Lyr ADD: The Mighty Quinn (Bob Dylan)

Subject: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From:
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 02:48 PM

Getting old - mind's going - but somewhere back in those fuzzy reaches I remember an Ian and Sylvia song "The Might Quinn" Would appreciate lyrics

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MIGHTY QUINN (Bob Dylan)
From: Pontiac Joe
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 02:55 PM

Not sure if this is the song you're referring to but it's a Bob Dylan song.


THE MIGHTY QUINN - Bob Dylan

 G                 D            G
  Come all without, come all within
                  D               C      G
  You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
  G                 D            G
  Come all without, come all within
                  D               C      G
  You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
  
  G           C        G         C
  Ev'rybody's building ships and boats
  G                 C           G                  C
  Some are building monuments, others jotting down notes.
  G           C            G             C
  Ev'rybody's in despair, ev'ry girl and boy
           G                D
  But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
        C                    G
  Ev'rybody's gonna jump for joy.
  Come all without...
  
    G               C                G             C
  I like to go just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet
      G                  C                  G               C
  But jumping queues and making haste, just ain't my cup of meat.
  G           C                          G            C
  Ev'ryone's beneath the trees, feeding pigeons on a limb
           G                D
  But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
          C                    G
  All the pigeons gonna run to him.
  Come all without...
  
  G                C           G              C
  Let me do what I wanna do, I can recite 'em all
        G               C              G               C
  Just tell me where it hurts and I'll tell you who to call.
  G           C                    G                    C
  Nobody can get no sleep, there's someone on ev'ryone's toes.
           G                D
  But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
        C                 G
  Ev'rybody's gonna wanna doze.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From:
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 03:01 PM

To Pontiac Joe

Those are the lyrics all right. Thanks kindly.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: BlueJay
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 04:51 PM

Just the mention of Ian and Sylvia gets me going. Ian Tyson has to be one of the centuy's greatest songwriters. SUMMER WAGES, SOMEDAY SOON, FOUR STRONG WINDS, to name just a few. YOU WERE ON MY MIND was a big pop hit by "We Five". BARNEY is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard. Tyson now plays country western style, (and has always leanedthat way), and I've unfortunately not heard his newer stuff. But while I'm not a CW fan, I am sure that his is of the very highest caliber, and would probably put most CW recording artists to shame. Any comments?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: GUEST,Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 05:55 PM

Did you know there was a movie in which Anthony Quinn played an Eskimo? It was "The Savage Innocents", 1959. See http://us.imdb.com/Title?0053244 I figure it had to be the inspiration for the song, but I don't know where Dylan got the stuff about the pigeons, etc.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: raredance
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 07:00 PM

Blue Jay, Mostly agree with you. I learned "Barney" shortly after it came out. I'd say that and Bill Staines' "Just For Love" are my two favorite comtemporary horse songs. Tyson's 4 or so albums of the 90's are all very good. He's much more 'western' than 'Nashville country'. Picky Point - Sylvia wrote "You Were On My Mind"

bobdylan.com has the following substantive differences with the lyrics posted above.

"But guarding fumes and making haste,It ain't my cup of meat"

"A cat's meow and a cow's moo, I can recite 'em all"

Dylan version can be found on: "Self Portrait", "Greatest Hits Vol 2" and "Biograph"

Ian & Sylvia version is on "Nashville"

rich r

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 07:27 PM

BlueJay you are a friend of mine! I have always felt that Ian Tyson has been under-appreciated in the U.S. especially as a CW singer/songwriter. Since their split, he has won a number of Canadian 'grammies' (...I forget what they call their equivalent awards), but gets very little recognition and airplay here in the states. I have always wondered why he hasn't gotten more acceptance from the Nashville Folks. His renditions of Johnny Cash's songs: Big River, Come In Stranger and I Still Miss Someone, are great. And his more recent works reveals a poetic talent to the equal of the likes of Bob Dylan, Garth Brooks and Utah Phillips, to name a few. In fact, his "Cowboy" music, as he calls it, seems to be in the same vein as these three singer/songwriters. Sadly, it is probably this cowboy category that gets his music pigeon-holed (like much of the "folk music" genre) and unrecognized except by his most die-hard fans...and the, not so widespread, Canadian Record Industry. By the way, Sylvia wrote, "You Were On My Mind".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 28 Feb 00 - 11:00 PM

What a great flashback! I never even knew Ian and Sylvia did that song, let alone that it was Dylan's. I only heard the rock version, and don't even know the name of the band who covered it. I think there was another thread about this song. When Max gets the super searcher back up it should be easy to find. (Max, it wasn't broke, why is it taking so long to fix?)

