Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans

Subject: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 08:45 AM

These are the ones I have found that have already been posted at Mudcat. I will be adding more to this thread.

Country Boy Down in New Orleans (Snooks Eaglin)

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? (from Louis Armstrong)

Down in New Orleans (Memphis Minnie)

Little Old Town Called New Orleans (Jerry Jeff Walker)

Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Henry R Bird a.k.a. Professor Longhair)

New Orleans Is Sinking (Tragically Hip)

Sadie Green, the Vamp of New Orleans

Take Me Back to New Orleans (Chris Barber)

The Battle of New Orleans (written by Jimmy Driftwood, recorded by Johnny Horton)

The City of New Orleans (written by Steve Goodman, recorded by Arlo Guthrie et al.)

Way Down Yonder in New Orleans

Witch Queen of New Orleans (from Redbone)

Subject: Lyr Add: WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 10:18 AM

This version is more complete than the version I linked to above. Lyrics are copied from the sheet music at UCLA's Archive of Popular Music:


'WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Henry Creamer & J. Turner Layton
New York: Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., ©1922.

1. Guess! Where do you think I'm going
When the winds start blowing strong?
Guess! Where do you think I'm going
When the nights start growing long?
I ain't going east; I ain't going west.
I ain't going over the cuckoo's nest.
I'm bound for the town that I love best,
Where life is one sweet song:

CHORUS: 'Way down yonder in New Orleans,
In the land of dreamy scenes,
There's a Garden of Eden; that's what I mean.
[§] Creole babies with flashing eyes
Softly whisper with tender sighs:
Stop! Oh, won't you give your lady fair
A little smile?
Stop! You bet your life you'll linger there
A little while.
There is heaven right here on earth with those beautiful queens*
Way down yonder in New Orleans.

[* On repetition of chorus, substitute this line:]
They've got angels right here on earth wearing little blue jeans,

"PATTER" [BRIDGE?]: The orange blossoms' sweet aroma
And the strains of La Paloma
Seem to throw me into a coma
When the shadows play.
Again I see a peacherino
Dance the you-know-what-I-mean-o
She could shake a mean tambourino—
So I hear the folks say.
But when those— [REPEAT FROM §]

2. Guess! What do you think I'm thinking
When you think I'm thinking wrong?
Guess! What do you think I'm thinking
When I'm thinking all night long?
I ain't thinking this; I ain't thinking that.
I cannot be thinking about your hat.
My heart does not start to pit-a-pat
Unless I hear this song: CHORUS

[This has been recorded many times, but usually as an instrumental or with the chorus only. Blossom Seeley recorded a version with the verse and bridge, although the words differ somewhat from those above. Bing Crosby's version includes the bridge, but no verse. Both can be heard on Spotify.]

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M SAVING UP THE MEANS TO GET TO NEW ORL
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 11:22 AM

This song was sung by Al Jolson. Spotify has the recording.

Lyrics below copied from the sheet music found at the website of the University of Mississippi (Click for the PDF.):


I'M SAVING UP THE MEANS TO GET TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Howard Johnson; music by Harry de Costa
New York: Leo. Feist, ©1916.

1. I've been around your town and seen the sights,
But now I'm through.
I'm telling you,
That I've made up my mind to stay home nights.
There's lots to do;
I mean it too,
Because my old friend bankroll was getting thinner, and before it got too late,
I hired a furnished room,
Goodbye to gloom,
And now I'm mighty glad to state:

CHORUS: I'm saving up the means
To get to New Orleans.
I'll buy a trunk and pack it,
Leave this racket.
I'll be happy when I'm bound
Back to those childhood scenes
And mother's homemade beans.
I'm thirsty, gee whiz!
I want a silver fizz,
Like they make in my home town.
Down there in New Orleans,
I'll wear my old blue jeans.
I'll find the girl I left behind me in her teens.
I know a train that goes a mile a minute.
You bet your life I'm going to be right in it,
On my way back home to New Orleans.

2. Now you can have your great big northern town,
Your city ways,
And problem plays.
They're just a bunch of worries, cares and frowns.
In cabarets
The nights are days.
I'd rather be in Dixie, where I can rough it in the good old country style,
And when I get back there,
I'll breathe that air,
And change my wrinkles to a smile.

Subject: Lyr Add: I WISH I WAS IN NEW ORLEANS (Tom Waits)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 11:56 AM

These lyrics copied from Tom Waits' official web site. Spotify has the recording.


I WISH I WAS IN NEW ORLEANS (IN THE NINTH WARD)
Words and music by Tom Waits
As sung by Tom Waits on "Small Change" (1976)

Well, I wish I was in New Orleans
I can see it in my dreams
arm in arm down Burgundy
a bottle and my friends and me
hoist up a few tall cool ones
play some pool and listen to that
tenor saxophone calling me home
and I can hear the band begin
When The Saints Go Marching In
by the whiskers on my chin
New Orleans I'll be there

I'll drink you under the table
be red nose go for walks
the old haunts what I wants
is red beans and rice
and wear the dress I like so well
meet me at the old saloon
make sure there's a Dixie moon
New Orleans I'll be there

and deal the cards roll the dice
if it ain't that ole Chuck E. Weiss
and Claiborne Avenue me and you
Sam Jones and all
and I wish I was in New Orleans
I can see it in my dreams
arm in arm down Burgundy
a bottle and my friends and me
New Orleans, I'll be there

Subject: Lyr Add: CRY FOR NEW ORLEANS (Johnstone/Carson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 02:15 PM

This song appeared as CRY FOR NEW ORLEANS on Jude Johnstone's album "Quiet Girl" (2011) and was also released as a single titled CRY, CRY, CRY (FOR NEW ORLEANS). You can see/hear a video of this song sung by Gayneille Neville and Cyril Neville on YouTube.


CRY FOR NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Jude Johnstone and David Lee "Goat" Carson

Brother, let me just say this
Before we go much further:
She didn't die a natural death.
New Orleans was murdered,
Cold-blooded, first-degree
Crime of the century—
Half a million souls hung out to dry;
And the very powers that be
Who bore responsibility,
Left the innocent be left to die.

Cry, cry, cry,
Cry, cry, cry for New Orleans.

Some who laid their badges down,
Let the looters take the town,
Will feel the heat for all eternity.
But a darker deed was done
In front of God and everyone
By those who were the last to come and see:
Waving flags to hide the blame
For the scandal and the shame,
Strangers from the land of liberty.

Cry, cry, cry,
Cry, cry, cry for New Orleans.

It could never be justified
The way that they were crucified,
And the truth, no, it could never be denied.

The spirits of the ones that lay
In the streets day after day
Say: "Don't you dare forget the way
We died."

Cry, cry, cry,
Cry, cry, cry for New Orleans,
For new Orleans.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE NEW ORLEANS HOP SCOP BLUES (Thomas)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 03:51 PM

These lyrics are from the sheet music at Tulane University:


THE NEW ORLEANS HOP SCOP BLUES
Words and music by George W. Thomas
New Orleans: George W. Thomas Music Publishing House, ©1916.

Old New Orleans is a
Great big old southern town,
Where hospitality
You will surely find.
The population there
Is very very fair.
With ev'rything they do
They all seem to be true.
The blues they have down there
Surely is something rare there.

Now listen: they sound so good to you
It will make you dance the Hop Scop Blues.
The girls in New Orleans
Just simply are a dream.
They all are southern raised.
You got to give them praise.
They have a dance that's late.
They sure are up to date.
Now honey, you see them colored folks going to that big old Lincoln,
What I mean, that big old Lincoln Park.
They dance the Hop Scop Blues.
They are the best old blues.
The white folks dance them too,
Out at the Spanish fort.
They even dance these blues
Down on the old Sidney boat.

CHORUS: Right here you glide, slide, dance, prance,
Hop, stop, um, um.
I can never get tired
Dancing them Hop Scop Blues, {girls/boys},
Once more you slide, glide, prance, dance.
The Hop Scop Blues will make
You do a lovely shake.
It makes you feel so grand
When you join hand and hand
Dancing them Hop Scop Blues
Down in old New Orleans town.

[There was an early recording of this by Bessie Smith, but she omitted most of the lyrics, beginning the chorus after line 10. Another version was sung by Sara Martin. Early instrumental versions were recorded by Jimmy Noone, Clarence Williams, and Sidney Bechet.

These other artists made early recordings, but I haven't heard them and so can't say whether they contain vocals: Louis Armstrong with Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools; Richard M. Jones Jazzmen.

There were later vocal recordings by Dave Van Ronk, Maria Muldaur, Bobby Short, and a few others.

"Hop scop" seems to be an old term for a children's game, and it may be related to "hopscotch" or "hop, skip and jump."

Subject: Lyr Add: DOWN IN DEAR OLD NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 07:18 PM

Lyrics below are copied from the sheet music, which can be seen at the web site of The Hackley Collection of the Detroit Public Library. You can hear two different recordings here: YouTube 1, YouTube 2.


DOWN IN DEAR OLD NEW ORLEANS
Words by Joe Young; music by Con Conrad & Jay Whidden
"As sung by miss Rae Samuels in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1912"
New York: Jerome H. Remick & Co., ©1912.

1. Hear that whistle a-blowing!
Now I know that we're going.
We've just started.
Yes, we've departed.
Why, we're leaving the pier!
I say, we're steaming from New York Bay.
That's why I feel so gay.
If we get there on time,
I'll be mighty happy.
If we're not there on time,
Why, I'll feel mighty bad,
'Cause we'll sure have some time,
'Way down in Lou'siana.
Here's what makes them all feel glad:

CHORUS: Dancing in the moonlight on a bright night, a summer's night in June,
Where darkies all are hummin' and strummin' banjos to that Dixie tune, and soon
You'll find them dancing and prancing 'round the bales of cotton,
In the ev'ning by the moonlight, down in dear old New Orleans.

2. Hear that whistle a-blowing!
See the ropes they are throwing!
We've just landed.
Yes, we've just landed.
Now we'll take in the sights.
Oh gee! I'm sure, honey, you'll agree
There's lots of things to see!
Turn your head to the left;
There's the Mississippi.
Turn your head to the right,
The levee you will see.
Now we'll jump in a cab
And drive around the city,
To a place where we can see: CHORUS

[Recordings on 78s were made by The American Quartet; and Arthur Collins & Byron G. Harlan.]

Subject: Lyr Add: NEW ORLEANS (Newton Alexander, 1912)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 09:34 PM

From the sheet music at Duke University:

NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Newton Alexander
New York: Edgar Selden, ©1912.

