Lyr ADD: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)

Subject: Lyr Add: DAMN YANKEE LAD (part)
From: Felipa
Date: 23 Nov 98 - 05:08 PM

I believe I heard it from Sam Hinton. I remember most of the verses, but not all. I looked over headings for over 100 Civil War songs (I neglected to specify @America) in the DT to no avail. Here's a few verses:

I'm just a damn Yankee Way down in the South
And I love to kiss Southern belles on the mouth.
I laugh when they say all damn Yankees are bad,
'Cause nobody knows I'm a damn Yankee lad.

CHORUS: And I'm having fun like I never have had
'Cause nobody knows I'm a damn Yankee lad.

When I found old Sherman had left me behind,
A very strange notion came into my mind.
I dressed up in gray and I made up my spiel,
And I headed straight for the town of Mobile.

I stopped in Atlanta and met a Creole.
She captured my heart and she captured my soul.
She fed me on cornbread and peaches and ham,
Not knowing that I was a damn Yankee man.

I've raised a fine family of girls and young men.
They think that damn Yankees are plum full of sin.
They'd call you a liar if you said that their dad
Had marched to Mobile as a damn Yankee lad.

When I get so old that I'm ready to die,
I'll put on my uniform blue as the sky.
They'll march round my coffin, and won't they be mad
When they learn that I was a damn Yankee lad?

I do declare, I damn near know it all - makes sense as is but I think there's a bit more? Can anyone supply missing or alternative verses?

Subject: Lyr Add: DAMYANKEE LAD (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: Gene
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 03:00 AM

Here is Jimmie Driftwood 's version

DAMYANKEE LAD
As recorded by Jimmie Driftwoood

I'm just a Damyankee way down in the South
I love to kiss Southern belles in the mouth
I laugh when they say all Damyankees are bad
For nobody knows I'm a Damyankee Lad.

When I found old Sherman had left me behind
A very strange notion came into my mind
I dressed up in grey and I made up a spiel
And I headed straight for the town of Mobile.

CHORUS
I'm having fun like I never have had
Nobody knows I'm a Damyankee Lad

Not far from Atlanta I heard people say
Old Sherman had taken the food all away
'Twas there that I smiled on a lovely Mad-dam
Who fed me on honey and peaches and ham

I stopped in the country and got in a tight*
Where six widows claimed me and had a big fight
I had to be slick as a slippery eel
To get on my way to the town of Mobile

CHORUS

I got to Mobile and I found a Creole
She captured my heart an' she captured my soul
It's been twenty years since I made up my spiel
And went on my Damyankee way to Mobile.

I've raised a fine family of girls and young men*
They swear that damn Yankees are all full of sin
They'd call you a liar if you said their dad
Had marched to Mobile as a Damyankee Lad

CHORUS

When I get so old that I'm ready to die
I'll put on my uniform blue as the sky
They'll march 'round my coffin and won't they get mad
When they learn that I was a DamnYankee Lad.

REPEAT VERSE 1

CHORUS

SOURCE:
The Wilderness Road And Jimmie Driftwood

---

*Note from Joe Offer:
Gene hears I stopped in the country and got in a tight*
I hear I stopped in Montgomery and got in a tight*
Gene hears I've raised a fine family of girls and young men*
I hear
I've raised a big family of girls and young men*

Subject: RE: Damn Yankee
From: Dale Rose
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 09:36 AM

Georgia Irvine sang this at the Jimmie Driftwood Tribute Concert on October 24 at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas. It was my favorite part of the whole show; she has such an expressive and unique voice. She and her daughter have several recordings available, but I don't know if this is on any of them or not.

The concert was planned last year as a tribute, but of course, it turned out to be a Memorial instead.

Some of Jimmie's material was original, some was adapted, some was just part of his repertoire. I honestly don't know at the moment which category this one falls into, but it definitely is a good one.

