Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)

Subject: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy / Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 02 Feb 25 - 10:19 PM

I searched mudcat and couldn't find a discussion of
this song's origin and variants. If you know of
variant verses, please post them below along with
where & when you learned & sang the song.

The song goes by several titles:

Loddy Lo
Hey Liley, Liley Lo
Hey Li-Lee, Li-Lee-Lo
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Li
Hey Liley Liley Lo

A version of the song:

HEY LODDY, LODDY, LOW

Hey loddy, loddy, loddy,
Hey loddy, loddy, low
Hey loddy, loddy, loddy,
Hey loddy, loddy, low

[Aside: "It always started 'I know a guy / gal'."]

I know a gal all dressed in black
Hey loddy, loddy, low
Makes her living living on her back
Hey loddy, loddy, low

Chorus

I know a gal all dressed in green
Hey loddy, loddy, low
Walking talking sex machine
Hey loddy, loddy, low

c1965. Transcribed from the singing of Sarah Curry who
was at the University of Arizona. She goes on to say
that many verses were impromptu but generally the
verses were about sex in one way or another.


Download here: https://ia903402.us.archive.org/0/items/jack_horntip_collection_field_recordings/0167%20Hey%2C%20Lahdee%20Lee%2C%20Hey%2C%20Lahdee%20Low.mp3


The it's a lady in red and the Down in the Valley (All Dressed in White) reminded me
of this song which can share some the color / "dirty" rhyme schemes.


Note: I did find the Lyr Req: Hey Lolly Lolly (Woody Guthrie) thread
and will copy over some relevant posts from that thread.

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 03 Feb 25 - 08:13 AM

Mama mama... can't you see. (after each line, the platoon says "Uh hey hey")
What the Corps has done to me.
Sat me in... uh barber's chair.
Spun me around I had no hair.

Hey loddy doddy.
Hey loddy doddy doe.
Hey loddy doddy.
Hey loddy doddy doe.

I used to wear.. my Levi jeans.
Now I'm wearin cammie greens.
I used to wear... my tennis shoes.
Now I'm wearin jungle boots.

Hey loddy doddy.
Hey loddy doddy doe.
Hey loddy doddy.
Hey loddy doddy doe.

I used to drive a Cadillac.
Now I'm humpin with a pack.
I used to drive a Chevrolet.
Now I'm humpin everyday.

Hey loddy doddy.
Hey loddy doddy doe.
Hey loddy doddy.
Hey loddy doddy doe.

Untitled MS-World document of Navy cadences retrieved November 26, 2006 from


www.usnavy.vt.edu/Marines/Cadence.doc


This link doesn't work and the Internet Archive doesn't seem to have indexed the file.

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 03 Feb 25 - 08:27 AM

....during the intermission of a fraternity dance chaperoned
by my wife and me, the couples spontaneously broke into song,
including a long version of the most popular campus folksong,
"Hey Loddy." The songs celebrated drink and sex, put down other
fraternities and sororities, and extolled students' own
organizations....

Handbook of American Folklore by Richard M. Dorson. p.111.


See here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbook_of_American_Folklore/eoqdSXEekTcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22hey+loddy%22+OR+%22hey+lally%22+college&pg=PA111&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 05 Feb 25 - 03:18 PM

Hey, Lidey

Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low
Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low

I see a gal who's dressed in red
Hey lidey, lidey low
She looks like she just had a man in bed
Hey lidey, lidey low

Now look at this gal with the pretty hair
Hey lidey, lidey low
Listen fellows she sure has got a pair
Hey lidey, lidey low

Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low
Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low

Here's a gal who's dressed in pink
Hey lidey, lidey low
She'll do it fellows after one more drink
Hey lidey, lidey low

Now here's a young lady dressed in white
Hey lidey, lidey low
I think she can do it ten times a night
Hey lidey, lidey low

Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low
Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low

Now I see a gal who's dressed in slacks
Hey lidey, lidey low
Listen here fellows: she shacks
Hey lidey, lidey low

Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low
Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low

Now I see a gal who's got on blue
Hey lidey, lidey low
She'll do it fellows if you ask her to.
Hey lidey, lidey low

Now look at that man against the wall
Hey lidey, lidey low
His wife say he ain't got nothing at all
Hey lidey, lidey low

Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low
Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low

Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low
Hey lidey, lidey laa
Hey lidey, lidey low

1968. Wild and Wonderful Diana Sisters. LP

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 05 Feb 25 - 03:24 PM

It was a camp type song for us where you made up
verses about people's names:

I know a girl her name is Judy
Hey lolly, lolly, lo
She sure knows how to shake her booty
Hey lolly, lolly lo

chorus:
Hey lolly, lolly, lolly
Hey lolly, lolly, lo
Hey lolly, lolly, lolly
Hey lolly, lolly, lo

I was just sharing it with my kids the other night at dinner.

enjoy!
judy

Posted by judy on May 12, 1998 to the Lyr Req: Hey Lolly Lolly (Woody Guthrie) thread.


See here: https://mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=28042

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Feb 25 - 05:48 PM

The plot and lines are very similar to a song we used to sing at college in the 1960 that we called "The Lady Mechanic" but there were a few extra lines and a different tune:

Anon.
Collected at Bowdoin College in the early 1960's

The Lady Mechanic

G
I know a lady dressed in black,
-------------------------G7
She makes her living on her back –
-------------------C
She's a lady me-chanic,
-------------------G
She's a lady me-chanic,
---------D----------------------D7------------G
She's a lady mechanic and I love her any-how.

I know a lady dressed in red,
She makes her living going from bed to bed –
She's a registered nurse…

I know a lady dressed in green,
She makes her living pounding meat lean –
She's a lady butcher…

I know a lady dressed in brown,
She makes her living going up and down –
She's an elevator operator…

I know a lady lives on a hill,
Every night she gets her fill –
She's a blueberry picker…

I'm thinking that I composed the last verse.

Cheerily,
Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 06 Feb 25 - 05:43 AM

Also utilises the main theme of 'down in the valley where nobody goes'

'all dressed in pink, all in pink, all in pink, she made my finger stink' all in brown, all in brown, I pulled her etc.

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 06 Feb 25 - 09:56 AM

MARRIED MAN GONNA KEEP YOUR SECRET

No. 420. Elezabeth Austin and group of women
with clapping accompaniment, New Bite, Cat Island,
Bahamas, 1935.

Most Bahaman dance songs are faintly, if not markedly, scandalous.
Lie Haitian Mardi Gras songs, they serve, without naming names, to retail
gossip about or to poke fun at an enemy or some person who has acted shame-
fully or ridiculously. The satire, however, is softened by the kittenish giggles
of the young girls who do the singing.

Married man gonna keep your secret,
Hi-li-li-lee-o.
Married man gonna keep your secret,
Hi-li-li-lee-o.

Chorus:
Hi-li-li-lee-o,
Hi-li-li-lee-o,
Hi-li-li-lee-o,
Hi-li-li-lee-o

Single boy gonna talk about you.
Hi-li-li-lee-o.
Single boy gonna talk about you.
Hi-li-li-lee-o.

Chorus:
Hi-li-li-lee-o, etc.

Our singing country : a second volume of American ballads and folk songs. Collected by John A Lomax and Alan Lomax. 1941. pp.84-85

See online here: https://archive.org/details/oursingingcountr0000unse/page/84/mode/2up?q=%22your+secret%22

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 06 Feb 25 - 10:18 AM

HEY LOLLY LOLLY

Hey lolly lolly lolly
Hey lolly the-lolly low
Hey lolly the-lolly lolly
Hey lolly the-lolly low

Chorus

A married man will keep your secret
Hey lolly the-lolly low
Single boy will talk about you
Hey lolly the-lolly low

Chorus x 2

Single man will keep your secret
Hey lolly the-lolly low
A married man will talk about you
Hey lolly the-lolly low

