Origins: Question about No More Booze

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Mar 21 - 02:50 PM

Ed McCurdy sang leaning against the lake, too. How does *that* work?

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: GUEST,Stephen Griffith
Date: 19 Mar 21 - 06:39 PM

Sandburg writes: “The phrase “rush the growler” here refers to any receptacle such as a pitcher, a pail, a bucket, or a tin can, in which draught beer was carried from the bar of a saloon to adjacent premises by consumers or agents of consumers. . . . “About the time this song arose there were mainly three kinds of saloons in the United States: (1) saloons in bone-dry territory with the doors locked and a For Sale sign in front; (2) saloons where the doors never closed seven days in the week; (3) saloons where the doors closed only on Sundays. . . . “The period was one provocative of vulgar proverbs, such as, “The coat and the pants do all the work but the vest gets all the gravy.””

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: Lighter
Date: 19 Mar 21 - 01:44 PM

Oscar Brand recorded this in the late '50s in "American Drinking Songs."

Earlier than Sandburg:


Charlotte [N.C.] Observer (Dec. 23, 1894):

"Editor Charles O'Brien Cowardin, of the Richmond Dispatch...astonished his companions by occasionally reciting the following touching lines to music...:

She's the only girl I love,
Got a face like a horse and buggy;
I met her leaning on the lake -
Oh fireman, save me che-ild."



Charles Chipman, "Honolulu" (pvtly. ptd.: 1901):

NO BOOZE TO-DAY.

There was a little man
And he had a little can
And he wanted to rush the “growler”;
He went to a saloon on Sunday afternoon,
And you ought to hear the old man "holler":

No booze to-day, no booze to-day,
Can't get your can filled Sunday;
No booze to-day , no booze to-day,
Bring around your can on Monday.

She's the only girl I love,
Got a face like a horse and buggy
Leaning up against the lake,
Oh! Fireman, save my child .

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: GUEST,#
Date: 19 Mar 21 - 12:24 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTHGdCIa1E0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTHGdCIa1E0

That one's from The Ute Mountain Gang

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: GUEST,#
Date: 19 Mar 21 - 12:06 PM

Here's Ed McCurdy doing it for Elektra also in 1956. (Eric D playing on it also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkype-xwwsU

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: cnd
Date: 19 Mar 21 - 11:51 AM

Here's a performance of the song by Oscar Brand (with Erik Darling) from American Drinking Songs (Riverside Records RLP 12-630, 1956). The liner notes he provided don't give any indication about the origins of the song, unfortunately. The first half seems very well constructed with nice internal rhymes in the first and third lines of each stanza, but the last two stanzas are not as clean, making me think the first two stanzas were constructed by Brand while the second two were collected from elsewhere.

NO MORE BOOZE

There was a little man and he had a little can
And he used to rush the growler
He'd go to a saloon on a Sunday afternoon
You oughtta hear the bar tender holler

CHORUS
No more booze, no more booze
No more booze on Sunday
No more booze, no more booze
Gotta get your can filled Monday
She's the only girl I ever did love
With a face like a horse and buggy
Standing up against the wall
Fireman save my child
But the child was bigger than the fireman

There was a little man and he had a little dog
And he took him to the parlor
Fed him up with gin til the dog began to grin
You oughtta hear the land lady holler

CHORUS

The chambermaid come to my door
Said "get up ya lazy sinner
We need the sheets for tablecloths
It's almost time for dinner!"

CHORUS

They woke me up at the early dawn
Get out of bed you deary
The second shift is in the hall
And they're lookin' mighty weary

CHORUS

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: GUEST,#
Date: 19 Mar 21 - 10:51 AM

IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MORE

It ain't gonna' rain no more no more
It ain't gonna' rain no more
How in the heck can I wash my neck**
When the wash rag's on the floor.**

We had a cat down on our farm
It had a ball of yarn
When those little cats were born
They all had sweaters on

She lay down by the sewer
And by the sewer she died
And at the coroner's inquest
They called it sewer side

We had a goat down on our farm
It ate up old tin cans
When those little goats were born
They came in Ford sedans

Some people say that flees are black
But I know that ain't so
'Cause Marry had a little lamb
Whose fleece was white as snow

The chamber maid came to my bed
Get up you lazy sinner
We need the sheets for table clothes
And it's almost time for dinner

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To try out Jack's new flivver
The car broke down a mile from town
And dumped them in the river

She's the only girl I love
With a face like a horse and buggy
Leaning up against the lake
Oh, fireman save my child

----------------------------------------------------------------

Alternatives:

** How in the hell can the old folks tell
That it ain't gonna' rain no more

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/u/unknownlyrics/itaintgonnarainnomorelyrics.html

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Mar 21 - 10:39 AM

There's a reference to this song in a Salt Lake City newspaper article from 1899 where a woman in the city jail was heard singing this song. It must have been well known for people to know the reference without mentioning the title of the Song.