Subject: RE: Damn Yankee
From: Bill CAmeron
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 09:58 AM

I've got a recording of Sam Hinton singing this--its credited to Jimmie Driftwood and the lyrics are as Gene presented them above except the fourth verse is "I stopped in Montgomery and got into a plight"...etc.

The recording is a great treasure--a four album set called "American Folk Singers and Balladeers" (even though it has a whole side of Ian and Sylvia" part of The Classics Record Library on Vanguard--from 1964 and much of it is live performances from the legendary 64 Newport Folk Festival. Of course it has a complete lyrics book...

(I acquired it from my Yankee inlaws by some rather unsubtle ravings when I saw this mint-condition box set hanging around their house.)

Bill "Whatever it takes, I'm not proud" Cameron

Subject: RE: Damn Yankee
From: marsha hamel
Date: 02 Aug 99 - 11:02 AM

A thousand thanks to everyone who wrote out words, i heard it on the american folk singers recording but the copy wasn't mine, it was taped for me but I wore it out before i got to learning that tune. When I hiked the Appalachian Trail down south (GA, NC, TN, VA) snippets of that tune/song ran through my head and I sure wished I knew the whole thing so I, a boston lass could serenade all my southern companions at the various shelters along the way...on second thought perhaps it's better that I didn't know it, then. Happy hunting all.

Subject: RE: Damn Yankee
From: GUEST,Felipa
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 02:50 PM

I just thought I'd better refresh this and keep it in the loop, because the song hasn't been selected for the DigiTrad archives (yet)

Subject: Lyr Add: Damn Yankee
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:04 PM

Guest, Felipa: There's a better chance of it getting harvested if the message (as this one) is prefaced with "Lyr Add".
I think that the 'Powers That Be' do a 'string search' for that short phrase, so that it is not necessary to trawl (troll ?) through every thread just in case someone has slipped the words of a song into the middle of a joke thread.

Subject: RE: Damn Yankee
From: Mrrzy
Date: 29 Apr 02 - 11:25 AM

All I know is the difference between a yankee and a damyankee - a yankee is a northerner who comes down south, and a damyankee is one who stays.

Subject: RE: Damn Yankee
From:
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 02:05 AM

WONDERFUL! I've been looking for the lyrics for this song for generations. Enormous thanks to Felipa, Gene & everyone! Bob

Subject: RE: req/ADD: Damn Yankee
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 04 Jun 05 - 02:26 PM

A fine song.
Jimmy Driftwood is under-appreciated. His teaching career led to composition of a number of his songs which show his tongue-in-cheek humor as well as his knowledge of history. He helped found the Ozark Folk Center and was an advisor to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He is reputed to have written 6000 songs during his productive 81 year life.
A keen environmentalist, he was appointed to head the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Commission.

Subject: RE: req/ADD: Damn Yankee
From: GUEST,Jessica Burton
Date: 14 Sep 05 - 04:26 AM

My first guitar lesson was from an old Iranian man whom I was living with in Prague. For some reason, he taught me this song, which was the only song I knew for 5 years. I went online today to find the lyrics again, so thank you all.

Subject: RE: req/ADD: Damn Yankee
From: GUEST,wst
Date: 25 Jul 06 - 11:14 PM

My childhood memory says the lyrics should be:

I stopped in Montgomery and got into a plight

Not:
I stopped in the country and got in

Subject: RE: req/ADD: Damn Yankee (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 03:09 AM

guest,wst, i re-listened to it and do hear 'Montgomery'
but i do not hear 'plight', i hear 'tight' -- still

I stopped in Montgomery and got in a tight
Where six widows claimed me and had a big fight
I had to be slick as a slippery eel
To get on my way to the town of Mobile

Subject: RE: req/ADD: Damn Yankee
From: GUEST,robert
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 04:55 PM

Murlin L. Hartley
Wrote a book call 101 sailor and other Malicious songs in 1968 or so
and it had all the lyrics and verses to the song my son destoyed my copy of it and can only re a little of the page now.

