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27 Jan 02 - 09:37 PM (#636901) Subject: Lyr Add: IF I HAD MY DRUTHERS (Harry McClintock) From: Deckman "Haywire Mac", aka Harry K. McClintock! What a character: singer, songwriter, recording artist, radio personality, Wobbly, hobo, world traveler, you name it, he did it! My first introduction to folk music had to do with Haywire Mac. Though I never met him, he died in 1955, he influenced my early years. At 13, I was taken under the tutelage of Bill Higley, aka "Willy Waw Willy." Another character of the same vein: singer, radio, stage, etc. Willy Waw and Haywire Mac (sounds like the beginning of a ballad) had worked together on the radio back in the days of the crystal sets in the 1920s. As friends, Willy Waw learned many of Haywire's songs. When I became Willy Waw's student, I learned many of the songs written by Haywire Mac. I wonder how many of you remember this gem:
IF I HAD MY DRUTHERS
Livin' in a cabin way up high,
If I had my druthers, I wouldn't be a king.
I'd ruther not try it; I wouldn't last a week.
If I had my druthers, I wouldn't live so high.
I'd ruther have my own place, happy where I am.
I never got to marry, and maybe never shall,
But I'd ruther not try it; they say in the joke
If I my druthers, I wouldn't work at all—
But I'd ruther work a little or I sure would prove |
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27 Jan 02 - 10:13 PM (#636921) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: kendall Didn't he also write Big Rock Candy Mountain? |
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27 Jan 02 - 10:37 PM (#636928) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: DonMeixner Hi Deckman; Does Mac McClintock remind you some other Wobbly's Wobbly that we have cause to mention on this thread from time to time? I have often wondered if Utah Phillips ever met him. They have much in common I'd imagine. Have you seen a song list from McClintock anywhere? Don |
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27 Jan 02 - 10:48 PM (#636933) Subject: Lyr Add: HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM (Harry McClintock) From: Deckman Yes, that's one of many songs he claimed. And according to several sources, he is given credit for that song. He's also known as the writer of this song:
HALLELUJAH! I'M A BUM
Rejoice and be glad, for the springtime has come.
CHORUS: Hallelujah! I'm a bum. Hallelujah! bum again.
The springtime has come, and I'm just out of jail,
I went to a house and I rapped on the door,
I like Jim Hill; he's a good friend of mine.
I went to a house and I asked for some bread,
Why don't you work like the other men do?
Why don't you save all the money you earn?
I don't like work, and work don't like me, CHEERS, Bob Nelson |
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27 Jan 02 - 10:56 PM (#636939) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman Everytime I've talked with Bruce, we start singing songs and I've always forgotten to ask him if he'd met Haywire. He was born in 1883 and died in 1957, according to the few notes I have. I suppose it's likely that they did cross paths. And yes, I have a very incomplete song list that I'll refer to tomorrow. Right now, we're having a snow storm and I have to dig my truck out for the morning. CHEERS, Bob |
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28 Jan 02 - 12:10 PM (#637155) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Don Firth Voila! Don Firth |
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28 Jan 02 - 02:37 PM (#637238) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,ghost Nice viola there Don! For some reason I envisioned something more rustic for a guy with Haywire for a nickname. Bob, got any clue as to the actual identity of Lazy Larry? I have a 78 of his version of: Who Said I was a Bum? It has only minor verse changes from the version I have on 78 by Haywire. Under the title on the record by Lazy Larry it lists Howard Johnson as the author of the song. But I'm not certain if Howard is the singer Lazy Larry. A minor mystery that I'd love to solve and include in my introduction of this wonderful ditty when next I perform it. I asked for Utah's help with a line in the first verse of Who Said I Was A Bum when we were at a party years ago. Those 78s can be a bear to decipher sometimes. I wonder if the data base has a copy of the words? |
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28 Jan 02 - 04:08 PM (#637321) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,ghost Nope, I didn't find a version of it in there. |
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28 Jan 02 - 06:47 PM (#637424) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Joe_F It would be pleasant to have his original, raunchy version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain", which is quoted up to a point in Alan Lomax's collection. Has it seen the light of day? |
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28 Jan 02 - 07:37 PM (#637447) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman I've got to head off to a meeting now, but I promise I'll post some more tonight ... probably in about five hours. Thanks for your interest. CHEERS, Bob |
