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04 Jan 97 - 12:47 AM (#1090) Subject: Lyric request: there was an old soldier From: Descamps Olivier, belgium I am looking for the lyric of: - "Cumberlan gap" (trad.). - "There was an old soldier" (trad.) ... and he had a wooden foot ..) - "When the war is through" (used in the soundtrack of the film Custer of the West (by the composer Bernado Segall). - "When will love rule the world"(lyric + composition) also in the soundtrack of the film "Custer of the West" (by the composer Bernado Segall). Thank you for your help. Olivier Descamps Nivelles, Belgium E-mail: descaoli@mail.interpac.be |
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28 May 03 - 01:16 PM (#960622) Subject: Lyr Add: THERE WAS AN OLD SOLDIER (from B Kincaid) From: MMario THERE WAS AN OLD SOLDIER OH, I had a little duck and he had a web foot, And he built his nest in a mulberry bush, And he ruffled up his feathers to keep himself warm, Another little song wouldn't do us any harm. O, there was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg, He had no tobacco, but tobacco he could beg; Another old soldier as sly as a fox, He always had tobacco in his old tobacco box. Said the one old soldier, won't you give me a chew? Said the other old soldier, I'll be danged if I do; Just save up your pennies and throw away your rocks, And you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box. Wel the old old soldier was a feelin' very bad, He says, I'll get even, I will, egad; Then he goes to a corner, takes a rifle from his peg, and stabs the other soldier with a splinter from his leg. O there was an old hen and she had a wooden foot, and she made her nest by a sycamore root, and she laid mere eggs than any hen on the farm, Another wooden foot wouldn't do her any harm. Well, of all the darn songs I ever heard made The one I'm a singin' puts them all in the shade; If you don't like it you can run along hum' 'cause I'm singin' this song for myself, by gum! Bradley Kincaid - 'Favorite Old-Time Songs and Mountain Ballads' book 2 |
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28 May 03 - 01:20 PM (#960627) Subject: Tune Add: THERE WAS AN OLD SOLDIER From: MMario X:1 T:There was an Old Soldier N:'Favorite Old-Time Songs and Mountain Ballads' I:abc2nwc M:4/4 L:1/8 K:G z6G F|E2E2E2B, C|D2D2D2G A|B2B2B2G A|B2A2A2B A| G2G2G2B, C|D2D2D2z2|B2d2d2c2|B2A2G2z2 |
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18 Feb 05 - 05:33 PM (#1414351) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: there was an old soldier From: GUEST,renou-laurent@wanadoo.fr Please, have you got the guitar chords (or the music) with the lyrics of "there's an old soldier Thank a lot Laurent RENOU France |
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18 Feb 05 - 05:37 PM (#1414356) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: there was an old soldier From: Peace Cumberland Gap |
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18 Feb 05 - 05:41 PM (#1414360) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: there was an old soldier From: Peace When the war is through ???? |
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18 Feb 05 - 05:44 PM (#1414361) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: there was an old soldier From: Peace CD of sound track from movie available here. |
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18 Feb 05 - 08:57 PM (#1414516) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: there was an old soldier From: Q (Frank Staplin) Sandburg, in "The American Songbag," pp. 432-433, said that this was "A leading favorite of the Grand Army of the Republic, one of the healthiest survivors of the contest between the Blue and the Gray, and a widely known piece of American folklore." Often called the "Old Tobacco Box." Is there any record, other than anecdotal, of this song's use by Civil War soldiers? Any records at all of the song contemporary with the Civil War? |
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19 Feb 05 - 10:43 AM (#1414960) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: there was an old soldier From: Lighter All I know offhand is that the usual version is in Irwin Silber's well researched "Songs of the Civil War" (N.Y.: Columbia U. P., 1960), maybe in the "postwar" section. Can't remember his source, but I'm sure it's indicated. Postbellum, most likely: after all, it's "an *old* soldier with a wooden leg" ! |
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26 Sep 05 - 09:41 PM (#1571187) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: there was an old soldier From: GUEST My grandfather Otto Brewer, b. around 1870 used to bounce us on his knee as he sat on the front porch and sang Oh, there was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg He never had tobacco and tobacco he would beg. There was another soldier just as cunnin' as a fox And he always had tobacco in his old tobacco box. Bump diddy ah dah, bump bump. Then he would spit out his chaw precisely in a spittoon he kept nearby, NEVER missing, and we would laugh and beg him to "Do it again!" I am 72 years old and it is a vivid memory. --Judy W. |
