Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Jun 22 - 03:12 PM

Joe - do cleanup

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: cnd
Date: 20 May 21 - 01:35 AM

Nice find, thanks for confirming!

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: GUEST,#
Date: 19 May 21 - 12:14 PM

https://books.google.ca/books?id=TzhjAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA682&lpg=PA682&dq=Clair+Manierre+Stone&source=bl&ots=Gmz2vAY5DG&sig=ACfU3U3V3u

Looks like they are one and the same person, cnd.

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: cnd
Date: 16 May 21 - 07:30 PM

Glad to help, Norm. Let us know what Dick Spottswood says.

As an aside, the Manny Stone could very possibly be Clair Manierre Stone. He was born in Chicago in 1891 and living in California by 1917. He passed in 1970, still living in California. See link. The main link to me is the copyright index listing his name as Clair M. Stone and the similarity of Manierre and "Manny"

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: GUEST,Norm Cohen
Date: 16 May 21 - 06:20 PM

Thanks to everyone, anonymous and nonymous, who offered their suggestions. The additional lyrics are from neither the Acuff nor the SoP recordings, so I assume they are indeed from Stone's sheet music, and I have asked Dick Spottswood to so verify.
And hello/best wishes to Abby.

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: GUEST,#
Date: 16 May 21 - 01:12 PM

Excellent, cnd. Thank you.

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: cnd
Date: 16 May 21 - 11:10 AM

Good find! Here's the lyrics printed from the above link. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be the same as the lyrics from Songs of War and History. They're substantively similar to the Sons of the Pioneers rendition above by wysiwyg. Unfortunately the article did not specify if Stone was their source.

Normally papers would only print snippets of songs, but this is long enough to be the whole thing. The only way I can find to check as of now is if someone has access to The British Library in St. Pancras.

As for the status of the name being a pseudonym, the catalog entry normally indicates if it's under a pseudonym or not. The copyright catalog lists the name as CLAIR M. STONE in one place and Manny STONE in another.

Aside from separating by stanzas, this is as printed in The Grand Prairie Texan, August 30th 1935. All typos are as printed in the original.

WHEN OUR OLD AGE PENSION COMES TO OUR DOOR

When our old age pension check comes to our door,
We won't have to skimp and worry any more.
Every dog can have a bone,
every kid an ice cream cone,
When our old age pension check comes to our door,

When our old age pension check comes to our door,
We won't have to eat hamburgers any more,
There'll be liver for the cat,
now she's lean but she'll be fat
When our old age pension check comes to the door.

Sell your troubles for a song and learn to sing,
The word depression soon won't mean a thing.
Times are surelly getting better day by day.
When our old age pension check arrives we'll be okay!

When our old age pension check come to our door,
Every kid will love his Grandma even more;
Mother-in-laws who are old,
won't locked out in the cold
When our old age pension check comes to our door,

When our old age pension check comes to our door,
There'll be jobs and opportunities galore;
We'll buy classy clothes and cars,
we'll buy planes and fly to mars,
When our old age pensions checks comes to our door.

When our old age pension checks comes to our door,
We won't see old man depression any more.
Like a dog that's had his day,
we'll just pension him away.
When our old age pension check come to our door.

Take a dose of laughing gas and learn to smile,
after whille,
We'll be rolling in the clover after while,
Thank the Lord we're growing older day by day,
When our pension checks arrive we'll be okay!

When our old are pension check comes to our door.
Every man will love his neighbor as of your,
We'll all learn the Golden Rule,
ride to glory on a mule,
When our old age pension cheek comes to our door.

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: GUEST,#
Date: 16 May 21 - 08:49 AM

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25979093/grand-prairie-daily-news/

I cannot read the lyrics in that link, so I can't see whose they are. Any chance someone could check it out?

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: GUEST,#
Date: 16 May 21 - 08:31 AM

Would I be correct in thinking that 'Manny Stone' was a pseudonym for someone? If so, who?

