Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)

Subject: word to song
From: GUEST,Bill B.
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 08:53 PM

Looking for lyrics to an old song, "I live under the viaduct, down by the vinegar works." Believed to be published in the late 1800's or early 1900's

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: word to song
From: Sorcha
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 09:04 PM

So far, just this reference:(It's a page about the Lincoln Highway in Iowa)

All of the Directors warmly thank Paul Walker for setting up the meeting in a great room in the beautiful Marshall County Courthouse, and more especially for arranging a memorable reminiscence and lunch at historic Stone's Restaurant, since 1881 "under the viaduct, down by the Vinegar Works."

from: http://www.ia.net/~iowalha/newsletters/983/983.html

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: word to song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 09:17 PM

Click here for more information about Stone's Restaurant in Marshalltown, Iowa. This this making me very hungry....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: word to song - viaduct-vinegar works
From: Sorcha
Date: 24 Feb 01 - 09:21 PM

I've got a few leftover HamBeans and "conebread" if ya wanna come on over.......I've tried several engines,and still no song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: word to song - viaduct-vinegar works
From: GUEST,Kehli
Date: 24 Feb 03 - 07:17 PM

I'm afraid I don't have lyrics or even know if it's the same song, but Ada Jones and Billy Murray recorded a song titled "Down By The Vinegar Works" in the '20's or '30's.

Kehli

Subject: Lyr Add: DOWN BY THE WINEGAR WOIKS [Vinegar Works]
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Mar 03 - 01:49 AM

Ha! No wonder we had such a hard time finding it! It's in dialect!

Lyrics copied from http://www.geocities.com/Cag03/NovDownBy.html

DOWN BY THE WINEGAR WOIKS
(Don Bestor, Roger Lewis, & Walter Donovan, 1925)
As sung by Johnny Marvin, "The Ukulele Ace".

You've read about rough men and places
In books that you keep on the shelf.
Well, say, I'm so rough, sometimes I'm so tough
That I must be polite to meself.
Me pals is a couple of bull-dogs.
With mustard I sweetens me tea.
There's only two guys in this world who is tough
And both of them babies is me.

I live over the wiaduct, down by the winegar woiks.
It's easy to find me; the street's full of shacks;
I live in the one that is right on the tracks.
Ev'ry night we go dancing down at O'Reilly's or Boiks.
We chains all the childrens to fences and logs
We do it to keep 'em from bitin' the dogs.
Say, I live over the wiaduct, down by the winegar woiks.

The bloke what lives right on the corner
Keeps lions and tigers for pets.
And then there's me pard
That guy is so hard
That he chews all the nails that he gets.
When you see two guys shooting cannons
You know that they couldn't agree.
Now all of this sounds like they're tough babies, but,
Them fellers is weaklin's to me.

I live over the wiaduct, by the winegar woiks.
The men all sing bass with a voice like a horn;
We kill all the tenors as soon as they're born.
All the girls are the fairest, down at McGurgle's and Goik's.
A sheik with a car took out Molly Malone;
He wouldn't get fresh, so she made him walk home.
I live over the wiaduct, down by the winegar woiks.
Hey hey.

In the era of 78s, this song was recorded by Billy Murray, Ed Smalle, Arthur Fields, Aileen Stanley, Al Bernard, Billy Jones, The Majestic Dance Orchestra (Glantz), Bob Haring & His Orchestra, Dave Kaplan's Novelty Orchestra, and The Troubadors. Several collectors reported having this song on a piano roll. More recently, it was recorded by Ian Whitcomb and His Dance Band on "Happy Days Are Here Again," Audiophile CD 242.

Click here to play an mp3 file of a performance by Dave Kaplan's Novelty Orchestra (which can be found by going to Aardvark Record Mastering and then selecting "Edison Diamond Disks" from the menu in the upper right). By the way, that site looks like it has several other cool songs, and may be worth bookmarking!