1. I don't know what to do.
I feel so doggone blue.
I'd like to take a boat.
I'd like to go afloat
Along the Mississippi to old New Orleans
Where I know I've got a good old southern home.
That's where I want to be,
And you'll agree with me
About that feeling grand,
When you put out your hand
And find a welcome there it's worth all you can give.
Well, that's the way folks treat you down where I live.

CHORUS: New Orleans, New Orleans,
In Lou'siana amidst the bayou streams,
Little piccanninies playin' 'round your door,
Steamboat whistles tootin' 'long the river shore,
New Orleans, New Orleans,
There's always a welcome for you there it seems,
'Cause hospitality is a reality
'Way down in dear old New Orleans.

2. About a year ago
I didn't even know
What money really means
Till I left New Orleans
And found that friends are few and people mighty mean
If you ain't got plenty of that old long green.
I'm tired of roamin' now,
And I just feel somehow
If I could lay my head
On my old southern bed,
I'd be contented there until the day I die,
Because it's home, sweet, home, and that's the reason why— CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 09:35 PM

Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag, recorded by Bob Dylan; lyrics available at http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/bob-dylans-new-orleans-rag

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN I GET TO NEW ORLEANS (N Alexander)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Feb 14 - 10:18 PM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


WHEN I GET TO NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Newton Alexander
"Originally introduced in vaudeville by Thea and Winnie Lightner and Newton Alexander"
Chicago: Will Rossiter, ©1917.

1. Farewell, ev'rybody; I must say goodbye.
Don't let the parting grieve you, and I'll tell you why:
I'm on my way to New Orleans (take a boat; take a boat),
To New Orleans (all aboard, all aboard),
Back to that southern land of dreams.

CHORUS: I'm goin' to take a train to New Orleans.
I'm goin' to hang around those bayou streams.
I want to hear those darkies singing 'long that river shore.
I'll toss some pennies to those little pickaninnies. (Boo!)
I hear my mother's voice in all my dreams.
It seems to say, "Come back to New Orleans."
Now that I've got my grip and satchel packed,
With my Sunday clothes upon my back,
I'll be happy, I'll be happy, when I get to New Orleans.

2. Goodbye, ev'rybody; I'm all fixed to go
Back to the friends of childhood that I used to know,
That dear old town of New Orleans (happy days, happy days).
To New Orleans (let 'er go; let 'er go),
I'm on my way to home, sweet home. CHORUS

Subject: Lyr Add: FLOATING DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 09:06 AM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


FLOATING DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON MY WAY TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Ballard MacDonald, music by Albert von Tilzer
New York: Shapiro & Bernstein, ©1915.

1. Hear them bells!
Honey, don't you hear them bells?
That's the sound that tells
I'm goin' away and
Never, never comin' back no more.
Down the Mississip',
Goin' to take a trip,
Goin' to spend my days and end my days
On that Lou'siana shore.

CHORUS: [SPOKEN:] (Hear them whistles blowin'!)
[SUNG:] I'm goin'!
Floating down the Mississippi River,
On my way to New Orleans,
There's no wonder that my heart's aquiver.
I'm returning to a lonely heart that is yearning.
Down in Louisiana,
There's a gal by the name of Hannah,
So I'm floating down the Mississippi River,
On my way to New Orleans.

2. Ice and snow,
Honey, they could never grow
Where I'm goin' to go.
The sun is shinin'
Ever, ever where I'm goin' to roam,
'Cept on moonlight nights
When the stars are bright;
Then the darkies sing and banjos ring
In my Lou'siana home.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 09:29 AM

House Of The Rising Sun

Features in first 2 lines of Pontchartrain, but only to be said adieu to...

~M~

Subject: Lyr Add: I'M ON MY WAY TO NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 09:48 AM

I'M ON MY WAY TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Sugarfoot Gaffney and Bartley Costello, music by Jimmie Durante.
New York: Triangle Music Pub. Co., ©1921
As sung by Sweet Papa Lowdown on "Til Times Get Better" (2011), also on "Lost & Found" (2011)

[A] I'm on my way today to New Orleans.
I got the blues for Lou'siana scenes.
I want to hear a jazzy melody
Of a chicken fryin' 'cause that's music to me.
I want to see that lovin' sweetie of mine
Wrap her arms around me like a honeysuckle vine.
Gonna hit my home town; you know what that means,
On my way to New Orleans.

[B] Mister Captain, Mister Captain, where's that boat?
Listen, honey: here's my money; got to get afloat.
Got me this date along the Mississippi shore
Where I left my heart when I was there before.
I'll give you ev'ry nickel I've got in my jeans
To keep this boat a-goin' straight to New Orleans.

[REPEAT A, INSTRUMENTAL BREAK, REPEAT A.]

Subject: Lyr Add: I LOVE YOU MY NEW ORLEANS (N. J. Clesi)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 12:09 PM

A classic of civic boosterism, from the sheet music at Indiana University:


I LOVE YOU MY NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by N. J. Clesi
New Orleans: N. J. Clesi, ©1914.

1. Right here, we have the town that's in the game
And soon we'll make things hum!
They cannot stop us in our fight for fame.
You bet! We're going some!
The Panama Canal will pave the way.
Gee whiz! What busy scenes!
Let's get together, then and shout hooray!
Let's boost for New Orleans!

CHORUS: I love you, my New Orleans, my dear old town,
The grandest and most fair.
I love ev'ry breath of perfume in the air
From flowers ev'rywhere!
I feel so inspiréd when I hear your name!
The world to me it means!
I'll fight for you! I'll die for you!
I love you, my New Orleans!

2. The wonder city of the U. S. A.,
The home of the big ideas—
These very words you'll hear the people say
All through the coming years.
Our men are famous for their spirit strong;
Our women, lovely queens;
So all the world must join us in the song:
All hail! to New Orleans.

* * *
Mention of the Panama Canal got me curious, so I found this, in Bienville's Dilemma, by Richard Campanella:

"Much of New Orleans' meteoric rise in the early nineteenth century can be traced to the dramatically increasing population and agricultural productivity of the trans-Appalachian West, which had little choice but to ship downriver to New Orleans to deliver its commodities to market. But even as these shipments increased in absolute numbers, an emerging network of eastern and Midwestern canals, railroads, and roads gave New Orleans unwanted new competition for Mississippi Valley trade. The city's relative share of the market, once at over 99 percent, declined to about 50 percent by the eve of the Civil War. New Orleans' population would continue to grow for a century to come, but its rank among American cities would steadily sink after peaking as the third-largest in the nation in 1840."

It sank to 15th by 1910, 31st by 2000, and 67th right after Katrina. Apparently the Panama Canal had no effect. WWI was more significant.

Subject: Lyr Add: TE-NA-NA FROM NEW ORLEANS (Robinson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 03:40 PM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


TE-NA-NA FROM NEW ORLEANS
"Words and music by The Two Robinsons" [see J. Russel Robinson.]
Indianapolis: Seidel Music Pub. Co., ©1911.

1. Dearie, let me show to you a dance.
It's not the kind that put you in a trance.
Oh, that "San Francisco Bear" is naughty, so they say,
But, honey, they don't do this dance that way!
Come up close where I can reach you,
And this lovin' glide I'll teach you.
It comes from where magnolias grow,
And balmy southern breezes blow!
It's called the "Te-na-na,"
Oh, the "Te-na-na" from sunny New Orleans!

CHORUS: Oh, that dance! Oh, that dance!
That Te-na-na, oh, the Te-na-na.
Hear that most peculiar music start?
Cuddle right up to my lovin' heart.
Trottin', trottin' all around the hall
Like a turkey gobbler at a ball!
Then toddle, toddle on the tip of your toes,
Way down south, where the Mississippi flows,
Doin' the Te-na-na, oh, the Te-na-na from New Orleans!

2. Dearie, how'd you like me for a beau?
Don't shake your little head and answer "No."
Come up closer, dearie, if you think we can agree,
And buzz sweet words of love like a honey bee.
If I thought that it could win you,
With this rag I would continue,
Till I most fell from off my seat!
Just say I've won your heart complete!
With that "Te-na-na"
Oh, the "Te-na-na" from sunny New Orleans!

[I don't quite know what to make of this. Spotify has several recordings called TEE-NA-NA by Leon Redbone, Eddie Bo, Champion Jack Dupree, Sid Morris, and Straight Whiskey with Robby Cyr, but they do not seem to be the same song. I notice there are a lot of modern New Orleans songs that contain nonsense phrases; maybe they float from song to song? I don't really have enough experience with these songs to know what's going on.]

Subject: Lyr Add: MY LITTLE OLD HOME DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 06:09 PM

Sheet music exists for this at Indiana University, but it is not viewable online, due to copyright. I listened to it on Spotify.


MY LITTLE OLD HOME DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
Written by Jimmie Rodgers
As recorded by Jimmie Rodgers, 12-Jun-1928.

1. I never knew that the place I grew
Is the grandest place on earth.
Till I roamed around from town to town,
But now I know what it's worth.
Listen while I tell you 'bout the place I mean:
It's my little old home down in New Orleans.
[YODEL]

2. In the sunny south where the black oil flows,
That's where I long to be;
In Dixie land where the white cotton grows
Is calling now to me.
And soon I'll be in the land of my dreams.
It's my little old old home down in new Orleans.
[YODEL]

3. I've been east and way out west;
Been around most ev'rywhere.
Now I'm headed south for a good long rest.
I'll be glad when I get there.
All the wonderful things in the world, it seems,
Are a-waiting for me down in New Orleans.
[YODEL]

[REPEAT 2 AND YODEL]
New Orleans.

[Early recordings were also made by Frank Luther, Burton and Bodine, Tal Henry and His Orchestra; it was recorded somewhat later by Grandpa Jones and Hank Snow.]

Subject: Lyr Add: MONDAY MORNING IN CRESCENT CITY (L Biales
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 07:28 PM

Lisa Biales, Monday Morning in Crescent City
As recorded by Lisa Biales on "Chasing Away the Blues" (2006)

I saw a painted lady dancing with a clown
A kid was wailing cause his ice cream hit the ground
Dixieland music was parading through the streets
Shrimp and crawfish cooking the smell was just like heaven
When I walked the streets of New Orleans

A fortuneteller looked right at me as I drifted by
A second line of Saints Go Marching caught my eye
I love the friendly Southern people who took me in
I sang that night on Bourbon Street and the band played oh so sweet
I sang a song for Jimmy as we cried

CHORUS: Katrina brought a mighty wind
The river flooded and the levy crashed in
Sent people fleeing for miles around
I saw it on the T.V., then it really hit me
What happened Monday morning in Crescent City

Oh I can't believe it happened this a way
I heard tell of people that were dying every day
Bullets were flying and I heard they struck men down
I was horrified while watching; when would help be coming?
I saw Big Easy people get washed away.

