Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 May 18 - 01:59 PM

Just remembered this from 40ish years ago...

Can't say I really understand the USA hippy vernacular lyrics
about the 'Baptist teacher'...???

"Bob Seger
"Get Out Of Denver"

I still remember it was autumn and the moon was shinin'
Our 60 Cadillac was roarin' through Nebraska whinin'
Doin' 120 man the fields was bendin' over
Headin' out for the mountains knowin' we was traveling further
All our fires were blazing and the spinnin' wheels were turnin' turnin'
Had my girl beside me brother.
Brother she was burnin' burnin'

Up walked a Baptist preachin' southern funky school teacher
She had a line on somethin' heavy but we couldn't reach her
We told her that we needed somethin' that would get us goin'
She pulled out all she had and laid it on the counter showin'
All I had to do was lay my money down and pick it up
The cops came dustin' in and then we lit out in our pickup truck go

Get out of Denver better go go
Get out of Denver better go
Get out of Denver better go go
Get out of Denver cause you look just like a commie
And you might just be a member better
Better Get out of Denver
Better Get out of Denver

Well red lights were flashin' and the sirens were a-screamin'
We had to pinch each other just to see if we was dreamin'
Made it to Loveland Pass in under less than half an hour
Lord it started drizzlin' and it turned into a thundershower

The rain was drivin' but the Caddy kept on burnin' rubber
We kept on drivin' till we ran into some fog cover
We couldn't see a thing somehow we just kept on goin'
We kept on drivin' all night long and then into the mornin'fog.
It finally lifted when we looked to see where we was at
We're starin' at a Colorado state policeman trooper cat

And go Get out of Denver he said go go
Get out of Denver better go
Get out of Denver better go go
Get out of Denver cause you look just like a commie
And you might just be a member
Better get out of Denver
Better get out of Denver better go

Oh better better better go
Hey go
Ah better better go go go go
Cause you look just like a commie
And you might just be a member better
Get out of Denver better go!

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 11 May 18 - 11:40 AM

Song waiting to be written: a few years ago a tomcat from a fishing village in the Outer Hebrides was found when a boat docked on the mainland. They neutered him and sent him back.

Guy stows away on a voyage to the bright lights in search of pussy ("the boat smelt of fish"), and gets shipped home with his bollocks cut off, has to be a song storyline.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 11 May 18 - 07:48 AM

The Hair of the Widow of Bridlington

The Hair of the Widow of Bridlington

Words & Music: Jake Thackray

She was a widow in Bridlington, she was, was the widow of Brid,
Small and bonny at forty-two,
With eyes of very unsettling blue,
And what she thought she ought to do
She did, she did, she did;
Whatever she thought she ought to do
She did, did the widow of Brid.

"My only darling's dead, he is, and all my children grown;
"The house has emptied, all the love-birds flown.
"In place of widow's weeds I'll let my coal black hair grow long:
"As glossy as a blackbird's wing, as cocky as his song."

She found that she could please herself, she could, could the widow of Brid:
Swim in the sea when she felt hot,
Stay in bed when she did not.
And she began to laugh a lot,
She did, she did, she did,
To sing and dance and laugh a lot,
She did, did the widow of Brid.

And sometimes she would drop the shopping, leave the bed unmade
And sit till evening on the esplanade.
She'd sometimes go to church and call on Jesus by his name.
She fed as any blackbird would, whenever hunger came.

She learned to play the violin, she did, did the widow of Brid,
And Saturday night in a drinking shop
She jumped upon the counter top
And fiddled till the dancers dropped,
She did, she did, she did,
Stomping upon the copper top
She did, did the widow of Brid.

And she was fond of fishing boats and all their beardy crew
And partial to a salty kiss or two.
And some of them would gruffly whisper, "Marry me and stay".
But blackbirds do their singing from a different bush each day.

She had a massive motorbike, she had, had the widow of Brid,
And so she could, when so she wished,
Ride back home early-morningish
With her hair in the air and smelling of fish,
She did, she did, she did,
And every time of a different fish,
She did, did the widow of Brid.