Chorus

Well, a married man's an easy rider
Hey lolly the-lolly low
Single boy gets all excited
Hey lolly the-lolly low

Chorus x 2

Single boy walks up and down the street
Hey lolly the-lolly low
Married man's in his stocking feet
Hey lolly the-lolly low

Chorus x 2

1941. Transcribed from the singing of Woody Guthrie on
the Woody Guthrie: The Best of the War Years CD.


Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Zr6jhVHN4

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 06 Feb 25 - 11:07 AM

Ley Li-Lee, Li-Lee Lo

Lots of verses to this song
Hey li-lee-low
Got to make them up as you go along
Hey li-lee-low

Hey li-lee-li-lee-li-lee
Hey li-lee-low
Hey li-lee-li-lee-li-lee
Hey li-lee-low

Is there a poet in house?
I mean someone that can rhyme louse with mouse

I see intelligent people on every hand
All you have to do is raise your hand

These two old maids sitting in the sand
Each one wishing the other was a man

Now you talk of east and west
I think I've got a verse that's about the best.

Listen folks here's my thesis
Peace in the world or the world in pieces

Lots more verses to this song
But we ought to be moving along.

1954. The Pete Seeger Sampler LP. Folkways Records. Part in bold was contributed from the audience
the rest sung by Pete Segger.


Listen online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDhL-sYQtJ8&t=292s




.

Subject: RE: Origins: Hey Loddy Loddy /Hey Lally Lally (bawdy)
From: and e
Date: 06 Feb 25 - 12:22 PM

Hey Li Lee Li Lee

(We feel that we have succeeded in establishing a sufficiently
vibrant group dynamic here to permit us to lead you in group song.
How 'bout some community singing, what do you say. Now
pay attention to recreation director Yarborough and recreation
director Hasalev as we lead you in a choral speach run through
of the text. Hey li lee li lee li lee. Not what I'd expected. I'm a little
disappointed really. Now once more. Hey li lee li lee low. They've
got it.

The rain in Spain
On the table makes a stain.

I do want to caution you about our motto here at camp. It reads as follows:
Clean mind, clean body, take your pick)

Hey Li Lee Li Lee Li Lee
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Li Lee
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Hey Li Lee Li Lee Li Lee
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Li Lee
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Well a married will keep your secret
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
A single boy will talk about you
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

Sing this song in every land
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Dance together hand in hand
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

(I want you to be preparing your verses.
But before we request spontaneity on the
part of the audience, perhaps we should
display some ourselves. Don't you feel that?)

Of the banjo he is rex
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Now we'll here a verse from Alex
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

You've all just heard a verse from Lou.
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
I wish he'd come up with something new
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus x 2

(Fine. Now does anyone feel moved
to contribute a little two line poem to
this song? You can do it in groups you
know. Yes, oh fine.)

I think the guy who wrote this song
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Should have to sing it all night long
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

Holding hands is such great joy
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Too bad my partner is a boy
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

(Well that lowered the level. Here's one
right in front.)

The Limeliters put on a show
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Kingston trio, out you go.
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

Let the audience sing not me
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
I know when I'm off key
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

I don't know if you knew it feller'
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
You just spoiled a billion seller
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

The Bro' back there his verses are such
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
That I think he's been drinking too much
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

If you see a waitress here
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
Send her over with a beer
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

I know a girl who lives on a hill
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
She won't kiss me but her sister will
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus

I know that girl who lives on the hill
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
(It's not that she won't young man. It's that she has so many
unresolved problems in her personality structure. That it makes
it very difficult for her to achieve a decision in a time of
intensified emotional stress. To know her, however, is to love
her.)

Chorus

Well there's lots more verses to this song
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low
But I think we'd better be movin' along
Hey Li Lee Li Lee Low

Chorus x 2

1961. Tonight: In Person LP. The Limeliters. Verses in bold were contributed by
audience members.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxK4SkcKeS4