Subject: Lyr Add: SPENCER RIFLE From: Lonesome EJ Date: 04 Apr 02 - 03:33 PM Vance Randolph compiled a huge amount of folk material he collected throughout the Ozark Mountains. Much of it was recorded and released immediately, but another whole genre of songs and stories were set aside as too off-color for the popular taste. Recently, this off-color material was printed as Unprintable Songs. This book sells for $60, and it isn't currently in my budget, but as a fan of naughty stuff in general, I'm highly interested in the songs. Does anyone have the book? If so, can you post any lyrics from it? I'll post one that I have found below. SPENCER RIFLE
When Johnny came to my house,
He grabbed me round the slender waist,
He said it was his little gun.
Well, I said, "John, your gun's no good,
Well, "Gee," said John, "my gun's alright.
Well, Katie laid still, and held the mark.
Katie was a fair and a charming maid.
Her mother finally found them out. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 04 Apr 02 - 06:27 PM Thank you EJ for the lead on this compilation. Vol. 1 published in 1992 and Vol. 2 in 1994. I will add them to my collection and post in the near future. The Amazon review is a resounding five star.
Sincerely, |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 04 Apr 02 - 06:30 PM I have it. Had wanted it for decades. (But it only was printed posthumously, in the 90's) It's TWO books, actually, Roll Me in Your Arms and (naturally) Blow the Candles Out. They were called The unprintable collection loosely, since Randolph was not permitted to print them. It is a tragic fact that Randolph was castigated, impoverished and driven out of academe for his insistance that this 10% of legitimately collected material should not be censored out of the rest of the material. (This is controversial, though.) If you buy it, be sure to get both volumes. Index is in vol. 2. You might be able to beat the price a bit on the online used book or auction market. Randolph's work is brilliant as is Legman's notation. I'm not likely to start typing the whole thing up but if there is anything in particular you're interested in... Often you can "score" simply asking if there is a bawdy version of almost any trad song. :-) |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: greg stephens Date: 04 Apr 02 - 07:21 PM Lets leave really unprintable songs unprintable.Then the folk process can continue untoubled by anyone! |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Joe Offer Date: 04 Apr 02 - 08:23 PM Oh, darn. This may get me on a book-buying binge again. I got Roll Me In Your Arms, (Volume 1), for twenty bucks a while back. So far, I've been able to resist the urge to by the second volume, Blow the Candle Out, because I didn't think it had songs. The first volume is a great collection of bawdy songs, well-annotated. Some of them stem from the days of my youth, which makes me feel pretty old... So, what am I missing in the second volume? I checked "unprintable" "randolph" at www.bookfinder.com, and found the volumes run $50 to $60 each (new), but a Canadian bookseller has the two volumes used for $69 US. -Joe Offer- |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: raredance Date: 04 Apr 02 - 08:43 PM So JOe, you should buy the Canadian set, then sell me the $20 one you no longer need :-) rich r |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Lonesome EJ Date: 05 Apr 02 - 12:40 AM Oh come on Abbey or Joe O, post at least one of the shorter songs just to maintain a needed level of bawdiness on the forum. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Les B Date: 05 Apr 02 - 12:54 AM I've only got a couple of Randolph's books; Vol. 2 - Songs of the South & West, and Pissing in the Snow, which I stumbled onto in a used bookstore, but boy did he do some fine work. I've got to say, in this day and age, what the hell could be considered "unprintable" when you see some of the stuff that's spread around the internet. Where can one read about his career and his publishing fight with Academia ? |
Subject: ADD: The Old Cat From: Joe Offer Date: 05 Apr 02 - 01:03 AM Ahem! Well, I have to say that although I'm glad to have this book and will post songs if people request them, there are many I won't post on my own initiative. I'm a shy kinda guy, ya know, and most of these songs tend to make me blush. Here's a cute one, though.