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28 Jan 02 - 10:34 PM (#637553) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Coyote Breath And didn't he also pen: "Shovelin' Iron Ore"? I have the words written down somewhere and had it on a 78 I donated to the San Francisco Folk Music club's collection many years ago. I can't remember what was on the other side, maybe "The Prisoner's Song" or "Hallelujah I'm a Bum". In any case he was identified as "Haywire Mac" on the record's label and also listed Harry McClintock as his name and stated the song was written and performed by him. I'm not sure, thinking about it now, that the prisoner's song was on the other side. There was a Vernon Dalhart record or two that I donated then too. "Dream of a Miner's Child" and "The Death of Floyd Collins" and Dalhart also covered 'Prisoner's song'. When "Big Rock Candy Mountain" started playing in 'O Brother' I about croaked and when I realized it was Haywire Mack's recording I could not contain my astonishment and blurted some such anouncement to the theater patrons at large. Quite embarassing, actually. CB |
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28 Jan 02 - 11:04 PM (#637569) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman See ... I told you I'd be back tonight! O.K. to answer Kendall's query regarding the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Digging through my files, I just found the most amazing piece of paper. I don't know how to describes except to say that it is a little newsprint handout, folded in half, which gives it four pages. It has a black and white photo of Haywire on the cover. It is an apparent advertising piece for a place in Marysvale, Utah. It advertises ...Cabins-Cafe-Souvenirs-Mineral Water-Gas-Oil. Under the photo is says, "Harry McClintock (better known as Haywire Mac) Composer: Original Big Rock Candy Mountain Song." Inside, this handout goes on: "Haywire Mac composed the 'Big Rock Candy Mountain' song when he was a brakeman on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, which parallels the Sevier River across the road from Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort." It then goes on to quote the song. It ends with the phone number for "cabin reservations." (amazing what stuff I find in these olde files of mine. To answer Joe F's questions, I'm not aware of a raunchy version of this song. I wouldn't doubt, for a second, that there are several, as many of the songs I know he wrote were borderline raunchy, or at least risque, for the 1920 - 1940's. CHEERS, Bob |
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28 Jan 02 - 11:36 PM (#637584) Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND HANDSOME (Bud Green) From: Deckman Now, to answer "GUEST,ghost" question regarding "Lazy Larry." I do not know this song. In fact I know only a few songs of Haywire Mac, but those that I do know, I will post over the next few days.
Here's another song that I think, I emphasis THINK, was written by him. I must note that I learned these songs when I was 13, 14, 15. But looking at my handwriting from those days, and remembering Willi Waw teaching me this song, looking at the song style, it all says to me that this was probably a Haywire Mac song. I welcome any confirmation, or comments from anyone. [It appears this song was actually written by Bud Green. It was recorded by Texas Jim Robertson and The Panhandle Punchers on RCA Victor 20-2039-B, released in 1948. You can hear this recording on YouTube and on the Internet Archive. I have tweaked the above lyrics a bit to make them exactly agree with what Robertson sings.--A Mudelf] |
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29 Jan 02 - 12:28 PM (#637983) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman Coyote Breath ... "Shoveling Iron Ore" is another one I'm not familiar with. Those old 78's are a treasure. We had some when I was a kritter, but Haywire's songs were not among them. It's still snowing, so after some more digging out I'll be able to post a couple more songs. I think I have one song incaptivity that's probably not well known. CHEERS, Bob |
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29 Jan 02 - 02:05 PM (#638058) Subject: Lyr Add: THE KING OF BORNEO (Frank Crumit) From: Deckman Here's another one of Haywire's songs: THE KING OF BORNEO Oh, the minstrels sing of a Borneo king ten thousand years ago, Who ruled his land with an iron hand, this royal so-and-so. He loved to chase the bounding stag within the royal wood. He was also fond of applejack, and the ladies did him good. A neighboring queen was a gay Coleen; oh, a gay Coleen was she. She loved to play in a kittenish way with the king across the sea. So she sent a special message by a royal messenger, To ask the king to come and spend a week or two with her. King Borneo old had a rival bold whose name was King Kachoo. He swore he'd stop this wedding ‘cause he craved the lady too. So he sent the Duke of Durham to steal the queen away, And foil the king with a diamond ring, all on a summer's day. When the news of this foul deed was heard within old Borneo's home, The king he swore by the shirt he wore, he'd have his rival's dome. So he sent the Count of Asthma, who was sneezing very bad, To go and pay the king a call and give him what he had. The queen grew very wary when she heard him cough and sneeze. She decided that old King Katchoo was a royal hunk of cheese. So she hurried back to Borneo and gave the king her hand, And the strains of Hiawatha were played by the royal band. They had a royal wedding; all his subjects wished them well. The dancers danced and the horses pranced; oh, Mister, it was swell. Old King Katchoo, in his bungaloo, he heard the strains of jazz. The royal pair passed by him there and gave him the royal razz. I think this speaks well to Haywire's ability as a songwriter and especially as a rhymester! CHEERS, Bob
