Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: Janie
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 09:59 PM

Correction. Nothing to indicate it is traditional, or from the West Indies, though there are some arrangements, including Burl Ives, who gave it a 'latin' spin.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: Janie
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 09:48 PM

So, what is the origin? Several offerings on youtube now, but nothing that indicates where the song might have originated.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: GUEST,Phil
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 08:17 PM

Date: 28 May 15 - 12:27 AM
I heard it as Banana oil, which in the 1920s, was a synonym for BS.

Date: 18 Nov 15 - 07:51 PM
My mother sang mama don't want no peas no rice and no banana oil. Banana oil was 1920s slang for BS.

Got it.

Cheers.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: LadyJean
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 07:51 PM

My mother sang mama don't want no peas no rice and no banana oil. Banana oil was 1920s slang for BS.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: GUEST,Phil
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 09:21 AM

Correction to the above:
"Graduated Queen's College, NP..."

*"Attended Queen's College, NP; graduated Upper Canada College, Toronto, Ont...."


Lofthouse also composed "Dear Heart I Know" in 1914.
http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100007391/default.html

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: GUEST,Phil
Date: 16 Jun 15 - 02:55 AM

Does C.L. Lofthouse music qualify as originating in the West Indies? Certainly not by any visiting folklorist-musicologist's metric.

However the Lofthouse family name in the Bahamas goes back before the American Civil War. Charles Leonard Lofthouse was born in Nassau in 1883 to the Rev. T.H.C. Lofthouse and the former Elizabeth A. Menendez. Graduated Queen's College, NP with voice and piano in Paris. The Lofthouse Record Company was putting out 78s before World War II. The Lofthouse Agency was making goombay flexi-disks in the late 1960s.

I think the "The Winds of Dawn" (1911, music, w/ lyric by Julia Warner Michael) was Charles Lofthouse's first published song, after the preceding year's "Modern Singing Lesson" monograph. He was 29 years old at the time. It and several others were already moldy-oldies when he was pulling strings (literally and figuratively) in the 1930-1950 pop-goombay "discovered" by the Americans. Whiteman's Rhythm Boys (post Crosby) did this tune and Lofthouse-Gilbert's "Bahama Mama" (1932.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: GUEST,Joseph Scott
Date: 15 Jun 15 - 12:56 PM

"MAMA DON'T WANT NO PEAS, NO RICE. Sung by Zora Neale Hurston.
Jacksonville, Fla., Herbert Halpert, 1939- 3139 31
MAMA DON'T WANT NO PEAS, NO RICE, NO COCONUT ILE. Sung by Thomas
Anderson. New York, N. Y., Herbert Halpert, 1933. 3628 A3
MAIM DON'T WANT NO PEAS, NO RICE, NO COCONUT OIL. Sung by
Cleveland Simmons and mixed group. Old Bight, Cat island,
Bahamas, Alan Lomax and Mary Elisabeth Barnicle, 1935. 4-19 A

- 251 -

MAM DON'T WANT NO PEAS, NO RICE-, NO COCONUT OIL. Sung by Gertrude
Thurston. New Bight, Cat island, Bahamas, Alan Lomax and
Mary Elizabeth Barnicle, 1935- ' 403 A3
MAM DON'T WANT NO PEAS, NO RICE, NO COCONUT OIL. Sung by young
man with banjo. New Bight, Cat island, Bahamas, Alan Lomax
and Mary Elizabeth Barnicle, 1935= 4-12 A"

Hurston had collected in the Bahamas in 1929 and 1930. William Grant Still used Hurston's "Peas and rice; jumping dance, from Bahamas" in his "Caribbean Melodies," 1941.

Still reportedly drew on material Hurston collected in the Bahamas "during the 1930s." Probably worth a look: Hurston's "Dance Songs and Tales from the Bahamas," Journal of America Folklore 43 (July-September 1930) : 294-312.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: GUEST,James Fryer
Date: 15 Jun 15 - 11:24 AM

If one of the copyright credits was Bahamian then it could have originated as a West Indian folk song. I don't personally know of any versions earlier than 1932 though. It also seems to have some relation to "Mama don't 'low" which is a US folk song as far as I know.

