Lyr Add: John Hartford songs

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: harpgirl
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:50 AM

That's great Seth.

"May your wheel be free of driftwood"
"May you never run aground"
"May all your winds be tailwinds"
"And may all your trips be down!"

(Old Chinese proverb...

The Mississippi Queen is a call an answer song.It might be good for learning English and geography around the Mississippi River!....Abby

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: Seth
Date: 19 Feb 01 - 09:08 AM

Oh,thank you for posting Julia Belle Swain. ONe of the gem records that I missed the first time around but found just before I left the U.S. in 1999. I only had a chance to play the record one time, but I sure loved that song. Now I'll teach it to 300 hundred Chinese 5th and 6th graders, they'll teach it to their students and children, (I hope) and after a while all these Chinese people will be singin' these John Hartford songs like JUlia Belle Swain! John Hartford, may you sail forever! Seth from China

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 05:35 PM

*seeing if I can find my tape of " The Poor Old Prurient Intrest Blues"*...or if I still have the album

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MISSISSIPPI QUEEN (John Hartford)^^
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 02:28 PM

The Mississippi Queen
(John Hartford)

Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
Headin' up the Mississippi, headin' up the Mississippi
Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
She's the queen of the west, she's the queen of the west
Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
Headin' up the Mississippi, headin' up the Mississippi
The biggest steamboat, the biggest steamboat
That ever was afloat, that ever was afloat
On the Mississippi River back home
On the Mississippi River back home

She's the daughter of the grand republican J.M. White
She's the sister to the Delta Queen on a moon lit night

Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
Headin' up the Mississippi, headin' up the Mississippi
Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
She's the queen of the west, she's the queen of the west
Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
Headin' up the Mississippi, headin' up the Mississippi
The biggest steamboat, the biggest steamboat
That ever was afloat, that ever was afloat
On the Mississippi River back home
On the Mississippi River back home

Pittsburgh, Sewickley, Point Pleasant, Huntington
Cincinnati, Louisville, Tell City, Evansville
Paducah, Cairo, Memphis, Greenville, Vicksburg, Natchez
Baton Rouge and New Orleans
People always standing on the levee
Watching for the Mississippi Queen

Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
Headin' up the Mississippi, headin' up the Mississippi
Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
She's the queen of the west, she's the queen of the west
Oh, the Mississippi Queen, oh, the Mississippi Queen
Headin' up the Mississippi, headin' up the Mississippi
The biggest steamboat, the biggest steamboat
That ever was afloat, that ever was afloat
On the Mississippi River back home
On the Mississippi River back home


May be found on "Headin' Down into the Mystery Below", Flying Fish Records, 1978

Subject: Lyr Add: TEAR DOWN THE GRAND OLE OPRY (Hartford)^^
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 10:21 AM

Tear Down The Grand Ole Opry
(John Hartford)

They're gonna tear down the Grand Ole Opry
They're gonna tear down the sound that goes around our song
They're gonna tear down the Grand Ole Opry
Another good thing has done gone on, done gone on

There were campers and there were buses
Parked all around where there used to be a door
But that place called the Grand Ole Opry
It just ain't fair, it just ain't there, no more
Ain't there, no more

They're gonna tear down the Grand Ole Opry
They're gonna tear down the sound that goes around our song
They're gonna tear down the Grand Ole Opry
Another good thing has done gone on, done gone on

Right across from the wax museum they used to line up around the block
From East Tennessee and back down home they came
All of a sudden there's nothin' to do where there once was an awful lot
Broad street will never be the same

I've been in love with the Grand Ole Opry
And I guess I have now for a good many years
When I hear the Grand Ole Opry
It makes me sad that it's gonna disappear, gonna disappear

They're gonna tear down the Grand Ole Opry
They're gonna tear down the sound that goes around our song
They're gonna tear down the Grand Okle Opry
Another good thing has done gone on, done gone on


Aereo Plain, Warner Records, 1971

Subject: Lyr Add: STEAM POWERED AEREO PLANE (J Hartford)^^
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 09:51 AM

Steam Powered Aereo Plane
(John Hartford)

Well, I dreamt I went away in a steam-powered aereo-plane.
I went and I stayed and I damn near didn't come back again.
I didn't go very fast on a steam-powered aereo-plane.
Oh, the wheel went around and up and down and inside and then back again.

