Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name

Subject: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From:
Date: 09 Oct 98 - 03:09 PM

On the radio many years ago I heard a sea song about a dog named Rummy. I'm now looking for a record, CD or cassette that has that song. I can't find it anywhere. I presumed name of song was "Rummy." Is anyone familiar with this song?

Thanks, K-9 [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From: Roger Himler
Date: 11 Oct 98 - 11:57 PM

K-9,

I heard a song today about a dog named Romwell. Romwell is dead and buried. An apple tree grows from the grave. The apples are harvested.

Allegedly, the song may be a song about Cromwell in England and was intentionally or unintentionally to Romwell, a dog.

I don't have words, but perhaps this stirs someone else's memory.

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From: K-9
Date: 12 Oct 98 - 06:16 PM

Thanks, Roger, but that's not it. I have the words and an old scratchy copy I got from the radio (most of it anyway) years ago.

It goes:

Rummy was a good ol' dog And a sea dog through and through He sailed aboard the Alice Gray With the Captain and his crew. They found him on a summer morning Swimming in the sea It was off the coast of Newfoundland And a Newfoundland was he.

The song goes on... But the story line is that Rummy was taken care of by the crew of the Alice Gray and he started started sailing with them every time the Alice Gray went out. But one morning, Rummy would not get on board but would only "sit and moan" on shore. The Alice Gray sailed without Rummy that day and never came home again, lost at sea. So somehow Rummy knew they should not have sailed that day.

Subject: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From:
Date: 02 Jan 00 - 11:00 PM

I posted this request about a year ago. Thought I'd try again. I heard a song long ago about a dog named Rummy who sailed on a ship called the Alice Grey. One day he refused to get on board. That day the ship went down and the entire crew was lost. ... Does anyone know about this song - who sang it? Who wrote it?

Subject: Lyr Add: RUMMY^^
From: Walter Corey
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 10:03 AM

I hope the line breaks work better than the last time I tried this. I don't have the tune notated and would be grateful if someone could post it.

RUMMY
(Author unknown)

1. Rummy was a good old dog,
And a sea dog through and through;
He sailed aboard the Alice Gray,
With the captain and his crew.
They found him on a summer morn,
(Been swimming in the sea)
It was off the coast of Newfoundland,
And a Newfoundland was he.

CHORUS: And it's [whistle] Come on here, old Rummy,
Got some hard tack bread and a codfish head;
[Whistle] Come on here, old Rummy,
Won't you bring some luck to me?

2. They fished him out and they dried him off,
And they gave him bread and bone;
And he slept and he dined and he liked the find,
And he found himself a home.
The crews may come and the crews may go,
And the captains may depart;
But Rummy and the Alice Gray,
Could not be kept apart.

3. And then one day in the early spring,
The Alice Gray left home;
And Rummy would not sail with her,
But would only sit and moan.
The Alice Gray she was lost that night,
The ship and all her men;
And Rummy stayed ashore,
And he never went to sea again.

4. It's always wise to check the skies,
When you're sailing far from shore;
But Rummy knew though the skies were blue,
It was time to sail no more.
And the Gloucester men they shake their heads,
And they wonder what to do;
And they don't leave home without a bone,
For Rummy, 'cause he knew.


Walter, you used 'bk' where you should have used 'br' (inside angle brackets) as your HTML line breaks. -JoeClone, 28-Aug-01.

Subject: RE: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From: Walter Corey
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 10:05 AM

It didn't work any better. I put in the symbols. What did I miss?

Subject: RE: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From:
Date: 03 Jan 00 - 11:05 AM

Walter-

You know the song!!!! How do you know of it??

I want to get the recording of it - on CD, tape, record -- whatever? Do you know who sang it and if it's available anywhere???

Subject: RE: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From: Walter Corey
Date: 04 Jan 00 - 07:59 AM

I transcribed the words years ago from a radio tape I made (maybe the same one you heard). The singer and/or songwriter were not identified as I would have noted that. Unfortunately the tape was lost in the move to Maine, so I can't go back & try and figure out who it sounds like.I'm trying to reconstruct the tune, but so far without a great deal of success. & by the way, could anybody out there tell me why the angle-break-angle thingy doesn't seem to work for me?

