Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Guest.pauley
Date: 28 Feb 10 - 12:35 PM

When I was a child, my mother would often sing this when we were driving a long distance on vacation. Below is how I remember it.

As the organ peeled potatoes,
Song was rendered by the choir,
As the sexton rang the church bell,
Someone set the church on fire,
Holy Smokes!! the preacher shouted,
In the rush, he lost his hair,
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Judy Cook
Date: 28 Feb 10 - 02:51 PM

Why is it always our dads? My dad's first verse (before the organ peeled potatoes one.)

'Twas midnight on the ocean, not a streetcar was in sight
I went into a drugstore to get myself a light
The man behind the counter was a woman old and gray
Who used to peddle donuts on the road to Mandalay.
"Good morning." she said. Her eyes were bright with tears
She put her head between her feet and stood that way for years.
All her children are orphans, except a tiny tot
Who lives in a house across the street above a vacant lot.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 14 May 10 - 09:56 PM

Here's how I remember it

While the organ peeled potatos
Lard was furnished by the choir
While the sexton rang the dinner bell
Someone set the church on fire
Holy somke the preacher shouted
As his wig flew in ;the air
Now his head resembles heaven
For there is no parting there!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: mousethief
Date: 15 May 10 - 12:31 AM

The version of "Late one day in the middle of the night" given on the first page is identical, word-for-word, with the way I learned it in school.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,gpa958
Date: 03 Jul 10 - 04:24 PM

the version I remember is available by googling "song the bare foot boy with boots on".I can remember my uncle singing it during the 30's and 40'swhen I was as child.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Jul 10 - 12:43 AM

From Virginia Reel, Volume 1 (Charlottesville: University of Virginia, May 15, 1920), page 21:


HOW COULD IT DID?

It was midnight on the ocean,
Not a street car was in sight,
The sun was shinging [sic] brightly,
And it rained all day that night.

It was a summer's day in winter,
And the rain was snowing fast,
As a barefoot girl with shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass.

It was evening and the rising sun
Was setting in the west,
The little fishes in the trees
Were cuddled in their nests.

The rain was pouring down,
The sun was shinging [sic] bright,
And everything that could be seen
Was hidden out of sight.

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir,
As the sexton rang the dish-rag
Some one set the church on fire.

"Holy smoke," the preacher shouted,
In the rain he lost his hair,
Now his head resembles heaven—
For there is no parting there.

—Phi Delta Phi Show and others.

---

Ax-I-Dent-Ax, Volume 6 (Midvale, Utah: United States Smelting, Refining, and Mining Company, June 22, 1920), No. 12, page 12:


A MIX-UP

'Twas a wintry day in summer,
The rain was snowing fast,
When a barefoot boy with shoes on
Sat standing on the grass.

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir,
While the sexton rang the dish rag,
Someone set the church afire.

"Holy Smoke" the preacher shouted,
And in the rush he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven
For there is no parting there.

His death, which happened in his berth,
At forty-odd befell,
They went and told the sexton,
And the sexton tolled the bell.

---

From The Independent, Volume 103 (New York: Independent Corporation, Sept. 18, 1920), page 325:


It was midnight on the ocean.
Not a street car was in sight;
The sun was shining brightly,
For it rained all day that night.

We walked along a country road
In a city dry and dusty.
And piling thru the awful mud
Sure made our axles rusty.

We came upon a farmer's house,
No dwelling could we see;
The busy farmer plowed his field,
An idle man was he.

'Twas a zero day in summer,
The rain felt just like glass,
A barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass.

We asked him for some water,
He brought us wine instead:
"Miracles will never cease,"
The deaf and dumb boy said.

—Sun Dial.


The same poem, with the same attribution "Sun Dial" appeared in Labor Digest, Volume 12 (Minneapolis: E. E. Stevens, Oct., 1920), page 45.

---

From Boy's Life, (New York: Boy Scouts of America, June, 1921) page 28:


CLEAR AS MUD

'Twas midnight on the ocean,
Not a street car was in sight,
The sun and moon shone brightly,
While it rained all day that night.

For in the summer snowstorm
When the rain flowed just like glass,
A barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass.

---

From The Whitin Spindle, Volume 3 (Whitinsville, Mass.: Employees of the Whitin Machine Works, Feb. 1922), No. 7, page 11:


MIDNIGHT ON THE OCEAN

(Note:—The following is from the sub-base ballast of the Coco Colo Canal Zone. If Balboa beer does this to people, we are fortunate to be in Hawaii.)

'Twas midnight on the ocean, not a horse-car was in sight,
When I stepped into the corner store to get myself a light.

The man behind the counter was a woman old and grey,
Who used to sell bananas on the road to Mandalay.

