Lyr Req: Molly Put the Kettle On

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Molly Put the Kettle On
From: GUEST,Mike Yates
Date: 18 Jul 11 - 04:07 AM

Having read through this thread, I have realised that there is a slight connection here with Leadbelly's song "Ha, Ha, This-a-way".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Molly Put the Kettle On
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 17 Jul 11 - 07:37 PM

I remember reading that "Polly Put the kettle On" was written in the 18th century by an Englishman with four children. The daughters,Polly and Sukey, liked to play tea-party with dolls while the sons liked to play with soldiers. Anyway, supposedly when their sisters were playing with the dolls, the boys would leave the room and only come back in when Sukey took the kettle off. Anyone else come across this explanation?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Stewie
Date: 21 Dec 02 - 10:24 PM

Hi Richie and Q,

I don't think 'tax men' is it. Is there any suggestion that 'tax men' were sending banks broke at the time? I still reckon it is probably a name. I emailed Lyle Lofgren, a knowledgeable oldtimey lover, and he consulted the wordbook of a local expert. I don't think Lyle would mind me reposting his reply here:

Your request is a real puzzler. I consulted Willard Johnson's (our local expert on traditional song words) wordbooks, and he heard "panic" for the suspect word. I listened, and I heard "pannam" but that makes no sense, unless it were someone's name, as you surmise. I definitely hear a "num" sound at the end rather than "mun," though. It could be that Willie was right in going with a word that made sense, assuming that Uncle Dave garbled the word, or it could be there was a bank official named "Pannam" or "Pannum." I could find nothing on the web that might clear the matter up (not surprising). I would pretty much rule out any suggestion about PanAm.
[Lyle Lofgren]

My feeling is that Willie's is the way to go: 'panic' is a real word and it makes sense in the context.


--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 21 Dec 02 - 09:39 PM

Guest Q,

I think "tax men" is probably the missing word.

Thanks,

-Richie

Any other versions of Molly/Polly Put Your Kettle On?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 21 Dec 02 - 07:39 PM

"And folks, I like to drink so much water---". Could this be the idiom, I liked to'uv drunk? Or it may be that he just mis-spoke here.
Could the "badmen" be tax men?
Guessing from an old tape of a recording.

Subject: Lyr Add: SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN MEDLEY (Dave Macon)
From: Richie
Date: 21 Dec 02 - 07:03 PM

Here's Dave Macon's version with corrections:

SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN MEDLEY

[Spoken] Hello folks, I was walking down the street with one of the ugliest men I ever saw in my life. We passed a really pretty girl, and the ugly fellow said, 'Did you see that girl smile at me?' ' Well', I said, 'Good Lord, man, that's nothing. First time I saw you, I laughed outright. Ha, ha, ha!'

Asked that girl to be my wife, what'd you reckon she said,
She would not have a poor boy, if everyone else was dead.

Chorus: Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.
Oh, my don't tell, Oh my ring the bell,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.

On my way to Sourwood Mountain, fare you well I'm a going away,
fare you well I'm a-going away.

Had a big boom in Florida, boys, we know it, we know it.
Forty-nine banks in Georgia closed and that's the way they showed it.

Oh, Jenny put the kettle on, Sally blow the dinner horn,
Jenny put the kettle on, the banks have gone.

Ain't gonna get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.
On my way to Sourwood Mountain,
Fare you well I'm a going away,

Bad men(?) come the bank went broke, we know it, we know it.
Twenty-eight thousand dollars lost, and just the figures to show it.

Oh, Jenny put the kettle on, Sally blow the dinner horn,
Jenny put the kettle on, the banks have gone.

[spoken] I never was as hungry in my life, you know I hadn't had
anything to eat for three long days, hadn't had a thing but
water. And folks I like to drink so much water my stomach
thought my throat was taking in washing, and then they come
giving me this:

Ain't gonna get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.

On my way to Sourwood Mountain, fare you well I'm a going away,
Girls all sweet on Sourwood Mountain, fare you well I'm going away.

Good pay isn't in one town, we know it, we know it,
Three banks in the town went broke and the people's look do show it.

Oh, Jenny put the kettle on, Sally blow the dinner horn,
Jenny put the kettle on, the banks done gone.

Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.

Notes: From Uncle Dave Macon's "Sourwood Mountain Medley" Vo 5005, reissued on Uncle Dave Macon 'Country Music Hall of Fame Series' MCA MCAD-10546. With corrections by Stewie.

-Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Stewie
Date: 21 Dec 02 - 02:25 AM

Richie

I hear some minor differences in Uncle Dave's 'Sourwood Mt Medley'. You left out, perhaps deliberately, his little spoken joke at the beginning:

[Spoken] Hello folks, I was walking down the street with one of the ugliest men I ever saw in my life. We passed a really pretty girl, and the ugly fellow said, 'Did you see that girl smile at me?' ' Well', I said, 'Good Lord, man, that's nothing. First time I saw you, I laughed outright. Ha, ha, ha!'

I too cannot decipher the 'Tandam' mystery word(s), but my other minor variations from your transcription are as follows:

Stanza 1, line 2      'a poor boy' rather than 'the poor boy'

Chorus: 'Ain't gwine' in every instance rather 'ain't gonna get' in first instance.

Stanza 3, line 1:   'Had a big boom in Florida, boys,

Stanza 4, line 2: 'Jenny put the kettle on, the banks have gone' rather than 'done gone'

Stanza 5:   The 'Tandam' or whatever puzzles me too.   It may well be a name, but the most likely culprits at the time – Governor Henry Horner and Henry Lea don't sound anything like it and, besides, they were ripping off Tennessee to the tune of millions rather than thousands. It could be that he is singing 'bad men' or something equally as simple. I will keep after it.

Stanza 6, line 2:   'the banks have gone' .

Spoken bit, line 2:   'nothing' rather than 'anything'; line 4, 'Folks I had had to'

Chorus: 'Ain't gwine'

Stanza 7, line 2: 'and the people's look do show it'.

Stanza 8: 'banks have gone'

Chorus: 'Ain't gwine'.

The recording I was listening to was reissued on Uncle Dave Macon 'Country Music Hall of Fame Series' MCA MCAD-10546.

Do we have any other takers to have a throw at the stumps?