Sittin' in a 747 just a-watchin' them clouds roll by,
Can't tell if it's sunshine or if it's rai-hai-hain.
I'd rather be sitting in a deck chair high up over Kansas City
On a genuine old-fashioned, authentic steam-powered aereo-plane.

Well, I'd like to be a pilot on a steam-powered aereo-plane.
Well, I'd pull that pilot wheel around and then back again,
And I'd wear a blue hat, yeah, that says steam-powered aereo-plane.
Oh, the letters go round the brim and then back again.

Sittin' in a 747 just a-watching them clouds roll by,
Can't tell if it's sunshine or if it's rai-hai-hain.
I'd rather be sitting in a deck chair high up over Kansas City
On a genuine old-fashioned, authentic steam-powered aereo-plane.


Aereo Plain, Warner Records, 1971

Subject: Lyr Add: BECAUSE OF YOU (John Hartford)^^
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 09:33 AM

Because of You
(John Hartford)

Because of you I close my eyes each time I yodel
And so shall it be for now
It might be better if I'd hung out at the hotel
And I never got to see you anymore

It's almost certain if I turned and looked right at you
I'll get to wish you'd stayed at home
So now I'm standing trying not to be a statue
If I never get to see you any more

Because of you I close my eyes each time I yodel
And so shall it be for now
It might be better if I 'd hung out at the hotel
And I never got to see you anymore


Aereo Plain, Warner Records, 1971

Subject: Lyr Add: STEAMBOAT WHISTLE BLUES (John Hartford)^^
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 09:20 AM

STEAMBOAT WHISTLE BLUES
(John Hartford)

Well, I started out to be a towboat man, but I never got the hang of a ratchet bar.
I was a-growin' up a-deckin' in the Illinois trade with coal dust in my ear.
I got stuck in the ice on Christmas Eve and I froze my ass, it's true,
Just a shiv'rin' and a-shakin' with a Down South case of them steamboat whistle blues.
Oh Captain Way, I'm sorry, my hat is off to you.
You've been a-hanging out by the old cook stove with the steamboat whistle blues.

Well, way up North I called your phone but I didn't get no one to answer,
So I opened up the window and I smoked a little bit and I watched the cars go by.
I'm gonna hunt you up and ask you if you found out anything new,
Or are you a-hangin' to the best you had with the steamboat whistle blues?
I've been right here since nine o'clock, and believe you me, that's true,
Just a-lookin' at the waterways churning with the steamboat whistle blues.

Well, the city's growing up where it looks all square like a crossword puzzle on the landscape.
It looks like an electric shaver now where the courthouse used to be.
The grass is all synthetic, and we don't know for sure about the food.
The only thing we know for sure is them steamboat whistle blues.
I'd sit and watch my TV if I thought I could trust the news.
About the only thing I trust these days is them steamboat whistle blues.

Well "far out" Johnny, well I heard him say as he stretched out back on the water bed,
Bluegrass music is a thing of the past and the same for rock 'n' roll,
And I loaned him two or three dollars and he gave me the latest news,
And he left me here with a Rolling Stone and the steamboat whistle blues.
I'll tear off down the river some day before I'm through,
Then come back here and see it out with the steamboat whistle blues.


from Aereo-Plain, Warner Records, 1971

Subject: Lyr Add: GOOD OLD ELECTRIC WASHING MACHINE^^
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 08:52 AM

Good Old Electric Washing Machine, Circa 1943
(John Hartford)