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01 Jul 10 - 03:23 PM (#2938056) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: There Was an Old Soldier From: GUEST,Kate Here is how I learned to sing it from my grandmother:
Oh, there was an old devil and he had a wooden leg, |
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01 Jul 10 - 06:46 PM (#2938163) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: There Was an Old Soldier From: Joe Offer So, I guess the usual melody for this is "Turkey in the Straw." Wayne Erbsen uses a tune that's somewhat different. -Joe- |
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02 Jul 10 - 04:08 AM (#2938344) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: There Was an Old Soldier From: Neighmond My dad always used to sing: Oh, there was an old bum and he had a wooden leg, And he never had tobacco so he always had to beg, There's another old bum as sly as a fox, he always had tobacco in his old tobacco box Said the first old bum won't you let me have a chew? Said the second old bum I'll be damnded if you do! Save up your money, and put it in your socks, and you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box. Well I went to Cincinnati and I walked around the block I walked right in to a baker's shop I puled me a doughnut from the hot boiling grease and I give the lady a five cent piece. She looked at the nickel, she looked at me, she said "kind sir, can't you see?" "There's a hole in the middle and it goes clear through!" Says I "there's a hole in your doughnut too!" Well, I had a little hen, and she had a wooden leg Best durn hen that ever laid an egg, Laid more eggs than any hens around the farm, 'nother little drink'll never do us any harm! |
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02 Jul 10 - 10:38 PM (#2938933) Subject: ADD Version: There Was an Old Soldier From: Joe Offer The version MMario posted is almost the same as this and has one extra verse, but I'm trying to make sure we have all the lyrics from Sandburg's American Songbag. This one is on pp. 432-433. THERE WAS AN OLD SOLDIER O there was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg, He had no tobacco but tobacco he could beg. Another old soldier as sly as a fox, He always had tobacco in his old tobacco box. Said the one old soldier, "Won't you give me a chew?" Said the other old soldier, "I'll be hanged if I do, Save up your pennies and put away your rocks, And you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box." Well, the one old soldier was a feelin' very bad. He says, "I'll get even, I will, begad!" He goes to a corner, takes a rifle from his peg, And stabs the other soldier with a splinter from his leg. There was an old hen and she had a wooden foot, And she made her nest by a mulberry root, And she laid more eggs than any hen on the farm; And another wooden foot wouldn't do her any harm. Click to play(and the tune isn't "Turkey in the Straw"!) |
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02 Jul 10 - 10:40 PM (#2938934) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Joe Offer Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song: Old Tobacco Box, The (There Was an Old Soldier)DESCRIPTION: "There was an old (soldier) and he had a wooden leg. He had no tobacco; no tobacco could he beg." He asks a comrade for tobacco, and is refused. He is told to save; then he will have tobacco. He gets even by stabbing the other with a splinter from his leg AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1893 (Tony, the Convict) KEYWORDS: soldier humorous begging drugs injury FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,Ro) REFERENCES (14 citations): Warner-TraditionalAmericanFolkSongsFromAnneAndFrankWarnerColl 182, "The Old Geezer" (1 text, 1 tune) Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 143, "The Old Tobacco Box" (1 text, 1 tune) Thompson-BodyBootsAndBritches-NewYorkStateFolktales, p. 363, "(no title)" (1 excerpt) Brewster-BalladsAndSongsOfIndiana 93, "The Soldier's Song" (1short text) Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag, pp. 432-433, "There Was an Old Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune) Flanders/Brown-VermontFolkSongsAndBallads, p. 50, "The Auld Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar, pp. 207-208, "There Was an Old Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-SoldierSongsAndHomeFrontBalladsOfCivilWar, p. 32, "There Was an Old Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune) Beck-SongsOfTheMichiganLumberjacks 91, "The Old Geezers" (1 text) Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 242, "There Was An Old Soldier" (1 text) Darling-NewAmericanSongster, p. 258, "The Old Soldier" (1 text) Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. ,143 "The Was an Old Geezer" (1 text, tune