-Joe-
-A Mudelf- |
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29 Jan 02 - 07:32 PM (#638283) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Joe_F Bob: That would seem to be a bowdlerized version of "The Bastard King of England". |
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29 Jan 02 - 08:20 PM (#638326) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman Highly likely! I think his very best songs were parodies. His version of "Abdul Abulbul Amir", is a riot. I'll get to it later tonight ... still snowing! CHEERS, (freezing) Bob |
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29 Jan 02 - 09:40 PM (#638378) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Coyote Breath Well near as I can remember (a task that gets harder as one gets older - the only thing that does it seems) The song goes sorta like this: I met a man the other day I never had met before He asked me if I'd like a job, Shoveling iron ore I asked how much it paid and he said 10 cents a ton I said old fella go chase yerself, I'd rather be on the bum Oh, leanin' against the station Tra la la la la la lation That's our recommendation Harah, haree, harum We are three bums, three jolly old bums We live like royal Turks We have such luck in bummin' our chuck We never bother to work More later when I can find the paper with the other words on it. CB |
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29 Jan 02 - 10:06 PM (#638402) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman Boy ... does THAT sound familiar! I hope you can remember the rest of it. Bob |
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31 Jan 02 - 08:30 AM (#639264) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST Here's a rather populiar Maywire Mac song, or at least the two verses I can remember. I'm frustrated that I can't remember more, and I'm also frustrated that I can't find the song in my files. I'm not sure I have these two verses in the right order. I HOPE someone can post the complete song: You Ask Me Why I'm A Hobo You ask me why I'm a hobo,and why I sleep in the ditch, It ain't because I'm lazy, naah, I just don't 'wanna be rich, Why, I could ride in Pullmans, but there it is again, The plush they put in those Pullman seats, tickles my sensitive skin But I heard one of those guys on the radio, and that was enough for me, Whenever I think of Lincoln, I know I can never forgive, A man who would murder a man like that, and let those tenors live. I remember that the chorus was a "doodley, doodely etc. |
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31 Jan 02 - 08:32 AM (#639266) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,deckman Good Grief! Have I lost my cookie? I just posted the song above ... Bob(deckman)Nelson |
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31 Jan 02 - 03:43 PM (#639487) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: RoyH (Burl) I have a wonderful LP of Haywire Mac on Rounder Records, 'Hallelujah! I'm A Bum', Rounder 1009. It has a great batch of songs and a booklet full of information about the man. Don't know if it has made it onto CD. If it has, or does, grab it. In the sleeve note, there is this quote from a letter H. Mac. wrote to a friend shortly before he died....'Life put on quite a show for me. But now the show is ending, the lights are growing dim. I have no regrets and when I do go I will leave the game a winner. Somewhere in my backyard in San Francisco, between the crimson ramblers and the hollyhocks, there waits an old man with a scythe. Some day ere long he will tap me on the shoulder and say, "Come with me, Mac" and when he does, I will follow him into the everlasting shadows, leaving all the bright golden memories behind'. What A Man!. Burl |
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31 Jan 02 - 03:55 PM (#639495) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,Bob Nelson Burl ... thanx so much for posting that. I'll see if I can still get that record. Bob Nelson, (deckman) who's lost his cookie! ((what a strange term))! |
