Origins: Dunderbeck

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Feb 24 - 12:10 AM

Hi, Celia - I think it's late 19th century, from US immigrants with Germanic roots. Randolph says his source learned it in 1900. Where I grew up in southeast Wisconsin, the protagonist was Johnny Verbeck. (fur-BECK).

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Feb 24 - 01:24 AM

I grew up in Massachusetts with French and Irish grandparents. Our families sang this as kids and to our kids and so on. It was always a fun favorite. I’ve read as much of this thread as possible to find out whether it was a song derived of WW1 because the frontlines were called meatgrimders. Maybe it was created in Europe during WW1.
maybe it was about Kaiser Wilhelmina II , written by Germans who opposed the war (secretly).
Celia

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 Dec 23 - 05:05 PM

Yup. Laughing America album.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 Dec 23 - 05:03 PM

I've known this sll my life. Offbeat Folk Songs, maybe? Oscar Brand?

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,Simshar73
Date: 18 Dec 23 - 12:03 PM

I have been researching Edward Harrigan and his partner Tony Hart for the past 40 years (as well as performing Harrigan material). I have never come across "Dunderbeck" or any of it's variants associated with Harrigan. It is true Harrigan sang a few "Dutch" comedy numbers early in his career (like "Little Fraud") but nothing I have seen so far like "Dunderbeck". It is quite possible that the lyrics turned up in the one of many early Harrigan and Hart songsters. The songsters usually contained a number of songs that were not sung by Harrigan. No doubt included as "filler".

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Lighter
Date: 06 May 23 - 08:05 AM

Perhaps originally sung in (or inspired by):

"A new comic drama by Charles Seabert, entitled
               
             DUNDERBECK IN A FIX

Hans Von Dunderbeck......Gus Williams."

(New York Herald, December 1, 1872)

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,john2two
Date: 25 Feb 21 - 01:09 AM

I learned this song from the 1963 Tom Glazer recording. I was slightly surprised not to see that version mentioned here. (But not too surprised, given the thread's focus on tracing the origin.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH6sm2qaGNY

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,azansvan
Date: 30 Jul 18 - 05:23 PM

Thank you, Lighter!

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Lighter
Date: 30 Jul 18 - 09:34 AM

Fantastic work, azansvan!

Subject: Lyr Add: DUNDERBECK (Our Own Boys Songster, 1876)
From: GUEST,azansvan
Date: 30 Jul 18 - 02:42 AM

If anyone is still listening, I am happy to report "Our Own Boys' Songster" from 1876 has been located. It is in the Library of Congress in the collections of the American Folklife Center, as part of a special "songster" file. A songster in this context refers to a small pamphlet or booklet, often cheaply printed, containing mainly the lyrics of songs, sometimes with musical notation, jokes, theatrical sketches, etc.

After several years of inquiry to the LC cataloging and reference staff who searched the stacks to no avail, I went to the American Folklife Center on a hunch. There I was able to find this booklet with the excellent help of Folklife Center staff, Jennifer Cutting and Stephen Winick.

The lyrics consist of three verses plus the chorus, and the verses contain the basic core of the story that appear in most variants. The title is "Dunderbeck's Machine. By Ed. Harrigan." Ed. Harrigan is Edward Harrigan, q.v. at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Harrigan

Also noted is the "Air--'Thomas's Machine.' "    I would guess Thomas's Machine is similar to the Gambolier tune that many have mentioned and that I was familiar with, but I would love to know more, a topic for further study.

The lyrics are largely similar, tho hardly identical, to the words that I learned as a boy from my father, who learned it in the 1920s and '30s as a Boy Scout in Brooklyn, N.Y. However, they are written in what was meant to pass for a German accent.

[transcription]
Dere vas a good old German man,
His name vas Dunderbeck,
He vas very fond of poodle dogs
Und sour krout und spec;
He had a great big butcher shop,
Der nicest ever seen,
He got him out a patent, boys,
To make sausages by steam.

                CHORUS
Den oh, Mister Dunderbeck,
    How could you be so mean?
You vas sorry you invented
    Dat wonderful machine;
Den pussy cats and long tail rats,
    No more dey will be seen,
You grind dem up to sausage meat,
    By Dunderbeck's machine.

De odder day a little boy
He come into de store,
He vant a pound of head cheese
Dat vas walking round de floor;
Und vhile he vas a-standing dere
He whistled up a tune,
Dem sausages began to dance
And jump around der room.
                                              Den oh, etc.

Now something vas der matter,
Dat machine it wouldn't go,
So Dunderbeck he crawled insite
To find dat out, you know;
His wife she took de nightmare,
Und went walking in her sleep,
She gave that crank one awful yank,
Und Dunkerbeck vas meat.
                                                Den oh, etc.