Similarly,
Tune: "He's a Jolly Good Fellow" or "The Bear Went Over the Mountain." -Joe Offer, off to find more songs he's willing to post- |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Lonesome EJ Date: 05 Apr 02 - 01:24 AM LOL! Well done, in the spirit of a true Seminary student! :>} |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: masato sakurai Date: 05 Apr 02 - 01:32 AM It must be noted these two volumes were published by the University of Arkansas Press. Though there're some exceptions (for example, Ed Cray's The Erotic Muse), most university presses are indifferent to bawdy things. Bawdy or erotic folksongs have sometimes been discussed in scholarly journals, but examples themselves are often omitted or edited. Such materials were almost always, if ever, published in hard-to-get books and articles (see G. Legman's "Erotic Folksongs and Ballads: An International Bibliography," Journal of American Folklore, vol. 103, no. 410, pp. 417-501). ~Masato |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,kevinhowcroft@hotmail.com Date: 05 Apr 02 - 04:38 AM try pills to purge melancholy, or not as you wish |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Tam the bam fraeSaltcoatsScotland Date: 05 Apr 02 - 05:17 AM Greg, These songs that you think are unprintable and should remain that way. Well as a folksinger (of sorts) I think that's a shame because if we don't sing them then they will be forgotten, is not what the folk process is supposed to be to keep songs alive, and it doesn't matter if anyone else likes them. These songs were written to be sung. Keep the bawdy and unprintable songs going. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,Ian Date: 05 Apr 02 - 07:54 AM The Bonny Black Hare (oft. performed by Dave Swarbrick & Fairport COnvention) must come close in this category! I learnt the melody on my Mandolin, figured out what it was all about & have since chickened out from singing it in company! For some reason the lyrics are missing from the DT. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Charley Noble Date: 05 Apr 02 - 08:30 AM Well, here's an unprintable song from my extended family to the tune of "If I had the Wings of an Angel": I love to see Nellie make #####, She ##### a beautiful stream; She shoots it a mile and a quarter, And you can't see her #### for steam. At least I've never seen it in print. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 05 Apr 02 - 08:38 AM There are two sets of Bonny Black Hare in the DT, though one is spelled bonnie, for some reason. In neither case is a correct source given, but these were later supplied in a thread on the subject. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 05 Apr 02 - 10:05 AM Ian & Malcolm: This is one of the (many) areas in which Unprintable truely becomes valuable as a research tool. "Bonny Black Hare" is a fine old song but I've only heard Carthy sing it. Since it's sort of key-optional & since I haven't 1000th the control Carthy has, it's kinda hard for me to sing. Randolph gives a version, apparently learned about 1890. Other than changing the date of the events, it has remarkably similar text to the English version. However, it uses "Villikins" ("Sweet Betsy") for a tune. This scans extremely well except one squeezed line. Actually scans somewhat better than Carthy's tune. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 05 Apr 02 - 10:11 AM Quoting (ahem) myself from a post to rec.music.folk (from Google - I didn't keep it, Subject: Re: Source of "House of the Rising Sun" - with the "Nasty verses" - 1999/10/28) re a long thread re male standpoint versions of "House of the Rising Sun:" Legman gives the first-ever notation of the song as by Lomax in 1937 from Kentucky. He printed in _Our Singing Country_ and then in _F. S. of North Amer_ as "Rising Sun Blues" with text as is commonly known. However Lomax gives "tell my sister" with "brother" as an alternate. According to Legman this is the source of the title change and the purpose was to reduce direct references to prostitution (although the song's first line remains intact.) Yes, the male standpoint is then given. Collected in the Ozarks by Randolph first in 1949 and all 3 Ozark texts are from the male POV. "Nasty verses" were self-censored. However, Randolph got them from a 1950 Ozark singer who reportedly learned them from miners in 1905: There is a house in New Orleans, They call it the Rising Sun, And when you want your pecker spoilt That's where you get it done. They drink all day an' fuck all night Until your money's gone; They kick your ass out in the street When the second shift comes on... Note that this well-preceeds the well-known blues versions. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Lonesome EJ Date: 05 Apr 02 - 12:09 PM Somehow, Abbey, those bawdy verses fit the theme of the song as well as any of the "mournful" ones we're used to hearing. My guess is that many of the lyrics we are familiar with for traditional songs have been modified from the original forms, primarily so they could be "printable". |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: JohnInKansas Date: 05 Apr 02 - 01:58 PM G. Legman has a couple of articles in the Journal of the American Folklore Society Vol 103, that you might find interesting if the Journal is in your local library. masato sakurai noted above that in Vol 103, No. 410, October-December 1990 page 417, his Erotic Folksongs and Ballads: An International Bibliography is a very long listing of hundreds of obscure and unobtainable (possibly non-existent?) citations. Mr. Legman was involved for many years in a running dispute with "the academics" who had disparaged his (and Vance Randolph's) work as "unscholarly," due to his failure to "cite fully from published sources." One might debate whether this was his "I can too," or "You b...ds wouldn't wouldn't know the difference if I just made up a bunch of s...t," but it was impressive. The following is the "header" from a separate article, "Unprintable" Folklore: the Vance Randolph Collection, by Mr. Legman, from the same Journal. My records are incomplete. I believe this article begins on page 259 of the same "volume" of the JAFS, although it doesn't appear on the banner page list of articles for that issue. During most of his working life, Vance Randolph, the great Ozark folklorist and writer, failed to receive the recognition he deserved from the folklore establishment, and he was forced by publishing convention to suppress the substantial and important erotic stories and songs in his collection. The forthcoming publication by University of Arkansas Press of Randolph's heretofore "unprintable" songs and other lore provides an occasion for examining the character, causes, and costs of suppressing such materials. The article - some 20 pages worth - expounds in some detail on the "politics" of publishing unexpurgated folklore, and has some interesting opinions on a number of frequently cited (and frequently quoted) published works. Mr. Gershon relates some of Vance Randolph's difficulties with "folklorist" academicians, without too much complaint about his own similar difficulties. While researching something else, I came across a report of Mr. Legman's attendance at a conference of the AFS - on their web site. When I learned, a