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26 Nov 99 - 05:07 PM (#141055) Subject: Poke Salad Annie From: MamaTamba I now have several family members, friends and neighbors scratching their heads about this. Most of us know the tune, some of us know some of the lyrics...none of us know whether the song is "Pork Salad Annie" or "Poke Salad Annie" If it's "Poke Salad Annie"...what the heck is a "POKE SALAD"? Also, please, who sings it?...none of us can come up with a name (even though SOME say they can "picture" the guy) Thanks for any help offered! You guys and gals are awesome. |
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26 Nov 99 - 05:26 PM (#141069) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: lamarca MamaTamba, it's "Poke Salad Annie", from the Southern plant pokeweed. There's an herbal site here to give you a picture. The stuff is noxious - birds love the berries, but once it gets into your garden, it's real hard to get rid of. Web references say the song was written by Tony Joe White, but for the life of me, I can't remember if it was him or a group that made it a hit. I tend to get it mixed up in my head with "Mustang Sally".... Hope this helps! |
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26 Nov 99 - 05:26 PM (#141070) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: Alice pokeweed, or poke, is a plant that can be gathered wild and made into a salad |
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26 Nov 99 - 05:26 PM (#141071) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: * Clarify OR Muddle! * |
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26 Nov 99 - 05:29 PM (#141072) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: Alice wow.... three messages posted at once, when I didn't see any responses at all... |
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26 Nov 99 - 05:33 PM (#141075) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: lamarca Ain't we fast? Now I need to get a life... BTW, it was Tony Joe White, the Swamp Fox, who wrote and recorded "Polk (sic) Salad Annie" first (although it was also covered by Elvis)- he's got a couple fan Web sites, the most readable of which is here. Enjoy! |
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26 Nov 99 - 06:38 PM (#141094) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: MamaTamba Thanks a bunch lamarca and Alice. That was REALLY fast and REALLY good. This is certainly going to impress all of those who got into this yesterday over T-day dinner. I was trying to describe this great site to everyone. |
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26 Nov 99 - 06:40 PM (#141096) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: MamaTamba P.S. Who or what is "BTW"? |
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26 Nov 99 - 06:44 PM (#141097) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: Alice by the way = BTW |
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26 Nov 99 - 08:00 PM (#141113) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: DonMeixner BTW is By The Way IMO In My Opinin ROTFLMAO Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off. Don |
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26 Nov 99 - 08:11 PM (#141115) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: McGrath of Harlow I always thought it was "Poke Sally Annie", and sort of assumed it was a ribald reference to the Salvation Army. Like from some suppressed variation on Guys and Dolls. |
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26 Nov 99 - 08:36 PM (#141121) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: catspaw49 Just to add that bit of unneeded fluff.....the "polk" as opposed to "poke" and I don't know that you can accurately reproduce in print the way the word is spoken in the deep south. Somewhere between the two in a way, but there IS the vaguest hint of the "L" aand is quite similar to the way you'd say "Pork" in the region, with the vaguest hint of the "R" instead. Clear as mud huh? In the final analysis....Who cares? Personally I liked the "Gators got your Grannie....CHOMP,CHOMP" part. Spaw |
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26 Nov 99 - 09:05 PM (#141133) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: MamaTamba Thanks Alice for BTW Thanks Don for IMO and ROTFLMAO (you must do stuff like cut and paste a whole bunch better than me...that's a real keyboard-full) McGrath...very interesting 90 degree turn...what the heck are you referring to? Catspaw...who cares? Obviously me (and connecteds) Part of the confusion about whether it was "Poke" or "pork" was that some of the connecteds ARE southern...and were voicing the possibility of the word being poke/pork/polk My sig.other loves the gator/grannie part too. He just bursts out with it at odd times...I think that's what got this whole question started.
