Lyr/Chords: Willie the Weeper (from Dave Van Ronk)

Subject: Chord Req: Dave Van Ronk - 'Willie the Weeper'
From: Nate Day
Date: 29 Mar 09 - 01:27 AM

Hello everyone,

I've been trying to figure out the chords for Willie the Weeper for quite some time, but I have absolutely no idea. I'm looking for the version on "Van Ronk Sings," but any suggestions will help. Thanks!

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Dave Van Ronk - 'Willie the Weeper'
From: GUEST,Andy
Date: 19 Oct 09 - 01:04 PM

I don't know if you still need them, but the way that I play it is:
I-V7-I
I-V7-I
I-V7-VI7-V7-I

I have heard him playing it in Am, and I suspect that he puts a capo on the fifth fret to do this. So in that case, you would put the capo on the 5th and then play in Em. Which would make the chords:
Em                           B7         Em
Ever heard a story bout willie the weeper
Em                            B7       Em
Willie the weeper was a chimney sweeper
Em
He had the habit, boys he had it bad
B7                               C7    B7    Em
Listen while I tell you bout a dream he had

That is all from memory, so I can't guarantee it's perfect, but It should get you pretty close. I also recommend trying different capo positions to suit your voice. Good Luck

Subject: ADD: Willie the Weeper (from Dave Van Ronk)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Feb 23 - 05:42 PM

from https://terrys-songs.net/willie-the-weeper

"Willie" is a New Orleans jazz band standard dating back before the turn of the century (nineteenth). There are hundreds of verses and almost as many variations of the tune. I learned this one from a ten-inch record album by Shep Ginandes called "Songs of Delinquency."

What? You never heard of Shep GInandes? Shep, a physician from the Boston area, recorded scores of folk music albums for Storyville and Elektra records. His repertoire was astounding. It ranged from traditional American and British ballads to Yiddish labor songs and jazz tunes. He sang in Welsh, French, Spanish, German, Yiddish, and Russian, too.

There is a psychiatrist listed in Honolulu, Hawaii named Dr. Shepard Ginandes. Shep? Is that you? Are you still with us?

WILLIE THE WEEPER

Let me tell you all a story about Willie the Weeper,
Made his livin’ was a chimney sweeper,
He had a dope habit and he bad it bad
Listen while I tell you ‘bout the dream he had.
Dee dee dee dah dee dah
Deep dah dee dah dee dah
Yandi dandi dah dee dah dum (or whatever you want to sing)
Well, he went to the hop-house the other night,
He knew that the lights were always shining bright.
Well, a guess he smoked a dozen pills or more
When he woke up he was on a foreign shore
Dee dah . . .
The queen of Sheeba was the first he met
She called him her darlin’, her lovin’ pet
She bought him a Cadillac automobile
With a diamond headlight and a silver steering wheel
Dee dah . . .
She had a million cattle and a million sheep
A million vessels on the ocean deep
She had a million dollars all in nickels and dimes
She knew because she counted them a million times.
Dee dah . . .
(This verse from Dave Van Ronk)
Next he come to the isle of Siam,
He rubbed his eyes and said, "I wonder where I am,"
He played craps with the king, he won a million Ore,
He had to leave the country, 'cause the king got sore.
Dee dah . . .
He went to the hop-house one evenin’ late
He asked his baby for a sugar date
Willie he got funny, she begin to shout
“Bim bam boo!” and the dope gave out.
Dee dah . . .

https://terrys-songs.net/willie-the-weeper

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords: Willie the Weeper (from Dave Van Ronk)
From: Lighter
Date: 09 Feb 23 - 02:54 PM

Boston Sunday Globe (June 24, 1904), p. 33:

“That pretty girl and remarkably talented comedienne, Kittie Bingham, is to remain for another week [at the Howard Atheneum theater]. She will sing ‘Willie the Weeper,’ a new song; ‘Hiawatha,’ and a new ballad.”

*******************************************************

Galveston Daily News (Apr. 9, 1911), p. 6:

                           WILLIE THE WEEPER         
                        (The Hop-Fiend’s Song)

There was a young man named Willie the Weeper,
Made his living as a Chimney Sweeper,

Had the hop habit, and he had it bad.
Listen. I will tell you about a dream he had.

