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Lyr Req/Add: Dear Abby (John Prine)

21 Sep 97 - 07:14 PM (#12782)
Subject: ABBY: Lyrics?
From: GaryD

Just came from a Jam..Friend Looking for John Prine's "Abby" or "Abbie"..unsure of spelling..couldn't find here or on cowpie..any help?

22 Sep 97 - 04:59 PM (#12863)
Subject: Lyr Add: DEAR ABBY (John Prine)^^
From: Bob Landry

Here ya go:

DEAR ABBY
Written by John Prine
As recorded by John Prine on “Sweet Revenge” (1973)
(recorded live at State University of New York, New Paltz, New York)

1. Dear Abby, Dear Abby, my feet are too long.
My hair's falling out and my rights are all wrong.
My friends they all tell me that I’ve no friends at all.
Won't you write me a letter? Won't you give me a call?
Signed, Bewildered.

CHORUS: Bewildered, Bewildered, you have no complaint.
You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't.
So listen up, buster, and listen up good:
Stop wishin' for bad luck and knockin' on wood.

2. Dear Abby, Dear Abby, my fountain pen leaks.
My wife hollers at me and my kids are all freaks.
Every side I get up on is the wrong side of bed.
If it weren't so expensive I'd wish I were dead.
Signed, Unhappy.

CHORUS: Unhappy, Unhappy, you have no complaint....

3. Dear Abby, Dear Abby, you won't believe this,
But my stomach makes noises whenever I kiss.
My girlfriend tells me it's all in my head,
But my stomach tells me to write you instead.
Signed, Noisemaker.

CHORUS: Noisemaker, Noisemaker, you have no complaint....

4. Dear Abby, Dear Abby, well I never thought
That me and my girlfriend would ever get caught.
We were sittin' in the back seat just shootin' the breeze
With her hair up in curlers and her pants to her knees.
Signed, Just Married.

CHORUS: Just Married, Just Married, you have no complaint....
Signed, Dear Abby. ^^

22 Sep 97 - 10:21 PM (#12910)
Subject: RE: ABBY: Lyrics?
From: GaryD

Thanks Bob!...That's why I am so impressed with this site!...You all are awesome, indeed. Bernie will be pleased to sing this one for us. "Keep on the Sunny Side!.. Gary

28 Aug 99 - 07:36 PM (#109362)
Subject: Dear Abby
From: Pontiac Joe

Can someone send me the lyrics and chords to dear Abby. I was explaining John prine to my kids and was telling of Dear Abby and couldn't remember the words thats pretty bad eh ??

E-mail SCR88@aol.com

28 Aug 99 - 11:33 PM (#109404)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Dear Abby
From:

go to http://www.yahoo.com

and search for the JOHN PRINE lyrics site..

or do a MUDCAT FORUM SEARCH

it was posted awhile back

28 Aug 99 - 11:41 PM (#109407)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Dear Abby
From: Charlie Baum

Our previous discussion was at this thread

28 Aug 99 - 11:47 PM (#109410)
Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: DEAR ABBY (John Prine)^^
From: campfire

Or go to COWPIE - then search there. They have it, with chords. Oh, what the heck:

DEAR ABBY
(John Prine) 
  G                        C            G
  Dear Abby, Dear Abby, my feet are too long
  G                            A              D
  My hair's falling out and my rights are all wrong
  G                                    C             G
  My friends they all tell me, they're no friends at all
  G                                      D         G
  Won't you write me a letter, won't you give me a call
  C  D     G
  Signed Bewildered

Bewildered, Bewildered, you have no complaint
You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't
So listen up, buster, and listen up good
Stop wishin' for bad luck and knockin' on wood

Dear Abby, Dear Abby, my fountain pen leaks
My wife hollers at me and my kids are all freaks
Every side I get up on is the wrong side of bed
If it weren't so expensive I'd wish I were dead
Signed, Unhappy

Unhappy, Unhappy, you have no complaint
You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't
So listen up, buster, and listen up good
Stop wishin' for bad luck and knockin' on wood

Dear Abby, Dear Abby, you won't believe this
But my stomach makes noises whenever I kiss
My girlfriend tells me it's all in my head
But my stomach tells me to write you instead
Signed, Noisemaker.