The publication is "Our Own Boys Songster," New York: Robert M. De Witt, 1876. De Witt claims the copyright. This is the earliest appearance in print of the Dunderbeck song that anyone has found reference to. Edward Harrigan was a prolific author of songs over a long Broadway career, and barring evidence to the contrary, it is likely that he wrote this one, too.

I have several pictures taken with a cell phone camera of the cover, title page, Dunderbeck lyrics, and other pages of "Our Own Boys" and I will be happy to forward them if you contact me at < azansvan AT yahoo.com> .

A. H. Haeberle

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Tradsinger
Date: 11 Jul 18 - 03:52 PM

The version I heard in West Virginia was called "Dangerback". It doesn't seem to have crossed the Atlantic.

Tradsinger

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,Mango
Date: 11 Jul 18 - 10:36 AM

A slight variation that my father (born in 1917) used to sing to me. My mother always said that as an infant with colic, the only thing that would soothe me was my dad laying my belly on top of his while he sang:

There was a man named Dunderbak,
invented a machine,
It was for grinding sausage meat,
and it would run by steam,
for little cats and long tailed rats,
no more they will be seen,
for they were ground to sausage meat,
in Dunderbak's machine.

One day a little boy came in,
to Dunderbak's big store,
there was a pile of sausage meat,
a-lying on the floor,
and while he was a-waiting,
he whistled up a tune,
the sausage meat began to skip,
and run around the room.

Oh Dunderbak oh dunderbak,
how could you be so mean,
someday you'll be so sorry,
you invented that machine,
for little cats and long tailed rats,
no more they will be seen,
for they were ground to sausage meat,
in Dunderbak's machine.

Something was out of order,
that machine it would not go,
so Dunderbak he crawled inside,
to find it out you know,
his wife got all excited,
she got up in her sleep,
she turned the crank and,
turned old Dunderbak to sausage meat.

One day a little boy came in,
to Dunderbak's big store,
there was a pile of sausage meat,
a-lying on the floor,
and while he was a-waiting,
he whistled up a tune,
the sausage meat began to skip,
and run around the room.

Oh Dunderbak oh dunderbak,
how could you be so mean,
for now I'll be you're sorry,
you invented that machine,
for little cats and long tailed rats,
no more they will be seen,
for they were ground to sausage meat,
in Dunderbak's machine.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: voyager
Date: 07 May 18 - 10:15 AM

Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made - Mark Twain

My lads sang this tune in our Boy Scout Troop. Thanks to Mudcat for teasing this thread out into a great history of song.

voyager

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,Lorraine
Date: 06 May 18 - 03:09 AM

I sure have enjoyed looking at many of the recollections and fond memories of individuals about the Dunderback song. My father sang it to my sister and I when we were young, he knew a few verses and we enjoyed singing it with him. After reading many of the versions on this thread, I rearranged the order of the verses and changed some words and sang it at my father's Celebration of Life on August 27, 2013. It's taken me a few years (2018) to get back to the thread and submit it, here it is...

DUNDERBACK
There was a strange old butcher, whose name was Dunderback
His specialty was sausage meat, and saurkraut, and speck.
Then Dunderback invented an incredible steam machine,
That ground things into sausage meat, The Dunderback Machine.

He had the finest butcher shop, the finest ever seen!
That's where he invented, that terrible machine.
But there were those that knew that something wasn't right,
When dogs and rats and pussy cats went missing in the night.

CHORUS:
Oh Dunderback, oh Dunderback, how could you be so mean?
For having invented that horrible machine?
For pussycats and dogs and rats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderback's machine.

There was a little boy, came walking in the store.
He ordered up some sausages and eggs a half a score.
And while he was a waiting, he whistled up a tune,
And all the little sausages began to dance around the room.

One day the meat inspector came a knocking at the door,
He said, "I've heard of your machine! Your bribe is gonna soar!".
Well Dunderback got angry and pushed the man in deep.
And fired up the old machine and now that man is meat.

CHORUS:
Oh Dunderback, oh Dunderback, how could you be so mean?
For having invented that horrible machine?
For pussycats and dogs and rats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderback's machine.

Now there was a shortage and there was no meat to grind.
So Dunderback he called the pound to see what he could find.
They said, "We're out of business, we can keep the strays no more."
"But we'll refer all future finds directly to your store."

So if you own a dog or cat, you keep them under lock,
'Cause if you don't, I'm telling you, you're in for quite a shock!
For if you buy them sausages from Dunderback, right now
You'll hear those little sausages go squeak and bark and meow!

CHORUS:
Oh Dunderback, oh Dunderback, how could you be so mean?
For having invented that horrible machine?
For pussycats and dogs and rats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderback's machine.

Now, Dunderback, he had a wife, the sweetest ever seen,
He left her home alone, to clean the sausage meat machine
She grew morose and leaned too close, it undressed her by the seams
And no one ever saw that dress come out of the machine.

