Lyr Req:Biggest Box in Town / Any Ice Today, Lady?

15 Feb 20 - 04:51 PM (#4034465)
Subject: Lyr Req: Biggest Box in Town
From: GUEST,.gargoyle

This is a cute little ditty....perhaps, there is more.

Today a 83 yo friend popped up with a ditty his father used to sing.
They hail from the northern tier of the state of Washington.
In those days an ice-box used real ice for cooling.
For curiosity's sake only:


Any ice for you, today, lady?
Any ice for you lady?
She said, he said, she had the biggest box in town.

My guess is vaudville.

Sincerly,
Gargoyle

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15 Feb 20 - 07:26 PM (#4034478)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Biggest Box in Town
From: GUEST,cnd

Would this be the song? I can't listen at the moment but it seems close?

https://youtu.be/gwzQ02rw1A0

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15 Feb 20 - 07:33 PM (#4034479)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Biggest Box in Town
From: GUEST,cnd

As does this one: https://youtu.be/z_FotqFR08I

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15 Feb 20 - 08:35 PM (#4034486)
Subject: ADD: Any Ice Today, Lady?
From: Joe Offer

Hmmm. I'm guessing gargoyle's song is a bawdy parody of "Any Ice Today, Lady," that cnd gave links to. Here are lyrics:

ANY ICE TODAY, LADY ?
(Pat Ballard)
Fred Waring's Orchestra (vocals by Poley McClintock) - 1926


(Shouted): Ice? Any ice?

Any ice today, lady?
It's nice today, lady;
How about a piece of ice today?
Oh, it's only a quarter,
You know that you oughter
Hurry up before it melts away!
Yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am,
Not on your linoleum;
No, ma'am, no, ma'am,
Giddy-up, Napoleon!
Your pop is a nice man,
And so's your old iceman,
Oh, lady, be good to me!

Any ice today, lady?
It's nice today, lady;
How about a piece of ice today?
Tell me why you don't order
Some Eskimo water,
Though your credit's good, I wish you'd pay!
Yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am,
I'll give you a premium;
No, ma'am, no, ma'am,
Not enriched uranium;
I feel so silly;
I'll hand you a lily,
Oh, lady, be good to me!

(Shouted): Any ice? Any ice? Ice!



(Contributed by Andy & Mogg - January 2003)
source: https://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/a/anyicetodaylady.html

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15 Feb 20 - 08:43 PM (#4034489)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req:Biggest Box in Town / Any Ice Today, Lady?
From: Joe Offer

Yeah, garg, but I think there's a bawdy version that's yet to be found.
-Joe-

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15 Feb 20 - 10:13 PM (#4034496)
Subject: ADD: The Ice Man Song (part)
From: Joe Offer

I TOLD you there was more, Gargoyle. Here's from Lone Star Swing: On the Trail of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys

THE ICE MAN SONG

Any ice today, lady? It's nice today, lady.
How about a little piece today?
It's only a quarter, so don't you think you oughter
Have a little 'fore it melts away?

There's a lady lives down our street
Her name is Mrs Brown
She got a great big lump today
She's got the biggest box in town.

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15 Feb 20 - 10:21 PM (#4034497)
Subject: ADD: Any Ice Today, Lady?
From: Joe Offer

...and there's more at Famous People I Have Known By Ed McClanahan. PP 126-127

ANY ICE TODAY, LADIES

Any ice today, ladies?
Any ice today, ladies?
How about a little piece today?

There's a lady lives on Ninth Street,
Her name is Misssuz Brown;
She takes ice most ev'ry day,
Got the biggest box in town.

There's a lady lives on Tenth Street,
Her name is Misssuz Green;
She don't get no ice today,
'Cause her damned ol' box ain't clean.

I'm a very nice iceman,
I won't cheat you, of course;
But if you want a bigger piece,
I'll have to get my horse.

I'm a very nice iceman,
That's very plain to see;
But hurry up and put it in,
It's drippin'...on...m' knee!