Subject: RE: Rummy.Know of song about dog with that name?
From:
Date: 08 Jan 00 - 11:05 AM

Walter, is it possible to write to the radio station just to see if someone there would know of that song. I was going to do that, but it was over 20 years ago that I heard it. However, I did tape it and still have the tape, but it's getting worn and was not a good copy to begin with. So I know the tune and can get it to you somehow. I'm on a Mac and never have learned how to get songs off the web and transmit songs.

I'm bordering on being obsessive (or maybe not even bordering) about trying to find a tape or CD that I can purchase that has the song on it since the tape I have is going to die one of these days and the copies I make of it are worse than it is. But I need to know the artist. I've searched sites I could find using keyword "Rummy." Get lots of gin rummy and every rummy but the sea dog.

Right now the only lead I can see is your old radio station.

What say?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST,Ernie Pigeon
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 10:58 PM

A bit of time has gone by since the last post before this one, but as I, too, am interested in learning who wrote Rummy, here's what I know to add to the database, and an attempt to renew the question:

The song Rummy was one of a group of really good Gloucester MA oriented sea songs that were used in a PBS documentary called "The Gloucestermen". This documentary dealt with the days of fishing schooners (it was the boats themselves that were called "Gloucestermen"), and in addition to a lot of good songs, has some wonderful stories of the old fishing days, mostly narrated by Gloucester historian, Joe Garland. I watched this show on Boston, MA based channel 2 (WGBH), and made a reel to reel audio tape of the whole show (pretty bad quality, as the TV's that I could afford back then weren't very hi-fi, but it has survived). The date that I had labeled the tape with is 22NOV1973, so it was indeed, back a few years.

The lyrics listed in the earlier post agree very closely with what I transcribed from my recording of the PBS show.

I have been singing Rummy and another song from that show (The Nannie C Bohlin) for a while now, and I also have been trying to find who wrote them, with no luck so far. I have attempted to contact folks who may have been involved with the production, but so far the only responses I have had could not identify the writer(s). Looking into WGBH archives did not yield anything for me either.

If I should learn more, I will repost, and in the meantime, if anyone out there knows better than I how to follow up on some of the info above, maybe we can get this one answered.

Ernie Pigeon

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that nam
From: GUEST,Mary C.
Date: 23 Jul 10 - 10:00 PM

I can't believe I have found this thread! I have been looking for this song for years!!! Every once in awhile I Google, trying all sorts of search terms, and this is the first time I have had success.   I guess I am not the only one that was moved by that song. I remember the show and the reference to codfish cakes, and even named my "virtual" dog on Farmville, Rummy. I will keep searching now, hoping that someone will be able to provide a recording source, so that I can hear the tune, although it is wonderful just to be able to read the words. Thank you!!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST,Brian
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 02:02 PM

I don't know if anybody is still following this thread, but I was also a Gloucestermen fan and have, somewhere around the house, a cassette tape of the show because I loved it so much.   Yes, it's been a long time!

Back in 2002 I tracked down the singer, Rob Carlson. This was his response:

Dear Brian- Wow. Somebody remembers "The Gloucestermen"! That was my first job out of college. I don't even know if I have a copy. If I do it's buried in a pile of ancient tapes and may not even be playable. I'll take a look, but the odds aren't good.From time to time I've thought of re-recording some of those songs but never did.

