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Chords Req: Save the Bones for Henry Jones

18 Sep 07 - 12:32 PM (#2151940)
Subject: Save The Bones For Henry Jones
From: GUEST,Jim

I'd like to find the chords for this old tune that I heard Jackie Washington play. Can anyone help? Google gives me words, but no chords.

I'd also like to find the chords to Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday On Saturday Night?.

Thanks in advance for any help.

18 Sep 07 - 05:35 PM (#2152157)
Subject: RE: Save The Bones For Henry Jones
From: PoppaGator

Sorry, no chords for you right now ~ I'd just like to advise anyone intersted to check out this song as recorded by the late Danny Barker, one of the giants of New Orleans music.

Danny was not only a pioneer trad-jazz guitar and banjo player (with many years of service in Louis Armstrong's bands), but a great solo entertainer and a very humorous singer. His wife, "Blue Lu" Barker, was an outstanding pianist and for years the two of them put on some excellent shows. I think she was the first to popularize the delightful "Don't You Feel My Leg."

Danny's idiosynchratic version of "St. James Infirmary" is also pretty notable. With luck, you might find both of these numbers on the same compilation CD.

Danny also gets credit for single-handedly saving the New Orleans brass band tradition, which was disappearing back in the 1970s. He formed a band of teenagers and pre-teens under the sponsorship of the Fairview Baptist Church, taught them the entire traditional jazz-funeral repertoire, and encouraged them to bring their own contemporary sensibilities to their music. Those kids grew up to become founding members of The Dirty Dozen, the Rebirth, and other groups, kicking off a whole new generation of street-beat ensembles.

18 Sep 07 - 06:10 PM (#2152188)
Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: SAVE THE BONES FOR HENRY JONES
From: Joe Offer

Hi, Jim -
I posted yor request for Robinson Crusoe chords in this thread (click). Let's see what I can do with Henry Jones. These chords are from Hal Leonard's "Ultimate" fakebook, which has the song in the Key of G.



SAVE THE BONES FOR HENRY JONES
by Danny Barker and Vernon Lee
©1947, Criterion Music Corp.
(recorded by Johnny Mercer with Nat King Cole in 1947) 

      G    A7    G   Cm6  G    D7#5        G   Am7   G   Cm6     G
  Tonight I'll serve a supper,      we'll eat some food that's rare. 
  G7#5 C      F9         G  Am7 G        A9          Am7 D7b9  G6
  And at the head of the table,   I'll place brother Henry's chair.
  D7  G   Am7     G Cm6 G         G7     C                C#dim7 
  Invite all the local big dogs, we'll laugh and talk and eat,
  C7         G        B7#5      F9     E9   Eb9
  But we'll save the bones for Henry Jones,
          G          Am7 Abmaj7  G     D7#5
  'cause Henry don't eat no      meat. 
  
  Today I'll go to market and buy a lot of fish, 
  That will thrill brother Henry, because that's his special dish. 
  Get a large can of molasses, so we'll have something sweet, 
  But we'll save the bones for Henry Jones, 'cause Henry don't eat no meat. 
  
  [bridge] 
           Am7    G           Dm7    G7     Ab7#11 G7 E7#5
  Henry is not a drinker, he rarely takes a nip, 
  A7       Bm7    A7                  Bb13     A13
  He don't need a napkin, 'cause the things he eats don't drip.

One day we had a banquet, it really was a bake,
They started off with short-ribs, then they finished up with steak.
But when the feast was over, brother Henry kept his seat,
And we served the bones to Henry Jones, 'cause Henry don't eat no meat.

[instrumental break]

Our banquet was most proper, right down to demitasse,
From soup to lox and bagels, and pheasant under glass.
We thought the chops were mellow, he said his chops were beat, REET!
We served the bones to Henry Jones, 'cause Henry don't eat no meat.
He's a egg man, Henry don't eat no meat.
He loves a pullet, Henry don't eat no meat.
A vegetarian…

Henry!
Coming, mother!

Soup's on!


WARNING

These chords are for trained professionals. Do NOT try them at home.

I can't believe these chords....
Does anybody have a simpler version?
Does anybody have the Jackie Washington version that Jim requested?
-Joe-

19 Sep 07 - 12:40 PM (#2152714)
Subject: RE: Chords: Save The Bones For Henry Jones
From: GUEST,Jim

I haven't tried them yet; I'm reading this at the library, but thanks a lot Joe.

19 Sep 07 - 03:18 PM (#2152857)
Subject: RE: Chords: Save The Bones For Henry Jones
From: PoppaGator

Those minor 6ths and majors 7ths, etc., look about right. I'm at work and not in a position to try 'em out, but the chords seem appropriate for what Danny Barker's recording sounds like. This is really an early-jazz song, not folk and not even, strictly speaking, "pop."

Maybe Jackie Washington came up with a simpler, "folkier" arrangement ~ but which JW are we talking about? There are two Jackie Washingtons in the folk-music archives: an African-American who was part of the early Cambridge/Boston scene, and a Canadian singer of the same name.

One of the first folk LPs I ever bought, back in about 1963/64, was the American JW's debut Vanguard release. It featured his fingerpicking guitar style without accompaniment, and after hearing a cut or two on the radio, I figured that it sounded clear enough to me that I could study and imitate his playing. If I remember correctly, that's where I picked up my arrangement of Libba Cotten's "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie."

19 Sep 07 - 05:09 PM (#2152953)
Subject: RE: Chords: Save The Bones For Henry Jones
From: GUEST,Jim

This is from the playing of the Hamilton Ontario Jackie Washington, who is still playing festivals and shows at age 85.

Joe, If the chords are in the right place over the words, then you must change chords every beat of many measures. Jackie seems to play about two chords per measure.