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 20 Dec 02 - 02:34 PM

I wondered when someone would pick up on this. We really don't know yet when "O du lieber Augustin" changed meter and people started stomping out !--- !--, !--, !--,. I don't have the resources to go into the history of the German song.
I don't think it is related to Molly and Polly reels. The texts in the Bodleian Library of "Polly Put the Kettle On" have little to do with the reels either, except for the refrain, which could (probably?) predate the ballads.
Here is another version. The refrain is "shouted":

Lyr. Add: Polly Put The Kettle On, dc

A brother I've a sailor,
The other day came home,
He told us of his travels,
And where he'd been to roam;
He told us of his battles,
What wondrous things he did,
And then he'd hoist his slacks,
And chew another quid.
I gazed with all astonishment,
At his altered style
And judge of my surprise,
Although it made me smile,
For with a voice of thunder,
To my missus shouted out,
"Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea."

Polly put the kettle on, the kettle on, the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on, we'll all have tea.

No matter wherever I go,
Or when invited out,
As the clock is striking four,
You'ss hear my welcome shout,
Some folks may laugh at me,
For them I do not care.
As I'm a chap as you can see,
I'm jolly everywhere;
So not to break the friendship
I ask you one and all,
Some afternoon when you have time
On me to make a call,
And as the clock is striking four,
It's then I'll shout with glee,
"Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea."

Polly put the kettle on, dc.
(dc. = etc.)

Harding 15, 11(4332). No date. Bobleian Ballads

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 20 Dec 02 - 07:52 AM

In all of the Fiddler's Companion notes on "Molly/Polly Put the Kettle On" which is a reel (4/4 or common time) there is no mention of the connection between the waltz tunes (3/4 time) "Ach Du Lieber Augustin," "Did You Ever See A Lassie?" and "The More we get Together."

Several other sources quote the connection (including our Malcolm Douglas) of the melody but none talk about the change of meter.

Does anyone know more about the meter differences?

-Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: IanC
Date: 20 Dec 02 - 04:37 AM

Funny ... the tune I know is no watz!

:-)

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 11:15 PM

The "first tangible waltz tune" (from the thread on O (Ach) du lieber Augustin). Were the German words that we know the first words put to this tune? Or did the tune arise somewhere and acquire German lyrics in Austria or Germany, and also spread elsewhere eventually getting to the British Isles?
Sounds confused- I am trying to say that the simple little waltz tune could have come from anywhere and spread, picking up different lyrics in different areas. I am also asking if the song about Jennie always had the same tune. (No, I don't expect definitive answers, I am just speculating without real evidence).

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 10:47 PM

Thanks Bruce for the post,

There's another thread currently going about "Ach Du Lieber Augustin" here:
thread.cfm?threadid=26060

I'd like to keep lyrics to US versions of "Molly" on this thread or any origins info.

Thanks for your help,

Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: GUEST,bruce nemerov
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 11:59 AM

Richie--there's a great recording by Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson of "Polly...." I talked with his 6th grade teacher near Jackson, TN several years ago, and she descibed recess as John Lee playing his harmonica under a shade tree with the other little kids dancing and singing.

A few years later I had the chance to ask John Lee's half-brother about "Polly..." and he said all the little (black) kids around Jackson knew that song. Sonny Boy's Victor recording is well worth listening to.

Bruce

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 11:18 AM

Joe-

I don't sing in German much so I posted English lyrics to "Ach Du Lieber Augustin."

Masato-

Thanks for your contribution about "O Du Lieber Augustin" and all.

To all-

So does this mean that "Ach Du Lieber Augustin" is from around 1697 and "Jenny's Bawbie" appeared around 1776? Does this mean that the "Jenny's Bawbie" melody originates with "Ach Du Lieber Augustin"?

Any other US folk versions?

-Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: masato sakurai
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 02:59 AM

The melody [of "O Du Lieber Augustin"] is frequently associated with the song , the opening notes of early printings of which are identical with those of O Du Lieber Augustin. Chappell, p. 795, says that Polly was arranged for piano by Dale about 1794, but no publication by Dale has been located before ca. 1809-1810 under the title Molly Put the Kettle On or Jenny Baubie; JF. Jenny's Baubie or Jenny Put the Kettle On was published by McDonnell, Dublin, ca. 1790-1810, and Molly Put the Kettle On was published by Paff, New York City, 1803-7--both at JF.
    The melody is also used in connection with Did You Ever See a Lassie? the earliest known printing of which is in Jessie H. Bancroft, Games for the Playground, Home, School anf Gymnasium (New York, N.Y., 1909), p. 261, published Dec. 8, 1909; LC.

--From James J. Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music, 4th ed. (Dover, 1995, pp. 400-401).

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Haruo
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 02:13 AM

I think Joe Offer probably just tried to link to this thread from this Ach Du Lieber one, Richie. Check it out.

Haruo

---

Yes, I intended to post the following message in this thread, but was in a hurry and screwed up. Thanks for figuring me out, Haruo.
-Joe Offer-

Richie, You can't post just English lyrics to "O du lieber Augustin" - (click here).
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: ACH DU LIEBER AUGUSTIN
From: Richie
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 12:35 AM

Here's some info about the German version that the Beatles even played! It's called: "Ach Du Lieber Augustin."

Ach Du Lieber Augustin

On January 24, 1969, during rehearsals for the aborted "Get Back" film/album project, Paul McCartney sang the tune from this German folk song changing the lyrics to include a reference to a Mr. Bangelstein (24.27). This extremely brief performance was recorded and has been bootlegged.

ACH DU LIEBER AUGUSTIN (Max Augustin 1679)

One could easily assume that the Beatles did this Austrian *lieder* in
the German clubs, as a crowd-pleaser during power failures if nothing
else, but there is no record of any such performances. It does however
appear on the set list for the Get Back sessions.

