Lyr Req: Van Gogh (Les Barker)

Subject: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: GUEST,Peter Tatter
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 03:08 AM

Anyone know the lyrics to the Van Bough song , looking to sing it at the internet folk club.

Subject: Lyr Add: VAN GOGH (Les Barker)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 03:17 AM

Yup. It was added to our Digital Tradition Folk Song Database before the database moved to Mudcat in 1996. It was submitted by the legendary Dennis Cook, but probably written by somebody else.

https://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=7523&SongID=7523

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VAN GOGH

Oh my name it is Van Gogh,
Lend an ear, lend an ear.
Oh my name it is Van Gogh,
Lend an ear.
My name it is Van Gogh
And all I did was cough
and my ear it just fell off
Lend an ear, lend an ear.

Oh my right ear's pale and wan
On the floor, on the floor
My right ear's pale and wan on the floor.
My right ear's pale and wan
It was 'ere but now it gone
And it's just been trodden on
And it's sore, and it's sore.

But there's no need to shout or
for gloom or for gloom
But there's no need to shout or for gloom.
But there's no need to shout
I'll take my ear 'ole out
And I'll pass my ear about
Round the room, round the room.

Drinking Watneys leads to tears
I shall teach, I shall teach
Drinking Watneys leads to tears
I shall teach.
Drinking Watneys leads to tears
And the falling off of ears
And the parts that other beers
Cannot reach, cannot reach.

@drink @parody
filename[ VANGOGH
TUNE FILE: CAPNKIDD
CLICK TO PLAY
DC

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: An Buachaill Caol Dubh
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 03:33 AM

Damn his ears!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 04:03 AM

I always thought it was by Les Barker, was it not in one of his early books?

Robin

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 04:14 AM

I can't find evidence of authorship, BBCW, but it sure seems like a Les Barker song.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 04:30 AM

Les did write a similar song but I don’t think it’s this one.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: Reinhard
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 05:24 AM

Tom Bliss sings "Van Gogh" on Herding Cats: Songs and Poems of Les Barker (Guide Cats for the Blind Volume 5). The words are very near to those shown above.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: GUEST,jugmws
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 05:48 AM

It is a Les Barker song; I have the recording Vin did for the album.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 10:04 AM

Here is Tom Bliss singing Van Gogh on YouYube, where the lyrics are attributed to Les Barker and the melody as traditional.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKIiPSVJOPs

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 03:19 PM

It's on page 17 of Mrs Ackroyd's Diary, the second of Les Barker's many little books.

The title is simply "Vincent".

Cough and off are spelt cogh and ogh (as Tom Bliss sings it) and the beer to fear is indeed Greenall's, as Tom sings, rather than Watney's

LFF

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my name it is van gough
From: Jack Campin
Date: 01 Apr 20 - 07:03 AM

I think the first verse is old - I heard it before Les Barker started his career.

There is a picture going round the web of a Van Gogh self portrait where he's trying to put an anti-virus mask on, hanging uselessly off one ear - caption "oh bugger".