Subject: Lyr Req: Down by the vinegar works
From: GUEST,Cookie
Date: 07 Sep 03 - 10:29 PM

Does anyone know the lyrics to "Down By The Vinegar Works" by Ian
Whitcomb??

Thanks

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the vinegar works
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Sep 03 - 09:29 AM

It's posted here: DOWN BY THE WINEGAR WOIKS [VINEGAR WORKS].

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the vinegar works
From: GUEST,Cookie
Date: 08 Sep 03 - 06:03 PM

Thanks Jim, I searched for it before I posted but nothing came
up.

Thanks anyway.
Cookie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks / Vinegar Works
From: GUEST,bsher
Date: 25 Jan 06 - 01:41 AM

My mother sings additional lyrics to this song, which she remembers from her childhood (she's 93):

They caught me for moider but I didn't care
They said I would burn in de electric chair,
What a bum execution
The chair didn't even get hot!

Say dey toined on the the juice from me head to me shoes
Say I was so tough dat I blew out da fuse
I live over the wiaduck, down by da winegar woiks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the vinegar works
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Jun 09 - 11:15 AM

I live over the wiaduct, down by the winegar woiks.   The kids is so tough that we changes them to logs, we do that to keep them from bitin the dogs. Oh I live over the wiaduct, down by the winegar woiks.   That's all I know. Do you know anymore???

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the vinegar works
From: MartinRyan
Date: 11 Jun 09 - 11:30 AM

Hi GUEST

Check Jim Dixon's link two postings above your own.

Regards
p.s. I used to be a fan of Whitcomb's in his Dublin days!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the vinegar works
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Dec 10 - 05:33 AM

Here's part of an e-mail I got this evening:

I'm writing because you might be able to help me find the lyrics to a song my father used to sing. He died in 1969 and spent most of his life in the Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois area.

The only part of the song I can remember is, "stay away from those joiks by the winegar woiks...go home, go on...go home".

I've been looking off and on for years, with no luck and tonight I happened across something on the Mudcat forum that I thought would be the jackpot...but it was only close....something like "under the viaduct down by the winegar woiks".

It's similar to the song Jim posted, but not the same. Any ideas?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)
From: GUEST,Colleen Winegar
Date: 17 Nov 11 - 08:34 AM

I have a copy of sheet music of this song...somewhere. Is there any information about the writting of this song, those that wrote it, was the Winegar Woiks an actual location?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)
From: GUEST,gene cloninger, 89
Date: 18 Jun 13 - 11:58 AM

I heard this sung in a show in St. Louis in 1935, memorized it, and sang it a number of times as a child. i also did 1800's vaudeville numbers taught me by my grandfather, plus 1920s popular songs learned from my mother.
happy to find others know of this song because as I grew up people would tell me there was no such song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)
From: GUEST
Date: 08 May 17 - 12:26 PM

i REMEMBER MY FATHER SINGING THIS - ONLY THE TITLE SO GLAD TO SEE THE WHOLE LYRIC! i'M 83.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)
From: GUEST
Date: 15 May 17 - 12:26 AM

They got me for murder, but I didn't care
They strapped me right into that ol' 'lectric chair
they turned on the juice from my head to my shoes
but I was so tough that I blowed out their fuse.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)
From: GUEST,Marie
Date: 13 Oct 18 - 04:34 PM

My mother, who was born in 1924, used to sing yet another verse :-
"When women gets old and their face starts to crack
They varnish their mugs with a coat of shellac"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)
From: GUEST,GUEST
Date: 29 Oct 18 - 06:07 PM

Our politicians know how to get votes
They register horses and pushcarts and goats

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Down by the Winegar Woiks (vinegar works)
From: GUEST,kvothekingkiller
Date: 29 Apr 23 - 09:21 AM

My mom mom lived or was born in a place in PA a coaltown called west Mahoney. The neighborhood she grew up in was called Ravens Run. That place was a bunch of shacks on the railroad tracks. Idno idea that she was living that song!
Nellie, went to church every Sunday, buy smoked Tarytons and lived to gamble