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09 Aug 11 - 08:25 PM (#3204988) Subject: Lyr Add: Ten Penny Nail (mento) From: Q (Frank Staplin) Lyr. Add: TEN PENNY NAIL Hubert Porter; Mento (calypso) Any time you goine to cook an ole cow-head, Get hammer, tie yo head wid coolie red, for it mek a poor man nearly lose 'im life, lef 'im house an' picanin nearly lose 'im life. De cowhead get up, raise up 'im horn, open 'im mout' and start to gwan; De poor man holler until 'im hoarse, 'im run from Clarendon to Racecourse. Chorus: Nail, Nail, ten penny nail, Get yo hammer and a ten penny nail Nail, Nail, ten penny nail Get yo hammer and a ten penny nail. De cow head get up, raise up 'im horn, Open 'im mout' and start to gwan; De poor man holler until 'im hoarse, 'im run from Clarendon to Racecourse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAKMOaj8RvO Hubert Porter and Jamaican Calypsoans Race Course is a settlement in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. Hubert Porter also sang this song with "The Tower Islanders." (Same musicians?). C. 1950. |
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10 Aug 11 - 06:12 AM (#3205190) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Ten Penny Nail (mento) From: mayomick Q, is this roughly what the calypso is about? A poor man was cooking a cow's head when the head started moaning and gave him a terrible fright . In the future nail the cow's head down and tie it up before you begin cooking it. |
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10 Aug 11 - 01:45 PM (#3205492) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Ten Penny Nail (mento) From: GUEST,Doug Saum Add to that the need to safegaurd againt the spooky skull by tying up one's hair in little bundles to prevent harm to the cook. BTW a ten penny nail is a large one; here carpenters call it a "spike." |
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10 Aug 11 - 03:58 PM (#3205591) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Ten Penny Nail (mento) From: Q (Frank Staplin) I think both of you have got the gist of the song. I can add that 'coolie red' is a cheap cloth worn on their heads by East Indian immigrants, who were called coolies in the BWI. A ten penny nail is 3 inches long. (a 6 penny nail is two inches long). A nail should be three times as long as the wood it is holding. Two-thirds of its length should be driven into the other piece of wood for proper fastening. When I was a child, bulk containers for nails were common in stores. One filled a sack with the size desired and it was weighed to determine the price. The penny" designation used to be common. Smaller nails were designated by their actual length. |