Some background on the song:

In the year 1679 the Plague raged in Vienna and people were dying by
the thousands. The cheerful singer and bagpiper Max Augustin survived
the plague but lost all his friends to it. In his loneliness he went
one night to the inn "Zum Roten Dachl", where he had a few glasses of
wine, and composed a lieder about himself and his despair:

Oh, dear Augustin
The money is gone, the joy is gone
Oh, dear Augustin, everything is gone
Oh, and even rich Vienna
As poor as Augustin now (something) in the same mood as me:
Everything is gone

Every day was like a party
And what now?
Plague, the Plague!
Just a big graveyard, that's all that is left

Oh, dear Augustin
Now lay yourself down in your grave
Oh, my beloved Vienna - everything is gone


Ach du lieber Augustin

This song originated in Vienna during the Plague period of 1768-1769. Legend has it that one evening, Augustin hoisted one too many and decided on a nap half way home. The morning corpse patrol threw his body on the cart with the other corpes and took him away. Fortunately Augustin awoke in the nick of time, to the horror of the mortician. In no time at all, the rumor spread far and wide that wine was not only cure but also a great prophylactic for the plague.

Translated form German

Refrain: O, my dear friend Augustin
Augustin, Augustin,
O, my dear friend Augustin,
I just can't win!

1. Money's gone, girlfriend's gone,
I just can't win, Augustin!
O, my dear friend Augustin,
I just can't win!

Refrain:

2. Coat is gone, staff is gone,
Augustin's on his bum.
O, my dear friend Augustin,
I just can't win!

Refrain:

3. Even that rich town Wien,
Broke is like Augustin;
Shed tears with thoughts akin,
I just can't win!

Refrain:

4. Every day was a fest,
Now we just have the pest!
Now all the corpses rest,
That is the rest.

Refrain:

5. Augustin, Augustin,
Lay down in your coffin!
O, my dear friend Augustin,
I just can't win!

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 12:12 AM

This is probably enough basic info about the tune, from A Fiddler's Companion:

JENNY PUT THE KETTLE ON [1]. AKA and see "Molly Put the Kettle On," "Polly Put the Kettle On." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Missouri. D Major. Standard. AABB. A version of "Molly Put the Kettle On." The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. That the tune was also in African-American tradition was attested to by Ashe County, North Carolina, musician Hobart Smith (b. 1897), who said: "The first fiddle I ever heard in my life was when I was a kid. There was an old colored man who was raised up in slave times. His name was Jim Spenser. He played 'Jinny, Put the Kettle On' and all those old tunes like that. And he would come up to our house and he'd play..." (quoted in Cecilia Conway's African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia, 1995). See also Bayard's note for "Bonaparte Crossing the Alps." Source for notated version: Frank Reed (Randolph County, Missouri) [Christeson]. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, Vol. 2), 1984; No. 66, pg. 46.

JINNY PUT THE KETTLE ON. AKA - "Polly Put the Kettle On," "Molly Put the Kettle On." Tune (and title, presumably) learned by Hobart Smith from black fiddler Jim Spencer.

LOWER EDGE OF BREATHITT, THE. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. A "crooked" tune similar to Emmett Lundy's "Molly Put the Kettle On."

MÁIRE CUIR SIOS AN COIRE, A. AKA and see "Molly Put the Kettle On."

MOLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON [1]. AKA- "Jenny Put the Kettle On," "Polly Put the Kettle On." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, Missouri. D Major (Brody, Phillips): A Dorian (O'Neill). Standard. ABB. African-American fiddler Joe Thompson plays the piece in FCGD tuning. Sources for notated versions: The Skillet Lickers (north Georgia) [Brody]; Emmet Lundy (Va.) and Joe Politte (Mo.) [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 194. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 154. Columbia 15380 (78 RPM), Leake County Revelers (Miss.). Columbia 15746 (78 RPM), Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers (N. Ga.). County 506, The Skillet Lickers- "Old Time Tunes." County 529, Leake County Revelers- "Traditional Fiddle Music of Mississippi, Vol. 2." Folkways FA 2399, New Lost City Ramblers - "Vol. 4." Global Village C217, (Black fiddler and banjo player) Joe and Odell Thompson - "Old Time Music From the North Carolina Piedmont." Marimac AHS #3, Glen Smith - "Say Old Man" (1990. Learned from Creed Smith). Marimac 9038, Dan Gellert & Brad Leftwich - "A Moment in Time" (may be version #4). Rounder 0058, Haywood Blevins (southwestern Va.) - "Old Originals, Vol. II" (1978). Victor 21518, Ernest Stoneman - "Serenade in the Mountains."

MOLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON [2]. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, West Virginia (probably) Not similar to the "Polly/Molly Put the Kettle On" versions of the tune, but seems related to the tune "Yew Piney Mountain." Folkways 31062, Ship in the Clouds- "Old Time Instrumental Music" (1978. Learned from Vermont fiddler Pete Sutherland).

MOLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON [3] (A Maire Cuir Sios An Coire). AKA and see "Jenny's Bawbee." Irish, Reel. A Dorian/G Major. Standard. AB (O'Neill/1850 & 1001): AA'BB' (O'Neill/Krassen). The melody was used for a well-known country dance and nursery song in the 18th century; the rhyme is still found in Mother Goose collections. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1363, pg. 254. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 126. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 616, pg. 112.
T:Molly Put the Kettle On [3]
L:1/8
M:C|
R:Reel
S:O'Neill - 1001 Gems (616)
K:A Minor
cded cAAc|Bcdc BG G2|ceed cBAG|EDE^G A2A2|cded cAAc|Bcdc BG G2|
cBcA B2 AG|EDE^G A2A2||cde^f g2 fg|aged cA A2|cde^f g2 fg|
age^g a2a2|cde^f g2 fg|aged cA A2|cded cAAG|EDE^G A2A2||

MOLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON [4]. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, North Carolina. No relation to "Molly Put.." [1]. This version is from North Carolina fiddler Manco Sneed via contemporary old-time master Brad Leftwich. Sneed, Osey Helton and Marcus Martin, all western North Carolina fiddlers who had their heyday in the early 20th century, learned the tune from Jamed Dedrick Harris, of Flag Pond, Tennessee (and who lived for some time in North Carolina), who had been the fiddler who accompanied Governor Bob Tylor in his whistle-stop campaign called the "War of the Roses" (Hartford). Harris was born in 1859, made fiddles and travelled, according to John Hartford. Flying Fish FF-055, Red Clay Ramblers- "Merchant's Lunch" (1977. Learned from Manco Sneed). Rounder 0392, John Hartford - "Wild Hog in the Red Brush (and a Bunch of Others You Might Not Have Heard") {1996. Learned from fiddler Brad Leftwich}. Shanachie Records 6040, Gerry Milnes & Lorraine Lee Hammond - "Hell Up Coal Holler" (1999).
T:Molly Put the Kettle On
S:Tape recording of Manco Snead
A:Cherokee, North Carolina
N:Manco mumbles a bit, so it's unclear whether
N:he says "Molly" or "Polly." Calling it "Molly"
N:keeps it separate from the common song tune.
I:/ above a note indicates a slide up to that note,
I:+ above a note indicates sharpening, V indicates
I:flattening. Manco changes his pitches more than
I:a little.
N:Parts played in order:123443
Z:Joel Shimberg
M:C|
L:1/8
K:G
"1"{A}BAG=F DC"v"B,C | DE=FG FD C2 | D2GA GFGA | B"+"cdd =fdg2-| ga g=f
d2(3cdc |
BcBG =FD"v"B,2 | DGGA GFGA | {A}B2G2G3 G- || "2" GA"v"Bc d4| _Bcdc _BG=F_B |
GABc dcdc | BcBF G2DF | GA_Bc d4 | _Bcdc =BG=F_B | GAG"v"F DCB,C |
DG2FG2G2 ||"3"A<B G=F DC (3A,B,C | DE=FG FDC2 | D2GA GFGA |
B"+"cdd =fdg2- | ga g=f d2(3cdc | BcBG =FDB,2 | DGGA GFGA |
B2G2G3 "/"G- ||"4" GAB"+"c d4 | de=fg fdc2 | dgga gfd2 |
gagf d^cde | fgaf gfd2 | c2BG F2G2 | GAG=F DCB,C | DG2F G2G2 ||

MOLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON [5]. Shetlands, Shetlands Reel. May be the same as version #2. From the island of Papa Stour, Shetlands.
POLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON [2]. AKA and see "Molly Put the Kettle On," "Granny Will Your Dog Bite?" Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; east Tennessee, western N.C., north Ga. G Major (with flat 7th) {Ford}: D Major {Spandaro}. Standard. AABB. Identified as a common East Tennessee tune. Tune played by Wiley Harper (Monroe, Ga.) in a 1913 Atlanta, Ga. fiddlers' contest.
***
Polly, put the kettle on and slice the bread and butter fine.
Slice enough for eight or nine, we'll all have tea. (Ford).
***
Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 85 (Ford also prints the words to "Molly Put the Kettle On" on page 399). Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 4. In the repertoire of western N.C. fiddler Osey Helton. Biograph 6008, Ebenezer - "Fox Hollow String Band Festival." Folkways FTS 31062, "Ship in the Clouds: Old Time Instrumental Music" (1978). Mountain 310, Tommy Jarrell - "Joke on the Puppy" (1976. Learned from Charlie Lowe).
X:1
T:Polly Put the Kettle On
L:1/8
M:4/4
K:D
|:fg | a2ab afef | gede cAfg | a2ab afef | gfec d2 :|
|: de | dcde fdfa | gfed cBA2 | dcde fefa | gfec d2 :|
X:2
T:Polly Put the Kettle On
L:1/8
M:2/4
S:Howdy Forrester: transcribed by John Hartford
N:Notation for the vocal line appears as the last part, to which is sung:
N:Molly put the kettle on, Katy draw the people in, Molly get the kettle
N:on we'll all take tea.
K:D
A/B/A/G/ F/E/D/F/|E/D/C/E/ F/G/A|A/B/A/G/ F/E/D/F/|E/C/E/F/ D2:|
||A/d/B/c/ d/B/A/d/|B/A/F/A/ d2|A/d/B/c/ d/B/A/d/|B/A/F/G/ A2||
(3A/B/c/||df/g/ a/f/d/f/|e/g/f/g/ a/b/a/f/|df/g/ a/b/a/f/|d/A/B/F/ A2||
||a/b/a/g/ f/d/d/d/|e/d/d/d/ f/d/d/d/|a/b/a/g/ f/d/d/d/|e/d/e/f/ d|]
A/B/A/G/ F/D/D|E/D/D/D/ F/A/A|A/B/A/G/ F/D/D/D/|EC D2||

SALLY PUT THE KETTLE ON. AKA and see "Molly/Polly Put the Kettle On." Old-Time. USA; Arkansas, central Alabama. The title appears in a list of "forgotten" tunes compiled by W.E.G. of Verbena, Alabama, as reported in the "Union Banner" of September 29, 1921. It also appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musiocologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954.

-Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 12:08 AM

Here are two popular versions of the melody:

DID YOU EVER SEE A LASSIE?

Did you ever see a lassie,
a lassie, a lassie,
Did you ever see a lassie
go this way and that?

Go this way and that way,
and this way and that way,
Have you ever seen a lassie
go this way and that?

MORE WE ARE TOGETHER, THE

The more we get together
Together, together
The more we get together
The happier we'll be.

For your friends are my friends
And my friends are your friends
The more we get together
The happier we'll be.

The more we sing together
Together, together
The more we sing together
The happier we'll be.

Cause your song is my song
And my song is your song
The more we sing together
The happier we'll be

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 19 Dec 02 - 12:03 AM

Lyr. Add: Molly Put the Kettle On

(Played on the banjo by Calvin Cole at his home near Hillsville, Carroll County, VA.) Far in the Mountains : Volumes 1 & 2 of Mike Yates' 1979-83 Appalachian Collection;

This locally well-known piece is named after the nursery rhyme Molly/Polly Put the Kettle On and Appalachian players often sing this verse to the tune:

Molly put the kettle on,
Jenny blow the dinner horn.
Molly put the kettle on
We'll all take tea.

Although on the album Close to Home (Smithsonian Folkways SF CD 40097) Wade Ward of Independence, VA, sings/says the following words at the end of his performance:

Head like a coffee pot,
Nose like a spout.
Handle on the other side,
To pour the coffee out.

The Skillet-Lickers recorded a boisterous version in 1931 (reissued on both County CD-3509 and Document DOCD-8060) that deserves to be heard.