It's played by Mento bands and appears in a Jamaican folk song anthology I have.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: LadyJean
Date: 28 May 15 - 12:27 AM

I heard it as Banana oil, which in the 1920s, was a synonym for BS.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: GUEST,Phil
Date: 27 May 15 - 10:12 PM

James Fryer: "It's originally a Jamaican folk song."

While you may have experienced a local cover, the true original is straight Tin Pan Alley, no chaser. The writing team of "(Gilbert, Charles)" mentioned in Sorchas post above is fairly well documented as Russian-American Louis Wolfe Gilbert (as L. Wolfe Gilbert: "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee", etc) and Bahamian Charles Leonard Lofthouse (as L. Charles aka Charles Lighthouse: "Bahama Mama", "Delia Gone", etc.) The original copyright was issued in the United States in 1932.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: Joe_F
Date: 11 Mar 15 - 01:39 PM

My mother used to sing just two lines of it:

Mama don't want no rice, no peas, no kerosene oil --
All she wants is whiskey, whiskey all the time.

Calls up rather a different picture.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: GUEST,James Fryer
Date: 11 Mar 15 - 05:19 AM

It's originally a Jamaican folk song. Peas and rice is a Jamaican/caribbean dish. I am not sure what the original lyric "All she wants is dandy shandy all the time" means, but "dandy shandy" is a Jamaican game where two people throw a ball between them while other people dodge the ball.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' ...
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 23 Mar 10 - 03:43 PM

Pier head?

Lancashire Hotpot?

Subject: Lyr Add: MAMA DON'T WANT NO PEAS AND RICE AND ...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Mar 10 - 12:40 PM

Here's my attempt at a transcription, but note there are some gaps and uncertainties:

MAMA DON'T WANT NO PEAS AND RICE AND COCONUT OIL
As sung by Harry Roy & His Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFiWZJvEzlA

1. Mama don't want no peas nor rice nor coconut oil.
Mama don't want no peas nor rice nor coconut oil.
Mama don't want no peas an' rice.
Mama don't want no coconut oil,
Just a bottle o' brandy handy all the day.

2. When you're cruisin' down Hawaii by the sea,
And you're all pepped up on gin an' TNT(?),
Then you'll dance an' sing all night
Until the iron heaves in sight,
And you hear the natives singing merrily:

3. Mama don't want no peas an' rice an' coconut oil.
Mama don't want no peas an' rice an' coconut oil.
She likes to have a run.
Saturday fills her full of fun,
And it makes her feel like whoopee all the time.

4. When you're cruisin' down Wickham-by-the-Sea,
And you're all pepped up on beer an' China tea,
Then you'll sing and dance all night
Until the pier(?) appears in sight,
And you hear the watch committee chant with glee:

5. Mama don't want no shepherd's pie nor sausage-an'-mash.
Mama don't want no shepherd's pie nor sausage-an'-mash.
Mama don't want no shepherd's pie
Nor sausage-an'-mash ...(?) an' all,
Just a bowl o' Lancashire hot-pot all the time.

6. Mama don't want no haggis an' parridge an' fishes an' chips.
Mama don't want no haggis an' parridge an' fishes an' chips.
Mama don't want no haggis an' parridge.
Mama don't want no fishes an' chips,
Just a wee bit deoch-an'-doris yince or twice.

7. Mama don't want no peas an' rice.
My mama don't want no coconut oil.
My mama don't want no peas an' rice an' coconut oil.


[Is there such a place as Wickham-by-the-Sea? My Google search turned up only photos of Morris dancers!]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 May 09 - 07:56 AM

Mr Happy's link doesn't work for me. I get the message "The URL contained a malformed video ID".

Also, I didn't get anywhere by going to YouTube and searching for "mama don't want no beer".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy
From: Genie
Date: 11 May 09 - 01:52 AM

I think Mr. Happy has the right song. But I like the other offerings too.