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28 Nov 99 - 08:50 AM (#141679) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: Martin Ryan Re mcGraths angle Salvation Army = Sally Army. Any other comment would be inflationary! Regards |
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28 Nov 99 - 08:39 PM (#141901) Subject: RE: lyric clarify From: MAG (inactive) I always thought "pokesalad" was wild greens you gathered in a sack; ie, "poke," as in "Pig in a poke." Also very Southern, though we had wild pokeberries in South Jersey where I grew up. |
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06 Jul 00 - 02:02 PM (#252953) Subject: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: Tracey Dragonsfriend OK, so I'm not sure this is Folk, but it ought to creep into Blues, I think... Does anyone know the words to this song? I can't find it anywhere here or in the DT, and I can only remember a little bit and the chorus : ... ... There lived a girl Made the 'gators look tame Poke-salad Annie 'Gator got your grannie (Chomp, chomp!) Ev'rybody said it was a shame That your momma was a-workin' on the chain gang It's such a good song to sing to yourself (the only audience I'd consider singing anything to!), and it's annoying not remembering more of it! |
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06 Jul 00 - 02:14 PM (#252958) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: MMario That would be "Poke Sallet Annie" - but I don't have the lyrics... |
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06 Jul 00 - 02:24 PM (#252963) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: Joe Offer I think we came up with definitive lyrics in this thread (click). -Joe Offer- |
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06 Jul 00 - 02:35 PM (#252966) Subject: Lyr Add: POLK SALAD ANNIE From: Dee45 POLK SALAD ANNIE (words & music by Tony Joe White) Some of you all never been down South too much... I' gonna tell you a little story, so you'll understand where I'm talking about Down there we have a plant that grows out in the woods and the fields, and it looks something like a turnip green. Everybody calls it Polk salad. Now that's Polk salad. Used to know a girl that lived down there and she'd go out in the evenings to pick a mess of it... Carry it home and cook it for supper, 'cause that's about all they had to eat, But they did all right. Down in Louisiana Where the alligators grow so mean Lived a girl that I swear to the world Made the alligators look tame Polk salad Annie 'Gators got your granny Everybody said it was a shame For the mama was working on the chain-gang What a mean, vicious woman Everyday before suppertime She'd go down by the truck patch And pick her a mess of Polk salad And carry it home in a tote sack Polk salad Annie 'Gators got you granny Everybody said it was a shame 'Cause the mama was working on the chain-gang Whoo, how wretched, dispiteful, straight-razor totin' woman, Lord have mercy. Sock a little Polk salad to him Yeah, you know what, yeah, yeah But daddy was a lazy and a no-count Claimed he had a bad back All her brothers were fit for Was stealing watermelons out of my truck For once Polk salad Annie 'Gators got your granny Everybody said it was a shame For the mama was working on the chain-gang Sock a little Polk salad to him You know what meets a meal mention You sock a little Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah Chic a bon, chic a bon, chic a bon bon bon bon Chic a bon, chic a bon, chic a bon bon bon bon Sock a little Polk salad to him You know what meets a meal mention Sock a little Polk salad to him You know what meets a meal mention Chinc, chinc, chinc, chin, ling, ling ling |
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06 Jul 00 - 02:36 PM (#252968) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: Giac By the way, it can be Poke Salad or Poke Salet or Poke Sallet. Salet (sallet) is an archaic word for salad and many early settlers still used the older word for it, hence that pronounciation lingers in some regions.
Another by-the-way: Don't eat the stuff raw, it will |
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06 Jul 00 - 02:52 PM (#252980) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: catspaw49 CLICK HERE FOR POLK/POKE Now if that sucker works Giac, you'll see we kicked the polkpoke thing around a bit too. Joe doesn't believe in the wacky discussions and gave the main link to lyrics, but Spaw being Spaw........... Spaw |
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06 Jul 00 - 06:47 PM (#253095) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: Jim the Bart If you like this song, check out some of TJ White's albums. They are all alright. He's got that swamp thing happenin'. |
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14 Jul 00 - 09:45 AM (#257565) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: Tracey Dragonsfriend Thank you all! I wonder what the stuff tastes like... |
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14 Jul 00 - 06:39 PM (#257844) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Polk/Poke-Salad Annie From: Áine Aaaah - my theme song! (hahahaha). When I was a little girl, I used to eat this stuff out of my mamaw's truck garden in Louisiana. And Tracey, I liked it . . . but then, Spaw will tell you how weird I am . . . ;-) And Giac is absolutely right - do not eat this raw - besides the fact that it tastes like dookey when it's raw, you will get very, very ill. How come I know what it tastes like raw? My cousins and I used to take a little taste now and then so we could skip school. And about the polk/poke thing -- I never knew how it was spelled, but I do know that I grew up pronouncing 'polk' and 'poke' the same way, and I still do. -- Áine |
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23 Dec 00 - 09:05 AM (#362235) Subject: polk salad annie From: GUEST |
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23 Dec 00 - 09:09 AM (#362236) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: polk salad annie From: GUEST,jbmiller15@juno.com Request lyrics from Tony Joe White's Poke Salad Annie |
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23 Dec 00 - 10:02 AM (#362249) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: polk salad annie From: Uncle_DaveO I'm relieved. I thought you were talking about a salad made of dead presidents. Dave Oesterreich |
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23 Dec 00 - 10:29 AM (#362254) Subject: Lyr Add: POLK SALAD ANNIE From: Sorcha This it?