Mike Yeats: Calvin and Viola Cole lived in a mobile home across from Howard Hall's home. They were an extremely friendly couple, only too willing to let me listen to their music. During my first visits I recorded Calvin's banjo-playing. But had to wait until the following summer before I could persuade Viola to let me record some of the ballads that she had learnt from her mother. Calvin, a small, wiry man, was one of the people who taught me to play clawhammer-banjo. Like Dan Tate, who only lived a mile or so from Calvin & Viola's home, he was also recorded for the Library of Congress by Professor Fletcher Collins.

Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 11:57 PM

Here are some recording from Folk index. Anybody have lyrics from these?

Molly Put the Kettle On

Related- Yew Piney Mountain; Behind the Bush in the Garden (Reel)

1. Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p399
2. Cahan, Andy; Laura Fishleder and Lisa Ornstein. Ship in the Clouds, Folkways FTS 31062, LP, cut# 3
3. Ennis, Seamus. Folk Songs of Britain. Vol 2. Songs of Seduction, Caedmon TC 1143, LP (1961), cut#B.06
4. Gellert, Dan; and Brad Leftwich. Moment in Time, Marimac 9038, Cas (1993), cut#B.02
5. Hartford, John. Wild Hog in the Red Brush, Rounder 0392, CD (1996), cut#13
6. Holt, Bob. Got a Little Home to Go To, Rounder 0432, CD, cut#20
7. Lundy, Emmett. Fiddle Tunes from Grayson County, String 802, LP (1977), cut# 11
8. Milnes, Gerry; and Lorraine Lee Hammond. Hell Up Coal Holler, Shanachie 6040, CD (1999), cut#13
9. Old Hollow String Band. Virginia Carolina Sampler, Flying Cloud FC 007, LP (1988), cut#B.02
10. Red Clay Ramblers. Merchants Lunch, Flying Fish FF-055, LP (1977), cut# 4
11.        Smith, Glen (Virginia). Say Old Man, Marimac AHS 3, Cas (1990), cut# 2
12.        Thompson, Joe. Family Tradition, Rounder 2161, CD (1999), cut# 4
13.        Ward, Wade. Close to Home, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40097, CD (1997), cut#19
Jenny Hang the Kettle On
Sm - Sourwood Mountain
1.        Anderson, Virgil. On The Tennessee Line, County 777, LP (1980), cut# 13
2.        Stecher, Jody; and Kate Brislin. Our Town, Rounder 0304C, Cas (1993), cut# 3b
Jenny Put the Kettle On
1.        Macon, Uncle Dave. At Home, His Last Recordings, 1950., Bear Family LC 15214, LP (1987), cut# 20
2.        Politte, Joe. I'm Old But I'm Awfully Tough, MFFA 1001, LP (1977?), cut# 39
3.        Wallace, Gusty. I Kind of Believe It's A Gift, Meriweather Meri 1001-2, LP (198?), cut# 33
Polly Put the Kettle On
Rt - Nancy Ann
Rm - Old Virginia Reel
Mf - Molly Put the Kettle On
1.        Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p 85b
2.        Blevins, Haywood. Old Originals, Vol. 2, Rounder 0058, LP (1978), cut# 11 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
3.        Brush Creek Cut-Ups. Fiddler's Grove. Old Time Fiddler's & Bluegrass ... 1975. Vol. 6, Galaxie, LP (1975), cut# 37 (Ma Put the Kettle On)
4.        Cahan, Andy; Laura Fishleder and Lisa Ornstein. Ship in the Clouds, Folkways FTS 31062, LP, cut# 17
5.        Davis, Luther. Old Time Way, Heritage (Galax) 070, LP (1986), cut# 4 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
6.        Dickel Brothers. Dickel Brothers Volume One, Empty Records MTR 376, LP (1999), cut#B.07 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
7.        Ebenezer. Fox Hollow Lodge String Band Festival, Vol. 1. Comin' Home, Biograph RC 6008, LP (1976), cut# 14 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
8.        Forrester, Howdy. Devil's Box, Devil's Box DB, Ser (196?), 22/3, p22b
9.        Hotmud Family. Till We Meet Here Again, or Above, Vetco LP 501, LP (1974), cut# 12
10.        Jarrell, Tommy. Joke on the Puppy, Heritage (Galax) 044, LP (1992), cut# 11
11.        Leake County Revelers. Traditional Fiddle Music of Mississippi, Vol. 2, County 529, LP (1975), cut# 6 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
12.        New Lost City Ramblers. New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 4, Folkways FA 2399, LP (1962), cut# 6 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
13.        Pickin' Around the Cookstove. Pickin' Around the Cookstove, Rounder 0040, LP (1975), cut# 2
14.        Rutherford, Ernest; and the Gold Hill Band. Old Cap'n Rabbit, Heritage (Galax) 080, Cas (1989), cut# 12
15.        Skillet Lickers. Skillet Lickers, Vol. 1, County 506, LP (196?), cut# 1 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
16.        Skillet Lickers. Going Down The Valley; Vocal & Instrumental Music from the South, New1 World1 NW 236, LP (1977), 10 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
17.        Smith, Glen. Traditional Music From Grayson and Carroll Counties, Folkways FS 3811, LP (1962), cut# 3
18.        Steamboat Entertainers. Galax International, Heritage (Galax) 067, LP (1988), cut# 2
19.        Stoneman, Ernest; and the Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers. Day in the Mountains, County 512, LP (196?), cut# 8b (Seranade in the Mountains)
20.        Thompson, Joe; and Odell Thompson. Oldtime Music from the North Carolina Piedmont, Global Village Global-C217, Cas (1989), cut# 5 (Molly Put the Kettle On)
21.        Ward, Wade. Uncle Wade. A Memorial to Wade Ward, Old Time Virginia Banjo ..., Folkways FA 2380, LP (1973), cut# 5
Polly Put the Kettle On
22.        Block, Allan; and Ralph Lee Smith. Allan Block & Ralph Lee Smith, Meadowlands MS 1, LP (1971), cut#B.01

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 11:54 PM

NOTES From Henry Reed Collection online:

"Jenny Put the Kettle On" is an old favorite in the British Isles and America. American sets are usually entitled "Molly (or Polly) Put the Kettle On." An eighteenth-century Scottish version appears in Johnson, Scots Musical Museum (1853 edition), vol. 3, 512 (#496), entitled "Jenny's Bawbie." Similar sets are Davie's Caledonian Repository, p. 83; Stewart-Robertson, Athole Collection, p. 88; One Thousand Fiddle Tunes, p. 19 "Jenny's Baby-Reel." American sets include Gentleman's Amusement . . . for the Clarionet (ca. 1825), No. 3, p. 5 "Polly put the kettle on"; Ford, Traditional Music of America, p. 85 "Polly, Put the Kettle On"; O'Neill's Music of Ireland #1363 "Molly Put the Kettle On."