couple of weeks later, of Mr Legman's death, I went back to the web site to see if I should learn a little more about him - and found found that he has been "expunged" from the site. The page that I had printed on my first visit now made no mention of him - but was still displayed as an "archived" page with no indication of "correction." So much for historical accuracy by academicians(?). The Vance Randolph item cited above gives a pretty good idea of why(?) this may have happened. John |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,Les B. Date: 05 Apr 02 - 05:08 PM Thanks, John, I'll see if my local library can get it through inter-library loan. Isn't Academia, in general, a strange community of self-centered puritans !! |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST Date: 05 Apr 02 - 05:19 PM The problem isn't usually with the academics, but with the publishers (including publishers of academia, few of whom are academics). |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 05 Apr 02 - 05:23 PM JiC: Well put. Long as you're checking journals, have a look for Southern Folklore Quarterly 40(1976), pp 59-122. (I got it on Inter-Library Loan - they copied it free for me.) It's a fascinating study on & called "Bawdy Monologues and Rhymed Recitations." Includes items as "The Wild West Show" and "Daniel in the Lions' Den.' On those occasions that Legman did find a venue to publish he made the most of it and wrote everything he could come up with on the topic. And that was often a whole lot. He was certainly an "evil genius." His scholarship was staggeringly complete and I feel sure that comment on 'his failure to "cite fully from published sources."' is an implied slander. He cited (as you wrote) from voluminous sources that check out completely legit. He also cited from many unpublished and manuscript and extremely rare sources from his personal collecting and field work. These would have been nearly impossible for others to verify but I think few tried - few went to Legman's study to look themselves. On the other hand, I have the impression that his off-hand opinions, claims and observations may have exceeded strick factuality. He was ostracized. He was a brilliant scholar and also a true vulgarian and also an extreme lecher. I have a bit of bio material on him if you're interested. He was personally responsible for the whole Western interest in origami - from his 1955 exhibit. His death went unnoticed for several years. I tried to contact him through his publisher and several collegues for two years. It finally came out he'd died in 1999. He is due considerable credit for his work. Not the least, Legman is due great credit for his work on the Unprintable. It's good work and just the footnotes lead you to hundreds more strings of interest. (Not unlike this forum.) It must have been a great pleasure to Randolph to know Legman had taken on this massive task - although a bit sad that Randolph died - a broken man - before it was published. I hadn't heard of Legman's erasure from scholarly pages but it doesn't surprise me at all. He was the bane of the priggish academic. That does still amaze me. In these days of pornographic commix, Playboy TV, detail description of Mr Clinton's sex life on network TV, etc - why this furror about bawdy folksong? How can it be that as of today, there are only three (3 - count 'em) scholarly works in print using bawdy folksong. Three! Unprintable , Cray's Erotic Muse and Logsdon's WhoreHouse Bells... (on Cowboy songs.) (There are several editions of Merry Muses including one by Legman but I mean folksongs.) Sure, many under-the-counter song books & one or two over-the-counter ones. But few have music & no others I know of are properly annotated. And all three in the 1990's. There are no such collections of logger's or prostitute's or miner's songs and most amazing, no sailor songs. (Yes, I know you know "The Good Ship Venus" but you know what I mean.) Hugill notes, eg, that "Leave Her Johnny" was the bawdiest chantey of all but I've never seen a single bawdy verse of it. Now, here's the thing. Hugill is reputed to have collected (and sung at least once when drunk) many bawdy sea songs & verses. There had to have been huge numbers of them. But he never published, recorded or allowed himself to be taped singing any. In one of those obscure footnotes in Unprintable, Legman claimed to have Hugill's manuscript bawdy collection. He would, he said, work it up the same as he did for Randolph. Of course, we have nothing of it, but did he really have such a collection? Did it exist? Where is it now? There's some questions for you! I have Gordon's complete "Inferno" collection and Buchan's "Secret Songs of Silence" but I'd sure love to see Hugill's ms. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: JohnInKansas Date: 05 Apr 02 - 05:41 PM The Legman article from the JAFS - the one about Randolph - gives a fair summary of his attitudes, and raises some "probably justified" criticisms of a few identified "academicians" (to distinguish them from real scholars). There is also a fair outline of "the history of ... folklore, with some citations of "what's worthwhile" and what is "overly analysed." I particularly liked his citation of one 300+ page book on a 40 line poem, as an example of "scholarly folklore," although I probably won't try to buy that book(!). Note that some of Legman's work survives. It was only in the "news" page about recent participants in symposia that he was "erased," according to my look at it. A note for those interested. Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com) finds only vol I if you search by "Randolph" but finds both volumes if you search by "Legman" - although they have the title incorrect on Vol II in any case. Vol I is still $60 and Vol II $50 (US). John |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Bill D Date: 05 Apr 02 - 06:08 PM Abby...I personally know someone who claims to have recorded Hugill singing a bunch of these songs while drunk. This was done at Mystic a number of years ago... He said he would let me hear the tape, but would not agree to dupe it...and I had not thought of this in quite awhile....nor have I ever actually heard it. I may just make some inquiries again.... |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,Les B. Date: 06 Apr 02 - 02:06 AM Slight thread drift here: I went off to my local library to see about inter-library loan of the AFS journal for the article about Randolph. They sent me to the State Historical Society across town, who turned out NOT to have it. But, on stopping in their book store, for the first time in a year, I found Katie Lee's book "10,000 Goddam Cattle"!! Thanks for giving my Karma bus road directions! |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 06 Apr 02 - 10:12 AM Bill D: :-) I've heard this story before. As I recall it was taped in a pub in England. (As well.) But it never seems to appear as tape or text. I'm beginning to think it may be part of the folklore of folklore....No dis to your friend. Les: Well done - a very hard book to find. And an important one. I got mine direct from her (the address is on the back of the book - she published direct, I guess) but I had to kick & threaten & moan & plead for it - she only had a very few left.
