll have something sweet,
But we'll save the bones for Henry Jones, 'cause Henry don't eat no meat.

[bridge]
Henry is not a drinker, he rarely takes a nip,
He don't need a napkin, 'cause the things he eats don't drip.

One day we had a banquet, it really was a bake,
They started off with short-ribs, then they finished up with steak.
But when the feast was over, brother Henry kept his seat,
And we served the bones to Henry Jones, 'cause Henry don't eat no meat.

[instrumental break]

Our banquet was most proper, right down to demitasse,
From soup to lox and bagels, and pheasant under glass.
We thought the chops were mellow, he said his chops were beat, REET!
We served the bones to Henry Jones, 'cause Henry don't eat no meat.
He's a egg man, Henry don't eat no meat.
He loves a pullet, Henry don't eat no meat.
A vegetarian…

Henry!
Coming, mother!

Soup's on!

JRO

Subject: RE: ADD: Save the Bones for Henry Jones
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 22 Jun 99 - 01:53 AM

Great song Joe. Danny Barker was one of the great jazz historians. His career spanned about 70 years. He played 6 string banjo and has written wonderfully about Storyville and all its legendary characters.
Rick

Subject: RE: ADD: Save the Bones for Henry Jones
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Jun 99 - 02:43 AM

Say, O Rick who is Wiser and Far Older than I, please allow us to sit at your feet whilst you tell us more about this fabled Storyville. The only Storyville I know of is a now-defunct blues band. Please explain.
-Joe Offer-

Well, I'd better stop teasing. I really am impressed by all the music history you have at the tip of your tongue, Rick, and you've aroused my curiosity. I'm also waiting to find out the answer to your "Junie Moon" question in another thread, if I can ever find the thread again.

Subject: RE: ADD: Save the Bones for Henry Jones
From: Chet W.
Date: 22 Jun 99 - 04:49 PM

Not to butt in, but Storyville, as Rick will confirm, was the redlight district in New Orleans during most of the formative years of jazz. It seems that a lot of the jobs available to jazz musicians were to play in the waiting rooms, so to speak, of the whorehouses. Besides having been a university education for a lot of jazz greats, there were quite a few songs played there that could only be done in whorehouses, as well as whorehouse versions of some well-known songs. (Check the whorehouse version of Darktown Strutters Ball by Banjo Ikey Robinson on the soundtrack of the film "Louie Bluie"). It's a colorful part of jazz history, and may be, he says cryptically, why the music became called "jazz" in the first place. Tell us more, Rick.

Chet W.

Subject: RE: SAVE THE BONES FOR HENRY JONES (cause Henry..
From: Eve Goldberg
Date: 30 Jun 99 - 08:31 PM

The song can be found on Jackie Washington's "Midnight Choo Choo" album put out on Borealis. The liner notes don't include lyrics, unfortunately, but you can get 'em from his great singing.

You can order Borealis CDs by calling their toll-free line: [phone].

Say hi if you phone - I'll be the one on the other end!

Subject: RE: ADD: Save the Bones for Henry Jones
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Sep 02 - 09:04 AM

does anyone have the chords to Save the Bone for Henry Jones (cause henry don't eat no meat)? - thanks...