referenced; this is a partial parody but consists mostly of traditional elements) DT, (TURKST2) ADDITIONAL: Charles Townsend, _Tony, the Convict_ (T. S. Denison & Company, Chicago, 1893; available on Google Books), p. 24, [no title] (2 verses) Roud #3342 CROSS-REFERENCES: cf. "Turkey in the Straw" (tune & meter) and references there NOTES [577 words]: This piece is often sung to the tune of Turkey in the Straw, and the lyrics often float back and forth, but also exists on its own with its own tune (as was vehemently pointed out by the Warners' informant, Tom P. Smith; Jerome S. Epstein calls it similar to "The Red Haired Boy," but it's Ionian). It is often listed as a Civil War song, and probably is, but I have not been able to find any Civil War reference to this which clearly distinguishes it from "Turkey in the Straw." On the other hand, the Civil War is one of the few wars in which a man with a wooden leg really could be on fairly active duty. As the war dragged on, and the number of crippled soldiers rose, the Union in 1863 decided to recruit an "Invalid Corps," later renamed the "Veteran Reserve Corps" (Catton, pp. 143-144). The men were classified as "first battalion" men, considered to be fit for garrison duty away from the front lines, and "second battalion" men, who were no longer fit enough even to carry a musket (they were supposed to serve in hospitals as nurses and cooks, according to Boatne's, article on the "Veteran Reserve Corps"). Yet Catton, pp. 144-146, tells how 166 of these poor second battalion men were once sent out to march and fight at Belle Plain. They naturally had to travel without knapsacks (more than half the men in their unit had been unable to march at all), so it would have been perfectly reasonable, on that occasion, for a soldier with a wooden leg to be in the front lines and begging for tobacco. I doubt that explains the origin of the song -- but it *could* have happened. We might note that there were also a fair number of officers with wooden legs, the most senior being Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Ewell (who was wounded during the Second Bull Run campaign; Harpers, p. 385) and full General John Bell Hood (who lost the leg at Chickamauga; Harpers, p. 546. He had earlier lost the use of an arm at Gettysburg). As officers, however, they were permitted to ride rather than march -- Hood, in fact, had to be strapped to his horse, though Ewell was able to mount and dismount on his own. We might also add that, though both had been fine division commanders before being wounded, neither performed very well following amputation and promotion. Ewell's hesitation at Gettysburg may have cost the Confederates that battle; Hood's performance in the Atlanta and Nashville campaigns finally doomed the Confederacy.) For whatever reason, the Union doesn't seem to have had as many active-duty officers who lost legs. At least, I can't recall reading of many. Daniel Sickles lost his at Gettysburg (Harpers, p. 512), but he was an incompetent and was put on the shelf after that -- indeed, it was his incompetent direction of his corps which cost him his leg. There was a young fool named Ulric Dahlgren who led a cavalry raid on Richmond after losing a leg, but he was only a colonel -- and was killed in the Dahlgren Raid, his only active service after his injury (Harpers, p. 523). There were some fairly senior men who had lost an arm -- Philip Kearney (who lost his left arm in the Mexican War; Boatner, p. 449) and Oliver O. Howard (who lost his right arm at Fair Oaks; Boatner, p. 413), But losing an arm doesn't seem to have been as debilitating as losing a leg. Hard to shoot a musket, though.... The versions called "The Soldier's Song" should not be confused with the song of that name which is the national anthem of Ireland. - RBW Bibliography
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03 Jul 10 - 02:05 AM (#2938994) Subject: ADD: The Old Geezer (Warner Collection) From: Joe Offer Here's the version from Traditional American Folk Songs from the Frank & Anne Warner Collection, #182, pp. 411-412 As stated above, the Warners' informant, Tom P. Smith insisted that the song should NOT be played to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw." THE OLD GEEZER O there was an old geezer and he had a wooden leg, And he had no tobacco, but tobacco he would beg. Another old geezer, he had a wooden crutch; He always had tobacco, but he never had much. Said geezer number one, "Won't you give me a chew?" Said geezer number two, "I'll be durned if I do! If you'll always save your money and not throw away your rocks, You will always have tobacco in your old tobacco box." singer: Tom P. Smith, 1949 Click to play |