|
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Les B Date: 06 Apr 02 - 02:42 PM This version of Lee's "10,000 Goddam Cattle" seems to be a recent re-issue by the University of New Mexico. This is dumb, but was she a folkie in the '60's?? I don't remember her, although she implies she was playing of some kind of circuit, and mentions Travis Edmonston (sp?) of Bud & Travis. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: greg stephens Date: 06 Apr 02 - 02:49 PM Tam frae Saltcoats: I am 100% in favour of singing unprintable songs, as anyone who's been in a pub with me when I've had one two many can testify: I just meant keep them unprinted, and then the good old folk process of aural transmission can carry on uncomplicated by scholars, books, computers etc.Keep them naughty taboo and enjoyable. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 06 Apr 02 - 07:19 PM Les B: I don't know much about her career but I believe the following: She has several records, some still availavle. I most associate her with Cisco Houston era since they were SO's for a while. She continued on but likely mostly in the southwest. A rave from AMG: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll Katie Lee is a real cow girl. When she isn't singing by the camfire or in concert, she is running a ranch or guiding raft trips down the Colorado. Many years ago Katie was the darling of the New York crowd, singing outlandishly funny, and often bawdy uptown folk songs. Today she sings outlandishly bawdy, and often funny songs about the old west. She is so beautiful and has such a youthful approach to her performing -- and to life, that it is hard to believe it is the same Katy Lee on her earlier recordings. She is a gem! -- Don Stevens |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Charley Noble Date: 06 Feb 03 - 08:21 AM I've done a similar post under "bawdy songs" but this was the thread I was really intending to revive: Just received the two volume Vance Randolph "Unprintable" collection: ROLL ME IN YOUR ARMS and BLOW THE CANDLE OUT via Bookfinder.com; I got the best price for two mint books from DoubleDiscount.com, $42 each plus shipping. What joy! Finally two volumes of unexpurgated songs, many of which we've been forced to sing in the expurgated version for years because of the moral taste of song collectors, the academic world, or publishers. I may still choose to sing the expurgated versions, but it will now be a personal choice. I understand from his introduction that the editor of Randolph's work, G. Legman, also has in his possession an uncensored manuscript of Stan Hugill's sea shamty collection, and that he is hoping to publish them next. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Charley Noble Date: 06 Feb 03 - 08:35 AM Damn! Legman died in 1999. Guess I should have reviewed this thread BEFORE posting. Wonder what dusty shelf Stan Hugill's "Unprintable Sea Shanties" ended up on; I was at one of the late night Mystic SeaPort uncensored sea shanty sessions that Stan led. Charley Noble |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Bill D Date: 06 Feb 03 - 11:01 AM ...and I have checked with the guy who recorded that session with Hugill. He has his own copy, but since it is 'officially' owned by Mystic, he will not allow copies to be made. He renewed his offer to allow me to listen to it anytime. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 06 Feb 03 - 10:07 PM Charley; I saw that footnote, too! No evidence for it has yet turned up in all this time. Cray thinks it might be one of Legman's "exaggerations." Still, it's plain unreasonable to hold that there is no legit collection anywhere of bawdy sea songs. Just gotta be one. |