CHORUS

I say rebuild; don't let our lady Miss Orleans down
Won't be the same if I can't walk down old Canal
I hope I didn't miss my ride in Mardi Gras
Colorful and fancy with everybody dancing
Throwing beads to people who showed their smiles

CHORUS
What happened Monday morning in Crescent City

Subject: Lyr Add: CARNIVAL TIME (Estella Daniel, 1912)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 14 - 11:40 PM

From the sheet music at Indiana University:


CARNIVAL TIME
Words and music by Mrs. Estella Daniel
New Orleans: L. Grunewald Co., Ltd., ©1912.

1. Down to dear old New Orleans we go for Carnival.
That's the time and place for me, the very best time for all.
See your friends from ev'rywhere; 'tis the place to go.
To have the very best time of your life, stay at home? Oh, no!

CHORUS: Hurrah for New Orleans! Hurrah for Carnival!
Hurrah for the good old times we've had in dear old New Orleans!

2. There the folk are jolly, some, jolly enough for me.
Follow just the merry crowd, full of life and glee.
There they go and here they come, up and down Canal.
That's the way to do, you know, when you're at Carnival.


[There are many recordings called CARNIVAL TIME but I think they are mostly of different songs, not this one.]

Subject: Lyr Add: QUEEN AT THE BALL IN ORLEANS (Wilson,1873
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 01:42 AM

From the sheet music at The Library of Congress:


QUEEN AT THE BALL IN ORLEANS
Words and music by Fred. Wilson
St. Louis: Balmer & Weber, ©1873.

1. At a colored fancy ball the other night,
That was held while I was down in New Orleans,
I'll tell you in my song about the jolly throng,
The real pink of fashion De la creams.
The Noddies mid the Shoddies all were there,
From the wooly-headed nigger to the coon,
Dancing to the fiddle across and down the middle,
And promenading all around the room.

CHORUS: But talk of your swells and dashing young belles,
Black as charcoal to the charming Creole,
But "Dinah" was queen at blushing sixteen
And pride of the ball in Orleans

2. They balanced to each other mighty fine,
The fashionable, long, the short and tall,
For ev'ry colored swell had got a lovely gal,
But Dinah she outshone the darkies all.
"Pompey" fiddled upon a barrel head,
And occasion'ly he'd drank his whiskey skin.
You ought to hear him shout as he called the figures out,
And watched the colored fellows dance and sing.

3. They were dancing all the night until the morn,
Before they ever thought of going home,
So to make the matter worse, they had a little fuss,
But that was done to give themselves a tone.
"Pompey" broke his fiddle upon my head.
The ladies yelled and made such awful screams.
They kicked up quite a row, and so I told you how
The darkies end the ball in New Orleans.

Subject: Lyr Add: BIG RIVER (Johnny Cash)
From: Bert
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 07:38 AM

Don't forget this one from Johnny Cash


BIG RIVER
As recorded by Johnny Cash on "I Walk the Line" (1964)

Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry,
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky.
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you, big river.
And I'm gonna sit right here until I die.

I met her accidentally in St. Paul, Minnesota,
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl, Southern drawl.
Then I heard my dream went back downstream cavortin' in Davenport,
And I followed you, big river, when you called.

Then you took me to St. Louie later on down the river.
A freighter said she's been here but she's gone, boy, she's gone.
I found her trail in Memphis, but she just walked up the bluff.
She raised a few eyebrows and went on down alone.

Now, won't you bat it down by Baton Rouge, River Queen, roll it on.
Take that woman on down to New Orleans, New Orleans.
Go on, I've had enough; dump my blues down in the Gulf.
She loves you, big river, more than me.

Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry, cry, cry
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky.
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you, big river.
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Jaze
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 09:03 AM

"Louisiana Love Call" by Maria Muldaur and Aaron Neville

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Stringsinger
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 10:37 AM

I wrote a song about Katrina.

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN A ST. LOUIS WOMAN COMES DOWN TO ...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 03:19 PM

I transcribed this from a recording on Spotify. This song, apparently written for the film, obviously alludes to W. C. Handy's ST. LOUIS BLUES. The instrumental intro and coda even quote from it.

Middle Tennessee State University has the sheet music, but it is not viewable online. The catalog entry quotes a line which does not appear in this recording, however:

"Folks I just got down here on a slow boat from a town I used to think was fast"


WHEN A ST. LOUIS WOMAN COMES DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS
Words by Sam Coslow, music by Arthur Johnston
New York: Famous Music Corp., 1934.
As sung by Mae West in the film "Belle of the Nineties" a.k.a. "It Ain't No Sin" (1934)

1. When a Saint-Louie woman comes down to New Orleans, (2x)
She'll be wearin' more diamonds than Uncle Sam's got marines.

2. Had a good man in Memphis, but the fool, he laid down and died.
Oh, I had a good man in Memphis, but the fool, he laid down and died,
Because his old woman, she hung a knife in (or "at"?) his side.

3. Now he was her man, but he came to see me sometime.
Oh, I said he was her man, but he came to see me sometime.
I live six flights up and he sure was willing to climb.

4. When it came to romancing, my man, he sure knew how,
But that narrow-minded woman, she had to spot a vow(?),
And you see he's no good to either one of us now.

5. So bring on your papas from down in New Orleans.
Oh, bring on those fancy lovin' papas you got in New Orleans,
'Cause I just came from Missouri; I guess you know what that means.

Subject: Lyr Add: STAVIN' CHANGE, THE MEANEST MAN IN NEW O
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Feb 14 - 04:20 PM

Lyrics below are from the sheet music at Baylor University. You can also hear a recording at YouTube, and another at the Library of Congress, both made from 78-rpm Edison disks.


STAVIN' CHANGE : THE MEANEST MAN IN NEW ORLEANS
by Al Bernard
New York: Joe Morris Music Co., ©1923.

1. I'm gonna tell you 'bout a bad man, down in New Orleans,
Now you can rave about your Jesse James, but this man sure was mean,
He sure was rough; he used to strut his stuff, up and down the avenues,
He was a long, tall dressed-up brown, from his hat down to his shoes.

CHORUS: Stavin' Change, the good Lord knows he was bad.
Stavin' Change, he made the sweet mammas glad, and sad.
He had a knife long enough to row a boat,
A big forty-four, underneath his coat,
Looking for a tussle, at a fish fry ev'ry night.
Mustard browns, they loved the tiger in his eye.
Satin blacks, they used to feed him rock and rye.
He said: "There's changes in the ocean, changes in the sea,
Never gonna be any change in me,
'Cause I'm Stavin' Change, the meanest man in New Orleans."

2. I'm gonna tell you now how Stave loved a gal named Lindy Lee.
He always told the men around the town, "That gal belongs to me."
She sure was bold, just like the story old, trifled on him one sad day.
He shot poor Lindy through the heart; that's why folks down there all say: CHORUS

[The recording has 2 variations in the last 3 lines of the chorus which are not present in the sheet music:]

2. He'd say that "Once I was happy; once I was free,
But pro-high-bition made a wreck out o' me,"
Said....

3. He'd say that, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
Show me a woman that a man can trust,"
Said....

[This was recorded by Waring's Pennsylvanians, on the flip side of STACK O' LEE BLUES.

Jelly Roll Morton's song WININ' BOY mentions a man with a similar name, but I have always seen it written down as "Stavin' Chain." I have even seen people theorize on what a stavin' chain was, and how it might come to be somebody's nickname. Those theories seemed pretty speculative to me. On the other hand, I have no idea why somebody might be called Stavin' Change, either.

Subject: Lyr Add: CHRISTMAS IN NEW ORLEANS (from Armstrong)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Feb 14 - 11:48 AM

My transcription from a recording found on Spotify (There are many copies on various Christmas anthology albums.):


CHRISTMAS IN NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Dick Sherman and Joe Van Winkle.
New York : Regent Music Corporation, ©1955.
As sung by Louis Armstrong

1. Magnolia trees at night,
Sparklin' bright,
Fields of cotton look wintery white,
When it's Christmas time in New Orleans.

2. A barefoot choir in prayer
Fills the air,
Mississippi folks gathering there,
'Cause it's Christmas time in New Orleans.

BRIDGE:You'll see a dixieland Santa Claus leadin' the band
To a good old creole beat.
Golly what a spirit! You can only hear it
Down on Basin Street.

3. Your cares will disappear
When you hear
"Hallelujah! Saint Nicholas is here!"
When it's Christmas time in New Orleans.

[REPEAT BRIDGE AND 3.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Airymouse
Date: 09 Feb 14 - 12:44 PM

Here are two verses of an old (=vernacular) song sung by Bertha Hubbard Hicks. If you are interested you can "you tube" Buna and Bertha, but you'll have to wade through all of Buna and some of Bertha to get the song.
Put my knapsack on my back
My rifle on my shoulder
March away to New Orleans
And there I'll be a soldier
(Refrain)
Where the coffee grows on white oak trees
The river flows with brandy
Streets are lined with ten-dollar bills
And the girls all sweet as candy.

Subject: Lyr Add: CLEMENTINE (FROM NEW ORLEANS)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Feb 14 - 01:08 PM

This can be found both on Spotify and YouTube.


CLEMENTINE (FROM NEW ORLEANS)
Words by Henry Creamer; music by Harry Warren
New York : Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., ©1927.
As sung by Kate Smith

My, look up the street, look up the street right now!
Hi, look at her feet. Isn't she neat? And how!
Oh, ain't she a darlin'? Oh, isn't she sweet,
That baby you're wild to meet?

Here comes Miss Clementine,
That baby from New Orleans.
She's only seventeen,
But what a queen,
Oh, my!
She has those flashing eyes,
The kind that can hypnotize,
And when she rolls 'em, pal,
Just kiss your gal
Goodbye.

And oh-oh-oh, when she starts dancing,
She plays a mean castanet.
You won't forget,
I mean.
Down in that Creole town,
Are wonderful gals around,
But none like Clementine
From New Orleans.

Now, you talk about Tabasco mamas,
Lulu Belles, and other charmers.
She's the baby that made the farmers
Raise a lot of cane.
She vamped a guy named Old Bill Bailey.
In the dark she kissed him gaily.
Then he threw down his ukulele
And he prayed for rain.

Look out for Clementine,
That baby from New Orleans.
She's only seventeen,
But what a queen!
Oh my!
She has two yearning lips.
Why, her kisses are burning pips.
They make the fellows shout,
And lay right out
And die.