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26 Jul 10 - 01:40 PM (#2952590) Subject: Lyr Add: THERE WAS AN OLD GEEZER AND HE HAD A... From: Jim Dixon This was quoted in a novel, The Kidnapped Millionaires: A Tale of Wall Street and the Tropics by Frederick Upham Adams (Boston: Lothrop Publishing Company, 1901), page 56: There was an old geezer and he had a wooden leg; He had no tobacco, no tobacco could he beg. Another old geezer was as cunning as a fox, And he always had tobacco in his old tobacco box; Yes, he always had tobacco in his old tobacco box. Says Geezer number one, "Will you give me a chew?" Says Geezer number two, "I'll be damned if I do; Go save up your nickels, and save up your rocks, And you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box; Yes, and you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box." |
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26 Jul 10 - 05:17 PM (#2952714) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Cool Beans Throw away your rocks? Pile up your rocks? Save up your rocks? What's with the rocks? Something to do with clearing your land? Where do you throw 'em? Onto the next guy's land? Keep 'em and build a stone wall? Thoughts, anyone? |
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26 Jul 10 - 05:34 PM (#2952726) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Lighter "Rocks" meant money, cash. Spondulix. |
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26 Jul 10 - 05:57 PM (#2952743) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Cool Beans Then why would you throw 'em away, as so many versions have it? |
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26 Jul 10 - 07:16 PM (#2952804) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Lighter Because those versions don't know what "rocks" means. |
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26 Jul 10 - 08:00 PM (#2952838) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Lighter Seriously: the original words are "Put away your money and save up your rocks." |
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09 Nov 10 - 01:29 PM (#3027702) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,guest too Interesting. When my Uncle (born in 1907) used to bounce me on his knee and sing it, the lyrics were O there was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg And he had no tobacco; no tobacco would he beg; So he saved up his boodle and he saved up his (and here I'm missing a word which, if it's not actually 'rocks' - which makes no sense in context - sure sounds like it,is why I'm looking for lyrics in the 1st place) And he always had tocacco in his old tobacco box. |
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09 Nov 10 - 02:58 PM (#3027780) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,Frd Mccormick (cookiless) It was recorded by an ex-miner from the Southern Appalachian (Kentucky?) called George Tucked, and issued on Lp on Rounder. George Tucker. Rounder 0064. I can't access either the LP or my database at the moment, so apologies for the vagueness. However, GT's version was pretty much as above, except it had a verse about one of the soldiers putting his false teeth in his back pocket. Guess what, "The doggone teeth bit him when he sat down". |
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14 Mar 11 - 12:53 PM (#3113574) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,joeman my dad tells me my greatgrandfather always sung "there was a little duck and he had a wooden foot an he lived in the hollow of a mullberry root he ruffled up his feathers to keep him self warm an another lil drink wouldnt do us any harm |
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22 Oct 11 - 05:14 PM (#3243219) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: PHJim We always sang this to the tune of The Red Haired Boy. |
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22 Oct 11 - 11:18 PM (#3243316) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Richie I sing it to the tune of red-haired boy and published it with that tune. We play it now under the title "Duck Chewed Tobacco." Here's my version on youtube with my old band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw6x6udPZtg I sing a different chorus. It's different than the version I published in 2006 here: http://books.google.com/books?id=42bL-Ot-8gUC&pg=PA180&dq=old+soldier+matteson&hl=en&ei=e4ajTuziL4_ogQekxNCZBQ&sa=X&oi=book_resu Richie |
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13 Jun 12 - 01:51 PM (#3362962) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,ExitB My dad's version when he bounced me on his knee 60 years ago teaches an important lesson on thrift and moderation. For bouncing my grandchildren I substitute "little baby" for "old soldier" to give it more of a family values component; Oh there was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg He never had t'bacca so t'bacca he would beg And another old soldier just as sly as a fox He always had t'bacca in his old t'bacca box Say the one old soldier, gimme a chew Say the other old soldier, the devil I do Drink less whiskey and save up your rocks And you'll always have t'bacca in your old t'bacca box |
