Going to German. What does it mean?

Subject: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Tony Burns
Date: 21 Oct 99 - 10:59 PM

There is a jugband standard called "Goin' to German". Can someone explain the term? I doubt it has anything to do with Germany.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Mike Billo
Date: 21 Oct 99 - 11:20 PM

Good question Tony. I always assumed that the song was in fact a malapropism that was referring to Germany, but now you've got me wondering. Anyone else?

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Barbara
Date: 22 Oct 99 - 06:31 AM

Are there words, or is it just a tune? Could it be short for Germantown?
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Lesley N.
Date: 22 Oct 99 - 08:06 AM

I don't know how old the tune is but one source says the song High Germany (http://www.contemplator.com/folk5/germany.html) (which was printed on a broadside circa 1780) refers to the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). The Seven Years' War was fought between a coalition of Austria, France, Russia, Sweden and Saxony and Prussia (led by Frederick the Great). If your tune has similar dates that may be the Germany meant.

There are a couple of other versions in the database of High Germany. High Germany, The Wars of Germany and Bonnie Lass O' Benachie also refers to "high germany."

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From:
Date: 22 Oct 99 - 08:16 AM

There is a song called "Going to Germany" done by Cannon's Jug Stompers in 1929. In the song they never mention Germany; but it starts out

Goin' to Germa... I'll be back some old day

It never mentions the full word "Germany" throughout the song.

Murray

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Tony Burns
Date: 22 Oct 99 - 01:09 PM

Yes, the song Gus Cannon did is the one I mean. Are you sure the title says Germany? Not that it would mean that it's right. I have a CD which contains Bob Snider's "Anna Marie" and the liner calls it "All of Marie".

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 22 Oct 99 - 01:47 PM

Tony,

I always assumed that the song was "I'm goin' to German'" and the "y" was simply dropped, just like the "g" in going.

Having believed this for at least 30 years, I refuse to let loose of this belief, I don't care what anybody else says.

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: RWilhelm
Date: 22 Oct 99 - 04:09 PM

Gus Cannon's song is definately titled "Going to Germany" Like Roger I always assumed the "y" had just been dropped. I also assumed the song was originally written during World War I and they just continued singing it in the 20's.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Tony Burns
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 08:19 AM

Email from Ken Whiteley who has been singing this song for 35 years says that German is a town near Memphis that probably has/had a prison.

The prison connection makes sense if you listen to the words.

A quick check on Mapquest shows a place called Germantown close to Memphis.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,Jim Linwood
Date: 24 Mar 00 - 01:58 PM

Why is the English soldier in the ballad going to fight in the Seven Year's War? He say's "I must go..."; what army is he fighting in, is he a mercenary?

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Timehiker
Date: 24 Mar 00 - 07:04 PM

Guest Jim,

The Seven years War began as a territorial dispute between Empress Maria Teresa of Austria and Fredrick the Great of Prussia. The other countries in Europe chose sides, either from family loyalty or from the hope of gaining something from the confusion of war. England allied with Prussia (High Germany), and France allied with Austria. England secured control of India during this war, and also fought France on the American continent, capturing Canada in the process.

Take care, Timehiker

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: john c
Date: 25 Mar 00 - 01:09 AM

Does anybody have all the lyrics to "German" or know where I can find them? Would be very grateful.
J.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,satish
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 11:28 PM

guys!! it simply means .. that the woman is going to face menopause! it's their way of saying it out.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 23 Jan 12 - 10:40 AM

Did you just make that up? Cause I've never heard that in my life.
==========
I agree with Tony that 'German' is probably a town. People shorten names of towns, and I can easily picture Germantown becoming German. We all know it's a town, so why bother to say it?

Real life parallel: Garden City, Kansas is usually called 'Garden.'

Subject: Lyr Add: GOING TO GERMANY
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Jan 12 - 02:15 PM

This is my transcription:


GOING TO GERMANY
Written by Noah Lewis
As sung by Cannon's Jug Stompers on "The Best of Cannon's Jug Stompers" (Shanachie, 2005)

I'm goin' to German; I'll be back some ol' day.
I'm goin' to German; I'll be back some ol' day.
I'm goin' to German; I'll be back some ol' day.

Please tell me, mama: what more can I do?
Tell me, mama: what more can I do?
Done all I knowed; I can't get along with you.

SPOKEN DURING HARMONICA BREAK:
(Aw, play, Mister Lewis; play, play, play!—Play it, Mister Lewis, play!)

Get 'way f'm my window; stop knockin' on my, stop knockin' on my door.
Go 'way f'm my window; stop knockin' on my door.
I got no woman; can't use you no more.

When you's in trouble; I worked an' paid yo', I worked an' paid yo' fine.
When you's in trouble, I worked an' paid yo' fine.
Now I'm just trouble; you don't pay me no mind.