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01 Feb 02 - 02:39 AM (#639857) Subject: Lyr Add: YOU WONDER WHY I'M A HOBO From: Sandy Paton YOU WONDER WHY I'M A HOBO You wonder why I'm a hobo, and why I sleep in a ditch. It ain't because I'm lazy, nope, I just don't want to be rich. I could eat from dishes; it's only a matter of choice. But when I eat from an old tin can, there ain't no dishes to wash. Diddley-dum dee-diddley di-de-do, Diddley-dum dee-day. Well, I could be a banker, if ever I wanted to be, But the very thought of an iron cage is too suggestive to me. And I could be an accountant, and always balance my books, But readin' figures ruins the eyes and glasses spoil my looks. I could be a conductor and never have a wreck, But any kind of a railroad man to me is a pain in the neck. And I could ride in a Pullman, but there it is again! The plush they put on those Pullman seats Tickles my sensitive skin. I could be a doctor; my duty I'd never shirk. But if I doctored a railroad bull, he'd never go back to work! And I could be a broker, without the slightest excuse, But look at 1929, and tell me what's the use? I could be a soldier, and hold my rifle steady, But why should I go volunteer? They'll draft me when they're ready. You wonder why I'm a hobo, and why I sleep in a ditch; It ain't because I'm lazy, nope, I just don't want to be rich. Haywire Mac might have recorded it, but I'm pretty sure it's a Carson Robison song. Sandy
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01 Feb 02 - 09:28 AM (#639999) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,Bob(deckman)Nelson (no cookie) Thanks Sandy ... I've been missing this song. I guess I had too many cobwebs to remember it. Bob |
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01 Feb 02 - 04:33 PM (#640216) Subject: Lyr Add: YE OLDE BALLAD OF SOMETHING OR OTHER From: GUEST,Bob Nelson, with no more cookie ... help! I'm going to post another song I know was written by the late Haywire Mac. It was taught to me by Willi Waw Willy, in the fishing village of Westport, Washington, about 1950. I know I've screwed up one line, so I hope that someone out there can correct me. I never wrote the words down, so this is all from memory ... I've never heard it sung by anyone and I've never seen it in print. This is a wonderful parody of Abdul Abulbul Amir. YE OLDE BALLAD OF SOMETHING OR OTHER (sung to the melody of Abdul Abulbul Amir). A minstrel once sang me a sad roundelay, A song of the brave days of old, How two mighty heroes once had an affray, And each laid the other out cold. They met and they quarreled; such things shouldn't be, But the sparks from their swords flew like fire. Their names were Alphonso Cornelius McGee, And Alonzo Fitzpatrick McGuire. "Gadzooks!" cried Alphonso, "Don't look at me so! Don't you see you're arousing my ire? But there ne'er was a man by the name of McGee Who would back down from a man named McGuire." So the knights sallied forth dressed in armour of proof, While the populace shouted: "Hey, hey!" And each made a noise like a galvanized roof, As he mounted his steed for the fray. Now never was seen such a furious fight, Never heard such a hideous din, As each hero labored with main and with might, At the other's kimono of tin. They cried out "Avaunt!" and "Have at thee, foul knave!" As the sparks from their swords flew like fire. Then the mighty Alphonso Cornelius McGee Smote Alonzo Fitzpatrick McGuire. From sunrise they fought till the pale yellow moon Shown down, and lo, there in the mire, Stone dead lay Alphonso Cornelius McGee, And Alonzo Fitzpatrick McGuire. So boys, take warning from these luckless knights. Beware of their terrible fate. Collect half a million each time that ye fight With forty percent of ye gate. Be like ye prize fighter and go for ye dough, If you to great riches aspire. Don't be like Alphonso Cornelius McGee Or Alonzo Fitzpatrick McGuire. CHEERS, Bob Nelson |
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01 Feb 02 - 09:07 PM (#640338) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Abby Sale Joe F: his original, raunchy version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain", is in the database with attribution. I sent it up and credited it to Ed Cray from whom I got it. It's one of the "Big Rock" entries - '3,' I think. "I Just Don't Want To Be Rich" is a fine song. Sam Hinton sings it on the Library of Congress (1947) CD I have a different Haywire Mac record, "Haywire Mac" on Folkways (the only date I see on it is 1972), produced by Sam Eskin. Eskin asks him about bawdy songs and he admits to them but flat refuses. This may be why the "Appleknocker's Lament" (the raunchy version of "BRCM") was never recorded or, I believe, printed. It's not that bad, really and is far more true than the well-known parlor version. Thing is, "Appleknocker's" is intended as a cautionary song to young boys, the victims of the predatory jocker tramps. The usual "BRCM" is just a fantasy but loses the whole point that these tales were woven to lure young street boys onto the road. Little has changed in life but this case is amusing - the bawdy, unprintable song had a real social value; the acceptable song might encourage the "romance" of life on the road. Odd... |
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01 Feb 02 - 09:31 PM (#640348) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Joe_F Abby: No, it's not that one, tho I suppose borrowing a wife counts as raunchy. Lomax says: In _The Big Rock Candy Mountains_, McClintock tells how a jocker lured a country boy away from home by telling him `ghost stories' about lemonade springs and such. After many a thirsty mile the punk is disillusioned. The punk rolled up his big blue eyes And said to the jocker, `Sandy, I've hiked and hiked and wandered, too, But I ain't seen any candy. I've hiked and hiked till my feet are sore, I'll be God-damned if I hike any more, To be -------------------------------------- In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.'