POLK SALAD ANNIE
If some of y'all never been down south too much,
Down in Lou'siana, where the alligators grow so mean,
Every day 'fore supper time, she'd go down by the truck patch,
Her daddy was lazy and no count, claimed he had a bad back, from: http://kulichki.rambler.ru/dassin/l/polk_salad_annie.html |
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23 Dec 00 - 10:49 AM (#362263) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: polk salad annie From: catspaw49 Here's a previous thread that talks about this song and gets pretty entertaining too. Spaw |
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23 Dec 00 - 10:54 AM (#362267) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: polk salad annie From: catspaw49 Oops.....copied the wrong one......Try this instead. Spaw |
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23 Jul 02 - 10:24 PM (#753472) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: polk salad annie From: Jim Dixon Looks like we have a little spelling inconsistency here. AMG lists 39 recordings of "Polk Salad Annie," notably by Tony Joe White (the writer) and Elvis Presley ...and only 2 recordings of "Poke Salad Annie" However, poke salad is made from pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, and every scholarly botanical web site I can find (such as the ones at the University of Florida and Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine) spells it that way. (Click here for another nice photo of pokeweed. And, say, it doesn't look much like turnip greens, does it?)
On Google, But I see the poke/polk controversy was already discussed in both of the threads that Spaw linked to. |
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24 Jul 02 - 06:52 PM (#754027) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: polk salad annie From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie) Why didn't somebody ask me- everyone in Kentucky knows it's poke-sallit. Cook it, drain it, and scramble eggs into it in a hot skillit. GOOD eatin! But only eat the young shoots- when it's older, it pizen! |
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25 Oct 18 - 10:15 PM (#3958409) Subject: ADD: Polk Salad Annie (Tony Joe White) From: Joe Offer It's hard to say anything after a post from Jean Ritchie, but Wikipedia says the type of food highlighted in the song is polk or poke sallet, a cooked greens dish made from pokeweed. The song was written by Tony Joe White, who died yesterday at the age of 75. I always thought the song was about a salad with pork in it, which shows how little I know. -Joe- Here's my transcription of the song, built on the transcription Sorcha posted in 2000: POLK SALAD ANNIE (Tony Joe White) [spoken] If some of y'all never been down south too much, I'm gonna tell you a little about this so that you'll understand what I'm talkin' about... Down there we have a plant that grows out in the woods, and in the fields ... looks somethin' like a turnip green, and everybody calls it poke salad ... poke — salad; Used to know a girl lived down there and she'd go out in the evenings and pick her a mess of it, carry it home and cook it for supper, cause that's about all they had to eat, but they did all right. [/spoken] Down in Lou'siana, where the alligators grow so mean, There lived a girl that I swear to the world, Made the alligators look tame, Poke Salad Annie, Poke Salad Annie Everybody said it was a shame, 'Cause her Mama was a-workin' on the chain gang (A mean, vicious woman) Every day 'fore supper time, she'd go down by the truck patch, And pick her a mess o' poke salad and carry it home in a tote sack, Poke Salad Annie, the 'gators got your granny, (Chong — chong-chong) Everybody said it was a shame, 'Cause her Mama was a-workin' on a chain gang (A wretched, spiteful, straight-razor-totin' woman. Lord have mercy, pick me a mess of it.) Her daddy was a lazy no-count, claimed he had a bad back, And all her brothers were fit for was stealin' watermelons out of my truck patch, Poke Salad Annie, the 'gators got your granny, Everybody said it was a shame, cause her Mama was a-workin' on a chain gang (Sock a little poke salad to me. You know I need me a mess of it.) Recording by Tony Joe White (1943-2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCSsVvlj6YA |