Subject: RE: Origins: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: GUEST,#
Date: 16 May 21 - 08:20 AM

Well, the lyrics from Stone aren't lost. But they aren't found yet either.

https://www.amazon.com/When-Old-age-Pension-Check-Comes/dp/B00OJFVT66

Parking this here so I don't forget it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 May 21 - 10:33 PM

As cnd reports, Abby's 2002 post is an accurate reflection of the notes from the "Songs of War and History" volume of the Library of Congress Folk Music in America LP set. The Acuff recording and lyrics are in the set, but the notes also include the additional two verses that Abby posted. cnd and I can't remember anything, either, but we're really good finding things with computers. Now, if we could find the original Manny Stone lyrics, my life would be complete.
-Joe Offer-

There is no listing for this song in the Traditional Ballad Index, but it has Roud Number 15868.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Age Pension Check (Manny Stone/Acuff)
From: GUEST
Date: 15 May 21 - 10:16 PM

That's right. Sort of.
Oddly, I happen to have that LP behind me on a shelf. Was actually listening to it last week.

The notes' text quote Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys in 1939. I'm assuming (unless you ask further) that it's pretty accurate transcription of the record - no such second verse.

However, the notes go on to give just the two verses I posted here. The Manny Stone song referenced and extolled the Townsend Plan which I gather never came into effect and was superceded by Social Security in 1935.

Acuff's parody became much better known.

Hi, Norm.
Thanks, Joe, for the heads up. I must demur, though, I'm having trouble remembering whether I was walking into or out of the toilet.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Age Pension Check (Acuff, et al.)
From: cnd
Date: 15 May 21 - 07:45 PM

Norm, though he didn't specifically say it, the lines come from the "Songs of War and History" Library of Congress LP, 1978 which Abby referenced in his post. You can find the liner notes and music on the album here. Though Acuff doesn't sing those verses in his accompanying recording, the implication is that they were the lines from the original version copyrighted by Manny Stone.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Age Pension Check
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 May 21 - 06:20 PM

Abby's still here almost daily and he remembers EVERYTHING. I'll email him and I'm sure he'll get right back.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Age Pension Check
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 21 - 06:14 PM

That was posted 19 years ago, Norm. Someone might turn up with it, but don't hold your breath.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Age Pension Check
From: GUEST,Norm Cohen
Date: 15 May 21 - 02:57 PM

Question to Abby Sale--
Hi, Abby:
Where did you find the lyrics to Old Age Pension Check that you quoted? I have not seen the 2nd stanza you give.
Thanks,
Norm Cohen

Subject: ADD:When Our Old Age Pension Check Comes to our...
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Oct 02 - 12:56 AM

From Masato's link above, http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/oldage.html:

"Roy Acuff ran for governor of Tennessee in 1948, but his music has been decidedly apolitical. "Old Age Pension Check" comes as close as any of his songs to taking a political stance, though in this instance, comedy rather than serious commentary is the intention. The number lampoons the New Deal's Social Security 'utopia,' in which everybody will get fat pension checks.... Old folks may claim a pension merely by sending a dime to Washington, Roy concludes sardonically -- and prophetically, in view of the troubles the Social Security system began to experience 40 years later." John W. Rumble, liner notes for 'Country & Western Classics -- Roy Acuff,' Time-Life Records, 1983, p. 20

"I bought this number from a boy that lived in Knoxville, and as far as I know, he wrote it. I can't remember his name at the present time. Some people resented the song, but it still sold well. Songs like this are not received one hundred percent. There are some words in it that are a little touchy for some people: 'Send your dime to Washington -- get on relief.' It was more of a comedy song for me, but it was taken a little bit politically by some." Roy Acuff, Interview, Nashville, TN, 8 Sep 1973; reprinted in Dorothy Horstman, Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy, New York, NY, 1976, p. 251

======================================================

Additional historical detail appears in Abby Sale's post above

====================================================


Visit Rose the Record Lady to hear a version by the Sons of the Pioneers, on archive page 13. It's a little different from previously-posted (and harvested) versions. There are new verses, verses that differ slightly, and verses missing that do appear in other versions. It would be nice to nail down the order in which they were done.