One night when he was working, the machine it would not go.
So Dunderback climbed inside, the reason for to know.
His wife she had a night-mare, was walking in her sleep;
She gave the crank an awful yank and Dunderback was meat.

CHORUS:
Oh Dunderback, oh Dunderback, how could you be so mean?
For having invented that horrible machine?
For pussycats and dogs and rats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderback's machine.

Now she awoke to the grinding, of his bones through the machine,
But seeing opportunity, she threw in herbs and greens,
She had a sale and many tales of the finest sausage seen
Now there's a bit of Dunderback in all the meat machined.

This might make you wonder, when eating your morning meal.
Where the sausage meat came from and if it is really real?
'Cause early in the morning when you see the trucker go,
The sign upon the driver's door says "Dunderback Meat Co."

CHORUS:
Oh Dunderback, oh Dunderback, how could you be so mean?
For having invented that horrible machine?
For pussycats and dogs and rats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderback's machine.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Dec 14 - 06:52 PM

I always wondered whether she was really walking in her sleep...

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: Lighter
Date: 07 Dec 14 - 02:51 PM

"Son of a Gambolier" appeared on a New Orleans broadside of 1861, presumably to some form of the familiar tune. The place names (like "Gretna Green" for "Tipper'y Town") localize it to N.O., which had a significant Irish-immigrant population.

The song must have been rather popular in the American Civil War: it was sung at Harvard no later than 1865.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,David Gerstein
Date: 07 Dec 14 - 01:38 PM

Toward the top of this thread, Joe Offer and others note that the "Gambolier" melody was first used on stage in 1873; and that Fuld's Book of World-Famous Music adds:

> "The words (of Dunderbeck) appeared in Our Own Boys Songster (New
> York, NY, 1876), p. 6, under the title "Dunderbeck's Machine," to the
> "Air-Thomas's Machine." "Dunderbeck's Machine" is there said to be
> "By Ed. Harrigan," but this might also mean "sung by" Ed. Harrigan...

Nobody on this thread seems to have looked up "Air-Thomas's Machine." There is no song by this name that I can find—but there *is* an *air* called "Thomas's Machine"! It reportedly dates from 1873:

http://monologues.co.uk/musichall/Songs-T/Thomas-Machine.htm

And here is an Amazon link for sheet music that seems to back up that date:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thomass-Sewing-Machine-Song-begins/dp/B0000CZ0EM

If the date is correct, then this predates Dunderbeck and is the first song to link the "Gondolier" melody to verses about a machine. The subject matter is less unusual than Dunderbeck, so it's easy to imagine Dunderbeck as Harrigan's deliberate attempt to make the "Thomas" lyrics crazier.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,Jim Ferguson
Date: 25 Jun 14 - 12:22 PM

My Grandfather used to sing a variant of the Dunderbeck song, substituting Bitzerbeck for Dunderbeck. I've found no reference to the Bitzerbeck version on-line, so it might be a family variant.
I don't remember the verses well, but the chorus is essentially the same. His version saw the demise of "long-tailed rats and pussy cats" and called it a "horrible machine".

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,Lindsey
Date: 05 Jan 13 - 01:38 PM

Oh Johnny Lebeck how could you be so mean
I told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine
Now all the neighbors' cats and dogs will nevermore be seen
They'll all be grounded sausage meat in Johnny Lebeck's machine

One day the thing stopped working, the damn thing wouldn't go
Johnny Lebeck he climbed inside to see what made it so
His wife was out walking about the house in her sleep
She gave the crank a heck of a yank and Johnny Lebeck was meat


          **This is the song, as it was song to me in my childhood by my father in New Hampshire

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,hopkinja
Date: 02 May 11 - 02:57 PM

We sang this version in summer camp back in the '60's. It's similar to some of the others, with slight twists.

There was a fat old Dutchman, his name was Dunderbach.
He had the finest sausages, and sauerkraut and sack (I think).
He had the finest butchershop the world had ever seen,
And he took out a patent on the sausage meat machine.

OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH Dunderbach, Oh Dunderbach, how could you be so mean
To ever have invented the sausage meat machine?
The pussy cats, the dogs, the rats will never more be seen,
For they've all been ground to sausage meat in Dunderbach's machine.

One day a boy came walking into the butcher store.
He ordered up some sausages and eggs, a half a score.
And while he was a-waiting, he whistled up a tune
And the Sausages began to hop and dance around the room!

(Chorus)

One night the whole thing busted. The machine refused to go.
So Dunderback, he crawled inside, the reason for to know.
His wife she had a nightmare, she was walking in her sleep and
She gave the crank and awful YANK!!!! ...and Dunderbach was meat.