Her dancing movements
Have improvements.
She shakes a mean tambourine
Out where the grass is green.

I've seen asbestos dames
Who set the whole town in flames,
But none like Clementine,
From New Orleans.

* * *
"Clementine" is pronounced to rhyme (approximately) with "seventeen."

Several jazz bands have recorded this as an instrumental. The Goofus Five and The Varsity Eight include a vocal, but omit most of the lyrics shown above.

I have found catalog entries for 78-rpm recordings by the following artists, but since I haven't heard them, I can't say whether they are instrumentals or vocals: Jack Crawford and His Orchestra, Jean Goldkette and His Orchestra, University Six.

Subject: Lyr Add: I GOT A MAMA DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Feb 14 - 02:06 PM

I GOT A MAMA DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS (ANOTHER IN MAINE)^[1]
I'VE GOT A MAMA DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS^[2]
Words and music by Jack Culley, Jimmy McHugh, and Irving Mills, ©1926.
As sung by Alma Henderson

Hey there, stranger!
There's somethin' on my mind.
I'm in danger
Most all of the time.
I never killed, never stole.
Somehow I've got myself in a hole.
Hey there, stranger!
My conscience hurts me so.

I got a daddy down in New Orleans,
Another daddy way up in Maine.
Don't know which one that I like best.
I guess I like 'em both 'bout the same.
I got two daddies; got to keep 'em apart,
'Cause, you know, one's my livin'; the other has my heart.
I got a daddy down in New Orleans,
Another daddy way up in Maine;
Yes sir, another daddy way up in Maine.

Someone told me that my daddy was goin' all aroun'
Leavin' sample kisses ev'rywhere in town.

I got a daddy down in New Orleans;
Got another daddy way up in Maine.
Don't know which one I like best.
Guess I ought to like 'em both the same.
I kind o' think he's been cheatin' on his mama; I'm wise.
I heard him say once that it pays to advertise.
I got a daddy down in New Orleans.
I got another one way up in Maine,
Yes sir, another daddy way up in Maine.

- - -
1. Title as given in the sheet music, according to the catalog entry at Middle Tennessee State University.

2. Title as given on the CD "Vocal Blues & Jazz 1921-1930" (Document Records, 1997), for the Alma Henderson recording, according to Spotify.

According to The Online 78-rpm Discography Project, Evelyn Thompson recorded I GOT A PAPA DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS.

Subject: Lyr Add: NEW ORLEANS (Hoagy Carmichael)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Feb 14 - 02:44 PM

I found a recording on Spotify that includes the chorus but not the verse. I found the text of the verse on the internet, here, but I can't confirm it's correct.

NEW ORLEANS
Hoagy Carmichael
New York: Southern Music Publishing Company, Inc., 1932.

VERSE: I've a home in the sunny Southland not so far from the 'Sippi shore.
It's away down there by the Delta where you'll find old Dixie's door.
If your heart's made to love the Southland and magnolia trees galore,
Hang your hat up, man, in New Orleans and you'll never wish for more.

CHORUS: if you've never seen a quaint old southern city,
Just think of New Orleans.
If you've never seen that town, boy, it's a pity.
There's nothing like New Orleans.
It will remind you of old-fashioned lace.
A glass of wine will greet your smiling face.
And if you ever see a black-eyed gal like mine, boy,
You're right in New Orleans.

Subject: Lyr Add: BACK TO NEW ORLEANS (Lightnin' Hopkins)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Feb 14 - 11:15 PM

This song usually goes by the title BABY, PLEASE DON'T GO. Wikipedia says it was written by Big Joe Williams and recorded by him in 1935, and that Hopkins recorded it in 1947. However, it's obvious that Hopkins recorded it several times, and I don't know whether this recording was the first. This is my transcription from Spotify:


BACK TO NEW ORLEANS
As sung by Sam "Lightnin' " Hopkins.

1. Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go
Back to New Orleans.
You know I love you so.
Baby, please don't go.

[SPOKEN:] Don't go, baby. If you go, take me with you.

2. You got me way down here.
You got me way down here.
Now, 'fore I'll be your dog,
I'll make you walk the log.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.

[SPOKEN:] No, don't go, sugar. If you just got to go, take me with you.

3. Now, don't you call my name.
Now, don't you call my name.
You got me way down here,
Wearin' a ball and chain.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.

4. I b'lieve your man done gone.
I b'lieve your man done gone.
He left the county farm.
He had his shackles on.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Baby, please don't go.

[SPOKEN:] No, I don't b'lieve she gone.

[SPOKEN:] Play it awhile!

5. Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go.
Now, baby, please don't go
Back to New Orleans.
You know I love you so.
Baby, please don't go.

[SPOKEN:] No, don't go, baby; if you go, just take me with you.

Subject: Lyr Add: BORN IN NEW ORLEANS (Paul Soniat)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Feb 14 - 02:06 PM

My transcription from hearing the song on Spotify:


BORN IN NEW ORLEANS
Written by Paul Soniat
As recorded by Paul Soniat on "Born in New Orleans" (2005)

I'm what you call a lucky guy,
Born in the land of deep fried
Seafood platters.
You know that it matters
Where you come from,
Where you come from.
So glad I was born here in New Orleans.
So glad I was born here in New Orleans.

We love our food, yeah, we live to eat.
Even white people like the second line with their pretty white feet.
Love our parties like our Mardi Gras.
Shiny beads and plastic cups are what we jump up for.
So glad I was born here in New Orleans.
So glad I was born here in New Orleans.

And this is the City that Care Forgot,
But you know we care about a whole lot,
Care about a hurricane that could blow us away,
Care about catchin' a coconut in the Zulu parade,
Care to live our life in our own way,
And we pray that the saints are gonna win someday.
So glad I was born here in New Orleans.
So glad I was born here in New Orleans.

Some people they say they're from "N'Awlins."
If you're from Uptown, you might say you're from "New Oryuns."
But me, I just say I'm from "New Orlins,"
But you never, never, never say "New Orleens,"
But you never, never, never say "New Orleens,"*
'Cause if you do, they will know that you are not from here,
And some may say, "He must be from away."
Born and raised, spent my days in New Orleans.
Couldn't write this song if I wasn't born in New Orleans.
Tryin' to make a livin', tough to pay tuition in New Orleans.
Still livin' on Soniat Street in New Orleans.

[* Regardless, there are a lot of recorded songs that use the pronunciation "New Orleens." Even Louis Armstrong, who was born there and grew up there, sang songs in which he used the pronunciation "New Orleens." Sometimes it's necessary for the rhyme, for example, "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" (See the link at the beginning of this thread.) Can we assume all those songs were written by non-natives? I haven't figured that out yet. Anyway, Soniat consistently sings "New Orlins" except where I have used other phonetic spellings and put them in quotes.]

Subject: Lyr Add: DOWN SOUTH IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Feb 14 - 04:25 PM

DOWN SOUTH IN NEW ORLEANS
Words and music by Jack Anglin, Jim Anglin, and Johnnie Wright.
As sung by Doug Kershaw & Rustyn on "Cajun Shuffle" (2011)

CHORUS: Down south in New Orleans,
The purtiest girl that I ever seen.
Sparklin' eyes, lips so sweet,
We make love to a Cajun beat.

1. My ship's at anchor; my suitcase packed.
I got a one-way ticket; ain't comin' back.
Life's a pleasure; I love to dream
Down south in New Orleans. CHORUS

2. My dark-eyed baby, I'm on my way.
I'm back into your arms to stay.
I'm tired o' work; I'm gonna play.
I'm gonna make love to you night and day. CHORUS

3. I want to get loose on Toulouse Street.
I want to kiss all the purty girls I see,
Drink all day, dance all night,
Do it wrong till I do it right. CHORUS TWICE

Also sung by: Josh Graves and Delbert McClinton, The Band, Dry Branch Fire Squad, Lou Ann Barton, Coal Creek Bluegrass Band, Throwin' Cat, Mac Martin, Middle Spunk Creek Boys, and Biff Moss.

Subject: Lyr Add: MY HEART WILL ALWAYS BE IN NEW ORLEANS
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Feb 14 - 06:38 PM

Don't know if originals count (I would think so!) but I have one from my Disaster Song site- written after I passed on visiting New Orleans the summer before Katrina-


MY HEART WILL ALWAYS BE IN NEW ORLEANS

Hey if you ever go down to New Orleans
Won't you let me come along
To a place I still remember I first heard of in a song
Since then I've been there many times
Though only in my dreams
And my heart will always be in New Orleans

Oh let me wake up down on Basin Street
To the sound of Dixieland
Crowds with dancing, tappin feet
Snappin fingers, clappin hands
Oh let me be part of that scene I've seen
So often in my dreams
For my heart will always be in New Orleans

So if you're headin down the Mississippi River
To the Gulf of Mexico
Won't you let me come along
To that place I long to go
I heard about it in a song
And I've seen it in my dreams
Now my heart will always be in New Orleans

I've been down with the Chicago blues
Been soothed by Memphis soul
Been diggin' Appalachian folksongs
Dark as West Virginia coal
Now let me be part of that scene I've seen
So often in my dreams
For my heart will always be in New Orleans


©2005 Jon Waterman www.thedisastersongproject.com

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Feb 14 - 07:06 PM

Ron Kavana wrote a great song called St Patrick's Day In New Orleans which is on an album by his band, Alias Ron Kavana, called "Galway To Graceland", released in the '90s. I can't find the words online. The album is ultra-rare now, but the song was also issued by Froots magazine on one of their free CDs (#6).

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 11 Feb 14 - 11:55 PM

Mardi Gras in Kansas, by Truckstop Honeymoon, contrasts Kansas with New Orleans (the band relocated to Kansas after Katrina wiped out their home in New Orleans). Available at http://www.truckstophoneymoon.com/clips/great_big_family/01_mardi_gras_in_kansas

Subject: Lyr Add: DROP ME OFF IN NEW ORLEANS (K Ruffins)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Feb 14 - 08:25 AM

DROP ME OFF IN NEW ORLEANS
Written by Kermit Ruffins
As sung by Kermit Ruffins on "1533 St. Philip Street" (2001)

Have you ever been to New Orleans?
It's the hottest city you've ever seen.
Gotta love them red beans,
You gotta love them mustard greens,
In this city called New Orleans.

If you're not from New Orleans, let me hear you scream.
Hope you're feelin' much better now, like my homies feel.
When you're feelin' down and out,
And you feel there's no way out,
You get dropped off in New Orleans.