I have not heard the other versions for tune comparison, but in this version there are three melodies-- a main melody on the verses (regular type below) and two alternate melodies (italic type below). One is used to to introduce the verses and the other is used to break the verses up into pairs.

This one makes some really delightful predictions about the effect the new pension plan will have. *G*

Listen closely to the verses-- you can almost hear some of them singing "when our old age pension check comes THROUGH the door" in several places.

~Susan

====================================================

WHEN OUR OLD AGE PENSION CHECK COMES TO THE DOOR
(Manny Stone, 1934)
As sung by the Sons of the Pioneers

Intro:
We've all had our troubles; troubles made us blue.
Been runnin' around in circles, not knowin' what to do.
We've all had to worry; worry made us sad.
But soon we'll have no worries, and soon we'll all be glad.

1. When our old age pension check comes to our door,
We won't have to skimp and worry any more.
Every dog can have a bone, every kid an ice cream cone,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

2. When our old age pension check comes to our door,
We won't have to eat hamburger anymore!
There'll be liver for the cat, now she's lean but she'll be fat,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

Interlude:
Take a dose of laughing gas and learn to smile,
We'll all be rolling in the clover after awhile.
Thank the Lord we're growing older day by day!
When those pension checks arrive, we'll be OK.

3. Oh, when our old age pension check comes to our door,
We won't have to eat baloney any more.
Every man can have a steak, every kid a tummy ache,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

4. When our old age pension check comes to our door,
Dear old grandma won't be lonesome any more.
They'll be waiting at her gate, every night she'll have a date.
When her old age pension check comes to her door.

Interlude:
Grow a flowing, long, white beard and wear a cane;
Because you've reached your second childhood, don't complain.
Life will just begin at sixty, so be gay--
When that pension plan goes through we'll be OK.

5. Oh, when our old age pension check comes to our door,
Every kid will love his grandma even more;
Mother-in-laws who are old won't be locked out in the cold,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

6. When our old age pension check comes to our door,
Every girl will chose a grandpa to adore.
How the wedding bells will ring, ripe old age will be the thing,
When our old age pension check comes to our door!


Transcribed from this Sons of the Pioneers recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Z7wAtJZ5E

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Old Age Pension Check
From: Abby Sale
Date: 08 Jul 02 - 09:21 AM

 
Note that these issues referred to the height of the Depression when so may, especially the elderly, were starving and homeless.  Many that actually had pensions were wiped out by the cruelties and chicaneries of the stock market.  (Sound familiar?)

Dr Edward Townsend announced the Old Age Revolving Pensions Plan on 1/1/1934.  It was seen as a literal life saver to many and in 1934 Manny Stone of California wrote "When Our Old Age Pension Check Comes to Our Door."

When our old age pension check comes to our door
We won't have to skimp and worry any more,
Every heart will laugh and sing
We'll all dance the Highland Fling
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

Take a lesson from the lark and learn to sing
The word "depression" soon won't mean a thing
Times are surely getting better day by day
When the Townsend Plan goes through we'll be ok.

As it occurred, the more comprehensive Social Security Act finally went into effect the next year making Townsend obsolete but the Townsend scheme apparently had some distinct advantages and retained supporters for several years.

Acuff's 1939, better known version is a lampoon of the original.  A lifelong Republican, Acuff would have seen the Plan with suspicion at best.

(See Songs of War and History, Library of Congress LP, 1978.)

Subject: ADD: Old Age Pension Check
From: Coyote
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 01:09 PM

Thanks to both of you. I found the site, and here are the lyrics as listed by Acuff. He says he bought the song from someone, but he holds the copyright.