I saw Ian and Sylvia at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr (near Philly) in 1970 or 1971. Can't for the life of me remember what songs they did, but I remember it was a great show. And Four Strong Winds was the first song I learned on guitar. Thanks for the memories.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Gary T
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 01:21 AM

If I remember right, Manfred Mann had the rock hit.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Sabra
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 01:54 AM

Oh Boy! People who know and love Ian & Sylvia!
I grew up listening to them, used to make my dad put on their Northern Journeys record to go to sleep to when I was small. That has to be my all-time favorite folk LP.
In my opinion, not only is Ian Tyson one of the great songwriters of our time, but the whole Ian & Sylvia sound from their early recordings was amazing. I love the instrumentation on "You Were on my Mind"-even an autoharp solo break! (BTW, my CD credits list Tyson AND Fricker as authors of that song)
I've always loved Ian's voice...they did a version of Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain" that is just lovely.
I agree that Mr. Tyson hasn't recieved nearly the recognition that he should as a songwriter, but he's done a bit better recently. When Patty Loveless had a huge country hit with "Someday Soon" a while back, Ian put a new barn on his ranch with the royalty checks from it and named it after her!!!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Midchuck
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 07:56 AM

I just sent Ian a royalty check for our recording of Someday Soon. Worked out to just over 75 bucks. Maybe he can build a doghouse now. Nyuk, Nyuk.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Grab
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 01:06 PM

Re the Mighty Quinn lyrics, I believe Dylan said it didn't actually mean anything! Like opera, the tune is more important than the words...

Grab.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Bud Savoie
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 08:23 PM

I always had the impression that most of Bob Dylan's songs were stream-of-unconsciousness and didn't mean anything--unless, like "Masters of War" they were painfully obvious and trite.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Midchuck
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 08:43 PM

"Painfully obvious and trite" now. But in the early '60s, at the height of the cold war, they were somewhat more radical.

That statement sort of reminds me of people who dump on Thomas Jefferson for writing that "all men are created equal" because of the implied put-down of women. This ignores the fact that for that time, just going that far was a radical statement.

Try judging people in the context of their times. The beliefs and attitudes of this decade will probably be considered obvious and trite in another 25 or thirty years.

(Creaking, painful dismount from soapbox)

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: raredance
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 09:25 PM

Hmmm. The "Loveless" barn with Patty's all over the floor. Interesting image.

Sabra, gonna have to outvote you on the "You Were on My Mind" credit (or suggest you get your money back for a bad CD - chuckle). The following books and recordings list only Sylvia Fricker, Sylvia Fricker Tyson, or Sylvia Tyson as the song's progenitor.

I & S "Northern Journey"/ I & S and Great Speckled Bird "You Were On My Mind"/ I & S "Live At Newport" / I & S "Best of the Vanguard years"/ Sylvia Tyson "You were On My Mind"/ I & S songbook "Ian & Sylvia"/ Chad Mitchell Trio "Typical American Boys"/ and the coo d'tops "Rise Up Singing.

Ol' Ian's done wonderful things, but we can't give him credit for this one. That an Sylvia once claimed that he never learned to sing harmony.

rich r

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 29 Feb 00 - 11:47 PM

rich r.... your last comment jogs a trivia question...and I don't know the answer. What is their only song that Ian did sing harmony? When I saw the Ian & Sylvia Reunion (early 90's in Toronto) Ian humbly mentioned that he couldn't sing harmony "that well", but did sing harmony on one of their songs. However, he didn't mention the name of the particular song and I have yet to detect it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Sabra
Date: 01 Mar 00 - 12:40 AM

ok...take it easy on me guys, I'm still a folk baby~! I'm only just now reclaiming my folk roots after a too long marriage to a guy who couldnt stand the genre:-)
I was just quoting the CD case (Vanguard-I&S Greatest Hits-not a great selection if you ask me) I always thought Sylvia wrote that one...honest, I wasn't tryin to steal her glory or anythin!
Now I AM curious..which song did Ian sing harmony on?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: BlueJay
Date: 01 Mar 00 - 01:34 AM

Well, Sabra, You are a hell of a lot less guilty than I am. I guess I just never looked at the credits or something, and I just assumed Ian wrote the song. What's worse, I'm too wrapped up in the Mucat to go downstairs and look at my old vinyl, and see if Sylvia wrote any of their other songs. I don't recall Ian singing harmony, but then I haven't heard those records for years. Think I'll dust off the needle and see if the turntable still works. By the way, welcome back to folk music.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Amos
Date: 01 Mar 00 - 03:25 PM

And speaking of Jefferson, the word "man", in modern usage anyway, is the form for the species as well as for the gender. Just like dogs -- it covers both sides unless you have reason to make the distinction. Some folks who don't read dictionaries and boring stuff like that have attributed gender bias to this usage, but we're gonna have to come up with a lot of new words if we can't use the existing generics because they also and separately are used to point to a gender.

