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Lyr Req: There Ain't No Flies on Auntie
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Subject: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,stewmac Date: 07 Jul 02 - 12:58 PM I'm looking for the words to "Ain't No Flies on Auntie" This tune was recorded by the Carolina Tarheels back some years ago. Thanks for any help you may give. Stewart |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Bullfrog Jones Date: 07 Jul 02 - 01:09 PM There's a bunch of songs by the Carolina Tarheels on this site, if you haven't discovered it yet: Click here Sadly Auntie and her missing flies don't seem to be amongst them! BJ |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: masato sakurai Date: 07 Jul 02 - 02:11 PM Akins Birmingham Boys' "They Ain't No Flies On Auntie" (Columbia 15348-D; January 1929) can be heard at the Honkingduck site. The title is "There Ain't No Flies On Auntie" on the CD Alabama String Bands 1924 - 1937 (Document DOCD-8032), though. ~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: CapriUni Date: 07 Jul 02 - 02:45 PM Argh! Thanks for the link, Masato... just finished listening to the RA version of this from the Honkingduck site, and the recording quality is just clear enough for me to hear most of the words, but not all... Sounds like a great song (the kind with the macabre humor that 10 year old kids love to sing)... But this is gonna drive me nuts for the rest of the day! :::off to listen for times 3 and 4, now::: |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,stewmac Date: 07 Jul 02 - 03:39 PM Thanks Masato. Like CapriUni I heard the tune on Honking Duck but couldn't make out a verse or two. the one that puzzles me sounds something like: She don't scold the girls who pet, If they ain't got a husband yet. There ain't no flies.... etc. It's a great tune for an oldtimey jugband type format. Stewart |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: CapriUni Date: 07 Jul 02 - 04:51 PM She don't scold the girls who pet, If they ain't got a husband yet. There ain't no flies.... etc. (line breaks added) Well, stewmac, you heard the words more clearly than I did! I couldn't make out anything after "She don't scold the girls..." My take on "girls who pet" is that it may be a euphemism for masturbation, or sexual activity outside marriage. Another line that has me stumped, even after 5 listenings, comes after:
She don't drink and she don't smoke, The first verse also has me stumped... Is it something about getting to heaven if you _____? and I know (I think) there's a bit about it not being a sea song, even though sea songs are great... It was based on that bit that I saw this song as having a macabre sense of humor -- that it was a spoof of gospel songs that tell you that if you live a clean life, you won't rot after death -- hence, no flies on Auntie. ...But in every verse, Auntie is spoken of in the present tense, as if she were still very much alive... So, is she dead, or not? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,stewmac Date: 07 Jul 02 - 06:03 PM CapriUni I haven't got the intro yet, but its pretty clear. The verse you speak about goes: She don't drink, and she don't smoke, but she likes to hear a naughty joke. There ain't no flies......etc. the piece d'resistance though is: she rolls her stocking to her knees, When she sits so you can see, there ain't no flies....etc. Stewmac |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: CapriUni Date: 07 Jul 02 - 08:58 PM Okay, Stewmac, I've now got the first verse down, I'm pretty sure:
You think you're gonna hear a song about the deep blue sea Now, when it comes to the 3rd verse, I hear:
She don't condem the girls who pet, She's just the one that something yet The 4th verse, I hear:
She takes her liquor by the quart, But since "she don't drink" that could very well be "licker" ;-) Ummmm... So, anyway, Stewmac, what brought this song to mind? *big grin 'n wink*
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,stewmac Date: 07 Jul 02 - 09:12 PM Well thanks CapriUni for that first verse. I think I got the whole tune down now. All I gotta do now is get the 2 fellers that play oldtimey/celtic do sing the tune with me. I was patrolling the Honking Duck when I came across the tune and knew right away I wanted to perform this number in the round of folk clubs this coming season. I'm known for being 'different' and I think No Flies on Auntie fill the bill, don't you? Thanks again...... Stewmac |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: CapriUni Date: 07 Jul 02 - 10:13 PM I'm known for being 'different' and I think No Flies on Auntie fill the bill, don't you? Oh, definitely! That opener, especially, should get a laugh... partiicularly with folk club / pub regulars who've heard all those sailor songs over and over again.... I still don't hear any "husbands" in the 3rd verse, but that doesn't mean they aren't there... I could always email the propriator of honkingduck and ask, though, couldn't I? (though it's more fun to listen in tandem, like this, imnsho) |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jul 02 - 01:50 AM CapriUni, My take on "girls who pet" is that it may be a euphemism for masturbation, or sexual activity outside marriage. To "pet," or petting, is heavy necking, as my mother used to define it. Foreplay, but supposedly was something that didn't quite "go all the way." SRS |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: CapriUni Date: 08 Jul 02 - 07:47 AM The way I heard it defined: "necking" is kissing and 'stimulating' above the waist and "petting" is below the waist. Not "all the way" in terms of going all the way in, and risking pregnancy, but getting onto the front stoop! So, what do you hear in that line after "girls who pet"? I'm still stumped... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Mrrzy Date: 08 Jul 02 - 12:20 PM Slight thread creep, but what does "no flies on" mean? What is the origin of the phrase? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: masato sakurai Date: 08 Jul 02 - 01:26 PM 'Like the fake beard he wore in the cover photo [of the CD], the country-sounding name "Silas" was attached to E.E. Akins when he played on radio and made public appearances in bands with names like the "Plow Pushers" and "Silas Akins' Radio Favorites." In 1928 Akins traveled to Atlanta to record two songs, naughty for the times, with banjoist Johnny Molotow and guitarist Red Phillips as AKINS' BIRMINGHAM BOYS. The three are shown in the cover photo with radio announcer Dud Connolly and Louis Marston, who was "Uncle Bud" of the Boll Weevils, a band often included Y.Z. Hamilton.'-- Notes by Joyce Cauthen to V.A., Alabama String Bands 1924 - 1937 (Document DOCD-8032) The other song is "I Walked and Walked," which is also at Honkingduck. ~Masato |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,stewmac Date: 08 Jul 02 - 01:41 PM Mrrzy: My take on that saying is that when they say somebody "Has no flies on them", it usually means that they are movers and shakers. Obviously, flies only land on things that stay still. BTW, it's interesting how this thread has taken on some spicy little overtones, or is it undertones. Keep it up, (or is it down) I'm usually more certain, as there ain't no flies on me! Stewmac |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Mrrzy Date: 08 Jul 02 - 02:25 PM Thanks... I think. Seems to be (in usage) more "can't be fooled" or You can't put one over on me, than I'm a mover and shaker... others? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jul 02 - 02:09 AM I think "ain't no flies" falls closer to Mrrzy's understanding of it. A friend of mine (now in her upper 80's) always used to use the remark that there "weren't any flies on someone-or-other" to mean they were agile of mind, not easily fooled. But she lived on a dairy farm, so the saying could also easily mean the general level of physical activity that keeps pests away (the twitching of one's tail, if one is a horse or dairy cow). SRS |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Mrrzy Date: 09 Jul 02 - 10:15 AM Is No Flies On Me a British expression? I seem to recall it from old English children's books, like The Wouldbegoods, or something. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jul 02 - 11:25 AM Couldn't say. My friend and I are of Scandianvian extraction and communities in Washington State (Dad's Irish family was scattered around back east), and we lived near the Canadian border. Perhaps the influence of the Canadian/British radio or tv had something to do with this saying, perhaps the Scandinavian background harbored it. My ex used to rag me about some of my Scandihoovian sayings. "You betcha" always seemed to get a response. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Jim Dixon Date: 11 Jul 02 - 01:05 PM See the song in the DT called THERE AIN'T NO BUGS ON ME. It has an alternate chorus that begins "There ain't no flies on me." SILVER JACK also contains the line, "Stack your duds and cut your capers, for there ain't no flies on me." There is a discussion in the thread Question: Duds & Capers, what are they. I take it to mean, "I don't stand still enough to attract flies. I'm not lazy or idle like some of you guys." |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,wilco48 Date: 11 Jul 02 - 05:08 PM I still hear "ther ain't no flies on him" here frequently. (East tennessee). It means that the person is very judicious in exerting any energy, except when something develops that they really want to do. It's like getting after your kids to clean-up their room, and they're too tired, until something comes-up that they want to do (like four hours of touch football). "Ain't no flies on that boy now!!!" |