And though she did no harm the neighbours sniffed, as neighbours do,
And day by day a cankerous rancour grew.
And many a pair of front-room curtains twitched and shook with rage,
For she was wild as blackbirds are and they were in a cage.

They came and broke her window panes, they did, of the widow of Brid,
Spat upon her cycle shed,
Dragged her out of her Sunday bed
And cropped her hair and shaved her head,
They did, they did, they did;
They chopped the hair and shaved the head,
They did, of the widow of Brid.

And when her sobs and hiccups stopped she tidied everywhere,
She cleaned the shed, she swept up all the hair.
Some few of them came back in shame to ask her would she stay,
But if you ever startle blackbirds, blackbirds go away.

She sold up house and bought a wig, a wig, did the widow of Brid,
And unrepenting, undeterred,
She thundered off to cause a stir
In poor old bloody Scarborough,
She did, she did, she did.
"Forget the spit and the window pane.
"Bugger Brid! I'm still the same.
"My hair will always grow again."
It did, it did, it did.
"My hair will always grow again."
It did, it did, did, did, on the widow of Brid.

LFF

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 11 May 18 - 07:16 AM

Another McColl one re the Travellers - "The Terror Time".

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 May 18 - 02:19 PM

Gypsies, tramps and thieves.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Dave Sutherland
Date: 10 May 18 - 10:16 AM

"Brown Adam" banished from his community but the ballad does not say why.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 10 May 18 - 10:09 AM

Probably the grimmest of MacColl's songs on the Travellers
Jiim Carroll

L8 THE WlNDS OF CHANGE
(1963, The Travelling People)

While collecting information for the above Radio-Ballad, producer Charles Parker interviewed Alderman Harry Watton, J.P., of Birmingham:

Watton: How far does it come in your mind before you say: 'I have done everything I possibly can ... and I                 will help the broad mass of these people, but there are some I can do nothing with whatsoever.'                 Then doesn't the time arise in one's mind when one has to say: 'All right, one has to exterminate                 the impossibles ...'

Parker:        Exterminate - that's a terrible word. Surely you don't ... mean that ...?

Watton:        Why not?   


alternative title: 'Dark the Night'
tune: traditional U.S.A. ('Henry Lee')
new words and trad arr: Ewan MacColl
© 1968 Stormking Music, Inc.
disc 47


                        

Dark the night, the winds of change
So sharp and keen do blow -
The cock it crows with iron throat,
It says that we must go,
It says that we must go.

The hunters follow hard behind,
The hounds they make their din -
The woods are gone that sheltered us,
And none will let us in,
And none will let us in.

The hard-eyed men who guard the road,
They bid us choose our way -
And yet they will not let us go
Nor will they let us stay,
Nor will they let us stay.

Five-hundred years of timeless days,
We wandered through the land -
But now the guardians of the clocks
Have said our race is damned,
They say our race is damned.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 10 May 18 - 08:49 AM

No, not in the DT, (though maybe should be?) But lyrics and lost of background stuff in this thread here:
Doomsday in the Afternoon

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 10 May 18 - 08:45 AM

"Doomsday in the Afternoon", another song about the travellers, mentioning Belle Stewart, by the late John McCreadie. Possibly in the DT.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 10 May 18 - 06:11 AM

Another: "Erin go Bragh" (aka "Duncan Campbell") - narrator beats the crap out of a policeman and has to escape Edinburgh by boat.

Did anybody mention "Deportees" already?

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 10 May 18 - 04:14 AM

Probably the most poignantly beautiful of all on the theme
Jim Carroll

Allan McLean

I was born in Cullen,
A ministers son,
Brocht up wi guid learnin
Till my schooldays were done

Iwent to thew college
Astudent to be
but the marriage at Westfield
has quite ruined me

There was Grant and Mackenzie
MacDonald and I
and we went to the wedding
Pretty girls for to spy

We danced and we sang
and we took great delight
An bonny Sally Allen
Cam oft in my sight

O Sally, dear Sally
Will you tak a dram?
O yes my dear Alan
If it comes from your hand

I gied her a dance and I gied her a dram
And I asked her quite kindly
If she'd go to the broom