She said, "Hello there, stranger"; her eyes were dry with tears,
And she put her head beneath her feet and stood that way for years.

Her children were all orphans except one tiny tot,
Who lived alone across the street above a vacant lot.

As we gazed out through an open door, a whale went drifting by;
His legs were hanging in the air, he wore a green necktie.

The quietness of the noise was still, the evening star was dawning,
A dead horse galloped up and said, "We won't get home 'til morning."

"Women and children first," he cried, as he passed his plate for more;
He took his hat from off the rack and hung it on the floor:

An axe came walking through the air, the clock struck twenty-six,
I turned my eyes toward the sky and saw a flock of bricks.

And they buried him in the evening when the grass was parched with dew,
And he took his razor with him in case his whiskers grew.

---

From The Modern Woodman, Volume 39 (Rock Island, Ill.: Modern Woodmen of America, Feb. 1922), Issue 2, page 38:


A LITTLE NONSENSE NOW AND THEN.

At a reception recently tendered to Hon. Joseph A. Langfit, Grand Regent of the Royal Arcanum for Pennsylvania, the meeting was entertained by the reading of the following original poem by Vice Regent W. G. Stevenson, which contains more contradictions to the column inch than any other within the writer's knowledge:

It was midnight on the ocean.
Not a street car was in sight.
The sun was shining brightly,
And it rained all day that night.

'Twas a summer's day in winter,
And the snowflakes fell like glass.
A barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting on the grass.

'Twas evening and the rising sun
Was setting in the west,
And the little fishes in the trees
Were huddling in their nests.

The rain was pouring down
And the moon was shining bright,
And everything that you could see
Was hidden nut of sight.

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir.
As the sexton rang the dish rag,
Someone set the church on fire.

"Holy smokes!" the preacher cried.
In the rain he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

—W. G. Stevenson.

[I am skeptical of the attribution to Stevenson.--JD]

---

From The American Flint, Volume 13 (Toledo, Ohio: American Flint Glass Workers' Union of North America, April, 1922), page 38:

"from one of the Port Jervis papers some time ago"

A RAVING RHYME

'Twas a nice day in October,
Last September in July;
The moon lay thick upon the ground,
The mud shown in the sky.

The flowers were singing sweetly,
The birds were full of bloom,
So I went into the cellar
To sweep an upstairs room.

The time was Tuesday morning,
On Wednesday just at night;
I saw a thousand miles away
A house just out of sight.

The walls projected backwards,
The front was round the back;
It stood alone with others,
The fence was whitewashed black.

It was moonlight on the ocean.
Not a street car was in sight;
The sun was shining brightly
And it rained all day that night.

It was summer in the winter,
And the rain was falling fast;
A barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting on the grass.

It was evening and the rising
Stood setting in the night;
And everything that I could see,
Was hidden from my sight.

---

From Carpenter, Volume 42 (Indianapolis: United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Sept., 1922), No. 9, page 31:

A CRAZY RECITATION.

It was midnight on the ocean,
Not a street car was in sight;
The sun was shining brightly,
And it rained all day that night.
It was evening and the rising sun
was setting in the west;
The fishes in the pine trees
Were cuddled in their nest.

'Twas a summer day in winter,
The snow was raining fast,
A barefoot girl with shoes on
Was sitting on the grass.
The rain was pouring downward,
The moon was shining bright,
And everything that you could see
Was hidden out of sight.

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir;
While the sexton rang the dish rag,
Some one set the church on fire.
"Holy smoke!" the parson shouted.
And the poor guy lost his hair;
Now his head is just like Heaven,
For there is no parting there.

—The Kablegram.


The same poem is also printed in Mixer and Server, Volume 31 (Cincinnati: Hotel and Restaurant Employes' International Alliance and Bartenders' International League of America, Nov. 15, 1922), Number 11, page 51.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,wayne: this is all i remember
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 06:04 AM

while the organ peeled potatoes
lard was rendered by the choir
as the preacher preached his sermon
some one set the church on fire

"holy smokes" the preacher shouted
as his wig flew in the air
now his head resembles heaven
as there is no parting there


id love to know the rest i remember it was posted in dear abby many years ago. my mother and father used to sing it when i was a child

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 06:28 AM

And you will if you read the rest of the thread!

Spaw

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 10:36 AM

Spaw, like most of us, GUEST wayne doesn't want to read, he'd love to know. Some ketchup with it, please, and wrap it in silver paper.

Yes, I have been caught missing some point upthread in other cases. This thread however has an entertainment factor above average, i.e. very high. Love it!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Granddaughter Emily
Date: 07 Mar 12 - 01:07 AM

Oh my gosh!!! My Grandma taught this to me when i was young!!! I recite it to my children now ive always wondered if i had it even close THANK YOU!!!