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02 Feb 13 - 05:34 PM (#3474990) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,adavis9879 The way my grandmother use to sing it to me was. There was an old man and he had a wooden leg He had no tobacco, no tobacco could he beg But he saw another man and he asked him for a chew He said get out of here you dirty kook a loo Save of all your money save up all your bricks and your always have tobacco in your old tobacco bix |
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17 Mar 13 - 10:39 PM (#3491604) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST I heard it as a poem and lesson. There was an old soldier who had a wooden leg, who had no tabacco- no tabacco could he beg. Said the soldier to the sailor "May I beg a little chew, said the sailor to the soldier "I'll be damned if I do". Now this always goes to show you if you always saved your money- then you'll never have to beg, and you'll always have tobacco in your own tobacco keg. |
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21 Nov 14 - 10:49 PM (#3679112) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,Julia L Just found a Maine version about 2 sailors from 1917... did some searching and came up with this description of A Buffalo pottery, Deldare Ware humidor with covered decorated with sailors and ships. It reads "There was an old sailor And he had a wooden leg He had no tobacco, nor tobacco could he beg. So save up your money, and save up your rocks, And you'll always have tobacco in your tobacco box." signed "J.Gerhardt" and marked "Buffalo Pottery Deldare Ware 1909" on underside Seem to be the only sailor versions I can find cheers- Julia |
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14 Jul 15 - 02:12 PM (#3723587) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,Bchris Very rusty on song my dad (Born 1889) used to sing: When I was a little boy..my papa said to me...If you want to be...a Carnegie...don't waste your money on foolish things,,,,like automobiles or diamond rings....two plus two make four(lost some words here)...save up your pennies and put away your rocks....you'll always have tobacco in your own tobacco box...every little bit, added to what you got...makes a little bit more |
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17 Oct 15 - 02:00 PM (#3744715) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,Martha My mother says my grandfather sang this song. He grew up in east Texas and moved to western Oklahoma about 1910. His father was a Civil War vet from Arkansas, who fought on both sides during the Civil War. He enlisted at 16, was captured by the Union, and agreed to fight for the Union if they would release him. But grandpa's grandfather was also a soldier, who enlisted in the regular army in New York in 1828 and was sent to Fort Gibson in the Indian Territory. So maybe that's why the song was about an "old tarry" (sailor). After studying all the versions, I think the original must have gone something like this: O, there was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg, He had no tobacco, but tobacco he could beg; And there was an old tarry as sly as a fox, Who always had tobacco in his old tobacco box. Said the old soldier, Won't you give me a chew? Said the old tarry, I'll be danged if I do; Just dive down to the bottom and hold onto the rocks, And you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box. Well, then the old soldier was a feelin' very bad, He says, I'll get even, I will, egad! Then he goes to a corner, takes his rifle from its peg, and stabs the old sailor with a splinter from his leg. If it didn't, it should have. |
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17 Oct 15 - 05:01 PM (#3744768) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Steve Gardham The TBI listed above has Cazden et al's 'FS of the Catskills'. The notes in here as always are worth reading. The version they give goes to the Irish tune, The Little Red Fox/ The Little Beggarman. |
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17 Oct 15 - 07:12 PM (#3744791) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST Looks like it has the same tune as Jimmy Driftwood's "Soldier's Joy" |
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06 Nov 20 - 02:39 PM (#4078510) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST,Steve Spiegel My grandfather Walter Needles lived in Kansas and then Texas and taught me this poem when I was a child; he was in his 70's then and I am now: Said the soldier to the sailor, "Give me a chew." Said the sailor to the soldier, "I'll be damned if I do." If you're saving of your pennies and careful of your rocks, You'll always have tobacco in your ol' tobacco box! BTW, my grandfather taught me a second poem I always loved: If you had a pony and a gun and a lot of ammunition, Would you go a'huntin' and a'fishin'? |
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27 Jan 22 - 12:02 PM (#4134044) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: GUEST Throw Rocks into the next guy's land. Wayne |
