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Subject: Take off your old coat and roll... From: davemar@internet.net Date: 28 Jul 97 - 05:35 AM I thought it was a old Joan Biez I heard in the mid 60's. Take off your old coat and roll up your sleeves, life is a hard road to travel I believe. A "cookie" of thanx for all the help. davemar |
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Subject: RE: Take off your old coat and roll... From: Ralph Butts Date: 28 Jul 97 - 07:11 AM Davemar......Check in the database for "Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel". That sounds like the one. I have a great version by the Greenbriar Boys........Tiger |
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Subject: RE: Take off your old coat and roll... From: Bill D Date: 28 Jul 97 - 12:52 PM "Jordan...." is sort of a string band version...."Take off Your Old Coat" is a slower, different version...I have Richard Dyer-Bennet's version...will type it in later today....I think it is close to what Baez sang |
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Subject: Lyr Add: OLD COAT (from Peter, Paul & Mary) From: Bill Date: 29 Jul 97 - 02:55 AM Howdy Davemar, I don't see any reference to it in my early Joan Baez material, but I certainly remember a Peter, Paul & Mary version of it. I checked their home page and found that it was on Moving in 1962 with a Title of "Old Coat." You should be able to find it at http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/music/f-02-08.htm. Here are their lyrics:
Stookey/Travers/Mezzetti/Sears- Pepamar Music Inc. ASCAP Take off your old coat and roll up your sleeves, I look to the east, I look to the west, Take off your old coat and roll up your sleeves, Silver spoons to some mouths, golden spoons to others, Take off your old coat and roll up your sleeves, Like some ragged owlet with its wings expanded, Take off your old coat and roll up your sleeves, Allinkausay, Bill |
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Subject: RE: Take off your old coat and roll... From: dick greenhaus Date: 29 Jul 97 - 12:05 PM As I recall (dimly, through the mists) the original of this song was a Minstrel-show tune by Daniel Decatur Emmett (of Dixie fame), and was a fast patter-type song. It became very popular very fast, and many parodies, on different subjects and in different tones and tempos, emerged. A parenthetical (and politically incorreect) incident occurred when the (then) new New Lost City Ramblers recorded a gospel version of this for Folkways. Moses Asch, the revered proprietor, smiled happily and said something to the effect of it being a fine old Jubilee tune. Tom Paley, after pondering the ethnic backgrounds of himself and John Cohen, quietly made a correction:"I think that's Jew-billy" |
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Subject: RE: Take off your old coat and roll... From: Dale Rose Date: 29 Jul 97 - 02:01 PM The oldest recorded version that I know of is by Uncle Dave Macon as Jordan Am A Hard Road To Travel in 1927. It is available on County 3505, a reissue of his early material. |
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Subject: Old Coat Song From: GUEST,mcclinto@shaysnet.com Date: 21 Apr 00 - 03:01 PM Greetings! I'm trying to find lyrics for two songs, each called Old Coat, one written by Henry Steele and Patrick Walters, one written by Paul Stookey, Mary Travers and E. Mezzetti. Does anyone know of sources for lyrics for either song? I've tried the various web sources I know and can't find them. Thanks for any leads you can give me! Mary See this thread (click) for I Had an Old Coat / Little Overcoat |
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Subject: Lyr Add: OLD COAT (from Peter, Paul & Mary) From: GUEST Date: 21 Apr 00 - 03:25 PM This is what Peter, Paul, and Mary recorded [not sure which album, probably early 1960's]. I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but it's about an old coat.--Ely =======================================================
Take off your old coat and roll up your sleeves,
I looked the East; I looked to the West, Take off...
Silver spoons to some mouths, golden spoons to others, Take off...