Subject: Index: 'Unprintable Songs'- Roll Me In Your Arms From: Joe Offer Date: 06 Feb 03 - 10:37 PM OK, so here's the index of the first volume of Randolph/Legman's "Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore." It's called Roll Me In Your Arms, published by the University of Arkansas Press in 1992. I paid $19.95 for my one volume at Tower Records, back when Tower was in business. Charlie paid big bucks and got both volumes. Maybe he'll grace us with the index of the second volume. It makes sense to post the index of a significant songbook. That way, the song title will come up in a search, and people will know whom to ask for lyrics and such. -Joe Offer- 1. Pretty Polly 33 1B The Snoring Maid 34 2. I Blowed Her with My Horn 40 3. The Bonny Black Hare 42 4. I Reckon You Know 44 4B Ho Green! 45 4C Green Grows the Hill-O 46 4D Formations of Nature 47 5. The Old Man Came Home (Our Goodman) 53 6. Boring for Oil 58 7. Blow the Candle Out 61 7B Blow the Candle Out (11) 63 8. The Old Sea Crab 66 9. The Night-Hawk 74 9B The Sailor-Girl's Lament 75 9C An Inch above Your Knee 76 10. The Sailor Boy (Rosemary Lane) 81 11. The Billy-Goat of Durbytown 89 12. The Little Ball of Yarn 97 12B The Little Ball of Yarn (II) 98 12C The Little Ball of Yarn (III) 99 13.I Went to the Drug Store 105 14. I Went Upstairs 108 15. I Went to the River (Swapping Song) 110 16. The Jolly Tinker 113 17. There Was an Old Woman 1/8 18. Old Moll Roe (Molly Monroe) 1/9 19. The Horny Crew (Three Old Whores) 121 20.The Amsterdam Maid (A-Roving) /24 21. My Tra-La-La-Lee 126 22. The Old Spencer Rifle 128 23. Baby, Take Your Leg Off Mine 130 23B Take a Whiff on Me (Rebecca) 131 24. I Ask that Gal 133 25. Bo-Wow and Bo-Wee /35 26. The Old Woman Pf-ff-t! 136 27. The One-Eyed Riley 137 28. My Pretty Little Miss (Seventeen) 140 29. The Bear Went over the Mountain /45 30, Two Ruby Red Lips 146 31. The Ring-Dang-Doo 147 31B The Rang-a-Tang-Too /48 32. All I Need 152 33. The Old Gray Mare (Whiffletree Song) 154 34. John Briney Linn (Tom Bolynn) /55 34B Brinzi O'Flynn 156 35. Old King Cole /58 36. I Ain't So Young /59 36B When I Was in My Prime /60 37. To Market, to Market 162 37B Tottingham Fair 163 38. Nelly Was a Milkmaid /69 39. Funky-Butt 173 39B The St. Louis Tickle(r) 175 40. The Schoolhouse Door (This Mornin') 177 41. Peckerwood a-Peckin' (Sweet Thing) 179 42. I Got a Gal in Berryvillc /8/ 43. Pickle-Ass Creek /84 43B Head o' the Holler (Sowcoon Mountain) 184 44. The Rogue (Knaves Will Be Knaves) /87 45. My Father Was Hung (The Gypsy Maid) /91 46. I Wish I Was a Finger Ring 196 46B I Wish I Was a Finger Ring (II) 197 47. The Old ChishoLm Trail /99 47B That'll Do, Young Man 201 48. Mother, May I Go Out to Swim'? 206 49. Do Your Balls Hang Low? 207 50. A Soldier Rode (Trooper and Maid) 209 51. When I Was Young (The Battleship Maine) 213 52. Peter Murphy's Little Dog 214 53. Down on the Farm 2/6 53B Down on the Farm (Il) 2/7 53C The Handsome Young Farmer 2/9 53D There's Fun in the Country 222 54. Waltz Me Around Again (Limericks) 227 55. We Are the Kappas 229 56. A Soldier I Would Be 23/ 56B Old Aunt Sis 231 57. I Saw Her Snatch 234 57B I Saw Her Snatch (II) 235 58. A Dark and Rolling Eye (The Fireship) 237 59. Fascinatin' Lady 240 60. The Lady in Red 243 61. Poor Lil (Opium Lil) 248 62. The House of the Rising Sun 250 63. The Runaway Train 254 64. The Foggy Dew 257 64B The Foggy Dew (II) 260 64C Eyes Like Sloes 264 65. The 'Taters They Grow Small 265 66. The Inches Song (Drive It Home) 268 67. Down in the Lehigh Valley 272 67B Down in the Lehigh Valley (II) 273 68. My Foot Is in the Stirrup 275 69. Jake and Julie (Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-ay) 276 70. The Winnipeg Whore 278 71. The Long Peggin' Awl 280 72, I Asked My Mother 282 73. Cocky-Doodle Ass-Hole 284 74. Big Joe Clipler 286 75. Left Me with Child 289 76. Drinkin' Corn Whiskey 290 77. At the Cross 291 78. Jackie and Mossy 293 79. Baby Shit in Papa's Hand 296 80. She Keeps Her Boody Clean 297 81. She's a Grinder 298 82. Sweet Betsey from Pike 300 83. Nottingham Fair (Nottarnun Town) 302 84. The Three Butchers (We Hunted and We Hollered) 306 85. I'm Ruint Forever (Snapoo) 308 85B Snap-poo, Snap-peter 309 86. Molly, Oh Molly (The Beehive) 312 87. Yaller Gal, Yaller Gal (Green Corn) 313 88. School Days, School Days 3/6 89. Peezy-Weezy 318 90. Liza Ann 320 91. Miss Lucy 321 91B I Wish I Was in Alabam' 322 92. I Want to Be a Farmer 324 93. Bumblebee Cotton, Peckerwood Corn 325 94. The Wide Missouri (Shenandoah) 329 95. Haul Away, Joe! 33] 95B When I Was a Little Boy 332 96. The Red-Bird and the Crow 333 97. I Wouldn't Marry an Old Man 334 98. With That Old Thing