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27 Jan 22 - 07:10 PM (#4134094) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Lighter I Harper's Weekly (Oct. 8, 1892) p. 967: There was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg, But he had no tobacco, so tobacco he would beg; Said the sailor to the soldier, Why don't you save your rocks? And then you'll have tobacco in your old tobacco-box. [In a story set in the army in the southwest.] Weekly Journal-Miner (Prescott, Ariz.) (Nov. 26, 1890), p.3: Just put your money In your little pile of rocks, And you'll always have tobacco In your old tobacco-box. II The Times (Philadelphia) (Feb. 14, 1892), p.16: In the words of the old "geazer [sic]," immortal in song, "Save up your shillings and roll up your rocks and you'll always have tobacco in your old tobacco box." III Harper's Weekly (Oct. 8, 1892) p. 967: There was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg, But he had no tobacco, so tobacco he would beg; Said the sailor to the soldier, Why don't you save your rocks? And then you'll have tobacco in your old tobacco-box. [In a story set in the army in the southwest.] IV The Missoulian (Missoula, Mont.) (March 23, 1902), p.4: There was an old sailor and he had a wooden leg; He had no tobacco, no tobacco could he beg; He asked the old sojer to give him a chew, And the old sojer said, I'll be damned if I do. If you'll let grog alone and take care of your rocks, You will always have tobacco in your old tobacco box. [In the U.S. Navy. Credited in passing to a "forecastle poet."] V Buffalo [N.Y.] News (Dec. 8, 1904), p.15: There was an old soldier, and he had a wooden leg, He had no tobacco; tobacco he could beg. Another old soldier as cunning as a fox, And he always had tobacco in his old tobacco box. Said the first old soldier: "Will you give me a chew?" Said the second old soldier, "I'm darned if I do; If you'd drink less rum, and save up your rocks, You'd always have tobacco in your old tobacco box." [Described as "A Song Asked For." M. E. Munsell's "Flying Sparks, as Told By a Pullman Conductor" (1914) has the same text except for 3.3: "If you stop drinking booze"] [The Yellow Dog (Topeka, Kans.) (May 29, 1915), p.1, has essentially the same thing, though about two sailors with the advice "Save up your pennies." It's called "Old Salt Rhyme."] VI Karl Edwin Harriman, Sadie (N.Y., 1907), p.268: “Oh, there was an old hen, And she had a wooden foot, She built herself a nest In a mulberry root. Oh, she put on a feather To keep herself warm, And another little drink Wouldn t do us any harm.” “M' father used to sing that,” he murmured, “just for a kid ["jest"]." VII Tampa Times (Apr. 4, 1912), p. 2: Oh, there was an old hen an' she had a wooden foot, An' she made her nest in a mulberry root. She plucked out a feather to keep herself warm, And another little drink won't do us any harm. VIII Herbert Rae, Maple Leaves in Flanders Fields (London, 1916), p.73: There was a little hen And she had a wooden leg, And she laid more eggs Than any chicken on the farm, And another little drink; Wouldn't do us any harm. IX Thomas Tiplady, The Soul of the Soldier (Toronto, 1918), p.61: Another favorite is, "Oh, there was a little hen and she had a wooden leg, The best little hen that ever laid an egg, And she laid more eggs than any hen on the farm. And another little drink wouldn't do us any harm." |
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31 Jan 22 - 03:27 PM (#4134614) Subject: RE: Origins:There Was an Old Soldier / Old Tobacco Box From: Lighter The elderly Mrs. Nellie Richardson of Springfield, Vermont, sang the following for Helen Harkness Flanders in 1930. (Flanders and George Brown, "Vermont Folk-Songs and Ballads" [Brattleboro, 1932]). Flanders tells us that Mrs. Richardson recalled the song from "the singing of her mother, Mrs. Martha Richardson, at least seventy-five years ago," in the 1850s, that is, before the Civil War. (The population at that time was under 3,000.) That apparently makes it the oldest known text. Martha would "dance about the kitchen singing this 'rockaby' [sic] song." Nellie sang the song "in dialect," presumably as her mother sang it. The spelling "auld" suggests Scots, and "Shtop" suggests either Scots or Anglo-Irish, but "allus" and "terbaccy" do not. (Maybe one or both of the ladies wasn't very good at dialect.) THE AULD SOLDIER There was an' auld soldier an' he had a wooden leg, He had no terbaccy, nor terbaccy could he beg. There was another soldier, as cunnin' as a fox, An' he allus had terbaccy in his auld terbaccy box. Says the first auld soldier, "Won't ye give me a chew?" Said the second auld soldier, "Shoot me dead if I do. Shtop ye're drinkin' whiskey. Go te pilin' up yer rocks, An' ye'll allus have terbaccy in yer auld terbaccy box." It looks as if the bird with the wooden foot was originally a separate (and presumably later) ditty. The Richardsons' tune seems like a major (Ionian) variant of "The Red-Haired Boy." |