Noisemaker, Noisemaker, you have no complaint
You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't
So listen up, buster, and listen up good
Stop wishin' for bad luck and knockin' on wood

Dear Abby, Dear Abby, well I never thought
That me and my girlfriend would ever get caught
We were sittin' in the back seat just shootin' the breeze
With her hair up in curlers and her pants to her knees
Signed, Just Married

Just Married, Just Married, you have no complaint
You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't
So listen up, buster, and listen up good
Stop wishin' for bad luck and knockin' on wood
Signed, Dear Abby

Chords probably didn't space out correctly in the first verse, but if you know the song, you can probably get it. You should still probably look around as mentioned above - might find lots of other neat stuff.

campfire^^

29 Aug 99 - 08:37 PM (#109588)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Dear Abby
From: John of the Hill

Hey Pontiac, Do a search for the John Prine Shrine, and you'll find a wealth of lyrics and chords. John (no, not that one)

29 Aug 99 - 09:11 PM (#109598)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Dear Abby
From: catspaw49

So hey Poncho Joe.........Just how do you explain John Prine to your kids?(:+}

Spaw

31 Aug 99 - 06:34 PM (#110192)
Subject: Dear Abby - Information
From: Susanne (skw)

Americans probably know Dear Abby is a real person. I didn't, and I was glad to find the following article (also some bits from John Prine himself):

[1993:] I was in Europe, and my first wife and I stopped in Rome for the day. I wanted a newspaper, and all they had was the International Herald Tribune, which is all the tragic news in the world crammed into six pages with no sports results and no comics. And yet here's 'Dear Abby'. She was the only relief in the whole paper. And that's where I wrote most of the song - in Rome, Italy, that is. Years later, somebody took the verse about the guy whose stomach makes noises, wrote it just out of kilter enough so it didn't rhyme, and sent it to "Dear Abby." And she answered it in her column. She suggested that he seek professional help. She got loads of letters from people who knew the song and told her she'd been had. (Notes 'Great Days - The John Prine Anthology')

[1997:] In January 1956, a sassy dame called Pauline Phillips telephoned the editor of the 'San Francisco Chronicle' and told him she could do a better agony column than the one he published. He invited her to call in and found himself facing a middle-aged housewife who had never written professionally but claimed she could write an advice column because all her life people had confided in her.
Now there is a standard drill for dealing with this kind of person - you ask her to write some sample columns. This usually fixes them. But not Mrs Phillips, who wrote some sample material under the pen-name 'Abigail Van Buren' and called the column 'Dear Abby'. Within a few months, it was syndicated across the United States. Now it's on the Net [...] and readers all over the world can see what has kept millions of American readers laughing for decades. [...]
'Dear Abby,' writes Exhausted in Honolulu, 'I've been married for five months to a 58-year-old sex fiend. If this letter makes no sense, it's because I no longer know what a decent night's sleep is. This man is an absolute machine. His demands are exhausting!' Abby advised Exhausted to tell her husband to see a doctor or find a woman who was more his speed, but letters poured in from other readers offering to help out. [...]
Most journalists think that agony columns are money for old rope because the readers write them. Not true. The readers provide the opener, sure, but it's the aunt who has to deliver the punch line. It is her skill at doing this which makes Abby the best thing since Dorothy Parker. 'Dear Abby', writes Gertie, 'I've been going steady with this man for six years. We see each other every night. He says he loves me, and I know I love him, but he never mentions marriage. Do you think he's going out with me just for what he can get?' 'I don't know', replies Abby, 'What's he actually getting?'
Or how about this from 'Annie'? 'Dear Abby, I know boys will be boys, but my "boy" is 73 and he's still chasing women. Any suggestions?' 'Dear Annie', comes the reply, 'don't worry. My dog has been chasing cars for years, but if he ever caught one, he wouldn't know what to do with it.' (John Naughton, Observer, 8 June)