Henry Reed conflated this performance of this tune with "Old Molly Hare," which he had just played previously, and was cut off abruptly; his second performance of it (AFS 13705b02) is fuller and more representative, and in it he makes a third strain by reproducing the high strain an octave lower. George Will White, whom he goes on to describe as playing this piece "half the night," was an African-American fiddler whom he knew in his younger days in Monroe County, West Virginia. According to Henry Reed, the only other piece Mr. White played was "Sally Ann," which Henry Reed performed next in this recording session.

MUSICAL FEATURES
Key: D
Meter: 4/4
Strains: 2 (low-high, 2-2)
Rendition: 1r-2-(spoken)
Phrase Structure: AB QB' (abac qra'c')
Compass: 8

ALTERNATE TITLE(S)
Jinny Put the Kettle On
Polly Put the Kettle On
Molly Put the Kettle On
Jenny's Bawbie
Jenny's Baby-Reel
Old Molly Hare

-Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 11:46 PM

Here's a bit more info:

Molly Put the Kettle or JENNY'S BAWBEE
A bawbee is a coin, equal to a half penny in modern currency

Your plack an my plack,
Your plack an my plack,
Your plack an my plack an Jennie's bawbee,
We'll pit them i' the pint stoup, pint stoup, pint
stoup,
We'll pit them i' the pint stoup,
An join a' three.

Gregor (1881), 19; SC (1948), 86 (no.124).
A fragment of the old song found in Herd (1776), II.204, and
with music in SMM V (1796), 512 (no.496), whence Chambers SSPB
(1862), 245 (+ music), Moffat (1933), 6, and many other
places:

And a' that e'er my Jenny had,
My Jenny had, my Jenny had;
A' that e'er my Jenny had,
Was ae bawbie.

There's your plack, and my plack,
And your plack, and my plack,
And my plack and your plack,
And Jenny's bawbie.
And a' that e'er, &c.

We'll put it a' in the pint-stoup,
The pint-stoup, the pint-stoup,
We'll put in the pint-stoup,
And birle't a' three.
And a' that e'er, &c.

It will be noticed that the chorus is missing from Gregor's version. As for the tune, the English nationalist William Chappell claimed it as English because it appeared 3 years before the Museum, in a set of variations for the pianoforte published by Dale, under the title Polly Put the Kettle On (still its best-known title, in England at least; see PMOT 795). John Glen however showed it had appeared in
Scottish collections back to 1778 (SDM I.iv). The air has other ramifications; cf. the convivial song "The more we are together", and its parent, the German "Ach, du lieber Augustin", a pop song of the mid-eighteenth century, quoted by Mozart.

-Richie

Subject: Lyr Add: SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN MEDLEY Uncle Dave Macon
From: Richie
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 11:35 PM

Here's another of my favorite's, Uncle Dave Macon's "Sourwood Mountain Medley" Vo 5005. Perhaps Stewie can correct the lyrics for me.

SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN MEDLEY

Asked that girl to be my wife, what'd you reckon she said,
She would not have the poor boy, if everyone else was dead.

CHORUS: Ain't gonna get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.
Oh, my don't tell,
Oh my ring the bell,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.

On my way to Sourwood Mountain,
Fare you well I'm a-going away,
Fare you well I'm a-going away.

That big boom in Florida boys, we know it, we know it.
Forty-nine banks in Georgia closed and that's the way they showed it.

Oh, Jenny put the kettle on,
Sally blow the dinner horn,
Jenny put the kettle on,
The banks done gone.

Ain't gonna get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.
On my way to Sourwood Mountain, fare you well I'm a going away,

Tandam(?) come the bank went broke, we know it, we know it.
Twenty-eight thousand dollars lost, and just the figures to show it.

Oh, Jenny put the kettle on,
Sally blow the dinner horn,
Jenny put the kettle on,
The bank's done gone.

[SPOKEN:] I never was as hungry in my life, you know I hadn't had anything to eat for three long days, hadn't had a thing but water. And, folks, I like to drink so much water my stomach thought my throat was taking in washing, and then they come giving me this:

Ain't gonna get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.
On my way to Sourwood Mountain, fare you well I'm a-going away,
Girls all sweet on Sourwood Mountain, fare you well I'm going away.

Good pay isn't in one town, we know it, we know it,
Three banks in the town went broke and the people look to show it.

Oh, Jenny put the kettle on,
Sally blow the dinner horn,
Jenny put the kettle on,
The bank's done gone.

Ain't gonna get no supper here tonight,
Ain't gwine get no supper here tonight.

-Richie

Subject: Lyr Add: BARNEY, LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE
From: Richie
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 11:21 PM

Here's one of my favorite versions from American Memory colection from the 1840's to 1860's, no date given. Published Boston, Massachusetts by L. Deming.

BARNEY, LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE,

JUDY leads me such a life, (repeat)
The devil ne'er had such a wife,
What can the matter be?
For if I sing the funny song
Of Dolly put the kettle on,
She's mocking at me all day long;
What can the matter be?

SPOKEN.--Yes, she does lead me a devil of a life, that's certain, for we never walk out on Sunday, but what she makes me walk behind, and carry her parasol and reticule, which makes me look quite ridiculous; and if I happens to cast a sheep's eye at any of the girls as they pass along, my wife is sure to bawl out,

Mr. Barney, leave the girls alone! (repeat)
Why don't you leave the girls alone,
And let them quiet be?
Put the muffins down to roast, (repeat)
Blow the fire and make the toast;
We'll all take tea.
O, Barney you're a wicked boy, (repeat)
And you do always play and toy
With all gals you see.