Like some ragged owlet with it wings expanded, Take off... [?]= I'm not sure what he's saying here. It sounds like "borden" but that doesn't make sense, obviously. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: The Beanster Date: 21 Apr 00 - 03:51 PM GUEST,mcclinto-- This Peter, Paul & Mary site has gajillions of lyrics...well, quite a few. Old Coat is there. When you get the the page, scroll down 'til you see it and then click on "Moving"--the album name. Click here And GUEST, you were right--the word is "boardin'" although that still doesn't make sense! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: Allan C. Date: 21 Apr 00 - 03:52 PM Look here for PP&M's lyrics. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: The Beanster Date: 21 Apr 00 - 03:54 PM hahahahaa Allan--great minds think alike! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: GUEST,mcclinto@shaysnet.com Date: 21 Apr 00 - 08:12 PM Thanks for the leads to the Peter, Paul and Mary song. I'm still looking for clues to the one by Steele and Walters. Mary |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: Susan of DT Date: 21 Apr 00 - 08:19 PM Actually, it's a century or so older than Peter, Paul OR Mary--It was copyrighted by Daniel Decatur Emmett, better known for a little ditty called Dixie. Much parodied during and after the Civil War. We have several versions in DigiTrad. (dick greenhaus, who forgot to reset a cookie) |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: Stewie Date: 21 Apr 00 - 08:41 PM Seems like the chorus was lifted from 'Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel', a favourite of Uncle Dave Macon:
Pull off your overcoat, roll out your sleeves --Stewie.
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 22 Apr 00 - 11:39 AM The word someone thought sounded like "bordon" is "hoarding". It's a signboard, I believe. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: GUEST,B. Sokolow Date: 27 Jun 15 - 04:36 PM I think the lyric is "... board and thus will I be some men...." |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: GUEST,Guest Date: 28 Jun 15 - 06:19 AM Why do people have problems with fairly straightforward words? The boarding mentioned is merely a common expression for a flat piece of wood of indeterminate size. Eg He used an old piece of boarding to cover the hole in the door and stop the draught. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: TAKE OFF YOUR OLD COAT (Eliza Gilkyson) From: Sunnyjohn Date: 07 Feb 19 - 10:44 AM There is a beautiful version of this song recorded by Eliza Gilkyson on her 2005 album, Retrospecto. The notes to the album state that these songs are old and previously unreleased song, so Take of Your Old Coat may come from some way back. It appears to have been written by a team of three, as shown below, but clearly owes much to Peter, Paul and Mary's 'Old Coat', unless, of course, it predates it. As you can see from the associated posts, the roots of the song go way back! “Take Off Your Old Coat” By Terry Gilkyson/Richard Dehn/Sam Eskin © Blackhawk Music/BMI I've searched in the east I've searched in the west For the riches that others Were hoardin' Fortune is a blind god Smilin' in the breeze And forgetting me On this side of Jordan (Chorus) Take off your old coat and roll up your sleeve Life is a hard road to travel I believe Thunder in the dark Clouds Lightnin' in the trees No shelter above my head afforded Battered by the hail stones Beaten by the breeze That's my way of life This side of Jordan (Chorus) See that ragged owl His tattered wings expanded He's nailed to the doorway As a warnin' So am I by good folk As outlaw branded Yet I've hurt no one This side of Jordan Up above an angel Patchin' up our blunders Trials and troubles He's recording Will I find a change there Better times I wonder When I reach the Other side of Jordan (Chorus) |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: Jim Dixon Date: 08 Feb 19 - 12:50 PM I notice in that last song sung by Eliza Gilkyson, she sings: “I've searched in the east; I've searched in the west” If she would switch “west” with “east” there would be an approximate rhyme with “breeze,” so I’m guessing that’s what the songwriters intended. I’ve done a lot of transcribing songs from recordings or from sheet music, and when I do, I like to arrange the line breaks to emphasize the rhyme, and this usually also emphasizes the regularity or symmetry of the metrical structure. In other words, put each rhyming word at the end of a line, and make sure each line ends with a rhyming word, if the song allows you to do that. If you do that, the lines of this song would end with the rhyming words: 1. ... east ... hoardin’ ... breeze ... Jordan CHORUS: ... sleeve ... believe 2. ... trees ... afforded ... breeze ... Jordan 3. ... expanded ... warnin’ ... branded ... Jordan 4. ... blunders ... recording ... wonder ... Jordan ...which makes a nice regularity: each verse has 4 lines, with a rhyme scheme ABAB, and the chorus has 2 lines, CC. I find