a-Shaking 336 99. Uncle Bud, Uncle Bud 340 100. No Use to Rattle the Blind 342 101. The Fiddler's Bitch 246 102. The Preacher's Wife 348 102B The Bowl Is Yet to Fill 348 103. Bang Away, My Lulu 351 104. My Gal Ain't Got No Tail 356 105. Wings of Gold 357 106. Rinky Dinky Di-Lo 358 107. Mammy, What Is That? 361 108. Turn to Your Wives 363 109. The Girls around Here 364 110. Pennyroyal Tea 365 111. Old Aunt Kate 367 112. Shaggin' Away 369 113. Rub It Up, Shove It Up 371 114. Ashes to Ashes 373 115. Fire in the Whore-house 375 116. Of All the Beasts 376 117. With a Rag in Her Ass 378 117B The Twig So Tender 381 118. Old Granny Blair 383 119. One Little Nigger 385 120. The Old Cat 386 121. Kiss That Man's Ass 387 122. Roll Me Over in the Clover 389 123. Lizzie Brown 393 124. Big Fat Gals in Sandy Land 395 125. Black-Eyed Susan 397 126. The Hog-Eye Man 401 127. Cotton-Eye Joe 405 128. Cripple Creek 407 128B Cripple Creek (II) 407 129. Down on the Pichelo Farm 409 130. Sally Goodin 41] 131. Pop Goes the Weasel 413 132. Turkey in the Straw 416 132B Turkey in the Straw (II) 417 133. Higher Up the Cherry Tree 422 134. Buffalo Gals (Goin' to Come Out Tonight) 424 135. The Crow Fucked the Buzzard 426 136.Old Joe Clark 428 137. Old Dan Tucker 431 138. The Girl I Left Behind Me (Wayward Boy) 434 139. Sugar in My Coffee (Sugar in the Gourd) 441 140. The Wild Irishman (Old Irish Washerwoman) 443 141. In the White-Oak Timber 446 142. Uncle Joe 447 143. Dog Shit a Rye Straw 448 144. Ida Red 450 145. Sal's Got a Meat-Skin 452 146. Oh Lord, Gals! 453 147. Little Liza Jane 455 148. Hi Rio, Randy-O (Organ Grinder) 459 149. Shave 'Em Dry 461 150. Skinner on the Dock 466 151. Peggy Howatt 468 152. Casey Jones 471 153. Frankie and Johnny 477 154. Lydia Pinkham 485 155. The Dogs' Convention 490 156. The Spanish Patrillio 492 157. Cornbread When I'm Hungry 494 158. A Little Piece of Whang 496 159. I Fucked Sal 499 160. She Sprang Aloft 500 160B Christopher Columbo 502 161. The Bastard King of England 506 162. The Mountaineers 510 163. Mademoiselle from Armentières 513 164. Jingo Jang-Jingo 516 165. Captain Perkins' Troopers 518 165B The Foreskin Fusileers 520 166. Down in the Valley (Abelina) 523 167. The Hoochie-Koochie Dance 525 168. A Letter from Home 527 168B My Family Life (Dismal Shits) 529 169. In the Prison Cell I Sit 531 170. There'll be a Hot Time 532 171. Under the Garden Wall 535 172. The Keyhole in the Door 538 173. Tickle My Toe (I Touched Kind Betty) 545 174. Chippy on the Rooftop 552 175. Jingle-Berry Tea 555 175B Sheep-Shit Tea 556 176. This Mornin' 560 176B Walking Down Canal Street 561 177. Red As a Jaybird's Ass 564 178. Redwing 566 179. My Name Is Jim Taylor 571 180. Root, Hog or Die! 576 |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Rapparee Date: 07 Feb 03 - 07:02 AM My gracious, after reading the indices to the Randolph books I didn't realize that I knew so many "unprintable" songs (either completely or in bits). Whatever shall I do??????? 8-) |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 07 Feb 03 - 10:45 AM Joe, FWIW, here's a search result from The Ballad Index. I post just for reference until you have both volumes nice & neat. Might as well delete it then. I feel it must have big errors. These are main BI titles for which there is a R-L entry. With some shopping, it's not too hard to get both volumes for about $25 each. 1 search All text for "Randolph-Legman" --------------------------------------------------- 1 A-Rovin' 2 Afore Daylight 3 At Brighton 4 Bad Girl's Lament, The (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime) [Laws Q26] 5 Ball of Yarn 6 Bang Away, Lulu (I) 7 Bang Away, Lulu (II) 8 Bastard King of England, The 9 Bawdy Alphabet, The 10 Blow the Candle Out [Laws P17] 11 Blow the Man Down 12 Bo-wow and Bo-wee 13 Boarding-School Maidens, The 14 Bonny Black Hare, The 15 Boring for Oil 16 Brian O'Lynn (Tom Boleyn) 17 Buffalo Gals 18 Bumblebee Cotton, Peckerwood Corn 19 Careless Love 20 Casey Jones (II) 21 Chamber Lye 22 Charlotte the Harlot (III) 23 Chisholm Trail (II), The 24 Christopher Columbo 25 Cobbler, The 26 Creeping and Crawling 27 Derby Ram, The 28 Dog's Convention, The 29 Down on the Farm 