Over The Top Songs

Subject: Over The Top Songs
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 26 Oct 97 - 07:21 PM

I watched part of a spaghetti western the other night - you know the sort, the 'hero' inflicts a body count by the score without incurring so much as a flesh wound - and it srt me thinking about about songs that make ourageous claims of credibility. The first two to spring to mind were 'The Irish Rover' carrying 5 million hogs and 6 million dogs etc, and 'Bluey Brink' who drank sulphuric acid with never a blink.

Any other nominations for outlandish songs?

Regards John

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Alice
Date: 26 Oct 97 - 09:08 PM

There is a song about a waitress who sings of her lumberjack lover with stories of his outlandish strength and stamina. He stirred his coffee with his thumb, and she sings to a customer who comes in to the cafe and stirs his coffee with his thumb. I just looked for the music, but can't find the book with the song. Don't remember the title, but I will keep looking. Alice in Montana

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Susan of DT
Date: 26 Oct 97 - 09:12 PM

I checked under @impossible, but we seem to have used that only for impossible tasks (ie child #1). Baez's Sing Tario Day Once I had a little dog

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Alice
Date: 26 Oct 97 - 09:13 PM

I just found it in the database. It's called THE FROZEN LOGGER. Alice in MT

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 12:15 AM

G'day,
The DT database has several versions of The Derby Ram. I've also heard an Aussie version - The Albury Ram.

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Earl
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 10:07 AM

Another favorite is "I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago", aka "The Historical Bum". The database has it as "Just the Facts, Ma'am". Also Leadbelly's "When I was a Cowboy" which is not in the database.

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Jon W.
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 10:23 AM

"True Blue Bill", discussed in a thread a couple of weeks ago; "Long Tall Mama" by Big Bill Broonzy and others of that ilk where the singer boasts of his woman, "Hard Pushin' Papa"(Blind Blake), "The Hootchie Cootchie Man", and others like that where the singer boasts of himself, several "negative boasting" blues songs where the singer boasts of how ugly his woman is, and the Scottish "Stoutest Man in the Forty Twa" (in DT, AKA "Jock MacGraw").

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Nonie Rider
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 01:03 PM

Irrelevance re the logger who stirs his coffee with his thumb: I started a song circle in Austin a few years back, and this was a close friend's favorite song to perform. He and his wife do their own brewing...

And I found the most charming birthday card for him: on the front, a lumberjack with a tiny head, standing in snow, and saying something like "'Allo, mon ami!"

Inside, it said: "Just for your birthday: A cold imported logger with almost no head!"

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: LaMarca
Date: 27 Oct 97 - 04:46 PM

Nonie, I once heard someone perform a parody of The Frozen Logger called "My Lager Lover"; don't remember how it went (or who sang it, for that matter), just that it was funny... Maybe someone here knows it?

Some other good Songs of Exaggeration:
The Seven Wonders-on the first Silly Sisters album; a Welsh song in which the singers list various incredible sights; it's in the DT
Trooper and the Maid-my favorites are the versions in which he fights off umpteen of her father's men single-handedly, and when her father offers him money to stop, the daughter says "Fight on-it's not enough!"
Johnie O'Braedislee-Johnnie, after having been shot while sleeping by the King's foresters, manages to kill 6 of them, takes the 7th, breaks seven of his ribs, his arm and his collarbone before sending him off to carry the news home, then promptly expires; kinda like opera, in which dying characters always seem to have enough breath to sing one last aria...
Tying Knots in the Devil's Tail- two cowpokes get staggering drunk, meet the devil on their way home, and proceed to rope, hogtie, brand and de-horn him, leaving him tied to a tree with knots tied in his tail; this is one of a whole bunch of cowboy brag songs; The Glory Trail is another great one about a cowboy who ropes a mountain lion and has to keep galloping ahead of it for eternity...
Nine Times a Night - 'nuff said...
Andrew Rose-a (supposedly) true account of the horrendous punishments meted out to a poor British seaman, Andrew Rose; his captain was court-martialed and hung for his abuse. This song unfortunately isn't exaggeration, but its gruesome list of tortures is WAY over the top...
Jackie Monroe-young woman dresses like man to follow her true love into the army, fights her way to her wounded love, coerces the chaplain to marry them and proudly announces that she's been promoted to colonel; this would make a GREAT swashbuckler movie a la Errol Flynn!

Speaking of marksmanship in the movies, ever notice the funniest line in Star Wars? Obi-wan Kenobi points to the wreckage of the Jawa's transport and says "Look at those blast points; only Imperial Storm troopers are that precise"; but those same storm troopers can't seem to hit our heroes for the entire rest of the movie...

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Jaxon
Date: 30 Oct 97 - 09:23 AM

The only song Liam Clancy has written is "the 2,000 year old alchoholic". I'm not sure how autobiographical it is but he told me he started to write a serious song and somehow it evolved into this.

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 31 Oct 97 - 09:11 AM

"Long John Moore", Child 251, (see DT-database) definitely also qualifies for this contest.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Over The Top Songs
From: Dick S.
Date: 31 Oct 97 - 12:19 PM

Bobby Bare`s The Stranger got my attention.