OLD AGE PENSION CHECK
(Manny Stone - 1939 Roy Acuff recording)

When our old age pension check comes to our door,
We won't have to dread the poor house anymore.
Though we're old and thin and gray,
Good times will be back to stay,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

When her old age pension check comes to her door,
Dear old grandma won't be lonesome any more.
She'll be waiting at the gate,
Every night she'll have a date,
When her old age pension check comes to her door.

Grow a flowing long white beard and use a cane,
'Cause you're in your second childhood, don't complain.
Life will just begin at sixty,
We'll all feel very frisky,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

Powder and paint will be abolished on that day,
And hoop skirts will then be brought back into play.
Painted cheeks will be the rage,
And old maids will tell their age,
When their old age pension check comes to their door.

All the drug stores will go bankrupt on that day,
For cosmetics, they will all be put away.
I'll put the flapper on the shelf,
Get a grandma for myself,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

There's a man that turned this country upside-down
With his old age pension rumor going 'round.
If you want in on the fun,
Send your dime to Washington,
And that old age pension man will be around.


Recorded by Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys, Memphis, TN, 5 Jul 1939
© 1962 Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.

transcribed from Roy Acuff Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPaugdynAjI

Sons of the Pioneers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Z7wAtJZ5E

New Lost City Ramblers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4YwC_r_oUM

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Age Pension Blues??
From: masato sakurai
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 11:04 AM

THE OLD AGE PENSION CHECK (ROY ACUFF) (1939) is HERE.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Age Pension Blues??
From: Coyote
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 10:56 AM

YES!!! YES!!! that's the one, and the lyrics are right on. As I read them I remembered them. Thanks Gern...many thanks.

I needed them for a slideshow/concert I'm putting together. Wow. This is great. Go Mudcat.

the Coyote

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Age Pension Blues??
From: Coyote
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 10:53 AM

Just an update: the version I'm looking for is one written by Roy Acuff called "Old Age Pension Check". It was recorded by the New Lost City Ramblers on one of their early records called "Songs of the Depression". I think the Bill Cornett version is a different one. It sure sounds different etc.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE OLD AGE PENSION CHECK (Roy Acuff)
From: GUEST,Gern
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 10:52 AM

I recall this one as "THE OLD AGE PENSION CHECK" by Roy Acuff. Sorry I don't know how to enter line breaks, etc., but here are the lyrics as I recall them:

1. When our old age pension check comes to our door.
We won't have to dread the poorhouse any more.
Oh, we're old and bent and gray, but good times are back to stay
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

2. When her old age pension check comes to her door,
Dear old grandma won't be lonesome any more.
She'll be waiting at the gate. Every night she'll have a date
When her old age pension check comes to her door.

3. Grow a flowing long white beard and use a cane
'Cause you're in your second childhood. Don't complain.
Life will just begin at 60. We will all be feeling frisky
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

4. Powder and paint will be abolished on that day,
And hoop skirts will then be brought back into play.
Painted cheeks will be the rage and old maids will tell their age
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

5. All the drugstores will go bankrupt on that day
For cosmetics they will all be put away.
I'll put a flapper on the Chev, get a grandma for myself,
When our old age pension check comes to our door.

6. There's a man who turned this country upside down
With his old age pension rumor going round.
If you want in on the fun, send your dime to Washington,
And that old age pension man will come around.

Cute, huh?

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 9-Jul-02.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Age Pension Blues??
From: masato sakurai
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 10:42 AM

Bill Cornett's version is recorded on Mountain Music of Kentucky (Smithsonian Folkways SF CD 40077).

~Masato

Subject: Old Age Pension Blues??
From: Coyote
Date: 07 Jul 02 - 10:03 AM

As a brand new member I feel a little reluctant to jump in and post right away, but what the heck, here goes.

I need the lyrics for a song that I think was called "Old Age Pension Blues". It was on one of the first New Lost City Ramblers records (you remember records, don't you? Big flat black things that looked like a licorice pizza???).

I think the first line was: "When the old age pension man comes to your door, Poor old grandma won't be lonesome anymore."

Anyone help me out on this. (I suppose I could break down and go buy the CD reissue of the darn thing).

the Coyote