SPOKEN.--When Mr. Barney was a young man, he was the handsomest, most modest, most refined and delicate person I ever met with; but now he's every thing that he ought not to be. My wife is the very devil, especially when she's in bad humor. You must know the other afternoon I was ax'd out to take a comfortable dish of four shilling souchong tea, none but the best. As bad luck will have it, my wife Judy, was along; but notwithstanding, I got seated along side of a pretty girl. I saw she got smitten with my countenance. Said she, Mr. Barney, will you have a game of hunt the slipper? With all my heart, says I. So as I was just a making a preparation to do the thing in a genteel way, Mistress Judy, who had seen the operation from the other end of the parlor, was so ungenteel as to bawl out,

Mr. Barney, leave the girls alone, (repeat)
Why don't you leave the girls alone,
And let them quiet be?
O, Judy, you're a pretty child, (repeat)
I have my fears that you'll get spoil'd,
If you should have your way.
Barney, rock the cradle, O, (repeat)
Or else you'll get the ladle, O,
When Judy harps to-day.

SPOKEN.--Barney, if you don't rock the cradle, I'll break your pate with a ladle; I'll comb your head with a three legged stool, I will, so I will. Now that's the way we go, to be sure, and to say the truth, its none of the pleasantest. You see I loves a good dinner, but some how or other, we don't get much in the week days, a pig's foot, and a carrot, no great choice; but on Sundays, we generally have a shoulder of mutton, stuck round with turnips. I like a piece of the brown, but my wife always carves from choice. So says I, my dear, I always call her my dear, at dinner time, I should like a piece of that. I'll give you a piece of that, said she, and up with a dumpling plate, and let it fly at my head, while she kept time with her old tune of

Mr. Barney, leave the girls alone, (repeat)
Why don't you leave the girls alone,
And let them quiet be?
Judy she loves whiskey, O, (repeat)
She goes to uncles shop at night,
And spends an hour or two.
Then Barney, what must Barney do,
But take a drop of whiskey too,
And toast the girl that's kind and true,
For that's the way with me.

SPOKEN.--Yes, the other night I was ax'd out with a few of my old acquaintances; there was Jo Snap, the chimney sweeper, and a few others, particular friends of mine. As soon as I got into the room, one of the girls says, there's Barney, that handsome, delicate, discreet young man. There was among the rest, Miss Polly Smallfry; now the last time that I had seen Polly, she was leaning her beautiful black arm over a keg of pickled oysters. Says she to me, Barney, she alwas called me Barney, there's no fear but what you'll get along in this world, as long as you're so polite. Polly said so. Says I, Polly, we are neither of us rich, but if you have no objection we will trust to providence, and I will make you my spouse; but just at that instant, who should pop into the room, but her mother, and with a very gentle, delicate voice, says, Polly, don't you go for to make another d--d Judy of yourself, there is time enough for you to get married, when you find one who has something that will make the pot boil. That was a damper. Her mother soon retired, and says I Polly, I think I can express myself better to your satisfaction than that, and was just going to give her one of my mortal hugs, when, who but my wife, should stick her long snout through a pane of broken glass, with that infernal old tune of,

Mr. Barney leave the girls alone, (repeat)
Why don't you leave the girls alone,
And let them quiet be.

-Richie

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 05:33 PM

Previous thread 1085. Not much in it. Polly Put

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 05:17 PM

The Sheard broadside is in the Bodleian, Harding B 11(4332).

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: IanC
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 10:38 AM

Looks like this one has a distinguished history. Here's the information from The South Riding Tune Book for which I suspect that Malcolm Douglas is responsible.

The Oxford Book of Nursery Rhymes (Iona and Peter Opie, 1951) has the following entry:

Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
They've all gone away.

"Chappell in Popular Music of the Olden Time says 'The well-known country dance and nursery song, Polly Put the Kettle On, was transformed into a Scotch tune for Johnson's Scots Musical Museum in 1797. This was about three years after Polly had become very popular with the young ladies by means of Dale's variations for the pianoforte.' It was hardly, however, a question of transformation. The tune had long been known as Jenny's Bawbee, which was mentioned by Herd in 1776, and given by Joshua Campbell in 1778. Possibly the words were old English. The rhyming of tea with away is as in Pope's The Rape of the Lock (1714), though it still survives in some country districts. Polly was a common pet-form of Mary, as was Sukey of Susan, in middle-class families in the mid-eighteenth century. Grip, the raven in Barnaby Rudge, when very much exited cried, 'Hurray! Polly put the ket-tle on, we'll all have tea; Polly put the ket-tle on, we'll all have tea. Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! ' Around 1870 'Polly put the kettle on and we'll all have tea' was a much repeated catchphrase.

Old Nurse's Book, Charles Bennett, 1858:

Sukey take it off again,
It will all boil away.

With additional verse

Blow the fire and make the toast
Put the muffins down to roast,
Blow the fire and make the toast
We'll all have tea.

Sheffield Glossary, S.O. Addy, 1888:

Come Betty, set the kettle on,
Let's have a cup of tay;
Sukey take it off again,
We'll have no more today."

Polly Put the Kettle On
Text from a broadside published between 1840 and 1866 by C. Sheard of 192, High Holborn, London.

I am a merry, happy chap,
A jolly cove am I,
One of those very merry boys,
Who never will say die;
I have a very loving wife,
Her age is twenty-one,
She's like me and other folks,
So full of harmless fun.
Sometimes we invite a friend,
An hour or two we pass,
For nothing beats at home,
A social pipe and glass;
And when the clock is striking -bum!
It's then I sing with glee,
"Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea."
Polly put the kettle on,
The kettle on, the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
And make it sing with glee,
Polly put the kettle on,
The kettle on, the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

Now when a very little lad,
I've often heard them say,
Polly put the kettle on,
And clear the things away;
Don't sit reading there so long,
But get the tea things laid,
And when being done,
A pretty aspect made.
There's nothing looks much nicer,
On a cold and frosty day,
Than to see the toast and butter
Shining on the tray;
So like I've heard it when a child,
Those words will stick to me,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.
Polly put the kettle on, &c.

A brother I've a sailor,
The other day came home,
He told us of his travels,
And where he'd been to roam;
He told us of his battles,
What wondrous things he did,
And then he'd hoist his slacks,
And chew another quid.
I gazed with all astonishment,
At his altered style,
And judge of my surprise,
Although it made me smile,
For with a voice of thunder,
To my missus shouted out,
"Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea."
Polly put the kettle on, &c.