Fifty years of re-working by other balladeers have obscured the raw irony of McClintock's original song, but have graced it with age-old Utopian fantasies which inspired the song _Oleana_.... |
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01 Feb 02 - 09:36 PM (#640352) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,Bob Nelson To Abby Sale: Thanx muchly for your posting. I learned these songs when I was 13 - 15. I never heard any reference to the BRCM version that you suggest. Fascinating and very believable. I sure would like to hear from Utah Phillips on this, but I understand he doesn't post, even tho he has a web site ... sigh! CHEERS, Bob |
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02 Feb 02 - 12:11 AM (#640424) Subject: Lyr Add: THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAINS From: Sandy Paton Here's the text as George Milburn printed it in The Hobo's Hornbook, my copy published by Ives Washburn, New York, 1930). THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAINS One sunny day in the month of May A jocker he come hiking; He come to a tree, and "Ah!" says he, "This is just to my liking!" In the very same month on the very same day A Hoosier's son came hiking; Said the bum to the son, "O, will you come To the Big Rock Candy Mountains? Chorus: "I'll show you the bees, And the cigarette trees, And the soda-water fountains, And the lemonade springs Where the bluebird sings In the Big Rock Candy Mountains." So they started away on the very same day, The bum and the kid together, To romp and to rove in the cigarette grove In the land of sunny weather. They dreamed and hiked for many days, The mileposts they were countin', But they never arrived at the lemonade tide And the Big Rock Candy Mountain. The punk rolled up his big blue eyes, And he said to the jocker, "Sandy, I've hiked and hiked and counted ties, But I ain't seen no candy. "I've hiked and hiked till my feet are sore, I'll be God damned if I hike anymore To be a home guard with a lemonade card In the Big Rock Candy Mountains." Milburn's introduction says: This song provides some excellent samples of tramp fantasy. In many small cities and towns, the children of poor whites use the railroad yards as their playgrounds. From these urchins the jockers sometimes recruit their road kids, and to entice them they tell them roseate tales of tramp life. These fabrications are known as "ghost stories." To home guards "The Big Rock Candy Mountains" may appear a nonsense song, but to all pied pipers in on the know it is an amusing exaggeration of the ghost stories used in recruiting kids. I suspect the omitted line from the Lomax text contained a somewhat crude description of the sexual act performed on the punk by the jocker. Sandy |
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02 Feb 02 - 12:13 AM (#640427) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Sandy Paton Will some obliging Joe Clone please close the italics after the word "Chorus" -- please? Thanks. Sandy Italics closed. Sandy Paton has been returned to his usual state of perfection... -Joe Offer- [grin] |
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02 Feb 02 - 12:22 AM (#640433) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman Wow! Thanks Sandy. Here's a rather public suggestion. Pick up your guitar and sing "Ye Olde Ballad Of Something Or Other," that I just posted. Believe it or not, I was thinking of you as I posted this song (what a chore). The song sings very well, and I would hope that I have FINALLY given you a song you've not known before. CHEERS, Bob |
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02 Feb 02 - 02:43 PM (#640781) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Joe_F Sandy: Somehow I had the same suspicion %^). A rhyme for "more" is not hard to come up with -- or the line may simply have an internal rhyme, as most of the 3rd lines do. I guess that Sandy wasn't you, or you'd tell us for sure. |
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02 Feb 02 - 03:06 PM (#640795) Subject: Appleknocker From: Abby Sale Joe F: ???. No, it's there. Honest! THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN. Since no tune is indicated, I sing it basically to the BRCM chorus. That seems right & as intended. There's an interesting line in the penultimate verse, And he called me his jocker. Note that generally, the bum is the "jocker." Perhaps a pet name for the boy or perhaps implying a different position than missionary. |