Subject: RE: req/ADD: Damn Yankee
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Jul 07 - 05:11 PM

Tight, I would say, is correct. That idiom was still heard when I was in Driftwood's part of the country.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Aug 10 - 03:43 PM

I agree that

Subject: Lyr Add: DAMYANKEE LAD (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: Gene
Date: 24 Nov 98 - 03:00 AM

got it all correct except for one line. That line is:

I stopped in Montgomery and got in a tight

I am a Southern born and bred lady myself and this was one of my favorite songs as a teen.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: Gene
Date: 22 Aug 10 - 12:32 AM

Wow! That post of mine was 12 years ago.

I don't hear as good now, as I did then.

But, I just recently heard a song correctly that I had been singing
WRONG for over 30 years. I forget now the song and artist.
[only that it was NOT the original artist]. This version came
thru loud and clear.

--and quite some years ago I managed to post the tangled/mangled parts of two songs together. My memory didn't remember very well.

G

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Aug 10 - 01:46 AM

Hi, Gene-
I listened to the Jimmie Driftwood recording a couple of times. Your transcription is excellent, but I found two things I hear differently:

I stopped in Montgomery and got in a tight

I've raised a big family of girls and young men*

Seems like a lot of people agree, so I added a note to your post above.

There's a 1963 recording of the song at the Wolf Collection, and also a much more recent (and censored) YouTube Video.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: GUEST,grandnnephew
Date: 06 Jun 14 - 09:37 PM

Got in a fight. Is how uncle Jim sang it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Jun 14 - 08:26 PM

True, but I'm not very good at typing at 1:46 AM.....but listening to the Jimmie Driftwood recording again, I still hear the word "tight." Although the word "fight" seems to fit better, it's repeated in the next line - and that's unlikely. So, I don't really know what Jimmie Driftwood is singing there.
Note up above that Bill Cameron says "got in a plight" - that makes sense, but I still hear "tight."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 07 Jun 14 - 10:28 PM

This is what is printed in "The Voice of the Hills, Book 2".

"I stopped in Montgomery and got in a tight,
When six widows claimed me and had a big fight,"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Jul 14 - 11:04 PM

When uncle Jim sang the words he might change depending on his mood. He was always changing words to make things sou d better.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: Felipa
Date: 18 Oct 14 - 02:43 PM

Jimmy Driftwood on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCu_-b7abRM

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 15 - 02:15 PM

when I got to atlanta I heard people say
that sherman had taken the food all away
then that I smiled at a pretty madam
she fed me on biscuits and peaches and ham

----- ---- ------ ------    -----------
when three widows claimed me and had a big fight
I had to be quick as a slippery eel
to get on my way to the town of mobile

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: GUEST,GUEST
Date: 10 Oct 18 - 12:27 PM

My mom and dad had a sky blue record with a red....star? or person? on it and I almost think DYL was the title of the record, but the song was on there. NO idea who did it, and can't remember any of the other songs, but when we moved from Colorado to NC when we were little, my sister and I loved to sing that song at the tops of our lungs. We were not impressed by the notion that NC was the very best state in the country, because we knew Colorado was.

There were a few lyric changes that I remember--
"When I found old Sherman had left me behind
I quick had another thought into my mind" (I remember the word 'quick', and that line never quite seemed balanced to me)

And I also remember, very clearly, that it was "cornbread and peaches and ham." And just as clearly I remember "I've raised a fine family of girls and young men/who think that damn yankees are plumb full of sin/they'd call you a liar if you said that their dad/had marched to Mobile as a damn yankee lad".

Now I was young so I didn't have the slightest idea that Atlanta and Sherman was a 'thing'. I was under the impression that the singer never made it to Atlanta but had been left behind near Mobile--but I could be wrong. I came from a state that refused to join the Union til slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Damyankee Lad (Jimmie Driftwood)
From: Felipa
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 06:05 AM

Here is Sam Hinton's rendition (via youtube)

Hinton does sing the line "When I heard old Sherman had taken the food all away," a line missing in my 1998 recollection which opens this discussion thread.