She disliked my offer
But gave the least froon
Says she my dear Alan
Had it been my doom

Sowe went to the broom
In the middle o'the night
We had neither coal nor candle
But the moon gave us light

But her father next morning
To the College he came
He was all in a passion
At Alan MacLean

If its true says the Regent
As I fear its no lie
This day from Aulton College
Young Alan must fly

Tomorrows the graduation
And Tuesdays the Ball
But we'll banish young Alan
From the Aulton College hall

My fathers a minister
He preaches at Tain
My mother died i'the Hielands
And I dare'na gae hame

Its I inteded a minister
But that winna do
Its now for a doctor
That I maun persue

Prince Charles the Royal
Lies out in the bay
Takin'on goods and passengers
And she'll tak'me

Fare ye weel Aulton College
Likewise Aberdeen
Fare ye weel Sally Allen
Who lives by yon green

If ever I return again
AsI hope that I shall
We will have a merry bottle
Near the Aulton College Hall

Ay if ever I return again
As I hope that I shall
I will marry Sally Allen
In spite o'them all

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 May 18 - 04:12 AM

how about my favourite Don Maclean song "the Legend of Andrew Macrew"?

He may have been a corpse but the city fathers wanted him outa town.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 09 May 18 - 10:42 PM

Couple in the next room bound to win a prize
They've been going at it all night long
Well, I'm tryin' to get some sleep
But these motel walls are cheap
Lincoln Duncan is my name
And here's my song, here's my song
My father was a fisherman
My mama was a fisherman's friend
And I was born in the boredom and the chowder
So when I reached my prime
I left my home in the Maritimes
Headed down the turnpike for New England, sweet New England
Holes in my confidence
Holes in the knees of my jeans
I was left without a penny in my pocket
Ooh-oowee, I was about as destituted as a kid could be
And I wished I wore a ring so I could hock it
I'd like to hock it
A young girl in a parkin' lot
Was preaching to a crowd
Singing sacred songs and reading from the Bible

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: GUEST,Phil d'Conch
Date: 09 May 18 - 08:39 PM

Come, Come, Ye Saints

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: GUEST,ottery
Date: 09 May 18 - 03:55 PM

Bogie's Bonnie Belle has an undesirable being strongly encouraged to leave town, though in the version I know you have to read a bit between the lines to see it. Since the story is told from his perspective, he rather comes across as the injured party.

Though the moral is certainly: to those who wish for stable employment, do not get the daughter of your employer pregnant!


I said that I would marry her but Bogie said that wadnae do
"You're no' a match for ma wee Belle, an' she's no' a match for you"

For she's going to marry a tinker lad, he bides in Huntley toon
He mends pots and pans and paraffin lamps, an' he scours the country roon

Aye, maybe she's got a better lad; old Bogie cannae tell
So fareweel ye lads o' Huntly toon - and Bogie's bonnie Belle

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: BrooklynJay
Date: 09 May 18 - 03:29 PM

Since parodies are okay, I thought of one of my favorites - The Streets of Miami by Allan Sherman. I don't do it as much as I used to because it is rather dated (you have to know your audience!), and if I do I usually change "sixty dollars" to "thousand dollars" (one must adjust for inflation). Movie title references are in boldface; the tune is, of course, Streets of Laredo.

The Streets of Miami

As I wandered out on the streets of Miami,
I said to myself, this is some fancy town.
I called up mine partner and said, “Hello, Sammy;
“Go pack up your satchel and mosey on down.”

I got me a bunk in the old Roney Plaza,
With breakfast and dinner included, of course;
I caught forty winks on my private piazza,
Then I rented a pinto from Hertz Rent-a-Horse.

My partner flew down on a non-scheduled airline;
You never did see such a pale-looking man.
I recognized him from his receding hairline,
He recognized me from my beautiful tan.

‘Twas then that I heard fighting words from my partner.
He said, “Marvin, the Roney is no place to stay;
“I'm going to the Fontainebleau, partner, it’s mod’ner,
“And I’ll charge to the firm sixty dollars a day.”