Twas a sweet day in September,
Last October in July;
The sun lay thick upon the ground,
The mud shown in the sky.

The flowers were singing sweetly,
The birds were full of bloom,
As I went into the cellar
To sweep an upstairs room.

The time was Tuesday morning,
On Wednesday just at night;
I saw a thousand miles away
A house just out of sight.

The walls projected backwards,
The front was round the back;
As I stood alone with others,
The fence was whitewashed black.


She used to also sing:
As the organist peeled bananas
Lard was rendered by the choir
While the sexton rang the dishrag
Some one set the church on fire.
HOLY SMOKES the preacher shouted!
As his wig flew in the air
Now his head resembles heaven
-for there is no parting there.

I miss her everyday. Thank you for the memories!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 09:15 PM

This is how I learned it:

When the organ "pealed" bananas
Lard was rendered by the choir.
When the sexton rang the disrag
someone set the church on fire.
Holy Smoke, the preacher shouted,
In this rush he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven.
For there is no parting there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 19 Apr 12 - 07:52 AM

Back in the 50's my old mate Bob Breedon used to come out with:

I went to the pictures tomorrow,
I took a front seat at he back.
A lady, she gave me some choc'lates;
I ate them and gave them her back.

I dare say there were a great many of these between the wars, on the wireless or on records.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Nov 12 - 11:57 PM

this poem has a few variations, the farthest back i have found it was in an old reader from the 1840's.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 03 May 13 - 07:51 PM

As the organ peeled bananas
Lard was rendered by the chior
As the sextant wrang his dish towel
Someone set the church on fire
Holy smoke, the preacher shouted
In the rush, he lost his hair
Now his head reseambles heaven
For there is no parting there!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Auntie tree
Date: 16 Jul 13 - 12:35 PM

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir.
While the sexton tolled the church bell, someone set the church on fire
Holy smoke, the preacher shouted.
In the rush he lost his hair.
Now his head will be like heaven, for there is no parting there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Summerwind
Date: 11 Oct 13 - 07:16 PM

I remember this from an old Cherry Ames book, may not be word for word:

The organ peeled potatoes
Lard was rendered by the choir;
The sexton wrung the dishrag,
Someone set the church on fire!

"Holy Smoke" the preacher shouted,
In the fire he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Cherry Ames was a series for teen-age girls, about a girl going through nursing school, and her adventures after. Each book was about a different sort of nursing. My aunt gave me 7 of the first 8 of the series, and I filled in and added for a while. I'll guess they were originally from the '40s, along with Nancy Drew.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Oct 13 - 08:59 PM

I found a Cherry Ames book in a charity shop recently! Mountaineer Nurse

Cherry Ames - Wikipedia The series was published 1943 - 1968

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: Mo the caller
Date: 12 Oct 13 - 11:51 AM

This thread also reminded me of Steve's verse, the version we used to say (London, early 50s)

I went to the pictures tomorrow
I took a front seat at the back (or ... in the row)
I fell from the pit to the gallery
And hurt a front bone in my back.


There was also
The elephant is a pretty bird
It flits from bough to bough
It makes it's nest in a rhubarb tree
And whistles like a cow.


Must try that one out on me 5 yr old grandson.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Jun 17 - 12:53 PM

Lard was rendered by the choir
While the sexton rang the dishrag
Someone set the church on fire

Holy Smoke the preacher shouted
As he threw his wig in air
there is no parting there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jul 17 - 11:36 AM

While the organ peeled potatoes........
Lard was rendered by the choir...
As the church bells.......


Holy smoke the preacher shouted..

. in the rush he lost his hair
Now his head resembles heaven...for there is no parting there

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Feb 18 - 10:44 PM

My old Irish grandfather used to sing it this way:

While the organ peeled bananas
Lard was rendered by the choir
And the saxons rang the dishrags
Someone set the church on fire
Holy smoke the preacher shouted
In the rush he lost his hair
Now his head resembles heaven
For there is no poarting there
GOOD EVENING FRIENDS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Lee
Date: 04 Mar 18 - 03:23 PM

It was midnight on the ocean,
Not a streetcar was in sight;
While the sun was shining brightly,
For it had rained all the night.
'Twas a summer's day in Winter,
And the rain was snowing fast,
As the barefoot girl with shoes on
Stood there sitting in the grass.

Glory, glory, what a story!
Glory, glory, tell me more-ee!
Glory, glory, she'll be sorry!
As the barefoot girl with shoes on
Stood there sitting in the grass.

It was evening and the sunrise
Was just setting in the west;
And the fishes in the treetops
Were all cuddled in their nests.
As the wind was blowing bubbles,
Lightning shot from left to right;
Everything that you could see
Had been hidden out of sight.