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02 Feb 02 - 03:33 PM (#640813) Subject: Tramp, Hobo, Bum From: Abby Sale Long as there's a few people that know these things...here's a question I admit is about as silly as the definition of "folk music." That is, the distinction between "Tramp, Hobo, Bum." The usual distinctions I read differ from what I was taught by several practitioners in 1958 during the very brief period I wandered & rode freights & enjoyed unorthodox hospitality. They differ as to readiness to travel, readiness to work, taste for jungles and/or towns (and/or missions) and tendency to "bum" money. As I say, it doesn't really matter but a while back I actually considered the text to "THE TRAMP" by Joe Hill, another great traveller and observer of the ways of the Road. In this bitter but very singable song, Hill uses all three terms interchangable in reference to himself (ie, the singer.) Tramp Is there any meaning to thin, do you think? |
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02 Feb 02 - 10:05 PM (#641063) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Joe_F Abby: Yes, that one has the *idea*, but it doesn't have the actual stanza quoted by Lomax. The text supplied by Sandy Paton does, except for an obvious bowdlerization. We still don't know what that dashed line was. |
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02 Feb 02 - 11:58 PM (#641108) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Sandy Paton My conjectures are all quite obscene, although there is nothing in the song prior to that line that is even mildly obscene. Still, a sudden departure from propriety would be dramatic and have a startling effect. I wonder if Ed Cray has the answer for us in his files. I have a photocopy of all of the late Sam Eskin's papers, but I've never worked my way through them completely. Perhaps I should do so to find what is there that came from Haywire Mac. You're absolutely right, Bob. I've never seen nor heard the song before, and thought I might just sit down and learn it as soon as I can find some free time. Thanks for sharing it with us! Sandy
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03 Feb 02 - 11:53 AM (#641316) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Abby Sale That would seem to be a bowdlerized version of "The Bastard King of England". Or maybe the classic "King of the Cannibal Islands." For some reason I can't locate a text of it right now. I can't remember if it's really bawdy or just offensive. But it was widely known and parodized in the English-speaking world. |
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03 Feb 02 - 12:34 PM (#641337) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Abby Sale Sorry, no it's just the title that's similar. But I hadn't realized that "King of the Cannibal Islands" went back to 1830 or earlier. But I don't think I'll learn it... |
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03 Feb 02 - 01:16 PM (#641369) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman The concept of "political correctness" has sure ruined a lot of folksongs from a different era. Bob |
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03 Feb 02 - 04:25 PM (#641465) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman This is going to be a long posting. I have the most amazing files. I only wish they were in better order so I had a clue as to what they contain! Here is some information about "Haywire Mac" I just found. These are notes that came with a Folkways record album, No. FD 5272. I have never heard the album, but these notes are amazing. They were written by Sam Erskin. I'm going to quote from the notes. I will edit them a bit: "Yes, I am the old-time Victor recorder- and I'll answer your last question first ....... Giving a complete list of my Victor platters is beyond me. If you can dig up a 1928 Victor catalog you'll get the dope. At one time I had something like thirty sides listed. At the time I recorded there was only one collection of cowboy songs in existence - COWBOY SONGS AND FRONTIER BALLADS - by John Lomax. Said book had only one or two tunes in it - Lomax was apparently interested only in the lyrics. I made the first waxing of such songs as RED RIVER VALLEY, JESSE JAMES, CHISHOLM TRAIL, WHEN THE WORKS ALL DONE THIS FALL, COWBOY'S LAMENT, BURY ME NOT ON THE LONE PRAIRIE, TRAIL TO MEXICO, and many others. I had plunked my guitar and warbled my ditties for many years in cowtowns and mining camps from Bisbee to Nome and I added to my repertoire whenever possible. In April 1925, I got my big break. I was handed a whole hour on radio K-F-R-C, San Francisco, Monday through Saturday. The program was aimed at children and its immediate success surprised the hell out of me and everyone else. There never was a kid that didn't like cowboys and Indians and the daddies of my youthful audience had nearly all knocked around this western country in their own youthful days. Some Indian friends dropped by occasionally and sang their own songs to the thump of a knuckle drum. There was Tall Pine, a Sioux from the movie lots, Joe Longfeather, a tall handsome Blackfoot who