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15 Feb 20 - 10:51 PM (#4034501)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req:Biggest Box in Town / Any Ice Today, Lady?
From: GUEST,cnd

Joe, you found it around the same time as me! Found some more references in a Google book which I can type out later...

link

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15 Feb 20 - 10:57 PM (#4034502)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req:Biggest Box in Town / Any Ice Today, Lady?
From: Joe Offer

CND, the trouble I have with Google Books, is then I think I ought to buy the book to see what I missed in their "partial view."
-Joe-

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17 Feb 20 - 03:06 PM (#4034672)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req:Biggest Box in Town / Any Ice Today, Lady?
From: GUEST,cnd

Joe, checked out the book from a local library, and there's not any more pertinent info than you gave. The preview has all the lyrics, the intro and outro just gives details on the performer, in this case Glenn Carlos Toadvine, who performed under the name "Little Enis." Mostly just a raunchy bar scene

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15 Mar 20 - 12:21 PM (#4039697)
Subject: Lyr Add: ANY ICE TO-DAY, LADY? (Pat Ballard)
From: Jim Dixon

From the sheet music at York University:


ANY ICE TO-DAY, LADY? (A Collegiate Razz-Berry)
Words and music by Pat Ballard, ©1926.

1. Percival Damp was king of the campus,
And strictly "College"—
Never got pally, never would dally
With books of knowledge;
But when summer rolled around,
Percival had to labor.
In his town, he drove around,
Shouting to ev'ry neighbor:

CHORUS 1: Any ice today, lady?
It's nice today, lady?
How about a piece of ice today?
Oh, it's only a quarter!
You know that you oughter.
Hurry up before it melts away!
YES, MA'AM? YES, MA'AM?
Not on your linoleAM?
NO, MA'AM! NO, MA'AM!
Giddyap, NapoleAN!
Your Papa's a nice man,
And so's your old ice man.
Oh, lady, be good to me!

2. Percival wondered if he had blundered
When things got duller.
He'd have been there had only his hair
Had a diff'rent color.
So he bought a red toupée
Just to deliver ice in.
When he drove around he'd say
In a way most enticin':

CHORUS 2: Any ice today, lady?
It's nice today, lady?
How about a piece of ice today?
Tell me why you don't order
Some Eskimo water.
Though your credit's good, I wish you'd pay.
YES, MA'AM! YES, MA'AM!
I'll give you a premiAM.
NO, MA'AM! NO, MA'AM!
Not a red geraniAM!
I'm feelin' so silly,
I'll hand you a lily.
Oh, lady, be good to me!

- - - - -
The sheet music contains 4 more "extra choruses" but I don't find them interesting enough to type them out.

You can hear a recording of this song performed by Ernest Hare and Billy Jones (The Happiness Boys), on Regal (8116-B), from 1926, at The Internet Archive. As usual, they change the words rather freely, adding lots of "patter" and transforming the song into a dialog.

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15 Mar 20 - 01:20 PM (#4039712)
Subject: Lyr Add: ICE MAN (Billy Mitchell)
From: Jim Dixon

You can hear this recording on The Internet Archive:


ICE MAN!
(Williams Mitchell)
As recorded by Billy Mitchell on Blue Records 101-B, 1953.

Ice man! Ice man!
Tellin' all you folks y'all better buy some ice.
Told you once; ain't gon' tell you twice.
Think y'all better change yo' plan
And get yo'self a new ice man.
You know, I'm sellin' the coldest ice in town.
Let me know when I can call aroun'.

I would like to be your ice man.
I'm sellin' the coldest ice in town.
Ladies all think that I'm a nice ice man,
Love to see me when I call aroun'.
The lady livin' over there across the creek,
She gets one piece and it lasts a whole week.
Better let me be your ice man.
I'm sellin' the coldest ice in town.

Tellin' that ice man! Ice man!
Coldest ice in town!
Ladies all think I'm a nice ice man,
Love to see me when I call aroun'.
You know, I'm the best ice man that's in these blocks.
I'll give you the right size piece, as sure as you're boss.
Ice man!
Sellin' the coldest ice in town!

Ice man! Ice man!
Coldest ice in town.
Ladies all think that I'm a nice ice man,
Love to see me when I call aroun'.
I'm tellin' you this, mama, and I'm tellin' you in front:
Get the right kind o' piece, it last a solid month.
Ice man! Cold ice!
Sellin' the coldest ice in town!

Ice man! Ice man!
Coldest ice in town!
Ladies all think I'm a nice ice man,
Love to see me when I call aroun'.
I got some o' the hardest ice you ever felt.
When you put it in your box, don't worry, it ain't gon' melt.
It's good ice, cold ice!
Sellin' the coldest ice in town!

