Folklore: With a little bit of salt

Subject: With a little bit of salt
From: TonyK
Date: 27 Sep 99 - 05:22 PM

I've come across a lyric more than once about eating a pork chop with or without a little bit of salt and I'm wondering if anyone knows if that is a folk expression that has a specific meaning.

Subject: RE: With a little bit of salt
From: Magpie
Date: 04 Oct 99 - 05:00 PM

Hello TonyK

I don't know if this has got anything at all to do with you question, but I'll risk it all the same.

Here in Norway we use the expression "With a little bit of salt" or "With a pinch of salt" when we say something that is not to be taken all that seriuosly, or if it is not likely to be true.

Magpie (Who has all the answers, but take that with a pinch of salt)

Subject: RE: With a little bit of salt
From: wildlone
Date: 04 Oct 99 - 05:12 PM

Salt was used in the past for curing meat, very salty dried pork=Bacon
Roman soldiers were also paid in salt,hence salary
WL full of useless knowledge.BG.

Subject: RE: With a little bit of salt
From: Ferrara
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 08:38 AM

Was it in blues songs? I don't know what it means, but I suspect it's in roughly the same category as those fiddles that folksingers are always pulling out so they can make the valleys to ring....

Subject: RE: With a little bit of salt
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 11:56 AM

Does it possibly refer to the "meat loves salt" motif found in folktales and borrowed by Shakespeare for King Lear?

Sandy

Subject: RE: With a little bit of salt
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 07:42 PM

Or salty as in "Salty Dog"

Subject: RE: With a little bit of salt
From: TonyK
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 08:41 PM

It was Blues. One was a Dave Van Ronk version of "That'll never happen no more": "had to eat my pork chop with a little bit of salt", and the other was a Michael Hurley song (or maybe it was the Clamtones') "Sweet Lucy": "had to eat my pork chop without no salt". It could just be an expression of how bad things can get or it may have a more lurid meaning. The fact that it appeared in 2 different places made me wonder. TK