30 Drive It On 31 Eleventh Street Whores, The 32 Fiddler's Bitch, The 33 Fill, Bowl, Fill 34 Fire Ship, The 35 Foggy Dew, The (The Bugaboo) [Laws O3] 36 Footprints on the Dashboard 37 Four Nights Drunk [Child 274] 38 Four Old Whores 39 Frankie and Albert [Laws I3] 40 Frigging Fusileers, The 41 Gay Caballero, The 42 Gilderoy 43 Girl I Left Behind, The [Laws P1A/B] 44 Gonna Tie My Pecker to My Leg 45 Good Ship Venus, The 46 Haselbury Girl, The (The Maid of Tottenham, The Aylesbury Girl) 47 Hog-Eye Man, The 48 House of the Rising Sun, The 49 I Ask that Gal 50 I Wouldn't Marry an Old Man 51 In Kansas 52 Jackie and Mossy 53 Katie Morey [Laws N24] 54 Keyhole in the Door, The 55 Lehigh Valley, The 56 Life Presents a Dismal Picture 57 Little Piece of Whang, The 58 Little Red Train, The 59 Liza Ann 60 Lizzie Brown 61 Long Peggin' Awl, The 62 Lydia Pinkham 63 Mademoiselle from Armentieres 64 My Foot Is in the Stirrup 65 My Tra-La-La-Lee 66 Nelly the Milkmaid 67 No Balls at All 68 No Use to Rattle the Blind 69 Nottamun Town (Nottingham Fair) 70 O'Reilly's Daughter 71 Old Dan Tucker 72 Old Joe Clark 73 Old King Cole (I) 74 Old Man from Over the Sea, The 75 Old Spencer Rifle,The 76 Organ Grinder, The 77 Peggy Howatt 78 Peter Murphy's Little Dog 79 Pioneers, The 80 Please, Don't Burn Our Shithouse Down 81 Poor Lil 82 Red Wing (II) 83 Ring-Dang-Doo (I), The 84 Rinky Dinky Di-Lo 85 Rogue, The 86 Roll Me Over 87 Roll Your Leg Over 88 Root, Hog, or Die! (II) 89 Rosemary Lane [Laws K43] 90 Sea Crab, The 91 She Came Rollin' Down the Mountain 92 She Was Poor But She Was Honest (II) 93 Skinner on the Dock 94 Snapoo 95 Strawberry Roan, The [Laws B18] 96 Sweet Betsy from Pike [Laws B9] 97 Take a Whiff on Me 98 Teasing Songs 99 There'll Be a Hot Time (In the Old Town Tonight) 100 Three Jolly Huntsmen 101 Tickle My Toe 102 Till Cock Gets Higher 103 Tinker, The 104 Trooper and Maid [Child 299] 105 Trooper Watering His Nag, The 106 Under the Garden Wall 107 Walking Down Canal Street 108 Wayward Boy, The 109 We Go to College 110 Wee Wee Man, The [Child 38] 111 When I Was Young and in My Prime 112 When I Was Young (Don't Never Trust a Sailor) 113 Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing, The 114 Winnipeg Whore, The |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: masato sakurai Date: 07 Feb 03 - 11:10 AM Note that "Folksongs Collected without Tunes" are contained not in volume I, but in volume II (Blow the Candle Out). ~Masato |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 07 Feb 03 - 10:51 PM Joe - why you did you not put in the numbers? (Bill Gates will number them for you.) [OK, garg, just for you. -Joe Offer, May 2017]
Blow the Candle Out
Section A. Folksongs Collected without Tunes
181. The Lord Made the Sun 585 Section B. Vulgar Rhymes from the Ozarks
TO BE POSTED LATER
Sincerely, |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 07 Feb 03 - 11:43 PM Joe - please - put your best talents to use....isn't there a convenient way to bring EJ, and Abby, and Masato, with Charlie and all the other kindred souls into a convenient MC forum... away from the babel of the rabble.
The Mudcat was once a haven from the newsgroups - and now it is worse!!!
Sincerely,
The old thinking was Max needs hits to sell the domain.... the old school is gone. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Mockingbird MacGillickutty Date: 08 Feb 03 - 12:24 AM Dear unprintable sources: Please give us a glimpse of "When I was in my prime" from the Ozark (?) text. To think that one of the most plaintive and chaste of all rejection songs should be remembered in its "unprintability" is just the thing to start a row amoung the church-going bards. Let me join the fun. Please : When I Was In My Prime. That naughty version. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: harpgirl Date: 08 Feb 03 - 01:31 AM I want to hear that one as well!!! Everything on The Rugby Song Thread is unprintable thanks to Longbeach's half blind piano player! |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 08 Feb 03 - 01:35 AM Mockingbird - that request falls within Joe Offers's teritory - it is listed as When I Was Young and in My Prime 49, 189; as lyric, 36, 64.