Glory, glory, I can't find it!
Glory, glory, who's behind it?
Glory, glory, where'd they hide it?
Everything that you could see
Had been hidden out of sight!

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir;
When the sexton rang the dishrag,
Someone set the church on fire.
"Holy Smokes!" the preacher shouted,
As he madly tore his hair,
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Glory, glory, what a shiny dome!
Glory, glory, get that man a comb!
Glory, glory, that's the end of my poem!
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Mar 18 - 02:21 PM

I am in awe still today at the number of identical..or close-to-identical posts by those who simply don't bother to READ the thread.

Do they really think THEIR version is so rare?

I suppose there will be more...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 07 Mar 18 - 03:02 PM

Variants are the pleasure of stamp collectors, so they are welcome here as well.

However: authentication is essential! "My granddad used to sing:" is not enough. At least we want to know where the singers live/d and whether they tended to be creative or tradition-conscious. If the source is a vinyl record, please make an effort to identify it and name the lyricist, composer and musicians.

This said, I am charmed by the above song, which seems to be a 20th century adaptation of a topos from the 18th century – and still funny, in many languages and cultures! This author added a becoming pun flavour.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,G-doc
Date: 23 Sep 18 - 09:41 AM

In the church around the corner, lard was rendered by the choir;

While the organ peeled potatoes, someone set the church on fire.

Holy smoke, the preacher shouted. In the blaze he lost his hair;

Now his head resembles Heaven, for there is no parting there!

(All I remember from 1940) G-doc

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Apr 19 - 08:02 PM

down near the end -

Holy Smoke, the preacher shouted, as he sadly pulled his hair -
For now his head resembles heaven - for there is no parting there.


-- Effe Simpson

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: Pappy Fiddle
Date: 16 Apr 19 - 05:18 PM

Real incident: We were at a church picnic, outside where there were some picnic tables. Ours was not quite level. Someone upslope spilled the milk and it came running down the table toward us. My wife hollered "Dam it!" which raised an eyebrow or two

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: John C. Bunnell
Date: 18 Apr 19 - 04:20 AM

Reading through the thread, it seems to me we've got three or four distinct sets of verses which have become tangled one with another due to either similar scansion or association with a common tune. I make out: (a) the church narrative ("the organ pealed potatoes"), (b) the "barefoot boy" story ("it was moonlight on the ocean"), and (c) the "boarding house" story ("At the boarding house I lived in"), with Emily's "sweet day in September" verse probably a fourth.

[Except that I now find the church and boarding-house verses stitched together by one Raymond Crooke. Hmmm.]

At any rate, the one I recognize is the "boarding house" song, because that one pops up in the Irish Rovers' discography as follows (to a tune which is definitely not "Silver Threads Among the Gold"):

MRS. CRANDALL'S BOARDINGHOUSE

Recorded by the Irish Rovers
("Tales to Warm Your Mind", Decca 1973)

In the boarding house I lived in, ev'rything was growing old;
Silver threads among the butter, and the cheese was green with mo-o-old;
When the dog died we had sausages, when the cat died, catnip tea,
When the landlord died, I left there -- spareribs were too much for me....

REFRAIN
Oh, my dear Mrs. Crandall, I think I like you a lot;
I live in your house, quiet as a mouse;
Someday you'll be cau-au-aught....

Well, girls can never change their nature -- it is quite beyond their reach;
Mrs. Crandall is a lemon; she can never be a pea-ea-each;
But the law of compensation is the one I always preach:
You can always squeeze a lemon; have you tried to squeeze a pea-ea-each?

REFRAIN

The train was standing at the station; I was rushing, full of care;
When I tripped on her cat and I stumbled, and fell headlo-ong down the stairs;
Mrs. Crandall came up to me: "Did you miss a step, me son?"
"No," I says, "My dear landlady, I hit ev'ry blooming o-o-one!"

REFRAIN

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Feb 21 - 02:13 PM

While the organ peeled potatoes
Lard was rendered by the choir
Etc
Someone set the church on fire
Holy smoke the preacher shouted
In the rush he lost his b hair
Now his head is like the heave
Since there is no parting there

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Diana Harbour
Date: 12 Jun 21 - 06:39 AM

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir.
While the sextant wrang the dishrag,
Someone set the church on fire.

"Holy smoke" the preacher shouted.
In the rush, he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: While the organ peeled potatoes...
From: GUEST,Grandma Ruthie
Date: 06 Mar 24 - 08:13 PM

While the organist peeled bananas,
Lard was rendered by the choir.
While the Preston rang the dishrags,
Someone set the church afire.
"Holy Smoke!" the preacher shouted!
In the rush he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles Heaven for
there is no parting there!