I said to him, “Paleface, you hanker for trouble;
“With the company checkbook you’re quick on the draw.”
He smiled and said, “Stranger, for me that goes double,
“’Cause west of the Fontainebleau, I am the law!”

Next morning, the whole Lincoln Road was deserted,        
And somewhere a hi-fi was playing a tune;
’Cause everyone knew someone’s gonna be murdered,
In a Duel in the Sun at the stroke of High Noon.

I took careful aim with my trusty revolver;
The clock in the Fontainebleau struck twelve o’clock.
I shot, and Sam crumbled just like a piece Halvah,
And that’s what they called a Bad Day at Black Rock.

They came with a posse and took my six-gun away;
The crowd was too angry to leave me in jail.
The Sheriff said, “Outlaw, I’m gon’ let you run away,
“But don’t ever be seen south of Fort Lauderdale!”

So now I can never go back to Miami,
And New York is so cold that a person could die;
I’d be better off dead like my late partner Sammy,
‘Cause he’s in that big Fontainebleau in the sky!

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 09 May 18 - 08:52 AM

You beat me to Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles. (I won't mention the Ugly Duckling by Danny Kaye!)

RtS

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 May 18 - 08:49 AM

cheers mates.. keep 'em coming...

What bugs me about getting old is that up until about 10 years ago
I had an encyclopedic memory and general knowledge across genres of songs, and pop culture..
Now it's just gone...

It's so frustrating..

The only song that immediately springs to mind is "Hit the road Jack"
but even then, I can't remember enough lyrics to confirm if it actually fits in with this theme...???

time to google...

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 09 May 18 - 07:40 AM

"Run, Nigger, Run"? - escaping rather than being driven out, though.

"My Last Farewell to Stirling" (or several other transportation ballads).

Psalm 113 or 114, most often set in Latin as "In exitu Israel".

An assortment of Jacobite things, of which "My Bonnie Moorhen" is maybe the best.

There seem to be a load of Mormon songs about being ejected from decent society. Presumably a similar number in Afrikaans about the Voortrekkers.

I see an opportunity for somebody to write a "fuck off, Plymouth Brethren, you smell of poo" song.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: mg
Date: 09 May 18 - 05:48 AM

Ned of the. Hill

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: mg
Date: 09 May 18 - 05:37 AM

Town of el paso
Spanish is a loving tongue????
Mary of the wild moor

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 May 18 - 05:02 AM

found it - Joe Offer's post

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 May 18 - 04:17 AM

Streets of Laredo?

there is even a parody of it. Mudcat reference to the Smothers Brothers version and there is the full text of a parody I saw within this parish and I have a copy somewhere but right now I can't find it anywhere.

If anyone knows please post - it involved a black cowboy and exchanging cowboy outfits, unfortunately the Mudcat search is boolean AND - not phrases.

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Ernest
Date: 09 May 18 - 02:49 AM

"Go, move, shift" by Ewan McColl if I remember it right - about travellers

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 May 18 - 12:54 AM

Run out of town? I dunno. In all the songs I can think of tonight, the offending party gets hanged....

How about Everglades?

Subject: RE: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: GUEST,Pfr in bed
Date: 09 May 18 - 12:36 AM

Forgive me, how could I forget...

Early Blues and Country Blues.. as well...

Subject: Songs - unwanted folk run out of town ?
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 May 18 - 12:22 AM

British Trad Folk, USA Cowboy, Old Timey, any songs about undesirable folk being run out of town...???

Whether they were forced to clear off fairly or unfairly...
Whether they be good or bad people...
Whatever - crimes, indiscretions, misunderstandings...
or just innocents getting on the wrong side of very bad folk...
Whatever caused a community to gang up and kick out someone no longer welcome.

Particularly keen on corrupt preachers getting run out of town,
having just watched a cowboy film that sparked of this ideas for a thread...
There was no song as the evangelist preacher quickly fled for his own safety..
But I wanted one...

..actually, I wouldn't mind any classic 1950s/1960s Country & Western as well...

fingers crossed you might turn up a good variety of songs on this theme...

cheers...