(Chorus)

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,Nimzo
Date: 10 Oct 10 - 02:10 PM

I stumbled on this thread today. This song is a tradition in my wife's family. (In the version they sing, the butcher's name was "Donnerybeck"). Did anyone ever find a version of the 1876 book that first published this song?

An earlier post said there are only two libraries that have it -- the Library of Congress and Brown University -- and the Library of Congress can't find it. Did anyone try Brown University?

Nimzo

-----------Thread closed due to persistent spamming. If you need it opened again, please contact Joe Offer -------------

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,rjm
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 06:06 PM

An incidental note:

My daughter-in-law, who is of Dutch extraction and lives in a Dutch area of upstate NY, reacted to my casual mention of Johnny Verbeck (from boy scout camp song in MI in the early 1950s) by telling me of her relative of the same name who was notorious for being mean.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderbeck
From: GUEST,LucieBee
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 03:31 PM

Wow, this song really got around, although I've so far seen nothing really definitive regarding it's origins. My father played and sang for many, many dances back in the 30's, 40's, and 50's, and Dunderbeck was always a favorite. Apparently it was considered to be 'danceable' back then as well as fun. Of course, back then whole families went to the dances, so he always played a couple of fun songs 'for the kids.' All this happened in Southern and South-Eastern Oregon and a few places in Northern California. It was a song he had learned while working as a young boy in the logging camps of South-Eastern Oregon in 1927. He learned a surprisingly large number of songs in the logging camps and cowboy camps, most of them repeatable, a few of them rather 'blue' by content, even by today's standards. I only heard those on rare occasion, completely by accident.

Who knew that our forbears could get rowdy? Good times...

Regards,
LB

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 10:30 AM

Anyone for barbeque?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Comprehensive Lyrics
From: GUEST,Saiph
Date: 03 Jul 09 - 11:51 PM

I haven't heard this song in years, I plowed through most of the discussion pages about the song and sorted out what I feel is a comprehensive list of all the verses. I tweaked some words here and there to suit the rhyme, meter, cadence, and memories I have of the song. Some of the obscure verses needed a complete rewrite, but the theme is still unchanged. There was one I just couldn't figure the meaning of, and consequently omitted. I can't wait to use this at camp next week.
I hope you all approve.

There was a strange old butcher, whose name was Dunderbeck
His specialty was sausage meat, and saurkraut, and speck.
Then Dunderbeck invented an incredible machine,
That ground things into sausage meat, The Dunderbeck Machine.

Oh Dunderbeck, oh Dunderbeck, how could you be so mean?
To ever have invented the sausage meat machine?
All the dogs and rats and pussy cats, will never more be seen
for They'll all be ground to sausage in the Dunderbeck machine.

He had the finest butcher shop, the finest ever seen!
And that's where he invented, that terrible machine.
But some began to think, that maybe something wasn't right,
When dogs and rats and pussy cats went missing in the night.

So if you own a dog or cat, you keep them under lock
Cause if you don't, I'm telling you, you're in for quite a shock!
For if you buy them sausages from Dunderbeck, right now
You'll hear those little sausages go squeak and bark and meow!

One fine day a little boy came walking in the store.
He ordered up some sausages and eggs a half a score.
The boy began to whistle, and they whistled up a tune,
And all the little sausages, they danced around the room.

One day the meat inspector came a knocking at the door,
He said, "I've heard of your machine! Your bribe is gonna soar!".
Well Dunderbeck got angry and he pushed him in the meat.
Then he fired up the old machine and now there's more to eat.

One day there was a shortage, and there was no meat to grind.
So Dunderbeck he called the pound to see what he could find.
They said, "We're out of business, we can keep the strays no more."
"But we'll refer all our future finds directly to your store."

Have you ever wondered, when you go to summer camp.
Why the food is good and plentiful and never gives a cramp?
Cause early in the morning you can see the trucker go,
And the sign upon the driver door is "Dunderbeck Meat Co.."

Now, Dunderbeck, he had a wife, the sweetest ever seen,
He left her home alone to weep while working his machine
She grew morose and leaned too close, undressed her by the seams
And no one ever saw the dress come out from the machine.

One night when he was working the machine it would not go.
So Dunderbeck, he climbed inside to see what made it so.
His wife she had a night-mare and came walking in her sleep;
And she gave the crank a hell of a yank and Dunderback was meat.