that folk songs—and recently composed songs that do a good job of imitating the style of folk songs—usually have lines and rhyming words in multiples of 2, 4, or 8—except blues, where 3 or 6 lines are more common. I figure if the songwriter has taken the trouble to make sure the song has a regular structure, then I should take the trouble to emphasize what the songwriter has accomplished. Also, I believe that when the singer is aware of the regularity of a song’s structure, it is easier to remember the words. Sorry if I have hijacked this thread to turn it into a lecture—but I have been thinking lately of writing down some of the rules I follow—tricks of the trade, so to speak—in case anyone else wants to apply them, and this song provided a fine example. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: GUEST,Susannah Rose Date: 05 Jun 20 - 01:03 PM The words that Peter Paul and Mary sing mostly come from a version in Baring Goulds A Garland of Country Song, first published in London 1895.. That is the tune, too. The song apparently Crossed over the pond. However, the words are very different and the feeling is different. It sounds like a Jim Crow protest, asking the question in the jazz song, “What did I do to be so black and blue?” Baring Gould collected it from an old laborer. The word someone asked about is transcribed as hoardin. Makes sense for it to be a sign board. Here are the words: I looked in the East, I looked in the West, For Fortune a chance to Me accordin But fortune is a blind god flyin in the clouds Forgettin me on this side of Jordan Pull off your old coat, and roll up your sleeves, LIfe is a hard road to travel I believes. Thunder in the clouds, and lightening in the trees Shelter to my head no leaf affordin Battered by the hailstones, beaten by the breeze That’s my lot on this side o Jordan. (Pull...) Silver spoons to some mouths, golden spoons to others Providence unequally awardin Dash it! THough they tells us all of us be brothers Don’t see it clearly this side o Jordan. Like a ragged owlet with its wings expanded Nailed against a garden door or hoardin That am I by good folk as a rascal branded Never hunted none o this side Jordan. Aloft a pretty cherub patchin up o blunders My troubles and distresses is recording Will there come a whirl about? Better times I wonders Een to me on tother side of Jordan? I apologize, my keyboard doesn’t do apostrophes except when Spellcheck catches something. So that is the Baring Gould British version, collected in North Devon. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: Steve Gardham Date: 05 Jun 20 - 01:54 PM Plenty of English broadsides for 'The Other Side of Jordan' but none of them appear to be older than c1850.They all have the same first line, but the number of stanzas varies from 6 to 10. I Haven't checked but I'd guess there'll be some on the Bodl. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: cnd Date: 05 Jun 20 - 02:36 PM The song did indeed cross over the pond. As Susan of DT mentioned in 2000, the song was written by Dan Emmett and started life as "Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel." Emmett wrote the song in 1853, so broadsides existing around then would make sense. This is (partly) backed up by an article published in 1857 in The Birmingham Daily Post, Dec. 14th, 1857, p. 3, which writes: "During each Entertainment will be pourtrayed [sic], through the Medium of Glees, Songs, Overtures, Dances, Lectures, Refrains, Sayings and Doings, the Oddities, Peculiarities, Comicalities, Eccentricities, and Whimsicalities, of the Slaves and Free Blacks of America. "The Programme will be changes each Evening, and consist of the following SONGS, &c. :--. ... "T'OTHER SIDE OF JORDAN" ------------------------------- T'other Side of Jordan or The Other Side of Jordan is pretty clearly just a derivative work of Jordan Am A Hard Road to Travel. A copy from 1853 can be found in the Levy Sheet Music Collection; it attributed the song to Luke West. An 1854 copy in the Library of Congress cited J. R. Thomas as the arranger and attributed the song to Christy's Minstrels, a band with which, notably, West sang with in 1853. Though it's hard to say which came first, I think "Jordan Am A Hard Road" came before "T'Other Side of Jordan" simply because I found references to the sheet music being for sale sooner, in addition to the belief of most historians that Emmett wrote "Jordan Am A Hard Road" (though I didn't find any explicit mentions of "T'Other Side of Jordan"). "Jordan Am A Hard Road" could be found for sale in December 1852 (source), though the earliest attribution of the song to Emmett I found was 1854. "T'Other Side of Jordan" wasn't found for sale until December 1853 (source) |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: Reinhard Date: 05 Jun 20 - 04:17 PM Lyle Lofgren's article Remembering The Old Songs: Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel says: Emmett also took credit for the first version of Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel, for an 1853 New York minstrel show. It was hugely popular and spread to the hinterlands via traveling shows. There's some evidence that he took an existing song and substituted political and topical verses. Later minstrel performers updated the commentary depending on what was in the news. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Coat Song From: GUEST,Art Date: 18 Jul 20 - 10:23 AM Actually, "boardin' " does make sense. One of the dictionary definitions of "boarding" is "a structure made of boards". |