Thanks, folks!

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy
From: Charley Noble
Date: 10 May 09 - 11:57 AM

The range of rhymes can also be found in the old army drinking song "The Quartermaster's Corps" as remembered from Oscar Brand's singing:

It's beer, beer, beer, which makes us feel so queer,
In the Corps, in the Corps;
It's beer, beer, beer, which makes us feel so queer,
In the Quartermaster's Corps!

Chorus:

My eyes are dim, I cannot see,
I have not brought my specs with me!

It's whiskey, whiskey, whiskey...Etc.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy)
From: Mr Happy
Date: 10 May 09 - 06:25 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inq1QDw3a

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy)
From: Mr Happy
Date: 10 May 09 - 06:23 AM

Mama don't want no beer because it makes her queer
Mama don't want no beer because it makes her queer
Mama don't want no beer because it makes her queer
Oh no, all she wants is brandy, handy all the time

Mama don't want no rum because it makes her glum

Mama don't want no ale because it makes her quail

Mama don't want no tea because it makes her wee/pee

Mama don't want water 'cause it makes her do what she shouldn't oughter

Mama don't want no cocoa because it makes her loco

Mama don't want cider 'cause it bubbles up inside her

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy)
From: Peace
Date: 10 May 09 - 01:32 AM

If the below is the one, Sorcha found it a buncha years back. Ahead of her time is Sorcha.

"Subject: Lyr Add: MAMA DON'T WANT NO PEAS AN' RICE AN' ...
From: Sorcha - PM
Date: 16 Oct 02 - 11:00 AM

Is this the same song?

Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' Coconut Oil
(Gilbert, Charles)
Transcribed from Cleo Brown, vocalist, recorded June 2, 1935,
From: Cleo Brown: The Legendary Cleo Brown, President Records, PLCD 548.

When you're cruisin' down in luck, by the sea,
And you're all pepped up on gin, and Baccardi,
Then you dance and sing all night,
Till the island heaves in sight,
And you'll hear the natives sing merrily:

Mama don't want no peas an' rice an' coconut oil,
Mama don't want no peas an' rice an' coconut oil,
Mama don't want no peas an' rice;
She don't want no coconut oil,
Keeps a bottle of brandy handy all the time!

Mama don't want no gin because it makes her sin,
Mama don't want no gin because it makes her sin,
Mama don't want no glass of gin,
'Cause it's bound to make her sin,
Keeps her hot and bothered all around the chin.

Mama complains she's got a pain across her chest,
Mama complains she's got a pain across her chest,
Mama complains she's got a pain,
And the reason's very plain,
The food that papa gave mama won't digest.

Mama, she likes the rum, it fills her soul with fun,
Mama, she likes the rum, it fills her soul with fun,
Mama, she likes to have her rum,
Says it fills her soul with fun;
And that it makes her feel like whoopee all the time!

When you're down in Mishawaka by the sea,
When you're down in Mishawaka by the sea,
When you're down in Mishawaka
Fill up on good old Baccardi,
Down in Mishawaka, you're surviving!

From:http://www.heptune.com/lyrics/mamadont.html
That is all I found."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy)
From: GUEST,Peace
Date: 10 May 09 - 12:06 AM

Same here, Joe. Zip.

Maybe we keep the thread up for a while and it may jog a memory or two in 'catville.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 May 09 - 07:19 PM

I tried a number of search tricks, and came up with nothing. I'm intrigued. I hope we find this one.
-Joe-

Subject: Lyr Req: Mama don't care for gin (handy brandy)
From: Genie
Date: 09 May 09 - 05:57 PM

After I did a Mother's Day program today, a resident of the retirement residence came up to me and sang a few snippets from a song she remembered from her childhood.
It went, in part, kind of like this:

Mama don't care for gin
'Cause it makes her want to grin.

Mama don't care for whiskey,
'Cause it makes her feel too frisky.

...

She just wants to keep the brandy handy ...


Anyone familiar with this little gem?

Genie