Oh, drop me off in New Orleans.
Drop me off, oh, in New Orleans.
Gotta love them butter beans,
Gotta love them collard greens,
So drop me off in New Orleans.

If you're not from New Orleans, let me hear you scream.
Hope you're feelin' better now, like my home boys do.
When you're feelin' down and out,
And you feel there's no way out,
Tell 'em "Drop me off in New Orleans.
Drop me off in New Orleans.
Drop me off in New Orleans."

[Kermit Ruffins also sings this on "Live at Vaughan's" (2001), and the lyrics, repeats, etc., vary somewhat. At one point, I think he sings "Gotta love them spotted beans." Are they the same as pinto beans?

[Also, he uses the pronunciation "New Orleens" (obviously, to rhyme with greens, beans, etc.) which Paul Soniat disparages. (See above.) What's up with that? Do people from NO have a convention that you pronounce it one way when speaking and another way when singing? Have jazz musicians been influenced by the Tin-Pan-Alley songwriters who didn't know any better? Do they use the pronunciation "New Orleens" only because it's so easy to rhyme?]

Subject: Lyr Add: GOING BACK TO NEW ORLEANS (Joe Liggins)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Feb 14 - 12:06 PM

GOING BACK TO NEW ORLEANS
Written by Joe Liggins
As sung by Joe Liggins & The Honeydrippers on "Joe Liggins & The Honeydrippers" (1990)

Goin' back home, tee-na-nay, to the land of the beautiful queens.
I'm goin' back home to my baby; I'm goin' back to New Orleans.
Want to see nannan(?), my parrain(?), Suzanne and my ma and pa.
Gonna plant my feet on Rampart Street and be there for the Mardi Gras.

I been to Cuba, South American way.
I been to Europe; Mexico is okay.
Over in France, the chicks are really fine.
I get my thrill below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Goin' back home, tee-na-nay; never, never more will I roam.
Gonna get my fill of gumbo filé 'cause New Orleans is my home.

Goin' back home, tee-na-nay, to the land of the beautiful queens.
I'm goin' back home to my baby; I'm goin' back to New Orleans.
Gonna get me crawfish, jambalay', red beans and some fine pralines.
Gonna get some lovin' that will satisfy, back home in New Orleans.


[Also recorded by Deacon John Moore; The J Street Jumpers; Kenny Sara & The Sounds of New Orleans; King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys; Poncho Sanchez; Stella & Karin Klingenstierna; The Travellers. I have verified that all these perform the same song by actually listening to samples; there are other songs with the same title.

[There's that phrase tee-na-nay again. I have spelled it phonetically, according to how it sounds on the recording. The fact that it is dropped into the middle of a sentence seems to indicate it has a meaning, and it is not just a meaningless refrain like oobie-doobie-doo. Yet I have no idea what the meaning is. It sounds vaguely French, but I can't find it in any dictionary or other helpful text.

[Parrain is French for godfather; marraine is the equivalent: godmother—but I don't think that's what he's singing in line 3. That's what I would sing, though, if I couldn't come up with something better.]

Subject: Lyr Add: GOING DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS (Bobby Taylor)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Feb 14 - 03:39 PM

Spotify has this. You can also hear a sample on CDBaby.


GOING DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS
As sung by Bobby Taylor on "Route 66 Revisited" (2008)

When the world's got you down,
Or you're wearin' a frown,
You need a change of scene.
There's a place we all know.
It's where ev'rybody goes.
They come down to New Orleans.

Hey, hey, hey, yah, yah, yah,
My, oh, my, ooh-la-la,
Run down to New Orleans.
Café du Monde, Jackson Square,
Sweet, sweet music fills the air
Down in New Orleans.

Yeah, they got crawfish pie,
Rice and beans,
Jambalaya,
Sweet baked(?) beans.

When you walk down the street,
Ev'rybody you greet
Is singin' in New Orleans.
Mardi Gras, fais do-do,
Come on people; here we go.
We're goin' down to New Orleans.

Hey, hey, hey, yah, yah, yah,
My, oh, my, ooh-la-la,
Goin' down to New Orleans.
Café du Monde, Jackson Square,
Sweet, sweet music fills the air
Down in New Orleans.

Well, they got crawfish pie,
A little rice and beans,
Jambalaya,
Sweet baked(?) beans.

Little boys on the street
Dancin' to the happy beat,
You can party just as you please.
Yeah, summer breeze, big oak trees,
...(?) memories,
On down in New Orleans.

Hey, hey, hey, yah, yah, yah,
My, oh, my, ooh-la-la,
Yeah, we're goin' down to New Orleans.
Hermann(?) Street, Royale(?), Dumaine(?),
Stolen kisses in the rain,
Oh, down to New Orleans.
Yeah, way down in New Orleans.
Come on, we're goin' down in New Orleans.
Yeah, down in New Orleans.
Down, down, down, New Orleans.

Subject: Lyr Add: MIDNIGHT IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Feb 14 - 09:52 PM

MIDNIGHT IN NEW ORLEANS
Words, Walter Melrose; music, Earl Hines.
As recorded by Earl "Fatha" Hines and Orchestra with Johnny Hartman, vocalist, 1947.

When it's midnight down in New Orleans,
Those hep-cat bands are jivin' fiends.
Round ev'ry corner there's music in the air.
They can play those blues better than they play them anywhere.

When it's midnight down in New Orleans,
I sit right there in all of my dreams.
The syncopation invigorates my soul.
When they play the blues, Basin Street begins to rock 'n' roll.


- - -
From Wikipedia: "Melrose added lyrics to many existing jazz compositions in order to claim a songwriting royalty, although these are rarely performed today due to their amateurish nature."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 14 Feb 14 - 12:05 AM

I wonder whether your "tee-na-nay" could be related to the "finane" that was discussed at length in the (New Orleans related) thread, Jacomo finane? What does that mean?

Subject: Lyr Add: NEW ORLEANS LOVER MAN
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Feb 14 - 07:33 AM

I heard this on Spotify, where it was strangely attributed to "Susie-Sue," but you can hear what I believe to be the same recording with the correct attribution on YouTube. The artist's name was inconsistently spelled on various record labels and album covers, sometimes appearing as "Newsome."


NEW ORLEANS LOVER MAN
As sung by Chubby "Hip Shakin'" Newsom and her Hip Shakers (1949)

Hey, ev'rything is fine in New Orleans.
I say, hey, ev'rything is fine in New Orleans.
Well, I've got a man who's ev'ry woman's dream.

That man loves me like no other man can.
Yes, he loves me like no other man can.
That's why I call him my New Orleans lover man.

When he's around, makes me feel so fine.
When he's around, makes me feel so fine,
And when he loves me, chills run up and down my spine.

Well, the things he does make me scream.
Now all you girls know what I mean.
That man can love me like no other can.
That's why I call him my New Orleans lover man.

He does what he ain't done before.
He keeps me beggin' for a little bit more.
Man can love me like no other can.
That's why I call him my New Orleans lover man.

He says, "You ain't good lookin' but you're built quality.
The lovin' you've got been a stint(?) for me."
My man can love me like no other can.
That's why I call him my New Orleans lover man.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Roger Knowles
Date: 14 Feb 14 - 09:30 AM

How about Shel Silverstein's "It's An Old New Orleans Custom"?

Subject: Lyr Add: OLD NEW ORLEANS BLUES (Willie Jackson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Feb 14 - 04:37 PM

OLD NEW ORLEANS BLUES
As recorded by New Orleans Willie Jackson, Columbia 14136-D, 1926.

Have you ever been down south in dear old New Orleans?
Have you ever been down south in dear old New Orleans?
It's a nasty town; got things there that you never seen.

Canal Street's made for diamonds, and Saint Charles Street's made for gold.
Canal Street's made of diamonds, and Saint Charles Street's made for gold.
But when you go back o' town, you're bound to see nothin' but old Creoles.

You take a pleasure trip riding on the cap'tol boat.
Take a pleasure trip riding on the cap'tol boat.
You end up in the lake, out in the Spanish Fort.

You ever go to Memphis, stop down at Jim Colane(?).
You ever go to Memphis, stop down at Jim Colane(?).
There's a place where monkey women will learn just how to treat they man.

Deedly-dum...[etc., scat verse].

And I dreamt last night, baby, my house was burnin' down.
I said I dreamt last night, my house was burnin' down.
But it was a cootie with a lantern making his fore-day round.

Subject: Lyr Add: PAPA-DE-DA-DA (Williams/Todd/Williams)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Feb 14 - 08:28 PM

PAPA-DE-DA-DA (A NEW ORLEANS STOMP)
by Spencer Williams, Clarence Todd & Clarence Williams, ©1925.
As recorded by Bessie Brown, on "Original Bessie Brown / Liza Brown 1925-1929" (Document Records, DOCD-5456, 1996)

Way down in New Orleans,
The land of dreamy scenes,
There's a man, a music man.
He plays and sings, buck-and-wings.
Papa tree-top tall,
That boy's long and lean, that's all.
Ev'ry night, it's a sight.
You should hear folks call.

Papa-de-da-da, he's a ladies' man,
Papa-de-da-da, sweetest in the land.
Papa-de-da-da, watch him clap his hands.
That boy can play piano grand.
Papa-de-da-da, he can whip them blues.
Papa-de-da-da, always spreadin' news,
He's neat and keen; that's what I mean.
Got all the girls in New Orleans.
Papa-de-da, de-da-da, he's the hottest man in town.

Now there ain't no use in talkin'; he's the cat's meow.
He's got the gals all guessin' 'cause he knows just how
To hug and love and kiss 'em ev'ry night and day.
Lawd, they can't live without him; that's just what they say.

He's long, lean and lanky and he knows his stuff.
Talkin' gals are crazy 'cause he's never rough.
He's born in Louisiana; he's a sweet Creole,
Milky(?) in his manner like a sweet jelly roll.

Papa-de-da-da, he's a ladies' man,
Papa-de-da-da, sweetest in the land.
Papa-de-da-da, watch him clap his hands.
That boy can play piano grand.
Papa-de-da-da, always spreadin' news,
Papa-de-da-da, that boy can play the blues.
He's neat and clean; that's what I mean.
Got all the gals in New Orleans.
Papa-de-da, de-da-da, he's the hottest man in town.

He's neat and clean, that's what I mean.
Got all the gals in New Orleans.
Papa-de-da, de-da-da, he's the hottest man in town.

[Other notable early recordings were by Clarence Williams' Blue Five with vocalist Eva Taylor, 1925; St Louis Rhythm Kings, 1925; Virginia Liston, 1925; Ed Smalle, 1925; Birmingham Serenaders, 1935.]