She woke up when she heard her love depart through the machine,
But seeing opportunity, she threw in herbs and greens,
She had a sale and many tales of the finest sausage seen
Now there's a little bit of Dunderbeck in all the meat machined.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: GUEST,emily
Date: 02 May 09 - 11:50 AM

the words are almost exactly like Mister Johnny Rebeck which I sang at church camp in Montana 1959. My husband heard it before 1948 on a record in South Dakota.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: GUEST,MrMojo
Date: 12 Dec 08 - 09:37 PM

I love these priceless diddys. I heard this one from an old fellow that I was chatting with in the grocery store beer section. I'm pretty sure he was in the early stages of sillyness, because his wife escorted him away when she saw him talking and singing to a perfect stranger. All that I could remember was "rats and kitty cats", so I began to Google and research. Also, I drive a school bus, and sometimes encourage silly behavior from my little ones - this seemed to fit the bill... It seems the chorus is perfectly acceptable as;

"Alley Cats and Long Tailed Rats"
"Long Tailed Rats and Pussy Cats"
"Rats and Dogs and Cats"
"Rats and Dogs and Kitty Cats"

The first go at it was very successful, the kids loved it and begged for more.
I modified it some to make it easier to understand and sing by modern American children and this is what I came up with;
_____________________________

There was a strange old butcher, whose name was Dunderbeck
His specialty was sausage meat, and saurkraut, and speck.
Then Dunderbeck invented, a terrible machine,
That ground things into sausage meat, and it was run by steam.

Oh Dunderbeck, oh Dunderbeck, how could you be so mean
To ever have invented that terrible machine?
Now all the Rats and Dogs and Cats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine.

He had the finest butcher shop,the finest ever seen!
And that's where he invented, that terrible machine.
But people began to think, that something wasn't right,
When the Rats and Dogs and Kitty Cats went missing in the night.

Oh Dunderbeck, oh Dunderbeck, how could you be so mean
To ever have invented that terrible machine?
Now all the Rats and Dogs and Cats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine.

One day a little fat boy, walked into the store
He brought a pound of sausages, and threw them on the floor.
The boy began to whistle, and he whistled up a tune.
And all the sausages stood up and danced around the room.

Oh Dunderbeck, oh Dunderbeck, how could you be so mean
To ever have invented that terrible machine?
Now all the Rats and Dogs and Cats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine.

One night the machine got busted, the darned thing wouldn't go.
So Dunderbeck, he climbed inside to see what made it so.
His wife, she had a nightmare and walking in her sleep
She gave the crank an awful yank and Dunderbeck was meat.

Oh Dunderbeck, oh Dunderbeck, how could you be so mean
To ever have invented that terrible machine?
Now all the Rats and Dogs and Cats, will never more be seen
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine.

Subject: Lyr Add: DUNDERBECK
From: GUEST,justine
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 12:50 AM

I have loved looking at all the slightly different versions of this very favorite song of mine.
I posted the version I learned because the second verse is a little different than the others, with the man coming into the store, and the head-cheese... I grew up in Montana.

There was a good old Dutchman, his name was Dunderbeck,
He was very fond of sauerkraut and poodle-dogs, I'd 'pect
He wanted to make sausage, and make it very fine,
So he got himself a patent on a sausager machine,

Oh Say, Mr. Dunderbeck, How could you be so mean?
To grind up all those cats and dogs in your sausager machine,
The long-tail rats and pussycats will never more be seen,
For they're all ground up in sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine.

One day there cam a runnin' into the little store,
A man to see about some head-cheese, a standin' on the floor,
And as he was a waitin' before his very eyes,
The sausage head got up and began to dance around the room.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST,moody
Date: 14 May 08 - 12:15 PM

I learned it as a boy in WIsconsin in the 50's and it was "Johnny McBeck"and what got ground up were "all the neighbor's cats and dogs"

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 06:44 AM

"Carmina princetonia: the Princeton song book," 9th edition*, can now be viewed online at Google Book Search. Here's a link to the page that contains DUNDERBECK.

*1900 according to the title page; 1898 according to the copyright page.

This book has gone through many editions and printings. According to WorldCat, the 1940 edition is designated "25th issue."

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Feb 08 - 02:21 PM

Chris and Jeremy, these versions are all interesting, in that they show how a popular song or poem can get changed in different hands or when it is passed down verbally.
The more the better!

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: GUEST,Jeremy Boggs
Date: 26 Feb 08 - 01:27 PM

my grandad played the song but he past away but my aunt has the lyrics and ill see if i can get the whole song

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST,Chris in Saskatchewan
Date: 21 Feb 08 - 12:42 AM

Just to complicate things further, the version I learned had "Gunderback" in the starring role! The only lines I remember are the chorus and the second verse:

Oh Gunderback, oh Gunderback how could you be so mean?
To ever have invented such a horrible machine
For pussy cats and long-tailed rats will never more be seen
They're all ground up for sausages in Gunderback's machine

One day some little boys
Came walking in the shop
They ordered up some sausages and half a case of pop
And while they were a-waiting, they whistled up a tune
And all the little sausages went dancing round the room!

***

I get a kick out of this song because we have both pussy cats and long-tailed rats as pets in our house! I wish I could remember the rest of the lyrics. My mother-in-law was a substitute teacher and she (and I) remember this as one of the songs in the songbooks we had in second grade. And we both remember it as "Gunderback"!