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Subject: Lyr Add: THEY AIN'T NO FLIES ON AUNTIE From: Jim Dixon Date: 30 Aug 03 - 09:05 AM Here's what I think I hear at the Honking Duck site: THEY AIN'T NO FLIES ON AUNTIE (As recorded by the Akins Birmingham Boys, 1929) You think you're gonna hear a song about that deep blue sea, But if that's running through your mind, mistaken you will be. Now sailor songs are very nice, I'm sure you will agree, But this is no sailor song, and you will shortly see: They ain't no flies on Auntie, on Auntie, on Auntie. They ain't no flies on Auntie, and I'll tell you the reason why: She don't drink nor she don't smoke, But she likes to hear a naughty joke. They ain't no flies on Auntie, and that's the reason why. They ain't no flies on Auntie, on Auntie, on Auntie. They ain't no flies on Auntie, and I'll tell you the reason why: She don't condemn the girls who pet. She says no one died from it yet. They ain't no flies on Auntie, and that's the reason why. They ain't no flies on Auntie, on Auntie, on Auntie. They ain't no flies on Auntie, and I'll tell you the reason why: She drinks her liquor by the quart, Liquor that she never bought, They ain't no flies on Auntie, and that's the reason why. They ain't no flies on Auntie, on Auntie, on Auntie. They ain't no flies on Auntie, and I'll tell you the reason why: She rolls her stockings to her knees. When she sets down, oh, you can see They ain't no flies on Auntie, and that's the reason why. (Repeat last verse.) |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,stewmac Date: 30 Aug 03 - 10:13 AM Thanks Jim. Your version is pretty darn close to what I heard on Honking Duck. It's a fun tune and goes over well at a party. Stewart |
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Subject: Lyr Add: THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON AUNTIE From: Jim Dixon Date: 23 Jan 11 - 11:41 AM From the sheet music at Mississippi State University: THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON AUNTIE Words and music by W. Van Der Decken. New York: Jack Mills, Inc., 1925. 1. You think you're going to hear a song about the deep blue sea, But if that's running through your mind, mistaken you will be. Sailor songs are very nice, I'm sure you will agree, But this is no sailor song, as you will shortly see: CHORUS 1: Oh, there ain't no flies on Auntie, on Auntie, on Auntie! There ain't no flies on Auntie, and I will tell you why: Her face is far from hideous, But flies are so fastidious, There ain't no flies on Auntie, and that's the reason why. 2. I've got to sing another verse to make this song complete. You'll always find a lot of flies around a bit of meat. Had nice weather lately? Don't tell me that it's all wet. Better sing that other bit, or else you will forget. CHORUS 2: Oh, there ain't no flies on Auntie, on Auntie, on Auntie! There ain't no flies on Auntie, and I will tell you why: At dancing, Auntie is sublime. She does a waltz in foxtrot time. There ain't no flies on Auntie, and that's the reason why. EXTRA CHORUSES (LINES 3-4): 3. She isn't fat; she isn't thin. She likes her little drop of milk. 4. She's been to Hollywood, you know, And she thinks Hollywood is slow. 5. She's not as young as she appears, But she's got very young ideas. 6. She handles liquor by the quart, Liquor that she never bought. 7. She rolls her stocking at the knee. When she sits down, oh, you can see— 8. She hates the sound of wedding chimes 'Cause she's been wed eleven times. 9. Her skirts are short, I realize, But she's got two good alibis. 10. She don't condemn the girls who pet. She says no one died from it yet. 11. She ain't a sap; she ain't a dunce. There ain't a thing she won't try once. 12. She doesn't drink; she doesn't smoke, But she loves to hear a naughty joke. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: GUEST,Old saw Date: 06 Feb 11 - 05:58 PM People, People,,,you don't know what "ain't no flies on refers to", come on do we have to spell it out...ok,,, She rolls her stockings to her knees. When she sets down, oh, you can see They ain't no flies on Auntie, and that's the reason why. SHE SHAVES! understand now, That's what it means...and you know what she shaves....wow in 1920 some nasty hillbilly oldtime rap song..LOL |
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Subject: Song From: GUEST,Stephen Morgan Date: 04 Jul 18 - 12:04 PM My own beloved auntie remembered the line "she ain't exactly hideous, but flies are so fastidious"--good song for teasing aunties! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: There Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Joe_F Date: 05 Jul 18 - 09:12 PM Not on me either |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: There Ain't No Flies on Auntie From: Jim Dixon Date: 08 Jul 18 - 11:42 PM From Americanisms—Old & New edited by John Stephen Farmer (London: Thomas Poulter & Sons, 1889), page 246: Flies.—I've no flies on me, or There ain't no flies on him, are slang phrases which, like most expressions of the kind, convey an insinuated rather than a direct meaning. There ain't no flies on him, signifies that he is a man of quick parts; one not quiet long enough for moss to grow on his heels; one who is wide awake, and knows a thing without its being kicked into him by a mule. Adam and Ebe was turned outen dar property on account ob dar sinfulness ob eaten ob de forbidden fruit, so we am tole in holy writ, but hit's de 'pinyon ob yer belubbed pasture, who reads de papers and ain't got no flies on him, dat dey would hab been turned out, anyhow. Jay Goul', or som' udder mernopolis, would hab come aroun' and claimed de groun' some time; and dey would hab got hit, too.—Texas Siftings, August, 1888. Persons who are capable of descending to New York and Boston English are fully justified in saying that there are no flies on St. Louis or the St. Louis delegation either.—Missouri Republican, February 24, 1888. —Sometimes the expression is more vulgarly put as "no fleas." |
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