Subject: Lyr Add: SOUTH RAMPART STREET PARADE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 15 Feb 14 - 11:08 PM

SOUTH RAMPART STREET PARADE
Music by Ray Bauduc and Bob Haggart, 1937.
Words, Steve Allen, 1952.
As sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, 1952.

Do you hear the beat
Away down the street?
Hey, do you hear the neat
Little rhythm of the happy dancin' feet?
Well, now, look there! The people are runnin'
And right now, they're gonna have a lot of fun.
Make way, 'cause everybody's comin'
And you'll see a big parade.
Hey boy, you're really gonna celebrate.
Hear that? Listen to the clarinet!
Your feet are really gonna palpitate
When you are marchin' around.

Marchin' around,
Wonderful sound!
I hear the rattle-de-tat.
I love to hear the way the little drummer does that.
Oh, what a glorious day!
Out o' my way!
Make room and gimme some air.
I got a little rhythm to spare.

We all swing high, swing low,
Everybody rockin' to and fro.
It ain't fast or slow,
But oh, that glory, hallelujah!
Swing that thing.
Make the river bottom ring and sing.
Hush ma mouth!
That's the South
Rampart Street parade!

[Starting here, the lines overlap in a kind of counterpoint.]

Ev'ry boy's got a girl .
They're doin' it, soft-shoein' it.
The town's gonna whirl.
They're tryin' it, untyin' it.
Tonight's a jamboree.
They're jivin' it, revivin' it, I tell you.
Mister, and if you come along,
They're struttin' it, rug-cuttin' it,
You'll join in the song.
They're shakin' it and breakin' it.

[Starting here, they sing in unison.]

Hey, Dad!
Not bad!
I'm glad you dig!
Hey, boy, that band is grand.

I hear the trombone,
That shiny trombone,
Everybody playin' mighty fine as they march along,
And I never get enough of that Creole song.

Here now,
It's loud and clear now.
I really get a thrill—
I know I always will—
Whenever I can hear the rhythm of a band.
Way down yonder in the canebrake,
You can hear the music they make,
Ringin' out until the daybreak.
Louisiana band,
Gotta get a hand,
It's the South Rampart Street Parade.


[A very similar arrangement was also recorded by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.]

Subject: Lyr Add: GONNA GO DOWN THE RIVER ONCE MORE
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Feb 14 - 11:35 PM

GONNA GO DOWN THE RIVER ONCE MORE
(Buddy Mize/Dallas Frazier)
recorded by Kingston Trio

I just heard that whistle blow. Gonna go down the river once more.
Well, I've got my bag and I'm ready to go. Gonna go down the river once more.
Gonna leave St. Louis, go to New Orleans. Eat a little bacon. Eat a little beans.
Have a good time like I did before. Gonna go down the river once more.

Chorus:
Gonna go down the river, gonna go down the river, gonna go down the river once more. (Repeat)

Gonna load that cotton on the boat by the bale. Gonna go down the river once more.
Gonna quit my drinkin'. Gonna stay out of jail. Gonna go down the river once more.
Yeah, my little woman's gonna say goodbye, wavin' her hand with a tear in her eye.
Leave these docks about a quarter to four. Gonna go down the river once more.

(Chorus - interlude - chorus)

Gonna ride that boat to the glory land. Gonna go down the river once more.
Hey, I'll do a little dance with a riverboat band. Gonna go down the river once more.
I've got my banjo ready to play, hey, we'll shout and sing both night and day.
I'll make my bed on the riverboat floor. Gonna go down the river once more.

(Chorus)

Gonna go down the river once more!

Subject: Lyr Add: BLUES FOR RAMPART STREET (from Ida Cox)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Feb 14 - 01:07 PM

BLUES FOR RAMPART STREET
As sung by Ida Cox with the Coleman Hawkins Quintet, on the album "Blues for Rampart Street" (1990).

Rampart Street in New Orleans town,
Known to ev'ryone for miles around,
Creole music and real jazz bands,
That's the best spot in all the land.

In most ev'ry cabaret,
They turn night into day.
I'm blue from my head down to my feet,
Blue for dear old Rampart Street.

I yearn to go down to Tom Anderson's Cafe.
I want to hear that Creole jazz band play.
The Cadillac, the Red Onion, too,
The Boogie-Woogie and the Parc Sans Sou'—
You can enjoy yourself down on Rampart Street.

I yearn to go down to Tom Anderson's Cafe.
I want to hear that Creole jazz band play.
The Boogie-Woogie and the Parc Sans Sou',
Annie Lou, the Red Onion too—
I want to go down home on Rampart Street.

Subject: Lyr Add: RAMPART STREET BLUES (Hoagy Carmichael)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Feb 14 - 01:33 PM

RAMPART STREET BLUES
As sung by Hoagy Carmichael

Oh, the Mississippi is so doggone deep and wi-wide,
Yes, the Mississippi is so doggone deep and wi-wide,
But if I can swim across it, there's where I can hide.

Way down on Rampart lives my mama Lulu.
Says, down on Rampart lives my mama Lulu.
She's the one sweet mama I can tell my troubles to.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Mysha
Date: 16 Feb 14 - 05:10 PM

Hi,

The City of New Orleans is not, of course, about the city, but about the train. The destination is not actually mentioned in the song (just that they'll be there by morning).

Steve Goodman also recorded it himself, BTW. I prefer Arlo Guthrie's version of the melody, but I like the Steve Goodman's version of the lyrics better. Sure, a "magic carpet made of steel" is something to behold, but it can't touch a "magic carpet made of steam"!

Bye,
                                                                  Mysha

Subject: Lyr Add: BASIN STREET BLUES
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Feb 14 - 07:41 PM

BASIN STREET BLUES
Music by Spencer Williams, 1926.
Words by Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden, 1931.
As recorded by The Charleston Chasers with vocal by Jack Teagarden, 1931.

Won't you come along with me
To the Mississippi?
We'll take the boat to the land of dreams,
Steam down the river down to New Orleans.

The band's there to meet us,
Old friends to greet us,
Where all the dark and the light folks meet.^[1]
This is Basin Street.

Basin Street
Is the street
Where dark and light always meet,^[2]
In New Orleans,
The land of dreams.
You'll never know how nice it seems
Or just how much it really means.
Glad to be,
Yes-siree,
Where welcome's free,
Dear to me,
Where I can lose
My Basin Street blues.

[Instrumental break]

Ain't you glad you came with me
'Long the Mississippi?
You saw the place where the folks all meet:
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street.

- - -
1,2. When Ella Fitzgerald sang with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra in 1949, she changed these lines to:
1. Where all the proud and elite folks meet
2. Where the best folks always meet

Subject: Lyr Add: BOURBON STREET BLUES (from Louis Prima)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 14 - 11:19 AM

BOURBON STREET BLUES
As sung by Louis Prima

Now listen, all you hep ones,
You squares and out-o'-step ones.
I've got a story to tell.
It's all about a street
In New Orleans, and it's a treat
To go there.
You got to go there—

To get the Bourbon Street blues,
And you will never lose
This feeling that you'll find
'Cause it's a fun street.
You'll get the Bourbon Street blues,
No matter what you choose,
This freedom you won't mind,
'Cause it's a fun street.

The music is the craziest.
The people are the gaziest.
The traffic is the jammiest.
The doormen are the hammiest.
The cops are the iciest;
The red beans, the riciest,
And, boy, the girls are the spiciest.
You'll get the Bourbon Street blues.
You're sure to have a ball,
And you're a cinch to fall
For this wildest,
Beguiledest,
Bourbon Street.

The food is the homiest.
The beer is the foamiest.
The gumbo, the tastiest.
The pizza, the pastiest.
The Mardi Gras, the mightiest.
The night clubs, the nightiest.
And boy, the girls are the sightiest.
You'll get the Bourbon Street blues.
You're sure to have a ball,
And you're a cinch to fall
For this wildest,
Beguiledest,
Bourbon Street.

Subject: Lyr Add: BOURBON STREET PARADE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 14 - 11:31 AM

BOURBON STREET PARADE
As sung by Louis Armstrong & The Dukes of Dixieland

Let's fly down
Or drive down
To New Orleans—
That city,
Its pretty
Historic scenes.
I'll take you;
Parade you
Down Bourbon Street.
There are lots of hot spots.
You'll see all the big shots
Down on Bourbon Street.

Subject: Lyr Add: FOOT OF CANAL STREET (Boutté/Sanchez)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 14 - 12:32 PM

I copied these lyrics from Paul Sanchez's web site:

FOOT OF CANAL STREET
Words and music by John Boutté and Paul Sanchez

1. Don't waste your time being angry when a moment's better with a smile.
If you feel you're time's been wasted, waste it here a while,
Standing at that bus stop just across from Krauss,^[1]
Waiting for the driver to take me to my heavenly house.

CHORUS: I'll see you there. (at the foot of Canal Street)
What will you wear? (at the foot of Canal Street)
Will the band be playing? (at the foot of Canal Street)
What will the people be saying? (at the foot of Canal Street)
Does your father lie there? Does your mother pray there?
I'm going to put on my golden crown at the foot of Canal Street.

2. When the levee banks have overflowed and the streetcar has seen its day
When all is gone—the plantations, the Tremé and the Vieux Carré—
I'll be swinging to that music way up on higher ground
Where Pops is blowing "Walk On"^[2] with Gabriel making sacred sounds. CHORUS

- - -
1. Iconic department store that closed in 1997.
2. There are several songs with the same title, and several musicians called "Pops." I haven't figured out which ones are referred to here. Maybe one of the songwriters was referring to his own father?

Subject: Lyr Add: FRENCHMEN STREET BLUES (Jon Cleary)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 14 - 05:11 PM

FRENCHMEN STREET BLUES
As sung by Jon Cleary on "Treme: Music from the HBO Original Series, Season 2" (2012)

Sprinkle my ashes on Frenchmen Street.
Don't be upset at the news.
Just cut me a-loose with a soulful song.
Don't play no Frenchmen Street blues.

Hitch me a ride on a river breeze
To Elysian Fields so green,
And I'll join the spirits standin' by to smile
On the back streets of old New Orleans.

I did my time in the masquerade,
And I ran the rough with the smooth,
Now I'm gonna paint me a canvas of peace of mind,
And let go of my Frenchmen Street blues.

See you one night, one night in your sultry dreams.
You can drink me a toast as you snooze.
Closed out my tab in the happy hour,
Let go my Frenchmen Street blues.

No, don't play,
Don't play, don't play,
No, don't play, don't play,
Don't play no Frenchmen Street blues.