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Subject: RE: Take off your old coat and roll... From: Joe Offer Date: 13 Feb 23 - 04:38 PM From the Traditional Ballad Index: https://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/R305.html
Jordan Am a Hard Road to TravelDESCRIPTION: About the difficulties of getting to heaven. Chorus: "(So) take off your overcoats and roll up your sleeves; Jordan am a hard road to travel (x2) I believe." The original contains assorted political references to the 1850s.AUTHOR: Music: Daniel D. Emmett/Words: T. F. Briggs? EARLIEST DATE: 1853 (sheet music) KEYWORDS: religious travel nonsense political HISTORICAL REFERENCES: 1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty settles the boundary between Britain (Canada) and the states of Massachussets and Maine 1846 - Oregon Treaty settles the boundary dispute between the U.S. and Britain (Canada). Minor uncertainties were settled by arbitration in 1872. 1852-1870 - Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) Emperor of France 1853-1857 - Presidency of Franklin Pierce FOUND IN: US(So,SW) REFERENCES (5 citations): Randolph 305, "The Other Side of Jordan" (1 text) Bronner/Eskin-FolksongAlivePart2 63, "Jerdan" (1 text, 1 tune) Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #1155-1159, p. 79, "Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel" plus parodies No. 3-No. 6 (there is no No. 2) (5 references, all based on this song although it's not clear which are actual versions) Heart-Songs, pp. 136-137, "Jordan Am a Hard Road to Trabbel" (1 text, 1 tune) DT, JRDNHRD* Roud #2103 RECORDINGS: Harry C. Browne, "Jordan Am A Hard Road to Travel" (Columbia A-2255, 1917; rec. 1916) Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel" (on McClintock01) (on McClintock02) Riley Puckett, "On the Other Side of Jordan" (Columbia 15374-D, 1929) CROSS-REFERENCES: cf. "Richmond Is a Hard Road to Travel" cf. "Jordan is a Hard Road To Travel (II)" (words, music) cf. "Ain't No Bugs on Me" (words) cf. "Pull Off Your Old Coat" (lyrics) cf. "Conestoga on the Jordan Road" (parody) cf. "The People Are A-Coming" (parody) cf. "Old Pike" (form; probable parody) SAME TUNE: Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel (File: RcRIHRTT) Conestoga is a Hard Road to Travel (File: KPL249) Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel (II) (File: CSW188) Rail-road Song (by Jacob P. Weaver) (Cohen-LongSteelRail, p. 43) Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel #3-#6 (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets p. 79) My Gum a Rubber Boots ("Go it rubber boots and save my pantalets") (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets p. 103) Frank Pierce's solilioquiy ("Of all the tricks that have been played of late") (Lawrence-MusicForPatriotsPoliticiansAndPresidents, p. 332) The People Are A-Coming (File: TNY363) NOTES [110 words]: Napoleon III (1808-1873), the son of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Louis, was chosen President of France in 1848, then in 1852 (the same year Franklin Pierce was elected President) upgraded himself to Emperor. The "fish question" is slightly less clear; the settlement which ended the War of 1812 and the diplomacy which followed did not provide American fishermen with all the rights they wanted in Canadian waters -- but this was a perennial problem which was not solved until 1910. In addition, there were some disputes over the Columbia River (which in the complex logic of diplomacy gave the U.S. its claim to Oregon), and hence presumably its salmon. - RBW Last updated in version 6.0 File: R305 Go to the Ballad Search form Go to the Ballad Index Instructions The Ballad Index Copyright 2023 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Take Off Your Old Coat From: GUEST,D. Kingsley Hahn Date: 26 Feb 23 - 01:06 AM The version adapted by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehn & Sam Eskin is from a 1960 LP recorded by The Easy Riders, entitled "Rollin'" on the Kapp label (KL-1196) -- so it does precede the PP&M version on "Movin'". Easy Riders recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1AUzlXO5X0 Eliza Gilkyson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbS3I7mMSY8 |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Take Off Your Old Coat From: Mrrzy Date: 01 Mar 23 - 01:42 PM I rather like A youth asking fate to be rewarding... [for ...asking faith to be rewarded] |
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