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Dec 07 - 09:08 PM

So when Dunderback got to St. Peter's Gate, what did he say?
















"Did we ever meat?"

Cheerily,
Charley Ignoble

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST,K-La
Date: 13 Dec 07 - 06:15 PM

Hey all,

   I heard it as 'Gunderbeck' as well, we used to sing it in Elementary School in music class. This is how the one I know goes:

There was a fat old Dutchman,
And his name was Gunderbeck
He used to like his sausages
With sauerkraut and speck
He opened up a butchershop the finest ever seen
And in it he did put, a Gunderbeck machine!

OH Gunderbeck oh Gunderbeck,
How could you be so mean?
For ever have invented such a horrible machine.
Now all the neighbours cats and dogs will never more be seen
They're all ground up for sausage meat in Gunderbeck's machine.

One day there was a fellow,
Came walking in the shop.
He ordered up some sausages and half a case of pop.
While he was waiting, he whistled up a tune
And all the little sausages went dancing around the room.

OH Gunderbeck oh Gunderbeck,
How could you be so mean?
For ever have invented such a horrible machine.
Now all the neighbours cats and dogs will never more be seen
They're all ground up for sausage meat in Gunderbeck's machine.

One day he had some trouble,
The machine it would not go.
He climbed inside to see what was wrong,
He had the right to know.
Hif wife she had a nightmare and went walking in her sleep,
She gave the crank an awful yank and Gunderbeck was meat.

OH Gunderbeck oh Gunderbeck,
How could you be so mean?
For ever have invented such a horrible machine.
Now all the neighbours cats and dogs will never more be seen
They're all ground up for sausage meat in Gunderbeck's machine.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: Joe_F
Date: 02 Dec 07 - 08:38 PM

Live & learn. (Die & forget it all.) I always supposed "The Pioneers" went to the tune of "O Tannenbaum".

*My* favorite stanza of it is

Great joy they reap from tupping sheep
In sundry bogs and ditches,
Nor care a damn if it's a ram,
Those hardy sons of bitches!

There is, IMO, a lamentable scarcity of polymorphous perversity in folk song.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Dec 07 - 07:18 PM

Will it ever be found?
No, never be found,
Its fate is still unlearned,
It is lost forever in stacks of ephemera,
etc. etc.



Harrigan and Hart? or our old friend anon.? Only the ghosts of dead librarians of the Library of Congress would know.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Dec 07 - 05:04 PM

No doubt "Our Own Boys Songster" 1876 was shreaded by the library, an oddly appropriate fate for a book containing this song.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Dec 07 - 05:03 AM

My brothers and sister were sung this song by mother in the 40s and 50s.
She's 89 now. Our family is Dutch, but our ancestors emigrated here from Germany. We know it as Johnny Verbeck. Friends in Milwaukee know the song too, but with a German name, I think Dunderbeck.

One Google search yielded a Verbeck Machine Company in California.
Maybe it isn't just fiction?


Greybeard - West Michigan.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST,sarafina
Date: 15 Nov 07 - 11:19 PM

my dad, a Californian, taught this to me in the early 60's and he had learned it from him mother, who was from an immigrant Sicilian family that landed in Los Angeles around 1912. I don't know when she learned it, but she never left the west coast so it was here in Ca by the early 40's at least.

There was a little Dutchman, his name was Johnny Rebeck,
He made the finest sausages, sauerkraut and speck.
This little Dutchman invented a machine,
to grind up all the sausages, and it was run by steam.

(Chorus) Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, oh Johnny Rebeck,
How could ya be so mean?
I told ya you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.
Now all the neighbours' cats and dogs will never more be seen,
they've all been ground to sausages in Johnny Rebeck's machine.

One day a fat boy walked in the grocery store,
he bought a pound of sausages and laid them on the floor,
now this little fat boy whistled up a tune,
and all the little sausages went dancing round the room.

(Chorus)

Now one day the darned thing, it wouldn't work at all,
so Johnny Rebeck climbed inside to see what made it stall,
His wife was having nightmares, walking in her sleep,
She gave the crank a heck of a yank and Johnny Rebeck was meat.

(Chorus)

   I never heard this song anywhere outside my family circle until a few years ago when a friend heard me singing it with my daughter and offered up the above first verse to begin the song with; He learned it in Vermont in the 50's. I was just tickled to learn that someone other than my family knew this song.

The version of music I learned with it was jaunty and not at all like the Gambolier tune, our version is closer to the Boy Scout Songbook version. Our friend from Vermont knew the same tune we know.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: GUEST,vzla
Date: 28 Sep 07 - 01:53 PM

Right, I remember my mom singing this to me when I was younger. She was born in Alabama and learned from riding on the school buses when they would go on trips. It went something like this.