Have patience....given the pile of MC/BS it may close to year before the thread is resurrected and his "responcibility" rediscovered...like mine was tonight.
Sincerely, |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 08 Feb 03 - 01:40 AM Abby - it is a true blessing to find you around on occasion.
Sincerely,
|
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: harpgirl Date: 08 Feb 03 - 01:53 AM Ha! I knew it was all Sales's fault!!! And he's got an evil twin to boot!!!! |
Subject: When I Was in my Prime From: Joe Offer Date: 08 Feb 03 - 03:25 AM The digital Tradition has When I Was in my Prime, which is quite different from what you'll find in Randolph-Legman. Randolph/Legman #36a I AIN'T SO YOUNG Oh, when I was young an' in my prime, I sure did have me a hell of a time; I used to sing an' dance with glee, But I ain't so young as I used to be. The pretty gals they set on the grass, So I always grabbed 'em by the ass, I took an' fucked 'em just for fun, An' I ain't forgot the way it's done. Hidey didey hoop-de-doo, I sure would love to diddle you, I'd like to sing an' dance with glee, ButI ain't so young as fused to be. I hugged an' kissed 'em just for fun, An' I thickened up a many a one, But some of 'em still got a kiss for me, If I ain't as young as I used to be! Click to playRandolph/Legman #36B(a) WHEN I WAS IN MY PRIME When I was young an' in my prime, I could get a piece of cock any time, But now I'm old, my balls are cold, I can't get a bit to save my soul. (part of a minstrel show song) #36B(b) When I was young an' in my prime, I could git a little bit 'most any time, But now I'm old an' my cod's grown cold, An' I couldn't git a bit to save my soul. #36B(c) When I was young an' in my prime, I could fetch a kid 'most any time, But now I'm old an' my balls got cold, I couldn't git a hard-on to save my soul. When I was young an' in my prime, I could do pretty good 'most any time, But now I'm old an' my balls got cold, I'm nothin' but an old cuckold. #36B(d) When I was young and in my prime, Sunk my axe deep 'most every time, But now I'm old, and my heart's growin' cold, And I can't swing a lick to save my soul. There you have it. -Joe Offer- |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: harpgirl Date: 08 Feb 03 - 09:43 AM gee whiz, it's not very singable is it???????? hahahahahaha |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: Abby Sale Date: 08 Feb 03 - 12:05 PM hi Harpy. Why not singable? (I see you're kidding but am feeling slow today) I'm looking at vol II now and just too lazy to get vol I and verify that I'm making any sense... Legman certainly uses "Gal I Left Behind Me" and seems to suggest "Battleship of Maine" for this. (Yikes, it's only across the room to check but I haven't had Saturday brunch yet.) But have a look at Vulgar Rhymes #1, p.666 "When a Man Gets Old." Randolph did not collect the full epic just a few verses but it's the a remarkable match to "Eskimo Nell" and the same sentiment as above. If you can get through Legman's manio-pedantic verbiage - especially in the footnotes - there's a great deral of interesting stuff there. Legman refers this back also to "Do your balls hang low." (This might also be of interest to the current 'Fakelore' thread.) Legman notes that in older men the testes hang lower and lower (due to the relaxation of the cremasters, if you really wanted to know); this is related to folk references in many stories, songs and even Shakespeare. The folk notion is that the process of the cremaster muscle moving the testes up and down in normal life needed to keep the testicles warm to avoid sterility. This failure to keep them warm in old age is the reason (so these songs aver) that older men become sterile/non-virile. Oh, no, says Legman. Absolute fakelore. The point of the cremaster movements is to keep them cool. Just below normal body heat. If it were to keep them warm it would be much easier (for Evolution) - and less painful from time to time - to just keep them inside the body cavity. Legman rejects the notion that low-hung balls are a signal of lessened virility. It should always be remembered, however, in any assessment of Legman (not in any way to demean his genius) that he was an extreme lecher and in very old age might still be describer as a randy old bugger. He might well have been referring to his own physiology. |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: dick greenhaus Date: 08 Feb 03 - 03:22 PM While certainly a (mostly) secondary source, DigiTrad has a fair number of bawdy songs (278 of 'em last time I looked). Try a search for @bawdy |
Subject: RE: 'Unprintable Songs' From: GUEST,Q Date: 08 Feb 03 - 07:14 PM @bawdy = 319 inc. variants, so grown a little since DG's count. There are a raft of others buried in threads. "Click to play" still down. I have several lists of these bawdies, some I have and some I know where to find. Putting them all together for easy recovery would be a logical step, but time-consuming. I recently came across a book called "Stag Lines," The Anthology of Virile Verse, 1940, edited by Maxwell Droke, Phoenix Press, NY. The songs and poems are not bawdy (Blue Velvet Band and Annie Breen are about as venturesome as it gets), but many of the old time songs and recitations that are sometimes hard to find are there. Mostly undocumented, however. |
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