Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Robin June
Date: 03 Jul 14 - 03:08 PM

Thanks! It's been quite a while since I added this to my repertoire, when Kitty Donohoe taught it to me!
With the magic that Google has become, I was seeking this song for a thread on Facebook, in the Filker community, and this mudcat link came up second; a MS Word.doc auto-magic download was the first hit, which I edited to put chords into. (Back when I got this from Kitty in the 1980's, she sang it in the key of C and only used 6 of the verses.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 26 Aug 01 - 12:49 PM

Refreshing to brighten up someone's Sunday!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Aug 01 - 11:57 AM

Hi, Barbara!

Yes, now that I'm safe here in Maine, with a phone number listed in my deceased cat's name, I felt it would be good to clear the air, confess one more youthful indiscretion.

Harpgirl, please post your new verses. I'm painfully aware that there were some great places in Michigan that I neglected.

What I've posted might be described as the "Full Monty" version of the song, not what Lady of the Lake tastefully recorded. Karrie Potter of Lady of the Lake was also a member of our home in Lansing – Rivendell Housing Co-op which seems to be still functioning without us; I wonder if they're checked the freezer there lately for that old placenta...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: harpgirl
Date: 25 Aug 01 - 09:54 AM

Gee, Barbara...I didn't know you went to Moo U!!! *wink*

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Barbara
Date: 25 Aug 01 - 01:50 AM

So, Charlie, you finally got around to posting this one. Good!
Hey gang, I was around when Charlie and Max wrote it, in E. Lansing back in the glorious sixties sometime, guess I could scroll up to the top and see the date, hey?
Do you still do the song about the landlord, Charlie? The one to "When I first came to this land"?
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Jeri
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 10:03 PM

Bat Goddess sent me a tape of Lady of the Lake once, and I saw them when I lived in Indiana (sometime around 1990). I heard Charley sing the song, and I never had a clue he co-wrote it!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: M.Ted
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 07:28 PM

Having grown up in Michigan, and glad to see that someone else has the feeling that I did about the place--and you have enough great lines in there for a dozen songs!! The line about Custer would be a perfect hook for a George Jones song! And Custer was from Michigan, at that--Monroe!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: harpgirl
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 06:32 PM

I heard it on the Lady of The Lake tape I have, and thought I should memorize it but change the town names to Grosse Pointe, St. Clair, Traverse City, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Hamtramick, Dearborn, Trenton and Bloomfield Hills just to personalize it a little bit for myself!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 03:28 PM

Joe, that's because it must be traditional!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 03:17 PM

I think I've heard this, too, Charley - but I can't remember where.
-Joe Offer, born in Detroit-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 02:47 PM

Harpgirl, where did you run across this song? I always like to know where my "children" have strayed; Maxine also needs to be remembered as co-author, and she still dares to live in Michigan. I was forced to flee back to Maine,in fear of my life back in 1982; I'll never forget that large tub of tar, the basket of feathers, and that rusty old rail.

I'll NEVER release the song we put together in Maine one year, with the refrain line about the lovely City of Bangor.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: harpgirl
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 12:11 PM

Charley, I didn't realize you wrote this clever song!

Subject: Shafted in Shaftsburg (MI)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Aug 01 - 11:22 AM

Here's a little ditty that a friend and I started on a road trip to Michigan's "Thumb" back in the 1970's. It's an example of how a song can get away from you. I know Lady of the Lake and Kitty Donuhue have recorded it and it was reported to have been the theme song of a road show one summer. We never intended to insult anyone with our awful puns. Well, we never gave it a second thought, if the truth be known. Shaftsburg IS a quiet little town just north of Lansing, but it could be anywhere.

SHAFTED IN SHAFTSBURG
(Words and music by Charlie Ipcar & Maxine Parshall © 1975)

G
I've been shafted in Shaftsburg,
-----C--------------------G
Been lynched in Lynchburg town;
---------------------------
I've been sharpened in Flint,
----A-----------------D
And Highland's got me down;
---G
I'm all washed up in Bath,
C----------------G
Impaled in Lansing too;
------------------------E
Yes, I've been shafted in Shaftsburg,
-----A----------D-----G
Come on and get shafted too!
------------------------E
Yes, I've been shafted in Shaftsburg,
-----A----------D-----G
Come on and get shafted too!


I got fed up in Eaton Rapids,
In Custer I made my stand;
I got crocked in Potterville,
In Mason I was canned;
Reformed in Westphalia,
Benton Harbor straightened me out,
But the shafting I got in Shaftsburg
'Twas dreadful there can be no doubt!
But the shafting I got in Shaftsburg
'Twas dreadful there can be no doubt!

I lost my bearings in Wheeler,
Hamburg ground me down;
I was given the bird in Pigeon
And Fowlerville's a chickenshit town;
I got riled up in South Riley,
Ran amok in Menominee, Menominee, Menominee,
But when you come to Shaftsburg,
You'll be shafted I guarantee!
But when you come to Shaftsburg,
You'll be shafted I guarantee!

I got mixed up in Cement City,
Muskegon raised a stink;
You can't get high in Lowell,
Hart's got no soul I think;
I've been glum in Lum,
Taken for a ride in Cadillac;
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know you're never coming back!
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know you're never coming back!

I lost my head in Bad Ax,
And Hell it wasn't so hot;
I got fxxxed over in Climax,
And Hillsdale left me flat;
I've been socked in Argyle,
Swamped in Grand Marais,
But when you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know you're gonna stay that way!
But when you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know you're gonna stay that way!

I put up my dukes in Ellington,
Got locked in the Kalamazoo;
I got the trots in Flushing
And see-sawed at the Sault;
I got stoned in Petoskey,
Balmed in East Gilead;
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as bad!
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as bad!

I was polished off in Brighton,
In Lyons I lost my pride;
I was fleeced in Shepard,
In Frankenmuth I got fried;
I was blown away in Galesburg,
And Howeled all the way home;
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time to roam!
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time to roam!

I was cast out of Eden,
In Paradise I was lost;
I was damned in Holland,
In Thunder Bay, tempest tossed;
Tehquamenon was my downfall
But, Eureka, I saw the light;
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time for flight!
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You know it's time for flight!

I got plastered in Paris,
In Rosebush I got ripped;
I got tanked in Sherman,
In Beacon I was lit;
Fell off the wagon in Temperance,
In Brunswick I got stewed;
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as crude!
When you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
Nothing else is quite as crude!

I drifted through Grand Rapids,
At Big Rock I was sunk;
Coldwater was a chilling experience,
Hemlock had a lot of punch;
Saginaw was a big letdown,
And Paw Paw's a fruity place,
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You've known real disgrace!
But once you're shafted in Shaftsburg,
You've known real disgrace!