Origins: Giovanni Montini (Mike Hunt)

Subject: RE: Origins: Giovanni Montini (Mike Hunt)
From: Anglo
Date: 20 Jan 23 - 12:36 AM

As I recall, from (so sadly) the late Patrick Sky…

Giovanni Batista Montini,
He lives in the Vaticanini
He's Italian, he doesn't use soap
He's Giovanni Montini, the Pope

The police could never subpoeni
Giovanni Batista Montini
For they know that they never could quibble
With a man who is infallibibble.

Subject: RE: Origins: Giovanni Montini (Mike Hunt)
From: GUEST,Scott Nielsen
Date: 13 Jan 23 - 10:52 PM

20 years on from this conversation ...

I heard Patrick Sky sing this at Cafe Lena in Saratoga Springs in 1970 (coulda been 69 or 71, but no earlier or later). David Bromberg played first (I think first, but definitely Bromberg - "boy you got to learn to lose, you got to suffer is you wanna sing the blues ...").

Then Patrick Sky came on. I remember nothing else, but this song echoes to this day and I sing it with some regularity, for it suits my mind.

" There's a man far across the ocean ...

is any one there?

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: mack/misophist
Date: 01 Nov 03 - 06:47 PM

Mike Hunt was a coffee house singer in the mid-sixties in San Francisco. I could never find out if the name was real or not; he enjoyed it too much to be certain. I am certain, however that he and Patrick Sky are not the same person. I saw them both.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 01 Nov 03 - 03:50 PM

Check with Patrick Sky. Google him and there will be an e-mail thread.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Mark Ross
Date: 06 Sep 03 - 06:38 PM

I learned it from Frandsen. The lyrics posted are close enough for folk music.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 06 Sep 03 - 11:54 AM

Joe Offer,

Thanks for the insight. I have a similiar outlook as I get older, hopefully wiser. One who is a moderate tends to look for and cherry pick the common sense ideas that both liberalism and conservatism offer, leaving the nonsense and knee jerk reactions of both behind.

Glad that Dick and Hugh finally landed on top of your head instead of sailing right over it. I didn't mention that Ophelia Boossems was also part of that gang.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Candyman(inactive)
Date: 06 Sep 03 - 11:40 AM

Erik Frandsen was singing it long before the Pat Sky album came out. Then again, so was Pat Sky.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 06 Sep 03 - 11:34 AM

I actually heard Steve Goodman sing the song, before I got the Pat Sky recording. I think it was taped off the Studs Terkel show.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Sep 03 - 03:11 AM

Hi, Mark - yeah, that cherub/sheriff confusion was the most glaring mondegreen in the lyrics I posted. The version in the Digital Tradition is far better, but I like the "beanie" line that's missing from the DT.
Does anybody have the Patrick Sky recording, so they can give us definitive lyrics?

It took me a good, long time to catch on about Dick Gozinnia and Hugh Jardon. I suppose that's just as well. BMI attributes the song to Michael Francis Hunt, and lists the title as "Giovanni Montini the Pope." You should be able to arrange licensing through http://www.songfile.com, but their database isn't working tonight so I couldn't check that out.

Martin, I suppose I could oversimplify things and say that the fundamental difference between liberal and conservative Catholics is their view of authority. Liberals believe they should think for themselves, even though they belong to a church which generally shares a common belief system. Conservative Catholics believe that all religious thinking should be based on the dictates of Rome. I would say that conservatives tend to emphasize legalism and obedience in their view of religion, and we liberals tend to be a bit "fuzzy" and put our emphasis on free will and principles. I guess it's obvious that I prefer the liberal point of view, but I do have to say that it sometimes seems that liberal Catholics lack substance and identity. If I were to get cute in my criticism of liberal Catholics, I could say they're like Unitarians who receive communion. Actually, I call myself a "radical moderate" - nobody agrees with me, but I see value in both tradition and in individual responsibility and thinking.
The priest scandal has certainly had an impact on Catholics, but not as much as one might think. The percentage of priests involved in scandals is somewhere between two and five percent.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: allanwill
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 07:36 PM

We had an identity on Melbourne (Australia) television back in the 70's who was always introduced and referred to as Michael Hunt because of the unfortunate connotations of the abbreviated name.

Allan

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: DebC
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 06:27 PM

I heard this on Pat Sky's "Songs That Made America Famous" and assumed Pat wrote it.

The Mike Hunt attribution is sort of clever. I say "sort of" because back in my wild days when I played bars, there was always someone who asked if Mike Hunt was there and had the bartender announce it (or me, but I was smart enough to to not be fooled twice).

Deb Cowan

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Art Thieme
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 06:24 PM

CLAY,

Mike ain't no real person. I am pretty damn sure this song was written by Pat Sky ! In KNOW he sang it and that is where I first heard it way back along the timeline.

Nice talking to you, sir. I have heard through the grapevine that some who weren't giving you their help are now doing that. If so, that is simply GREAT. Give them my love.

Looking forward to a great read one day if I live long enough.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 05:49 PM

That damn enter key haunts me on this forum.

Not being Catholic, I am curious as to what contstitutes a "liberal" Catholic. Obviously you point out the birth control issue or as I have come to term it, "fucking for fun."

I would think that liberal as well as conservative Catholics are having a hard time with all that is going on with the priesthood these days. There isn't any disagreement there, is there?

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Mark Ross
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 05:33 PM

The 3rd verse, shouldn't that be, "The SHERIFF could never subpeeny"?

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 05:25 PM

For the record, Giovanni Battista Montini (1897-1978, reigned as Pope Paul VI from 1963-78. We liberal Catholics didn't think much of him at the time because he continued the church's ban on artificial birth control, which everybody ignored anyhow. He was known in some circles as "Pope Pill." In retrospect, he seems pretty good, because the current Pope John Paul II (1978-present) has worked so hard to combat the advances the liberals made in the 1960's and 1970's.

This page has an alternate version. I think it's basically the Mike Hunt song with a few Mondegreens added, but I like the "beanie" line. Now, can we get a tune?


THE POPE

There's a man who lives over the ocean
And who has got a great notion
That he is the World's Greatest Hope
He's Giovanni Montini, the Pope

CHORUS:
Giovanni Batista Montini
He lives in the Vatican-nini
He's Italian; he doesn't use soap
He's Giovanni Montini, the Pope!

When Atheists try to distract him
He doesn't let it upset him,
He just makes the High Sign on his chest,
Lets his Boss Man take care of the rest!

No cherub could ever sub-pee-ni
Giovanni Batista Montini
For how can you possibly quibble
With a man who is infalli-bibble?

CHORUS:
Giovanni Batista Montini
He lives in the Vatican-nini
And he don't even have to smoke dope
'Cause he's Giovanni Montini
You know who I mean-i
The one with the beanie!
Giovanni Montini, the Pope!

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 03:07 PM

To reach Mike Hunt, you need to first try to reach either Dick Gozinnia or Hugh Jardon. They know how to get a hold of him.

Subject: Origins: 'Giovanni Montini' by Mike Hunt
From: Clay Eals
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 02:46 PM

Does anyone know how this song (whose lyrics are elsewhere in Mudcat) came to be written and how to reach its author, Mike Hunt?