31 Aug 99 - 08:49 PM (#110230)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Dear Abby
From: Joe Offer

Click here to get to the "Dear Abby" Website. I've always preferred her sister, Ann Landers, perhaps because my hometown paper didn't carry Abby - click here.
Are there advice columnists like this in other parts of the world, or are they an American phenomenon?
-Joe Offer-

23 Nov 00 - 12:38 AM (#345539)
Subject: John Prine's 'Dear Abby'
From: kimmers

All right, I realize this may be hiding in the DT somewhere, but if it is, I can't find it. Or it may have been brought up in a previous thread, but the search engine has gone wonky and won't let me look. So I must rely on fragile human memory.

You know this, I know you do. It's the one with the chorus that goes,

Noisemaker, Noisemaker (varied with each verse)
You have no complaint
You are what you are
And you ain't what you ain't
Just listen up, Mister, and listen up good
Stop wishing for bad luck and knockin' on wood
Signed, Dear Abby.

Anyone want to give me the rest? I'd be much obliged.

Kimmers

23 Nov 00 - 12:42 AM (#345543)
Subject: John Prine Lyrics
From: catspaw49

Hi kimmers..........

For all your John Prine shopping, go to The John Prine Shrine.

Spaw

23 Nov 00 - 12:47 AM (#345548)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: John Prine's 'Dear Abby'
From: kimmers

Cool! Thanks, Spaw, knew I could count on the 'Cat. Now I'll O.D. on John Prine, just in time for Thanksgiving!! (Somewhere, there's a connection)

23 Nov 00 - 12:48 AM (#345549)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: John Prine's 'Dear Abby'
From: kimmers

...although that link doesn't seem to be working. Humph. Anyone been there lately? Have they moved?

23 Nov 00 - 12:51 AM (#345551)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: John Prine's 'Dear Abby'
From: catspaw49

Click on the refresh thingy in red where it say the addy on the file not found page...its working that way tonite. Generally a great site.

Spaw

23 Nov 00 - 12:53 AM (#345553)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: John Prine's 'Dear Abby'
From: kimmers

I found it! Thanks!

23 Nov 00 - 04:36 PM (#345759)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: John Prine's 'Dear Abby'
From: Susanne (skw)

kimmers, the link didn't work for me either, but you can find the lyrics (not quite the original, though) and a nice background story at My Songbook.

23 Nov 00 - 08:46 PM (#345840)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: John Prine's 'Dear Abby'
From: catspaw49

Susanne, if you noticed, kimmers got through just fine by clicking the refresh on the home addy as I suggested. They have recently revamped their site and the addy I had had an extension on it you can no longer use. Thanks for your link anyway....very nice. I notice though its as sung by someone else and the lyrics differ from Prine's....a bit more of the "English" if you will. "My wife hollers at me" versus "My wife screams at me."........and a few others too. Kinda' interesting.

Spaw

16 Feb 04 - 04:19 AM (#1116775)
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Dear Abby
From: The Fooles Troupe

There are such agony columns in Australia.

Robin

11 Feb 13 - 03:21 AM (#3478132)
Subject: RE: Req/ADD DEAR ABBY (John Prine)
From: Joe Offer

So, in a brilliant revelation today, I came to the conclusion that the tune for this song is Villikins & his Dinah (Sweet Betsy from Pike).
Think so?

-Joe-

10 Apr 20 - 10:48 AM (#4045080)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req/ADD: Dear Abby (John Prine)
From: GUEST,keberoxu

This is the first recorded John Prine performance I ever heard,
being broadcast on radio.