Went to the Chink’s joint the other night,
Where he knew the lights were always shining bright,

He called in the Chink and ordered a toy of hop,
Started into smoking and he thought he never would stop.

He rolled and he smoked about a dozen pills,
Said it drove away all his pains and ills;

Laying on his hip, he then fell asleep,
Dreamed he was sailing on the ocean deep.

Started playing poker when he left this land,
Win a million dollars on the very first hand.

Came to a place they call Siam,
Rubbed his nose and said, “I wonder where I am.”

From the king of Siam he won a million more;
Then he went to Monte Carlo ‘cause the king got sore.

While at Monte Carlo, he played ro’lett,
Wins every penny and couldn’t make a bet.

When he found that all the banks were broke,
He bought a million dollars’ worth of hop to smoke.

He said that he would lead a life free from toil,
Bought a million dollars’ worth of peanut oil.

Stabbed himself with an inchee gow,
Died with his head on a suee pow.

Willie awoke, his hop had vanished, his dreams were o’er,
He went to sweeping chimneys, as he did before.

*****************************

Louis J. Beck, New York’s Chinatown (N.Y.: Bohemia Pubishing Co., 1898), pp. 164-165:

                                    
                         A HOP FIEND'S DREAM.

A hop fiend went on a weary stroll,
In search of a friend who a pill could roll.
He had not smoked for a whole long day,
He was "barred" from the joints - for he could not pay.

He strolled along with a yen-yen bad,
Till he found a guy who some money had;
He touched him quick and off he flew
To "cop" the hop from the Chink's bamboo.

He smoked, and smoked, and smoked away,
And thought of the riches he'd have some day.
He thought of his friends and roasted all;
For a fiend who won't roast is no fiend at all.

He finally into a sweet dream fell,
And dreamed of everything - all but Hell.
He dreamed sweet dreams of untold wealth,
And of all the dough he could cop by stealth.

He dreamed of diamonds and riches rare,
And of all the suckers he could ensnare.
He was worth a million in nickels and dimes,
And counted them over a thousand times .

He owned houses and lots, cattle and sheep,
And a million ships that sailed on the deep.
He was king of the world, whom all obeyed,
And was in the most gorgeous garb arrayed.

He had a thousand wives, so pretty and rare,
All dressed in the finest, with golden hair.
He'd a billion servants, who stood at his call—
For Aladdin's palace wasn't in it at all.

He kept on dreaming, until he awoke,
Only to find he had run out of dope.

                               ---"Yen Shee Gow."

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords: Willie the Weeper (from Dave Van Ronk)
From: GUEST,Roderick A Warner
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 12:26 PM

Thinking about this song and Cab Calloway popped into my mind. And ‘ Minnie the Moocher’ was ‘appropriated’ from ‘Willie The Weeper,’ apparently. You can hear the resemblances…

Minnie the Moocher

The mighty Calloway - the James Brown of 1931 if you catch his more energetic performances. A long way from Bleeker Street then and now.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords: Willie the Weeper (from Dave Van Ronk)
From: Lighter
Date: 11 Feb 23 - 02:00 PM

Calloway was somethin' else.

I think he's largely forgotten except by historians and fans.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords: Willie the Weeper (from Dave Van Ronk)
From: GUEST,Roderick A Warner
Date: 13 Feb 23 - 05:04 AM

Forgotten? Maybe you’re right. But Cab Calloway was a mighty performer, a vortex through which so much flowed into American culture, musician, singer, dancer, massively influential bandleader in the swing era and beyond into modern jazz, pop, r and b, soul, hip hop, movie star, radio star, and the resonations are still there if you want to track them. I could give massive chunks of googled material but who wants to plough through that? Easy enough to find for those interested. A smart, snappy, hip character…

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords: Willie the Weeper (from Dave Van Ronk)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Feb 23 - 12:00 AM

Here's a performance by Tuba Skinny, my favorite current New Orleans jazz band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnRs0dyYhbk

Louis Armstrong & his hot seven (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsmw_vJcMyU

The version Terry SoRelle did at the Mudcat Singaround last week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZmGKMgASqk

Smoking time Jazz Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7p97uaA7Ps