Subject: Lyr Add: MEET ME ON FRENCHMEN STREET (S Allen)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 14 - 08:49 PM

MEET ME ON FRENCHMEN STREET
Written by Shamarr Allen
As recorded by Shamarr Allen and Paul Sanchez on "Bridging the Gap" (2010)^[1]

1. If you ever get down to New Orleans,
And you want to enjoy the music scene.
Ev'rybody's drinkin', havin' a good old time.
Let someone teach you how to second-line.

CHORUS: They got jazz bands and trad bands,
Funk^[2] bands and brass bands,
Whatever your heart desires.
If you can take the southern heat,
Then you can party with me,
And meet me on Frenchmen Street.

2. Smell the barbecue smoke outside the club.
Have a drink and a drink; you're gonna need some grub.
Ev'rybody's socializin', havin' a real good time.
Let someone teach you how to second-line. CHORUS.

[Repeat verse 1 and chorus.]
[Repeat last 3 lines of chorus.]

- - -
1. I chose this recording to transcribe because of the clarity of enunciation; however there are other musical performances I like better: Shamarr Allen & Kermit Ruffins on "Meet Me on Frenchmen Street" (2007); or Norbert Susemihi et al on "Night on Frenchmen Street" (2012).
2. I think sometimes he sings "punk bands."

Subject: Lyr Add: YOU'VE GOT TO BE CRAZY TO LIVE IN THIS...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 14 - 11:55 PM

YOU'VE GOT TO BE CRAZY TO LIVE IN THIS TOWN
As sung by Alex McMurray on "Frenchmen Street: Sounds of New Orleans" (2011)

1. A stopped clock's right twice a day, but here it isn't so.
Your clock's somewhere on the neutral ground between here and Thibodeaux.
Gravity's got no business here; ran cryin' like a kid.
He's cryin' up there in the attic where we done hid.

CHORUS: Because you got to be crazy; yeah, you got to be crazy.
You got to be crazy to hang around.
Yeah, you got to be crazy; you got to be crazy.
You got to be crazy to live in this town.

2. Just like you I prayed for rain, and then it rained all day.
It rained and rained for two weeks and two nights; make it go away.
I went to ask the man; he don't know; his brother don't know either.
In the church of the ignorants, I'm a stone believer. CHORUS.

3. I'm goin' to lay it out like the Hindus say.
I'm sayin' there's a god and she want to play.
Yeah, she's up there laughin', and I know it's true,
And down here everybody's sayin', "How'd you do? How'd you do? How'd you do? How'd you do? How'd you do?"

CHORUS: Yeah, you got to be crazy; you got to be crazy.
You got to be crazy to live in this town.

4. They say this town's been bent many times, but it never broke.
They say this place been asleep for so long, but it never woke.
Now, I used to pray to the Lord: "God help us; deliver us from ease."
Now I pray to the Lord: "Where are you? Won't you help us, won't you please?" CHORUS

You got to be stoned out your mind.

Subject: Lyr Add: STEW CALLED NEW ORLEANS (Boutté/Sanchez)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 03:00 PM

Lyrics copied from Paul Sanchez's web site. They are pretty close to what he sings on "Red Beans and Ricely Yours..." (2010).


STEW CALLED NEW ORLEANS
Written by John Boutté & Paul Sanchez

Come check out the scene; see what I mean
'Bout this stew called New Orleans.
It's a gumbo pot for sure.
It is and it ain't and it's so much more.
Now don't take a pass; this could be a gas,
This stew called New Orleans.
From the very young to the very old,
It's a town where the good times roll.

This stew called New Orleans—
Don't forget to bring your greens
To this stew called New Orleans.

Now I'm not the first; I won't be the last
To say, or to have it said:
I'm New-Orleans born, New-Orleans bred,
And when I die I'll be New-Orleans dead.
And if I do, and you should hear the news,
Don't waste any time.
Find the Eureka Brass Band, Mr. Ferbos^[1] on horn,
And get me to a second-line.

In this stew called New Orleans,
Don't forget to bring your greens
To this stew called New Orleans.

Come check out the scene; see what I mean
'Bout this stew called New Orleans.
There's a place where we can meet,
Like the song says, on Frenchmen Street,
And if the groove behooves you to move,
Don't waste any time.
Find the Hot Eight Brass Band, Shamarr^[2] on horn,
And get to a second-line.
Maybe Leroy Jones, Shorty^[3] and his trombone
Will take you to a second-line.
See if Matt Perrine or Mister Craigory Klein
Will take you to a second-line.
Even if there's heat, Glen David^[4] is fine.
He'll take you to a second line.

This stew called New Orleans—
Don't forget to bring your greens
To this stew called New Orleans.
I'm talkin' 'bout a stew called New Orleans.
Say, I'm talkin' 'bout a stew called New Orleans.

- - -
To the best of my knowledge:
1. Lionel Ferbos
2. Shamarr Allen
3. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews.
4. Probably Glen David Andrews.

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN TO NEW ORL
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 05:29 PM

[Apologies if this shows up twice --- didn't seem to go anywhere first time I tried]

WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN TO NEW ORLEANS
words and music by Roy Zimmerman © 2005 (Watunes)
[found at http://www.royzimmerman.com/lyrics/faulty_saints.html]

Oh, when the saints go marching in to New Orleans,
Well, they'll be marching with trombones and tambourines
In a wake for the queen of the Delta Queens.

And we can say, "Hey the Big Easy, she took it hard.
We sent the Army; we sent the Navy and some of the National Guard
In time to find our pride floating face down in her front yard."

Yeah, when the levee breaks, it depends how well one prepares.
Will they be on high ground or in the attic standing on chairs
When the waters of rage rise up the White House stairs?

Oh, when the saints go marching in to New Orleans,
When they lay their eyes on those apocalyptic scenes,
They're going to find out what it means to have no means.

So let the cornet blast...and bang the drum.
Let the clarinet wail...let's hear the banjo strum.
To celebrate her great life and her great life to come.

Subject: Lyr Add: LITTLE SALLY WALKER DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
From: Janie
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 09:01 PM

Tune traditional (Little Sally Walker) First and last verse traditional. All other lyrics copyright Mary Jane Endres, 2005

LITTLE SALLY WALKER DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS

Little Sally Walker, sittin' in a saucer
Weepin' and a moanin' like a turtle dove
Gotta rise, Sally, rise wipe your weepin' eyes
Turn to the east, turn to the west
Turn to the one that you love best
I ain't never, no never been satisfied. Satisfied.

Way down south in southern Louisiana
Mississippi gulf coast and Alabam'
Better run, Sisters, run 'til the storm is done.
Hurricane Katrina roared from the Gulf
Big Muddy rose up. It was a terrible loss
I ain't never, no never seen such a sight. Such a sight.

Over in Biloxi the saints and the sinners
Clingin' to each other hand in hand.
Better pray, Brothers, pray, 'til the break of day.
Gamblin' boats and churches, fishermen and merchants
The storm it spared not a single man.
I ain't never, no never had such a fright. Such a fright.

Little Sally Walker sittin' in saucer
Water to the attics down in New Orleans
Better row, Sally row, or you won't ever know.
Row to the east, row to the west
Searchin' for the ones that you love best
I ain't never, no never been satisfied. Satisfied.

Mother, Father, Sister dear Brother
Sweet Jesus won't you take me by the hand.
Get me out. Get me out, or I'll die no doubt.
Take me to the east, take me to west
Just take me to a place where I can rest.
I ain't never, no never seen life this hard. Life this hard.

Little Sally Walker sittin' in a saucer
Tryin' to get the old man to come back home
Better ride, Sally ride with your head up high.
Shake it to the east, shake it to the west
Shake it to the one that you love best.
I ain't never, no never been satisfied. Satisfied.

Subject: Lyr Add: BOB DYLAN'S NEW ORLEANS RAG (Bob Dylan)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 May 18 - 09:10 AM

My transcription from this recording at YouTube. According to my ear, the "official" transcription on the Bob Dylan website contains mondegreens: "across the river" for "across Rampart" and "frightening look" for "fist-fightin' look"--as well as some less important substitutions. According to Wikipedia, Dylan recorded this 4 times in 1963 but it was never included in an album. I don't know how it ended up on YouTube.


BOB DYLAN'S NEW ORLEANS RAG
Words and Music by Bob Dylan

I was sittin' on a stump down in New Orleans.
I was feelin' kind o' low-down, dirty, an' mean.

Along come a fella an' he didn't even ask.
He says: "I know of a woman who can fix you up fast."

I didn't think twice; I said like I should:
"Let's go find this lady who can do me some good."

We walked across Rampart on a sailin' spree
An' we come to a door called One-Oh-Three.

[harmonica interlude]

I's just about ready to give 'em a little knock
When out comes a fella who couldn't even walk.

He's linkin' an' a-slinkin', couldn't stand on his feet,
An' he moaned an' he groaned an' he shuffled down the street.

Well, out o' the door there come another man.
He wiggled an' he wobbled; he couldn't hardly stand.

He had his fist-fightin' look in his eye
Like he just fought a bear an' he was ready to die.

Well, I peeked through the key crack; comin' down the hall
Was a long-legged man who couldn't hardly crawl.

He muttered an' he uttered in broken French
An' he looked like he'd been through a monkey wrench.

[harmonica interlude]

Well, by this time I was a-scared to knock.
I was a-scared to move; I's in a state o' shock.

I hummed a little tune an' I shuffled my feet
An' I started walkin' backwards down Rampart Street.

Well, I got to the corner; I tried my best to smile.
I turned around the corner an' I run a bloody mile.

Man, I wasn't runnin' 'cause I was sick.
I just a-runnin' to get out o' there quick.

[harmonica interlude]

Well, I tripped it along; I'm wheezin' in my chest.
I must 'a' run a mile in a minute or less.

I walked on a log an' I tripped on a stump.
I caught a fast freight with a one-armed jump.

So, if you're travelin' down Louisiana way,
An' you feel kind o' lonesome an' you need a place to stay,

Man, you're better off in your misery
Than to tackle that lady at One-Oh-Three.

Copyright © 1970 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1998 by Special Rider Music

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 23 May 18 - 04:43 PM

Farewell to Storyville

Subject: Lyr Add: LOUISIANA LOVE CALL (Marty Grebb)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 May 18 - 06:21 PM

LOUISIANA LOVE CALL
Words and music by Marty Grebb
As recorded by Maria Muldaur (with Aaron Neville) on "Louisiana Love Call" (1992)

I miss the breeze in the magnolia trees.
Oh, I need to go
Down to the delta and let that sweet music
Wash over my soul.
You can't be lonesome once you get to know some
Of old New Orleans.
I'm gonna stay out till dawn and ride on the river
Just like a riverboat queen.