Well I sure do miss that good old electric washing machine
The one that we ain't got around here no more
And I sure do miss that big round tub and them stompin, swinging sounds
And I miss them groovy puddles on the floor
The new one just sits there in all its glory on Monday morning
Way over in the corner of the basement going (hummmmmmm)
But the old one went...(weird mouth sounds)

Well I cry when I when I see that brand new automatic washing machine
'Cause I'm sentimental for the old machine still yet
'Cause the old one really looks like a real live washing machine
But the new one just looks more like a television set
The new one just sits there a going...(hummmmmm)
But the old one went...(weird mouth sounds)


I think they each deserve their own threads, Joe. But here you are. hg

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 03:35 AM

What about the song about the washing machine? We had a lot of talk about it, but nobody posted the lyrics.

But instead of posting new threads for each song, why not post 'em right here in this thread.?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 12:09 AM

...Oh Joe, that is great that John said we could post lyrics! I've got lots left to post. I may need some more help from oj on a few of the words that I can't get. But Riverboat Annie may beat me to it! hg

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: Sorcha
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 12:07 AM

Art, I love these stories! Keep 'em coming, friend, please? (a fan who saw you at Winfield when you could still play)

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: harpgirl
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 12:03 AM

Thanks for your sharing, Art!

Bun ain't out of the oven yet, huh?
Abby

Subject: RE: John Hartford Songs / The Julia Belle Swain
From: Art Thieme
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 11:43 PM

When I first started singing and tale tellin' on the JBS it was because John H. was on board as pilot that week and the TV show Good Morning America was doing a segment on John and his connection to steamboats and rivers. The ABC TV crew had left their car at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam. John knew I lived in Peru, Illinois and he called me from the pilot house to get me to drive the TV crew's car to the town of Henry, Illinois so they'd have a way back to Chicago. (I got $50.00 for doing that.) While waiting for the boat to land at Henry I gave my business card to the "luggage babe" as she was called on that boat. (She took passengers luggage in a van to the lodge where they stayed overnight.) I told her I was a folksinger grounded in history of rivers and the U.S.A. in general. She gave my card to DENNY TRONE, her boss and owner of the steamboat. He called me a week later to do a few trips. That led to work for all the next year (5 months worth).--------And then they moved from the Illinois River to the Mississippi River to base out of LeClaire, Iowa. Also built THE TWILIGHT-----another fine boat---this time a diesel/electric. As I've said, I did those gigs for the next 8 years. Steady work for a folksinger. Pretty rare. Best job I ever had.

For years before moving to the Mississippi, the JBS ran from Peoria, Illinois to the Starved Rock Lodge near Utica, Illinois. Our town----Peru---is right on the Illinois River too. Their excursion trips were 2-day trips. Took a day to get from Peoria to St.Rock---stay at the lodge that night---and back the 2nd day. "DENNY" in this song is Dennis Trone---the man who designed and built the Julia Belle Swain. "Moon" in the song refers to Moon Trone---- a fine fellow and the late brother of Dennis. Moon was a States Attorney (I believe) of Sangamon County, Illinois for many years. There are legendary tales about both of these great fellows on the Sangamon River and near New Salem, Illinois where Abe Lincoln hung out. The Julia Belle had to be sold a few years back (competition from gambling boats---a sad episode) but THE TWILIGHT is still taking passengers between LeClaire, Iowa (where I-80 crosses the Mississippi River) and the Chestnut Mountain Lodge near Galena, Illinois. For a truly relaxing 2-day getaway without gambling call River Cruises --- 1-800-331-1467 or e-mail -- [e-mail] Ask for their brochure.