FYI- These days I'm doing a comedy/music trio called Modern Man. Our first Album, "The Wide Album, Live at the Bottom Line" has been out for three years and our second will be available soon. Check us out at www.modernman3.com . Thanks for your interest. Best... Rob Carlson

http://www.modernman3.com/

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST,Jan Weems
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 11:31 PM

I too, watched that show, on a really bad B&W TV, back in 1973 or whenever it was on, and loved the music .... I loved to play my guitar and sing, and collected folk songs and ballads for years. I did not have a tape player then, being a poverty-stricken married student, so was not able to get the music, other than writing down some of the words. I remember the "Nanny C. Bohlin" too, another great tune. I know there were several others. I don't know if the show was ever replayed, I only caught it once. My dad's family came from Cape Cod, New Hampshire and also Nova Scotia, and for centuries, many were fishermen, so the songs really got to me! On a whim, I typed in "Rummy the Newfoundland dog" and this thread came up!

I would love to have a tape, CD or any recording of the music, and wondered if the above "BRIAN" ever was able to get the music for these songs from Rob Carlson? I checked out YouTube, but nothing there....

Does anyone know if WGBH kept that show in their archives, and if it is possible to purchase a copy of it? I will also try to check on this with the station.

To ERNIE PIGEON: You mentioned here that you have been "singing those songs for years...." if you know the music, would you consider putting yourself on YouTube, or even making a CD or tape and sharing it with the rest of us who would love to hear the songs again??   Thank you so much, I will keep checking to see if anyone replies.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Feb 13 - 10:22 PM

There's a more recent thread about Rummy and The gloucsestermen --http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=135060

If no one else has the lyrics and tune, I do - on an old tape, lousy quality, but better than nothing. Actually the only song I have is Rummy. I'm presuming it is the same person, Rob Carlson, singing it. I taped it off the radio back in the early 70's. I used to be [e-mail].   I'm now [e-mail]

Ginny

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST,999
Date: 03 Feb 13 - 02:18 AM

http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/09/rummy.htm

From GEST

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST,Ginny
Date: 07 Feb 13 - 10:29 AM

OK, I emailed Rob Carlson. Sounds like he will re-record Rummy for us. I never saw "The Glouccestermen." I got the song from the radio. But I think Rob would also be interested in re-recording the other songs from that WGBH special. I mentioned that there were others, besides me, who were not only interested in Rummy but other songs. We'll see. I had also contacted Tom Roush to see if he knew the song, and if he did, could he record it. He was interested but naturally needed to know about the copyright. If you've not heard Tom Roush singing, look him up on YouTube. I love his voice. He sings a lot of songs from the Civil War era. And he has a lot of the old photos that accompany his singing. He's done a great job of combining the two.

So I'll keep you all posted on Rob's response. If he doesn't respond, I'll pester him until he does. Tom too. There's another thread here on Mudcat (http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=135060) that I'll post this same message. I'd rather just combine it into one thread, but there were several other people over the years who may just be returning to check that other thread, so I'll post this same message on it.

It's a shame that we lost Joe Garland.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST,Darryl
Date: 28 Nov 16 - 02:11 PM

Ginny - I too recorded onto VHS tape the entire list of songs from "The Gloustermen" in the early 1970s. I had marveled at it one week (on PBS if I remember) so much that when it repeated the next week, I was ready for it. There are several other great songs on that tape, and wouldn't you know it, of all my VHS tapes, that one turned up missing!

I would be grateful if you could somehow provide me with your recording. I am at [e-mail] or [e-mail].

If there was ever a re-record done, I'd like to hear that one, too!

Regards, Darryl Dockins

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Oct 17 - 08:42 AM

I may have a tape recording of the The Gloucestermen. I'll take a look. (My daughter, who grew up with those songs might have borrowed it. :-) Rummy is a simple tune in the key of C. I play the song for my grandchildren on an 8 note keyboard. Start on G and you can figure it out. Anyway, I'll look for the recording but I'm not sure how I would share it. Any suggestions?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Rummy - song about dog with that name
From: GUEST,Ned L.
Date: 30 Dec 21 - 07:46 PM

I also saw the original GBH special “The Gloucestermen” back in ‘73. I taped it on a cassette and listened to the song for years. The tape is long gone, but I still remember the song and the lyrics all these years later. I’d love to find a copy of the song too.
    I’m remembering there was another stanza to it too.