Lyr Req: The People Are Scratching

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: Callie
Date: 06 Jan 01 - 09:45 PM

You IS the man, Joe! Many thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: raredance
Date: 06 Jan 01 - 09:08 AM

Joe,

You're the man.

rich r

Subject: Tune Add: THE PEOPLE ARE SCRATCHING ^^
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Jan 01 - 04:07 AM

OK, OK, I'll transcribe the tune. It will be on Mudcat MIDIs.

-Joe-

---

MIDI file: SCRATCHN.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: THE PEOPLE ARE SCRATCHING
Text: By Ernie Marrs & Harold Martin & Pete Seeger
Copyright: Copyright © 1963 Fall River Music
TimeSig: 4/4 24 8
Start
0576 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0032 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0190 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0256 0 62 000 0128 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 59 110 0160 0 59 000 0032 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 59 110 0094 0 59 000 0002 1 57 110 0256 0 57 000 0128 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0256 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0256 0 65 000 0128 1 67 110 0190 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 68 110 0094 0 68 000 0002 1 68 110 0094 0 68 000 0002 1 68 110 0094 0 68 000 0002 1 68 110 0190 0 68 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 72 110 0190 0 72 000 0002 1 69 110 0256 0 69 000 0224 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 62 110 0256 0 62 000 0320 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 63 110 0094 0 63 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0386 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 57 110 0094 0 57 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:The People Are Scratching
M:4/4
Q:1/4=120
K:C
A8|AEEE2E2C|DDDD4D|DD2DDDB,2|CCB,A,4G|GGGG3GE|
FFEF4G|-GGGGG2E2|^G^G^G^G2EEE|AAAc2A3|-A2G2EDCD|
-D5CD^D|EE5E2|EDCA,||

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: Callie
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 10:33 PM

Thanks everyone, and sorry about the confusion. i posted a thread asking the question, and when it didn't show up on the forum, Miguel wrote another which also didn't show. Then about half an hour ago I sent a third message, which did show. Seems the other request has now appeared!

Many thanks for all the reponses, and sorry for the work, Joe.

Callie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: raredance
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 10:25 PM

It's in "The Survival Songbook", Pete Seeger's book "Where have All The Flowers Gone," and my mind. None of which I can translate easily to the internet. I see the guest above left out one of the choruses between verses.

rich r

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 09:59 PM

THIS is the thread to use, if there are any more comments.
Anybody got a tune?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: THE PEOPLE ARE SCRATCHING
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 11:28 AM

THE PEOPLE ARE SCRATCHING
(1963. words Ernie Marrs and Harold Martin, Music by Pete Seeger)

Come fill up your glasses and set yourself down,
I'll tell you a story of somebody's town.
It isn't too near and it's not far away.
It's not a place where I'd want to stay.

CH
The people are scratching all over the street,
Because the rabbits had nothing to eat.

Winter came in with a cold icy blast;
It killed off the flowers and killed off the grass.
Rabbits were starving because of the freeze;
They started to eat the bark on the trees.

CH

The farmers said, "This sort of thing won't do.
Our trees will be dead before the rabbits get through.
We'll have to poison those rabbits it's clear,
Or we'll have no crops to harvest next year.

CH

So they brought in the poison and they spread it around;
Soon dead rabbits began to be found.
Dogs ate the rabbits but the farmers just said,
"We'll poison those rabbits till the last dog is dead."

CH
Up in the sky there were meat-eating fowls;
The dead rabbits poisoned the hawks and the owls.
All the field mice the hawks used to chase
Started multiplying all over the place.

CH

The fields and the meadows were barren and brown;
The mice got hungry and moved into town.
City folks took the farmers' advice
And all of them started to poison the mice.

CH

There were dead mice in all the apartments and flats;
Cats ate the mice and the mice killed the cats.
The smell was awful and I'm sure glad to say
I wasn't the man hired to haul them away.

CH

All through the country and all through the town
There wasn't a dog or a cat to be found.
The fleas asked each other, "Now where can we stay?"
They've been on the people from then till this day.

CH

All you small creatures who live in this land
Stay clear of the man with the poisonous hand.
A few bales of hay might keep you alive,
But he'll pay more to kill you than to let you survive.

CH ^^

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: Allan C.
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 08:10 AM

I find it totally amazing that there are two requests for the lyrics for this song that were posted within just a few minutes of each other. See:

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=29278&messages=2

I am wondering what triggered your interest.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: Catrin
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 08:10 AM

Oh rich - that is so annoying - its happened to me before too - so now I type into word, do a search and replace to get the line breaks, save it, and then copy and paste into the message - if something goes wrong, I've still got my precious typing.....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The People were scratchin' coz
From: raredance
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 07:59 AM

Well I had it typed in on the parallel thread, and hit "send" and got a message that the page had expired or some such ( I think it is AOL crap). Needless to say the text was lost. Music by Pete Seeger, words by Ernie Marrs and Harold Martin. Recorded by Pete Seeger on "God Bless The Grass". I have to go to work so can't retype it nowsf, sorry.

rich r

Subject: The People were scratchin' coz
From: Miguel
Date: 05 Jan 01 - 07:32 AM

Hello all,

Can anyone help me find the lyrics tune and author of this song? The Chorus goes:

" Now the people were scratchin' all over the street/ Because the rabbits had nothing to eat."

It may have been written by Pete Seeger but I can't find it in his discography. Ditto on digital tradition.

Thanks for any help!

Mig