OOHHHH dunderback, oh dunderback, how could you be so mean,
to ever have invented a sausage meat machine,
now all neighbors cats and dogs will never more be seen,
'cuz they'll be ground to sausage meat in dunderback's machine.

One day a little fat boy, came walking through the door,
he bought a ring of sausages and put them on the floor,
And then he began to whistle, he whistled up a tune,
then all the little sausages were dancing around the room.

OOHHHH dunderback, oh dunderback, how could you be so mean,
to ever have invented a sausage meat maching,
now all neighbors cats and dogs will never more be seen,
'cuz they'll be ground to sausage meat in dunderback's machine.

One day the thing got busted, the darn thing wouldn't work,
so dunderback climbed inside to see what made a twerk,
his wife she had a nightmare, she walked in her sleep,
she gave the thing a wickedy-whack and dunderback meat.

OOHHHH dunderback, oh dunderback, how could you be so mean,
to ever have invented a sausage meat maching,
now all neighbors cats and dogs will never more be seen,
'cuz they'll be ground to sausage meat in dunderback's machine.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 05 Jul 07 - 02:29 PM

This is the way I learned it from Dad and Grandpa:

Chorus
Dunderbeck, oh Dunderbeck
How could you be so mean?
To ever have invented the sausage-meat machine.
Now all the neighbors cats and dogs
Will never more be seen
Cause they've been ground to sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine.

One day a little fat boy
Came walking to the store.
He bought a pound of sausages
And placed 'em on the floor.
Then he began to whistle,
He whistled up a tune,
And all the little sausages went
Dancing raound the room.

Chorus

Now if you have some cats and dogs
You better keep them locked.
Cause if you don't, I'm warning you,
You're in for one big shock!
If you go buy some sausages from Dunderbeck right now
You'll hear the little sausages meow and bow-wow-wow

Chorus

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 05 Jun 07 - 04:56 PM

Hmmmm... Now who has it?

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST,azansvan
Date: 05 Jun 07 - 04:44 PM

I requested "Our Own Boys Songster" from LC but it seems to have been misplaced. They are conducting a search of the stacks and other likely hiding places but haven't heard from them yet. Will let you know if it shows up.

AHH

Subject: Lyr Add: DUNDERBECK
From: GUEST,azansvan
Date: 27 May 07 - 11:12 PM

On further reflection, and after consulting with my father (who can't remember what he did this morning but can remember songs he sang 80 years ago) I have a couple of small corrections to make in the version I posted the other day.

In the first verse, the last line "And he invented and patented..." should be "And he took it out and patented...." (This really fits the rhythm of the tune much better.)

And in the chorus, the last line " 'Cause they'll all be..." should be "For they'll all be...."

These changes don't add any sense or meaning, but they are, in fact, the words we sang.

For the record then, my corrected version of Dunderbeck and the Sausage Meat Machine.

There was a big fat German, his name was Dunderbeck,
And he was very fond of sauerkraut and speck.
He opened up a butcher shop, the worst you've ever seen,
And he took it out and patented the sausage meat machine.

[chorus]
Oh, Dunderbeck, oh, Dunderbeck, how could you be so mean!
Why'd you invent the sausage meat machine?
The rats and dogs and pussy cats will never more be seen
For they'll all be ground to sausage meat in the sausage meat machine.

One day a little boy came walking in the store
To buy a pound of sausage meat and eggs a half a score.
And while he was a waiting he whistled up a tune,
And the sausage meat began to hop and dance around the room.

[chorus]

Something was the matter, the machine it didn't work.
So Dunderbeck climbed into it to try and have a look.
His wife was having a nightmare, and walking in her sleep
She gave the crank a heck of a yank and Dunderbeck was meat.

[chorus]

AHH

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 27 May 07 - 01:03 PM

Those old songsters are hard to find.

Someone interested in old theatre routines might find the song among the Harrigan-Hart papers at the NY Public Library. Might be a tedious search.

Let us know if you find the songster at the Library of Congress. Good luck!

Subject: Lyr Add: DUNDERBECK
From: GUEST,azansvan
Date: 27 May 07 - 12:38 AM

Just read over two years of posts on this song and no one has quite hit the version I knew so I'll throw this into the mix. I learned this from my father--not at home, but in our Boy Scout troop, or actually, our Cub Scout Pack, when he was a Pack leader. This was in the late 1950s, in a town on Long Island, just outside New York City.

My father learned it in his Boy Scout troop when he was growing up in the Ridgewood section of Brooklyn/Queens in the 1920s/30s. He and most of his troop mates were of German origin so whether they were ridiculing their elders or celebrating their heritage is for more analytical minds than mine to decide.

There was a big fat German, his name was Dunderbeck,
And he was very fond of sauerkraut and speck.
He opened up a butcher shop, the worst you've ever seen,
And he invented and patented the sausage meat machine.

