Tessie - Red Sox song musicology question

Subject: Tessy, I love you madly
From:
Date: 27 Feb 97 - 11:42 AM

described in ken burns' "baseball" series as the theme song of the old boston pilgrims' "royal rooter" fan club, this song begins "tessy, i love you madly". i'd be interested in the legitimate lyrics and also any of the alternate lyrics sung by the rooters during the first world series game ever played. "we beat them three games out of the first four and then they started singing that damn 'tessy' song. we could hardly play ball, they were singing 'tessy' so loud. when honus wagner came to bat they'd sing 'honus, why do you hit so badly?'"

Subject: Lyr Add: TESSIE, YOU ARE THE ONLY, ONLY, ONLY
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Jun 11 - 02:12 PM

I teased out a little more of the quote, which appears in several books about baseball:

Anyway, in the fifth game of the Series the Royal Rooters started singing Tessie for no particular reason at all, and the Red Sox won. They must have figured it was a good-luck charm, because from then on you could hardly play ball they were singing Tessie so damn loud. Tessie was a real big popular song in those days. You remember it don't you? "Tessie, you make me feel so badly / Why don't you turn around / Tessie, you know I love you madly / Babe, my heart weighs about a pound." ... Only instead of singing, "Tessie, you know I love you madly," they'd sing special lyrics to each of the Red Sox players: like "Jimmy, you know I love you madly." And for us Pirates they'd change it a little. Like when Honus Wagner came up to bat they'd sing: "Honus, why do you hit so badly? / Take a back seat and sit down / Honus, at bat you look so sadly / Hey, why don't you get out of town." Sort of got on your nerves after a while. And before we knew what happened, we'd lost the World Series.

The sheet music can be seen at The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music. (Click for a PDF.)


TESSIE, YOU ARE THE ONLY, ONLY, ONLY.
Words and music by Will R Anderson
New York, M. Witmark & Sons ©1902
Sung by Horace Wright in John C. Fisher's Stupendous Production "The Silver Slipper".

1. Tessie is a maiden with a sparkling eye.
Tessie is a maiden with a laugh.
Tessie doesn't know the meaning of a sigh.
Tessie's lots of fun and full of chaff.
But sometimes we have a little quarrel, we two.
Tessie always turns her head away.
Then it's up to me to do as all boys do,
So I take her hand in mine and say:

CHORUS: Tessie, you make me feel so badly.
Why don't you turn around?
Tessie, you know I love you madly.
Babe, my heart weighs about a pound.
Don't blame me if I ever doubt you.
You know I wouldn't live without you.
Tessie, you are the only, only, only.

2. Tessie has a parrot that she loves quite well.
Polly's just a-learning how to woo.
Tessie tells him ev'rything she has to tell.
Polly thinks he knows a thing or two.
Tessie gave a party at her home one night.
Polly said he'd like to sing a song.
Tessie thought she'd never seen a bird so bright
When Polly started off in accents strong: CHORUS


[You can also hear a recording by Dan W. Quinn The Internet Archive.]

Subject: Tessie - Red Sox song musicology questi
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Sep 14 - 11:27 PM

The DH has had the flu for a few days. Tonight he emerged from the realm of sleeplessness, OTC medication and exhaustion to announce that he wants to play "Tessie, You are the only, only, only" on the harp. As done by the punk band The Drop Kick Murphys.

Here's a link to a video of the band doing the song:

tessie rocks

We saw the movie "Fever Pitch" nine years ago, and suddenly he wants to play this song from sound track. Well, it's okay by me. The movie was about the Boston Red Sox, and long ago, "Tessie" was sung (and parodied) by Sox fans. It's been revived.

This song originated in 1902, and the composer was Will R. Anderson,and I can find the original music on the Lester Levy site. (Tessie was a parakeet.) The old melody is much the same, but it has that Tin Pan Alley sound. The modern version has a plainer, barer, rock sound.

How do I convert the 1902 tonality to the 2004 tonality? Merely ignoring the accidentals does not do it.   However, I suspect there's a fairly simple trick to it.

Subject: ADD: Tessie (Dropkick Murphys)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Sep 14 - 12:31 AM

Can't help you with your question, Leeneia, but this is an interesting song to explore.

This PDF has chords for both versions, which may help you adapt the tune: http://www.kristinhall.org/songbook/OldChestnuts/Tessie.pdf.

There's a Wikipedia page on the song.

I also found a music box recording of the 1902 song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hfFuNaMWU

And a 1903 recording by Billy Murray:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-5FIUHlPYM

There is sheet music at the Library of Congress

And a very interesting Web page titled The Historic Tale of Michael "Nuf Ced" McGreevey, the Royal Rooters, "Tessie", and Red Sox Nation

And here are the Dropkick Murphys lyrics:

TESSIE
(Dropkick Murphys Version, 2004)

Tessie is the Royal Rooters rally cry
Tessie is the tune they always sung
Tessie echoed April through October nights
After serenading Stahl, Dinneen and Young
Tessie is a maiden with a sparkling eye
Tessie is a maiden with a love
She doesn't know the meaning of her sight
She's got a comment full of love

And sometimes when the game is on the line
Tessie always carried them away
Up the road from "Third Base" to Huntington
The boys will always sing and sway

Two! Three! Four!

Tessie, "Nuf Ced" McGreevey shouted
We're not here to mess around
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only only only

The Rooters showed up at the grounds one day
They found their seats had all been sold
McGreevey led the charge into the park
Stormed the gates and put the game on hold
The Rooters gave the other team a dreadful fright
Boston's tenth man could not be wrong
Up from "Third Base" to Huntington
They'd sing another victory song

Two! Three! Four!

Tessie, "Nuf Ced" McGreevey shouted
We're not here to mess around
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only only only

The Rooters gave the other team a dreadful fright
Boston's tenth man could not be wrong
Up from "Third Base" to Huntington
They'd sing another victory song

Two! Three! Four!

Tessie, "Nuf Ced" McGreevey shouted
We're not here to mess around
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only only only
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Boston, you are the only only only
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Red Sox, you are the only only only

Subject: RE: Tessie - Red Sox song musicology question
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 Sep 14 - 09:36 AM

Thanks, Joe. This song has a lot of history, that's for sure.

This morning I was trying to express the difference between the 1902 version and the 2004 version. We don't have many words to express musical sounds, so I came up with these.

...the difference between a mint julep and a Schlitz.

...the difference between my delicate embroidery scissors and a chain saw.

...the difference between whipped cream and bad chili con carne.

But how to express that in terms Noteworthy Composer can understand?