Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody

Subject: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: John M.
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 12:48 AM

Hello everyone,

Below is a traditional parody of "Give Me The Old Time Religion"   ( recording )

              1.  Do you sing this song? 
              2.  If yes, when and where did you learn it?
              3.  Would you be willing to sing it for folklore purposes over the phone?

Any help is appreciated.

Sincerely,

John Mehlberg
[e-mail]
~
Afternoons:  314.647.3883
Evenings:     314.381.0492
~
My website: www.immortalia.com

~

GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION (Parody)      (recording)

Gimme that ol'-time religion
Gimme that ol'-time religion
Gimme that ol'-time religion
That's good enough for me.

Let us worship as the Druids
Drinking strange fermented fluids
Running naked through the woods
Yes, that's good enough for me

Notes: This is from the singing of an anonymous woman who learned it at Perdue University in ~1963.  I am interested in talking with others who have learned this song.  Please feel free to email me at [e-mail].

 

• Field Recording - John Mehlberg Collection - See Notes.
  • Digital Recording - Anonymous - 2005.04.18
    • Give Me That Old Time Religion [with Druid Verse]  Time: 0:15

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Paro
From: GUEST,Jim the Filker
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 01:17 AM

This is one of the oldest "filks" out there. There are, perhaps, thousands of verses. Joe Bethancourt keeps a nearly complete archive of all the verses at http://www.whitetreeaz.com/vintage/realotr.htm

If you don't know what filk is, then count yourself lucky. Or, if you really must know what its all about, go to a science fiction convention in the middle of the night, and find where the guitars are. All are welcome.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: John M.
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 01:39 AM

The link you provide only traces the song to the early 1970s. My informant learned this in ~1963 and it was an college song among the "free thinker" types.

Lets see if we can find people who learned this earlier than 1963.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Paro
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 01:48 AM

I thought the Digital Tradition was the Official Repository of Verses for that song (and "Away with Rum," and some others), but the DT doesn't hold a candle to the site Jim the Filker linked to. Here are the versions in the DT:

Old Time Religion

Old Time Religion (2)

Old Time Religion (3)

Something makes me think Pete Seeger had a lot to do with popularizing the silly version of this song. In his 1993 songbook, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, Pete blames it on the filkers, who had collected over 500 verses "over several decades."
I sing this song - but I have to admit I learned it from Rise Up Singing (published in 1988). My 1948 Song Fest songbook has the "Negro Spiritual" verses (Good for the Hebrew Children, etc.). Similar traditional verses in Songs for Swinging Housemothers (1961).
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: sixtieschick
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 01:59 AM

Mythologist Joseph Campbell used to sing this song. He claimed some friends of his made it up.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Paro
From: GUEST,Jim the Filker
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 03:27 AM

Well, Joe Bethancourt says he first heard it in the early '70s, and that it was introduced to "Madison area pagans" about that time, but he doesn't say where he thinks it comes from. I know filkers who claim to have heard it in the early '60s, but that was way before my time, so I can't vouch for it.

Most filkers know several verses, and the song can go on in a filk circle for what seems like hours, given enough people.

In any case, its a fairly obvious parody, so I don't doubt that versions cropped up all over the place, independently.

Jim.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 02:05 PM

Guest Jim;

You're preaching to the orchestra here.
Type 'Filk' into the lyrics & knowledge search box (Top left of the 'Threads' page) & let your mouse wander.

Cheers
Nigel (Who met Joe Bethancourt at the British Filk convention Contabile in 2002)

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Paro
From: voyager
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 07:00 PM

The phrase "Old Time Religion" matches the current lingo "Homeland Security" in syllables and accent.

My parody was posted to Mudcat back in 2002 -
Homeland Security (Parody of Old Time Religion)

I usually start with a few bars of OTR to warm up the crowd.

cheers -
voyager

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 07:56 PM

V.ger (sorry, automatic Star Trek referant!)

How does:
Old-Time-Rel-i-gion (5 syllables)

Match for syllables & accent with:
Home-land-sec-u-rit-y (6 syllables)


Or am I missing some modern US version of pronunciation of one or more of these words?

Nigel

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: beardedbruce
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 08:10 PM

As TL says, "It don't matter if you put a few extra syllables into a line."

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Paro
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 08:12 PM

Good point Nigel.
My stress (a bit sloppy) is on sec-urit-y.
Slurring the 2-3 syllables gets me by.

voyager
Otherwise both OTR and HS seem to be quite feverish topics to me.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Paro
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Jun 05 - 11:47 AM

That's the way George Bush says it in his fake Texas accent:

Home-land se-cure-ty, y'all.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Help: Textual History of Old Time Religion
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 12:21 AM

I made up a verse 20 years ago:

Though the Nihilists may rue it
and Camus himself pooh-pooh it
There is really nothing to it
and it's good enough for me.

Pete Seeger does about 5 of the parody verses on one of his albums with Arlo.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: GUEST,Laurence Gray
Date: 10 Apr 25 - 11:19 AM

No I do not sing "Old Time Religion" or any other song. No I am not willing to sing it over the phone to anyone. I first heard this song when I started attending science fiction conventions in 1978 while I was a teenager.

Subject: RE: Origins: 'Give Me That Old Time Religion' Parody
From: GUEST,Tom Patterson
Date: 14 Apr 25 - 12:49 PM

Back in the 80's/ 90s Nigel Denver used to sing:

It was good for Maggie Thatcher
It was good for Maggie Thatcher
It was good for Maggie Thatcher
It's no ******* use to me.