SPOKEN DURING HARMONICA BREAK:
(Aw, play it, Mister Lewis! Play clean, ah!—Play it, Mister Lewis, play!—Aw, play it from down in Dixie, now. Play it right on from down in Dixie.)


[The same recording also appears on "Gus Cannon & Noah Lewis, Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Volume 2" (Document Records, DOCD-5033, 2005) and Gus Cannon, "Jug Band Essentials" (Master Classics Records, 2010). It was originally recorded October, 1929 and was released as Victor 38585 and Bluebird 5413.

[The title on all recordings was GOING TO GERMANY, but of course we don't know who decided to call it that. It may well have been the record company. The singer (Noah Lewis?) pronounces it "German."]

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,ed
Date: 06 May 13 - 03:36 PM

Check out a band from Chicago suburbs, "Safe Haven" they cover the song on there C.D. "Sermon for No One"

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,charlie
Date: 27 Sep 13 - 01:23 AM

Love this song
3rd verse in the Cannon's Jug Stompers recording-
"I got no woman" or "I got another woman" ?
Just an awkward amount of syllables but it makes more sense. I love how they add extra bars to the last two verses in the first line but maybe that tripped up the singer by the time he got to "I got another woman" and who knows if it was intentional for that matter.
Classic break-up song but in this case our protagonist seems to be more down in the dumps instead of sitting on top of the world.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: PHJim
Date: 27 Sep 13 - 07:02 AM

Hey Tony, thanks for asking that question. I've always wondered that.
Are you the same Tony who plays ukulele at The Corktown group? If so, we are both friends of David Newland. I am Jim Yates from Port Hope.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 27 Sep 13 - 08:22 AM

Tony posted on this thread only 14 years ago, so he could be still around

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,frizztext
Date: 09 May 15 - 04:45 AM

I've set a link to your interesting article with some quotations in my blog at
https://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/going-to-germany/
and I tried to sing this song in my SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/fingerstyle_guitar/going-to-germanywav

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,JoeB
Date: 07 Dec 16 - 08:02 AM

germantown is not far from memphis. it was pretty much a railroad depot and a few building back when the song was written. It's a rich suburb now. Back when the song was written, it was a place along the railroad to get out memphis.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: Thompson
Date: 08 Dec 16 - 06:32 AM

It seems highly unlikely that this would refer to an 18th-century war, considering the phrasing, which sounds much more like early 20th century usage.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST
Date: 28 May 23 - 08:25 PM

I assumed this song was in reference to the high life for black musicians in Germany between the wars.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,Thebarleymow
Date: 29 May 23 - 06:28 PM

The version from Jim Dixon is the one I learned way back in the early 70s.
I have it in an old Sing Out book that I bought way back then.
I first heard the song sung on a British TV programme by John Sebastian (ex Loving Spoonful).
I have always assumed that Germany was shortened to German so that it scanned properly.
That’s my belief and I’m sticking to it.
It’s a great song!

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 29 May 23 - 06:47 PM

I always assumed that Gus Cannon was singing about going over to Germany to fight during World War I, perhaps an old verse he'd made up (or heard) that found its way into an unrelated song. Buyers of the record would no doubt have understood and bought the record because of the near-contemporary reference.

German' was, I take it, a typical dropped syllable for Cannon.

Bob

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GUEST,Tony Thomas June 2023
Date: 03 Jun 23 - 05:18 AM

Germantown Tennessee which was when Noah Lewis sang Going to German, a few hundred folks huddled around the freight depot, though today it is an "upscale" suburb of Memphis.

It was surveyed and laid out in the 1830s or 40s by a man named N. T. German and was named Germantown for him, not as is erroneously stated for a large German population or anything related to the Country of Germany.

In the 1920s when Noah Lewis who was from the other side of Memphis North of the City, local people still referred to German Town as "German." Noah sang going to German to mean going to German. He had never been to Germany or at that point anywhere more than 30 miles from Memphis.

Especially in the blues like this that he sang with Cannon's Jug Stompers, Noah Lewis had a remarkable sense of free association of verses not directly and almost never in a narrative sense tied together.   He put together verses that seemed to meet the emotional mood he was accessing with his reat harmonica and voice.

Trying to make narrative sense of this or most of his other blues is contrary to what he was doing.

Victor Records did not know what they doing and when they received this or perhaps Peer himself or his assistants in Memphis did not understand this and instead called this Going to Germany.

Noah Lewis probably never heard this record.

Subject: RE: Going to German. What does it mean?
From: GeoffLawes
Date: 04 Jun 23 - 05:53 PM

Many recordings of the song on YouTube    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Going+To+Germany+%C2%B7+Cannon%27s+Jug+Stompers