Ice! Ice! Ice man!
Coldest ice in town!
An' the ladies all think I'm a nice ice man,
Love to see me when I call aroun'.
You better get you some ice that's gon' cool your meat,
'Cause them other brothers' ice won't stand the heat.
Ice man! Sellin' ice!
Sellin' the coldest ice in town.

Tellin' that ice man! Ice man!
Coldest ice in town!
An' the ladies all think I'm a nice ice man,
Love to see me when I call aroun'.
The lady livin' in the house that's painted green,
She got a good ol' box but she won't keep it clean.
Ice man!
Sellin' the coldest ice in town!
Ice man!
Ice man!

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15 Mar 20 - 01:48 PM (#4039717)
Subject: Lyr Add: ICE MAN BLUES (George Kirby)
From: Jim Dixon

You can hear this recording at The Internet Archive:


ICE MAN BLUES
(George Kirby)
As recorded by Tom Archia and His All Stars, vocal by George Kirby, Aristocrat 602A, 1947.

I'm the ice man, baby; I sell the coldest stuff in town.
I'm the ice man, baby; yes, I sell the coldest stuff in town.
Anytime you get hot, baby, call up ol' ice man an' I'll cool you down.

Ev'ry man's got a woman, an' ev'ry boy's got a chick.
Ev'ry man's got a woman—hoo!—an' ev'ry boy's got a chick.
But you don't have to worry 'bout ol' ice man, 'cause ol' ice man always have his pick.

You owe me for fifty pounds, yes, and you claimed you ain't got no dough.
Listen to me baby: you owe me for fifty pounds, and you come 'round here tellin' me you ain't got no dough.
Well, if you [don't?] pay me some o' my money, I ain't gon' put it in your box no mo'.

I sell ice to all the women, to all the finest chicks in town.
Won't their husbands be real salty when they find out what ol' ice man's puttin' down?
I'm the ice man, baby; yes, I sell the coldest stuff in town,
And won't their husbands be real salty when they find out what ol' ice man's puttin' down?
And I sell the coldest stuff in town.

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15 Mar 20 - 02:14 PM (#4039721)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req:Biggest Box in Town / Any Ice Today, Lady?
From: Lighter

The acks to McClanahan's book include Playboy. That reminded me that I saw what must have been M's original article, because I remember a line or two of Enis's song. It must have appeared about 1974 or '75.

As Mudcat is interested in the lives of the singers, read more about Carlos Toadvine of Hogue Hollow, Ky., rahtcheer:

https://www.oocities.org/garycountry/enisking.html

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15 Mar 20 - 03:45 PM (#4039740)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE ICE MAN (Rose Marie)
From: Jim Dixon

You can hear this recording at The Internet Archive:


THE ICE MAN
(Rose Marie; Piscitelli; Pettergazia)
As recorded by Rose Marie with Hal Hastings and his Orchestra, Mercury (5848), 1952.

[Spoken (in a thick Italian accent which I have chosen not to represent with spelling):]
Ice man! Ice man!
Ice man!
No, nobody wants the ice no more.
They all got a big refrigerator.
My poor compagno, what's he gonna do, huh?

[Sung:] My compagno the ice man go out o' business
When the big refrigerator come along.
He tries so hard to keep up the business,
But always he hear the same familiar song:
"Sorry, we don't need no ice no more.
We just buy refrigerator at the big department store."
So my compagno the ice man go out o' business
When the big refrigerator come along.
Now he's workin up town in a factory,
My compagno the ice man Antony.

[Spoken:] Now poor Antony, he's no got no business no more.
Its just like the old days, huh? Where are they?

[Sung:] Where are the days(?) when the ice man come around?
Where is the call that was known all over town?
Ice man, ice man, knockin' at your door,
But you can't blame the ice man any more.

Now, I tell you what he's do in this factory:
He fix refrigerators all day long.
He like the work; someday he form a company,
And what is he doin now? It canna go wrong.
Until then, he learn all the tricks,
And when the time comes, he's gonna tell the boss: "I quit!"
See, my compagno the ice man go out o' business
When the big refrigerator come along.
Now, he's workin up town in a factory,
My compagno the ice man Antony.

[Dropping the accent:] Where are the days(?) when the ice man came around?
Where is the call that was known all over town?
Ice man, ice man, knockin' at your door,
But you can't blame the ice man any more.

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