God, I'm a thread creep! It's Midchuck's fault...

A

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Sabra
Date: 01 Mar 00 - 11:48 PM

Thanks BlueJay, its good to be back, and to find this whole wonderful site full of compatriots

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Bud Savoie
Date: 02 Mar 00 - 07:57 AM

Amos, I couldn't agree with you more. I'm a lawyer (when I'm not fiddling or banjo picking), and I have found it necessary to stave off short-tempered people by including the following in Wills and Purchase-and-Sale Agreements: "Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the masculine noun or adjective is herein employed as the common form and includes masculine, feminine, neuter, singular, plural, and corporate as well as human parties."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Willie-O
Date: 02 Mar 00 - 12:02 PM

You guys (Amos n Bud) are fighting a lost rear-guard action, sorry...

language changes and evolves, and it continues to happen! We just haven't found a suitably brief but right-sounding replacement pronoun for "man", plural. ("Co" was suggested but sounds like computer code or something, not like a word at all.) It's not because folks don't understand that it means "homo sapiens" as well as "person of male gender", it's that they don't like it--because of the obvious implication.

But never mind. What I was going to say was, not only did Sylvia Fricker Tyson write "You Were On My Mind", it was the first song she ever wrote! Sheesh.

Willie-O

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: GUEST,Snakespit
Date: 02 Mar 00 - 06:22 PM

To get back to the point - I first saw Ian & Sylvia at the second Mariposa Festival in Orillia, Ontario, and later was lucky to meet them both on several occasions. Ian was always interested in his Western connection, preferring to talk about his cattle than his stage act.

The real revelation came with "Cowboyography", the first of his "real" cowby music albums. It was simply stunning in all respects, and the following albums have continued to shine, but suffer a little from having to follow such a breakthrough.

A few years ago there was a television reunion/tribute to I & S, including Emmylou Harris and many other top performers, yes some "new country" types included, all honouring the tremendous influence I & S were on their musical development. By the way, Sylvia has also had a great solo career, as a single and as part of the group "Quartette" - grab their albums if you can.

I still have on my wall the almost-psychedelic poster for their "Lovin' Sound" concert at my university - very '60s.

Fine and commercially under-appreciated performers/writers both, but loved and honoured by musicians.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 02 Mar 00 - 06:30 PM

1. I always thought the mighty Quinn was the same as the Nice - the dealer.

2. I'm a lawyer too. I always rather liked the shorter gender clause (and it can get a rise too) "Save where the context otherwise requires, the masculine embraces the feminine and vice versa". In English law the interpretation Act makes including the corporations unnecessary.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Midchuck
Date: 02 Mar 00 - 08:21 PM

"The real revelation came with "Cowboyography", the first of his "real" cowby music albums. It was simply stunning in all respects, and the following albums have continued to shine, but suffer a little from having to follow such a breakthrough."

In the early '90s my little girl got out of college (yes, I know how old that makes me, gawddammit) and went to Montana to cook at Lone Mountain Ranch, which is an expensively rustic dude-ranch-in-the-summer-and-cross-country-ski-resort-in-the-winter on the Big Sky access road. Seems she made the acquaintence of some of the wranglers there - she's very good looking; a great cook, obviously; a two-fisted drinker when she chooses; a good, albeit english, rider; and arrived from the East armed; so they found her interesting. She was talking to us about the wranglers one time and the question came up as to how they spent their time when the weather was bad and they had to stay inside. She said, "mostly they just sit around and listen to their record." I asked if she meant to say "records." She said, no, they have one that they like and don't see any need for any more. That was it, of course.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 03 Mar 00 - 02:57 AM

Oops! I don't think I did hear I&S at the Main Point. For some reason I was thinking about Hedge and Donna. No wonder I can't recall what they sang. Oh, well, just another of what my mom calls senior moments -- and I'm not even all that senior, yet.

Sabra, you're not a folk baby if you can sing and listen and remember your roots. You're already a folkie. Welcome!

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ian and Sylvia's 'The Mighty Quinn'
From: GUEST,David Lenander
Date: 11 Sep 08 - 02:23 AM

I don't know what Ian was talking about regarding singing harmony, but I noticed in the reunion special that Sylvia at last sang the lead vocal on her "You Were On My Mind." She had always sung the harmony line, in fact, the We Five picked up her harmony line in part as the lead on their recording, something that Nancy Griffith and others also did. On all 3 of the Ian & Sylvia recordings Ian sings the lead melody. But Sylvia sings it on her solo recording and on the reunion special. I'm not sure if Ian sings a new harmony line or Sylvia's original...