No matter wherever I go,
Or when invited out,
As the clock is striking four,
You'll hear my welcome shout,
Some folks may laugh at me,
For them I do not care.
As I'm a chap as you can see,
I'm jolly everywhere;
So not to break the friendship,
I ask you one and all,
Some afternoon when you have time
On me to make a call,
And as the clock is striking four,
It's then I'll shout with glee,
"Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea."
Polly put the kettle on, &c.

:-)

Subject: Lyr Add: MOLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON (from Gid Tanner)
From: Richie
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 10:24 AM

For comparison, here's Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers version:

Molly put the kettle on, Jenny ring the dinner horn
Molly put the kettle on and we'll all have tea

Swing Sal, swing Sue
Swing that gal with the run down shoe

Swing Ma, swing Pa
Swing that gal from Arkansas
Take her to the back and promenade all
Pull that calico from the wall

Molly put the kettle on, Jenny blow the dinner horn
Molly put the kettle on and we'll all take tea

Swing Sal, swing Sue
Swing that gal with the run down shoe

Molly put the kettle on, Jenny blow the dinner horn
Molly put the kettle on and we'll all take tea

Subject: RE: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: GUEST,Pete Peterson
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 10:17 AM

Allan Block sings a modal version that goes something like

Polly put the kettle on the little one the big one
Polly put the kettle on we'll all take tea
Slice of bread and buttermilk is good enough for anyone
Choose the one you love the best and bring her home to me
Oh you (girl's name) how I love you
Nobody else do I love like I love you
Heart you have, hand I give you
One more kiss before I leave you

sounds like a play-party song to me but I don't know where he got it.

Subject: Lyr. req: Molly Put the kettle on
From: Richie
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 10:12 AM

I was looking for some US folk lyrics to the extensive "Molly Put the Kettle On" "Polly Put the Kettle On" "Jenny Put the Kettle On," "Jinny Put the Kettle On" songs. I have the Skillet Lickers version but would like to find more.

Also does anyone know the relationship to "Old Molly Hare"?

The only song from this family I could find in the DT is "Jenny's Bawbie."

I was wondering if this song is german in origin through the "The more we are together", and its parent, "Ach, du lieber Augustin" song or English through "Jenny's Bawbie."

Richie

---

Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index.
-Joe Offer-

Molly Put the Kettle On (Polly Put the Kettle On)

DESCRIPTION: "(Molly/Polly/Kitty) put the kettle on, Sally blow the dinner horn... We'll all take tea." Often a fiddle tune with the usual sorts of verses for a fiddle tune
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1841 (_Barnaby Rudge_ by Charles Dickens, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: nonballad floatingverses food dancetune playparty
FOUND IN: US(Ap.MW) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (9 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1684, "Molly, Put the Kettle On" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cambiaire, p. 133, "Jennie Put the Kettle On" (1 text, which looks like a playparty based on this chorus)
Wolford, p. 83=WolfordRev, p. 230, "Polly Put the Kettle On" (again, a playparty based on this chorus)
Opie-Oxford2 420, "Polly put the kettle on" (2 texts)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #237, p. 153, "(Polly put the kettle on)"
Jack, p. 154, "Polly Put the Kettle On" (1 text)
Dolby, p. 144, "Polly Put the Kettle On" (1 tex)
Newell, #125, "Housekeeping" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, p. 256, "Molly Put the Kettle On" (1 text)
Roud #7899
RECORDINGS:
Leake County Revelers, "Molly Put the Kettle On" (Columbia 15380-D, 1929; rec. 1928)
Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, "Molly Put The Kettle On" (Columbia 15746-D, 1932; on GoingDown)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Pakenham" (form)
SAME TUNE:
Jennie's Bawbee (so Herd, according to Opie-Oxford2)
Gunpoweder Tea (File: CAFS1052)
NOTES [399 words]: Opie-Oxford2 re 420: "Around 1810 the song was clearly the rage in London."
The following broadside refers to the original song and quotes it as a chorus.
Bodleian, Harding B 11(4332), "Polly Put the Kettle On" ("I am a merry, happy chap"), C. Sheard (London), 1840-1866 - BS
According to Eric Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (combined fifth edition with dictionary and supplement, Macmillan, 1961), this was a c[atch] p[hrase] from around 1870, since become obsolescent. He attributes it to "the song of Grip, the Raven (Dickens)." Since Dickens was born 1812, the poem would appear to precede him, but he may well have added to its popularity (and is often credited with changing the girl's name from "Molly" to "Polly"; cf. Colby, p. 144).
The book involved, Barnaby Rudge, is based on the anti-Catholic riot of June 1780, but is influenced, e.g., by Sir Walter Scott, so there is no particular reason to think the catch-phrase dates from c. 1780.
Grip is the mentally deficient Barnaby's pet raven, given to phrases such as "I'm a devil," "Never say die," and "Polly, put the kettle on." The latter quote occurs in chapter 17.
According to John Baynes with John Laffin, Soldiers of Scotland, Brassey's, 1988 (I use the 1997 Barnes & Noble edition), p. 105, when arranged for pipes, is known as "Jenny's Bawbee," and is used as a "Tea Call" by several Scottish regiments. The Opies say that "Jenny's Bawbee" is mentioned by Herd.
Fans of J. R. R. Tolkien may be interested to learn that this is one of the tunes which Tolkien used when creating songs -- although in this case he did not use it for something from his Middle Earth cycle. Rather, he set the poem "'Lit' and 'Lang'" to the tune he called "Polly Put the Kettle On" (see John D. Rafeliff, The History of The Hobbit: Part One: Mr. Baggins, Houghton-Mifflin, 2007, p. 188). "'Lit' and 'Lang'" describes the conflict between philologists and literary critics in the university English departments of his time, with the philologists thinking that you needed to study language to understand literature and the rest thinking you didn't. Tolkien's solution was to develop two separate tracks to a degree, one with much more language stress than the other. Sadly, this proposal has now been largely dropped -- because no one studies philology any more. Like folk music, which Tolkien also studied. - RBW
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