CHORUS: Louisiana love call, callin' to me—
The birds on the bayou sang a sweet melody.
Louisiana love call—sing it to me;
Sing me the sweet lullaby of the Mississippi.

I'm gonna sit out all day at a sidewalk cafe
With the sun shinin' bright,
And I know a place where the street players play
From mornin' till night.
In ev'ry parish the people all cherish
Their easygoin' days.
I'm gonna spend a little time with an old love of mine
Down Abbeville way.

CHORUS TWICE

Subject: Lyr Add: MARDI GRAS IN KANSAS (Truckstop Honeymoon
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 May 18 - 07:56 PM

Thanks to Gerry for suggesting this back on 11-Feb-2014. I just now got around to looking it up and I love it! I live at the opposite end of the Mississippi from New Orleans, and Mardi Gras here is just about like Kansas. My transcription from Spotify:


MARDI GRAS IN KANSAS
As recorded by Truckstop Honeymoon on "Great Big Family" (2008)

It's Mardi Gras in Kansas; there ain't no parade.
Still I put on a boa and some plastic beads and this little tutu I made.
As I walked up and down this Midwest town, all I could see were cars
With workin' stiffs goin' to work as if they didn't know it was Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras in Kansas ain't like it is in New Orleans.
There's no marchin' band, no daiquiri stand, no hookers and no drag queens,
No tourists fallin' in the gutter as they put their margaritas away.
Mardi Gras in Kansas is just another Tuesday.

I should 'a' known somethin' was up when I saw there was snow on the ground.
The neighbors were diggin' out their driveway and nobody else was around.
I thought I made a mistake; maybe I got the wrong date; maybe this was all a dream.
This is Mardi Gras for sure, but it's Kansas, not New Orleans.

Mardi Gras in Kansas, it just ain't the same.
There's no Mardi Gras throws, no cups to go, nobody playin' Liza Jane.
Still I put on a rumba, danced a little number, but I felt like kind of a freak,
'Cause Mardi in Kansas is just another day of the week.

So next year I got a good plan, babe; I tell you what we're gonna do:
Gonna start the very first ever Kansas Mardi Gras Krewe.
Gonna shut down this whole town; we're gonna close off every street,
And them Kansas high-school marchin' bands are gonna learn a different beat.

Mardi Gras in Kansas ain't like it is in New Orleans.
There's no marchin' band, no daiquiri stand, no hookers and no drag queens;
But it's gonna change; it's gonna get strange; it'll be Kansas like you've never seen
When we got Mardi Gras in Kansas just like they got in New Orleans.
Yeah, we'll have Mardi Gras in Kansas just like they got in New Orleans.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 24 May 18 - 12:52 AM

New Orleans Rag was on the earliest Dylan bootlegs that became available in 1969, Stealin' and Great White Wonder. I think it was released on one of the "official" bootleg albums later.

I don't suppose you're interested in the Phil Ochs song, I Ain't Marching Any More. It's not about New Orleans, but the first stanza goes,

Oh, I marched to the battle of New Orleans
At the end of the early British war
The young land started growing
The young blood started flowing
But I ain't marching anymore

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST
Date: 24 May 18 - 02:39 AM

Blair douglas did a song

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST
Date: 24 May 18 - 02:40 AM

https://www.musical1.com/blair-douglas/uploaded_audio/578/rester-fort-la-nouvelle-orleans-stay-strong-new

Subject: Lyr Add: JOHN DOE NO. 24 (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
From: GUEST,akenaton
Date: 24 May 18 - 03:00 AM

One of my favourite songs by one of my favourite singers and writers.
Full of emotion, heartbreak and hope.

n Music

?

JOHN DOE NO. 24
Words and music by Mary Chapin Carpenter
As recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter on "Stones in the Road" (1994)


I was standing on the sidewalk in 1945
In Jacksonville, Illinois
When asked what my name was there came no reply
They said I was a deaf and sightless half-wit boy
But Louis was my name, though I could not say it
I was born and raised in New Orleans
My spirit was wild, so I let the river take it
On a barge and a prayer upstream

Well they searched for a mother and they searched for a father
And they searched till they searched no more
The doctors put to rest their scientific tests
And they named me "John Doe Number 24"
And they all shook their heads in pity
For a world so silent and dark
Well there's no doubt that life's a mystery
But so too is the human heart

And it was my heart's own perfume when the crepe jasmine bloomed
On Saint Charles Avenue
Though I couldn't hear the bells of the streetcars coming
By toeing the track I knew
And if I were an old man returning
With my satchel and porkpie hat
I'd hit every jazz joint on Bourbon
And I'd hit everyone on Basin after that

The years kept passing as they passed me around
From one state ward to another
Like I was an orphan shoe from the lost and found
Always missing the other
And they gave me a harp last Christmas
And all the nurses took a dance
But lately I've been growing listless
I've been dreaming again of the past

I'm wandering down to the banks of the great Big Muddy
Where the shotgun houses stand
I am seven years old and I feel my dad
Reach out for my hand
While I drew breath no one missed me
So they won't on the day that I cease
Put a sprig of crepe jasmine with me
To remind me of New Orleans

I was standing on the sidewalk in 1945
In Jacksonville, Illinois

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,akenaton.
Date: 24 May 18 - 03:16 AM

Sorry , I see there are a few small mistakes in that cut and paste.
I believe "Rue Morgue Avenue" should be "St Charles Avenue"?
"dad" further down should be "father"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Jeri
Date: 24 May 18 - 09:17 AM

It was Mary Chapin Carpenter

It is St Charles Avenue - will fix it. (But "dad" is right.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST
Date: 25 May 18 - 06:43 AM

Here's a different set of lyrics for Dylan's New Orleans Rag. It's at a Dylan chords site. I've made a few small changes to bring it into line with the bootleg recording I have.

I was sittin' on a stump down in New Orleans,
I was feelin' kinda low down, dirty and mean.
Along came a fella and he didn't even ask.
He says, "I know of a woman who can fix you up fast."

Well, I didn't think twice, I just said like I should,
"Let's go find this lady who can do me some good."
We walked across Rampart on a sailin' spree
And we came to a door called one-oh-three.

I was just about ready to give my little knock
When out come a fella who couldn't even walk.
He's linkin' and a-slinkin', couldn't stand on his feet,
And he moaned and he groaned and he shuffled down the street.

Well, out of the door there come another man.
He couldn't even talk and he couldn't even stand.
He moaned and he groaned and he shuffled his feet
And he slid slidin' backwards down Rampart Street.

Well, I peeked through the key hole, and comin' down the hall
Was a long-legged man who could hardly crawl.
He had a terrible mean look in his eye,
like he just fought a bear and he was ready to die.

Well, somebody else with his hair all messed
Fell out of the window, and he failed the test
well, he slid and he slunk in broken French,
And he looked like he'd been through a monkey wrench.

Well, by this time I was a-scared to knock,
I was a-scared to move, I's in a state of shock.
I hummed a little tune and I shuffled my feet
And I started walkin' backwards down that Rampart street.

Well, I got to the corner, I tried my best to smile.
I turned around the corner and I ran a bloody mile.
Man, I wasn't runnin' for to meet my wife
I's a just a-runnin' for to save my life.

Well, I's coughing in my ears and wheezin' in my chest
I musta run a mile in a minute or less.
I tripped on a log and I flumped on a stump,
I caught a fast freight train with a one-arm jump.

So, if you're travelin' down the Louisiana way,
And you're feelin' kinda lonesome and you need a place to stay,
Man, you're better off in your misery
Than to tackle that lady at one-oh-three.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 25 May 18 - 06:44 AM

Forgot to put my name on that last post! Sorry!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,akenaton
Date: 25 May 18 - 07:40 AM

Thanks Jeri, I supposed "father", as "dad" doesn't scan.
On listening again to the beautiful song, I discovered that Mary sings "daddy". A small point, but the song is so perfect in composition and delivery, I think that it should be fixed....Ake.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: Jeri
Date: 25 May 18 - 09:53 AM

No, Ake, you got it right the first time.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST
Date: 25 May 18 - 11:25 AM

"John Doe no 24" written an performed by the brilliant MCC.

"Dad" or "Daddy"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Songs about New Orleans
From: GUEST,Ake
Date: 25 May 18 - 11:28 AM

Sorry Jeri, forgot to sign in.....you may be right, I wonder what the members think? The word is slightly unclear, but "Dad" still doesn't scan properly......maybe Big Al or another writer could comment?

Subject: Lyr Add: JOHN DOE #24 (Dick Connette/Last Forever)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 May 18 - 08:13 AM

Apparently another songwriter read the same story about John Doe #24 and independently wrote a song about him. Unlike Mary Chapin Carpenter, this one doesn't attempt to write from his point of view, and doesn't connect him to New Orleans. You can hear this song on Spotify. I found the liner notes online.

On December 5, 1993, the New York Times ran a story about the death of a man who was noteworthy primarily for his obscurity. I couldn't get it out of my head.... [Several lines and phrases in the song are taken directly from the article.]


JOHN DOE #24
Words by Dick Connette; music, traditional ("John Hardy" as recorded by Lead Belly)
As recorded by Last Forever on "Trainfare Home" (2015)

John Doe Twenty-Four took his secret to the grave.
His funeral was the best the state could give.
A woman asked if anyone had anything to say
Before they covered up the coffin; no one did.
No one did.

It was 1945 when he wandered into town.
He was livin' on the street; he was alone.
He was only in his teens and his fam'ly wasn't found,
So they picked him and put him in a home;
Picked him up and put him in a home.

He never spoke a word; he was deaf; he was blind.
No one knew his name, and what's more,
There were twenty-three just like him in the system at the time,
So they had to call him John Doe Twenty-Four,
Called him John Doe number Twenty-Four.

He must have had a life; you could see it on his face,
But what lived behind the silence no one knew.
For all the time and money they spent workin' on his case,
They were never really able to get through,
Never really able to get through.

Most of all he loved that harmonica he played,
And occasionally he'd grin from ear to ear.
He danced for Christmas parties and he pantomimed parades.
He suffered from a stroke and died last year,
Suffered from a stroke and died last year.

John Doe Twenty-Four took his secret to the grave.
His funeral was the best the state could give.
A woman asked if anyone had anything to say
Before they covered up the coffin; no one did.
No one did.

They say that when you shiver someone's walkin' on your grave.
Well, I don't know, but one thing's for sure:
The earth inherits all of us as living mem'ry fades
Into the silence over John Doe Twenty-Four.