Lyr Req: Carrie's Gone to Kansas City (Blind Boone

Subject: Lyr Req: Carrie's Gone to Kansas City
From: Moe Hirsch
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 02:52 PM

Can anyone supply the lyrics to "Carrie's Gone to Kansas City"? In the ragtime piano sheet music for Blind Boone's "Rag Medley No. II" there appears only
Carrie's Gone to Kansas City

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Carrie's Gone to Kansas City (Blind Boone
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 22 Jan 11 - 12:53 PM

Are you sure any lyrics exist? I've been unable to uncover any evidence of lyrics. Most ragtime tunes, such as those by Scott Joplin, don't have lyrics.

However, there are a couple of books that might contain some useful information:

Blind Boone: Missouri's Ragtime Pioneer by Jack A. Batterson (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1984).

Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop—A History by Frank Driggs, Chuck Haddix (New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.)
It has a chapter titled "Carrie's Gone to Kansas City" and lots of information about the composer, John William "Blind" Boone.

Only parts of those book can be "previewed" at Google Books.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Carrie's Gone to Kansas City (Blind Boone
From: GUEST,Moe Hirsch
Date: 17 Oct 11 - 06:07 PM

I'm not sure there are lyrics, but there are good reasons to think this was a well known song in Tennessee in 1909 and probably earlier.

In "Ragtime Rarities" (Dover Publications, 1975) there are two pieces by Boone:

"Blind Boone's Southern Rag Medley No. One, Strains From the Alleys," and
"Blind Boone's Southern Rag Medley No. Two, Strains From Flat Branch."

The Alleys and Flat Branch are regions of Tennessee.

The book reproduces the sheet music published in 1908 and 1909. In it there are short phrases that certainly look like they come from songs. After the four bars of introduction to Medley No. Two, there are the words:

    "Carrie's gone to Kansas City   She's done gone and I'm going too"

After 32 bars the words "I'm Alabama bound" appear at the beginning of a new theme, recognizable as the song of that name, sung by Leadbelly, with much discussion on this site (see "Alabama Bound & Don't You Leave Me Here").

A third theme has "Oh honey ain't you sorry".

In Medley No. One there are likewise fragments of lyrics accompanying song-like themes, including:

"There's a chicken on my back I got a bulldog on my track
But I'll make it to my shack   'Fore day."

"I'm a goin' to tell you the truth
I certainly does love dat yellow man . . ."

And also: "Make me a pallet on your floor", with a melody very close to the standard version.

Besides words to "Carrie's gone to Kansas City", I'd love to find words for "Oh Honey ain't you sorry?", "There's a chicken on my back", or "I'm a goin' to tell you the truth".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Carrie's Gone to Kansas City (Blind Boone
From: GUEST,moi
Date: 12 Oct 12 - 05:17 PM

Flat Branch is a creek near Blind Boone's house in Columbia, MO.