After calming down that evening, “from her prison cell last night shrouded in gloom there came a plaintive melody as from a heartbroken mother. Soft and low the notes were, wafted through the iron bars into the grim street below and all who heard bowed reverently as they tarried on their way to listen.” She sang: She’s the only girl I love. She’s got a face like a horse and buggy. She’s the only girl I love. Oh fireman save my child!”
Salt Lake Herald 30 May 1899

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: GUEST,Gina in the UK
Date: 05 Jul 10 - 07:34 AM

I first heard this on a record a boyfriend lent me in 1963. Blood Booze and Bones by Ed McCurdy. Wonderfully amusing album. I recently at the age of 64 found it again on a download site and now have the album on my MP3. I still remember all the lyrics. Happy days.

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 11:33 PM

Yes, this song will be on a new CD of mine planned for next year (2005) maybe. It will be called:

CHICAGO TOWN & POINTS WEST
Art Thieme

Not being able to pick now, the CD is all live from various shows I did over the years. This particular song being short, I would often sandwhich it between similar shorter songs. Here it will be done with SOHO ON SATURDAY NIGHT --- a song about drinking habits in early 20th century Pittsburgh.

Art

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: Lighter
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 09:06 PM

Did Harry McClintock ever claim that he wrote this one?

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 08:29 PM

from memory: learned from an old book years ago-

"There was a little man, and he had a little can,
And he used to 'rush the growler'-
He'd go to the saloon on a Sunday afternoon
And you ought to hear the bartender holler-
"No more booze, no more booze,
No more booze on Sunday
No more booze, no more booze,
You'll have to get your can filled Monday.

The chambermaid came to my door:
"Get up, you lazy sinner-
We need those sheets for tablecloths,
And it's almost time for dinner."

She's only the girl I love,
With a face like a horse and buggy-
Leaning up against the lake
Oh, fireman, save my child

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From:
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 08:51 AM

I learned this song the ATO Fraternity.   We sang it a bit differently and there are additional references to fraternity matters in the song. I will post the song on my website..... you can compare.             T.Lee

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Feb 04 - 02:40 PM

The Traditional Ballad Index has only one songbook entry indexed for this song - the version in Sandburg's 1927 book, American Songbag - this is the version in the our Digital Tradition Folk Song Database. I'd take it that Sandburg considered it a "traditional" song if he included it in the book. According to American copyright law, songs published before 1923 are now generally in the public domain (although Sonny Bono and the U.S. congress gave the corporations rights for another umpteen years for those published after 1923). Therefore, I think it's safe to conclude that "No More Booze" is in the public domain.
-Joe Offer-

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Here's the Ballad Index entry:

No More Booze (Fireman Save My Child)

DESCRIPTION: "There was a little man... He went to the Saloon on a Sunday afternoon And you ought to heard the bartender holler, No more booze... No more booze on Sunday... Got to get your can filled on Monday. She's the only girl I love.... O fireman, save my child."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: drink nonsense
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Sandburg, pp. 208-209, "No More Booze (Fireman Save My Child)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, NOBOOZE*
RECORDINGS:
Radio Mac [pseud. for Harry McClintock], "Fireman Save My Child" (Victor V-40234, 1930)
File: San208

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2003 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

Subject: RE: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From: Art Thieme
Date: 21 Feb 04 - 12:21 PM

I believe it's P.D. I may be putting it on a CD one of these days also. I remember Ed McCurdy singing it on his Blood,Booze and Bones LP for Elektra Records back in the 1950s.

Subject: Origins: Question about No More Booze
From:
Date: 21 Feb 04 - 11:35 AM

Hi, First let me say I love your site.
I am a Musician recording an album for local release. I have wanted to put this song on it that my Grandfather use to sing to me when I was little. I can hardly believe I found it here. My question is this, Do you know of any copyright info on this song (No More Booze)even who may have wrote it, or is it, as I suspect, in the public domain?
Thank you for your time, R.F. Kern