Art Thieme
(The rest of those mentioned in the song were Peoria folks and crew members from that era when John Hartford wrote the song -- almost 15 or 20 years ago.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Julia Belle Swain
From: catspaw49
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 03:43 PM

Sure that's not "Murray Lipschitz, the Steamboatin' Tailor?" (:<))

Spaw

Subject: John Hartford Songs - Index
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 03:41 PM

Hi, Annie - Nice song. In this thread (click), Digital Tradition curator Dick Greenhaus says John Hartford has given us permission to include his lyrics in the Digital Tradition, so please post whatever you'd like to post.
When you're posting a number of songs on the same theme, it seems they're easiest to find if you keep them all in the same thread. If you want to post any more John Hartford songs, maybe you should post them in this thread and I can change the title to "John Hartford Songs." Just change the "subject" title of the message to ADD: and the name of the song.
You'll find that many John Hartford songs have been posted at Mudcat:

• Arkansas Traveler (various versions)
• Before They Tow My Car Away
• California Earthquake
• Delta Queen Waltz
• Gentle On My Mind
• Gumtree Canoe (traditional)
• In Tall Buildings
• The MISIP
• Old Time River Man
• Prayer (from the "Love" album)
• The Secesh (Shiloh)
• The Six O'clock Train and a Girl with Green Eyes
• Skippin' in the Mississippi Dew
• When the Roses Bloom Again in Dixieland (traditional)

Can anybody point to other Hartford songs that have been posted?
I didn't see lyrics at http://www.johnhartford.com/, but it's an interesting site.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Julia Belle Swain
From: harpgirl
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 03:32 PM

...ya beat me to it oj...that old gal's got too much muddy water in her ears, I reckon!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Julia Belle Swain
From: GUEST,oj
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 03:25 PM

that's " doc and laurie,too" (not murray)

Subject: Lyr Add: JULIA BELLE SWAIN (John Hartford)^^
From: GUEST,Riverboat Annie
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 01:37 PM

JULIA BELLE SWAIN
(John Hartford)

This is a song about the Julia Belle Swain

1. Oh, the Julia Belle Swain is a mighty fine boat, got a mighty fine captain, too.
Got a big red wheel that goes around and around and a bunch of old hippies for a crew.
Well, I can't stay here; well, I gotta get away; I'm Chattanooga Tennessee bound.
Gonna get my banjo and put it on my back when the Julia Belle comes down,
When the Julia Belle comes down.

2. When the Julia Belle comes to Peoria, you know that summer's here,
And up on the Illinois River, that's the very best time of the year.
Those steam boat days in August like a hazy, lazy dream,
I want to be at the foot of Main Street when the Julia Belle raises steam,
when the Julia Belle raises steam.

3. Well Dennis and Moon and Bob Burnett, and Doc and Murray too,
Are one big steamboat family and the Julia Belle steamboat crew.
Me, I tell you, I gotta getta away; I'm Chattanooga Tennessee bound.
Gonna get my banjo and put it on my back when the Julia Belle comes down,
When the Julia Belle comes down.

4. Now the Julia Belle Swain is a women's lib boat, the first I ever knew.
Got girls in the pilothouse and girls on deck and a lady in the engine room.
Now Donna's got her license; Cindy's learning to steer.
Little Julie keeps Moon outa trouble by wandering off everywhere,
By wandering off everywhere.

5. When the Julia Belle gets in a steamboat race, she's a mighty hard boat to beat.
She raced the Belle of Louisville; she beat the Delta Queen.
She don't need no help to get her turned around; she'll come right around on a dime.
And after the race she heads up the river 'cause the Julia Belle's still got time,
'Cause the Julia Belle's still got time.

6. Well, I sure do love the Tennessee River, the Ohio and the Illinois,
And I love the old Mississippi River; it's a good old place for a boy
Just to step on board the steamboat, ride all the way to the sea.
Where else but a muddy old river would a person want to be,
Would a person want to be?

7. Well, I come up the river the other night, darker than the inside of a cow.
Ain't nothin' like a crooked old river, straighten my head right out.
Now I love my love; she's pretty as could be, and I love to take her down.
Those pretty ladies really like to ride when the Julia Belle comes down,
When the Julia Belle comes down.