[chorus]
Oh, Dunderbeck, oh, Dunderbeck, how could you be so mean!
Why'd you invent the sausage meat machine?
The rats and dogs and pussy cats will never more be seen
'Cause they'll all be ground to sausage meat in the sausage meat machine.

One day a little boy came walking in the store
To buy a pound of sausage meat and eggs a half a score.
And while he was a waiting he whistled up a tune,
And the sausage meat began to hop and dance around the room.

[chorus]

Something was the matter, the machine it didn't work.
So Dunderbeck climbed into it to try and have a look.
His wife was having a nightmare, and walking in her sleep
She gave the crank a heck of a yank and Dunderbeck was meat.

[chorus]

A few notes and observations:
I'm not sure of the proper spelling of "speck" (German for bacon) but I know that we always sang it as "schpeck."

Most other versions say that Dunderbeck's shop was the "finest." This one says "worst" which seems more honest, considering.

I like the fact that it's a "little boy" who comes into the store while it's Dunderbeck who is described as "fat."   That it is a little boy who can animate the slaughtered sausage meat with his whistling seems a wonderful tribute to the power of music, even in the hands (or mouth, should I say) of one of the least powerful in society. And the alliterative quality of the line "And while he was a waiting he whistled up a tune" just knocks me out.

I also like that he's buying egg by the "score," (or "half a score" in this case). Who even knows what a score is these days?!! Unless you're parsing the Gettysburg Address it's not something you're likely to be familiar with. It's 20 of course, and half a score is 10. How very decimal of him. And when and by whom was it decided that eggs always had to come by the dozen?

Something that always bothered me tho--the flow of the story make you think that the last verse takes place during the day while the shop is open and Dunderbeck is serving customers. So what is Mrs. Dunderbeck doing sleeping and having a nightmare right then that she should go out sleepwalking in the middle of the day???   

I know, I know--I'm looking for too much logic and meaning in a simple, silly folk song. But this is the kind of thing you think about when you're an 8 or 9 year old kid trying to puzzle out the code, understand the significance of these wacky songs that the grownups are teaching you.

And finally, of course, I know that everyone is most partial and devoted to the version of the song that they learned when they were a kid from their father/grandfather/grandmother/great uncle/etc. And I make no claim of ultimate authority for my version of the song. It clearly wasn't the first version, and may not be the last. But I have my reasons for liking it.

Meanwhile, doesn't seem that anyone has been able to find a copy of "Our Own Boy's Songster," 1876, yet. I work near Library of Congress, will see if I can find the version they have there.

A. H. Haeberle

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST,Eric
Date: 24 Apr 07 - 10:31 PM

Mrs. Haag, my grade school janitor, used to sing this version to our class in the halls during recess. Listening to her stories was one of my best memories from childhood.
Once there was a little boy his name was Dunderback
And all he ever lived upon was meat, sauerkraut, and spec
One day he invented a machine to grind his sausage up by steam
One day the machine it wouldn't go, so Dunderback climbed in to see what he know
Along came Mrs. Dunderback a walking in her sleep
She gave it a crank, one great big yank, and Dunderback was meet.

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderb
From: GUEST,Istra
Date: 03 Apr 07 - 07:43 PM

We used to tease my grandmother since she loved to play the old computer game "Lemmings" and one of the levels had a cute rendition of that song. We changed the words to

Oh Dunderback, Oh Dunderback
How could you be so mean?
I'm sorry you invented
that terrible machine
Now all those Lemmings
will never more be seen
'cause they've all been turned to sausage meat
by Dunderback's machine

and she'd say, "My poor Lemmings! No, it was pussy cats and mousie rats!"

Subject: RE: Origins: Dunderback's Terrible Machine(Dunderbeck)
From: GUEST,old camper
Date: 14 Mar 07 - 09:57 AM

I learned this song in day camp in Michigan in the mid - 60's. I used to know it all, but now I only remember the chorus and the gist of the story told in the verses:

Oh, Mr. Johnny LeBec, how could you be so mean?
We told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.
Now all the neighbor's cats and dogs will never more be seen.
He'll grind them up into sausages in Johnny LeBec's machine.

The story ran something like this:

Johnny LeBec created such a wonderful sausage-making machine, and needed meat for it. He killed his wife and ground her up, and then used the neighborhood pets, and then started using neighborhood children, when he could get them. Finally, the locals caught on to him and pushed him in his own machine. I, too, remember a verse saying the neighborhood cats and dogs were happy again.

Now that I think of it, it was a strange song to teach 7 and 8 - year olds!

I've been trying to find the song to teach it to my sons. Thanks for all the leads!

I also found reference to the story and song in the book, More Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark, by Alvin Schwartz, copyright 1984, ISBN 0-06-440177-4, if anyone is interested.