was selling automobiles, Silver Cloud, a Laguna and a copper smith in the Sante Fe railroad shops and Evening Thunder, a Pima who was a pretty good middleweight pugilist. I had written a few hobo songs in my rambling days and radio listeners liked them too. I was signed by Victor in 1927 and was under contract for four years. Well - maybe you remember what things were like in 1931. All the phono companies quit recording and drew on their "backlogs" for a couple of years. Now for the autobiog you asked for. Born in Knoxville, Tenn., October 8th, 1882. Was a boy "soprano" in the choir of St. John's Episcopal church until his voice changed. Ran away from home to Gentry Bros. Dog and Pony Show - at age 14. When the season ended, I hoboed to New Orleans. Was lucky enough to meet Captain and owner of a small stern-wheeler steamer that was laid up for the Winter. The old boy was glad to have a trustworthy person to leave aboard when he stepped ashore to catch up with his drinking. I got comfortable quarters and most of my meals. One night I edged into a waterfront saloon where the crew of a British steamer were filling themselves with beer and the evening with song - a good old custom that still survives among the Limeys. Someone called on me for a song and I obliged. I scored a hit. I sang, it seemed, for hours. I'll never know how I got back to the boat, but in the morning I shook something like three bucks in nickles, dimes, and quarters out of my pockets. I had made a discovery that shaped my life. No one who can sing need ever go hungry. When I hit the road again in the Spring I faced the world with confidence, movies, jukeboxes, radio, and TV were far in the future, and even a ragged kid, singing without accompaniment could pick up the price of a bed and breakfast in almost any saloon, anywhere. Came the war with Spain. I latched onto a troop train bound for Chickamauga Park, near Chattanooga, Tenn. Hired by a hustling circulation manager, I built up a newspaper route and, as I ate at army chow lines and slept in the hay at the supply base I had no expenses and I prospered. Army teamsters and packers were civilian employees in the Army of that day. I was fascinated by the packers, a bunch of tough, competent westerners, and I hung out with them until I was a pretty good hand myself. It was claimed that Army chow killed hundreds of soldiers that summer but I thrived on it. And in the autumn of 1898, I was hired as a full-fledged buck packer for the quartermaster corps and shipped to the Philippines. For two years I helped freight ammunition and rations to the troops beyond the reach of the wagon trains. The going was rugged at times; we were frequently under fire and we carried Colt 45's for defense. But we figured that we were far better off than the soldiers; we always ate and we drew fifty bucks a month instead of the $15.60 of the buck private." .... I'll stop quoting here. What an amazing man and life! CHEERS, Bob Nelson |
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03 Feb 02 - 06:10 PM (#641536) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Abby Sale Bob, Yes, those are from the album notes. You can still buy the album from Folkways, you know. |
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09 Feb 02 - 02:29 PM (#646102) Subject: Being streamed now. From: Abby Sale Am currently listening to Utah Phillips' "Loafer's Glory" (rebroadcast) on KGNU - Clicky He mentions a bit of collecting by "the wonderful Chicago folksinger, Art Thiem." And is now playing the bit Art taped from an old hobo, Paul Durst. He's travelled with Joe Hill & lots of stuff. Plus Durst singing intercut with Cisco & others on the same songs. Great!
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09 Feb 02 - 02:53 PM (#646110) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman Abby Sale ... thanks for posting this. Even as I write this thankyou, I'm listening to the show. I don't have a clue how it works, but it damn well works. By the way, I learned this morning that Bruce will be in Seattle on the 17th. CHEERS, Bob |
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27 May 02 - 08:45 PM (#718469) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Joe Offer I think this thread is worth another look.... |
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27 May 02 - 11:26 PM (#718527) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Art Thieme Abby, I thought Utah did a wonderful job with that old interview I did with Paul Durst. He made a great radio show from the snipets I could save from my original deterriorated reel-to-reel tapes. I've talked about Paul quite a lot in this forum. He was a big part of the romance I had with land and travelling and soaking up things folk. I was 20 years old when I taped his tales on December 8, 1961 in the back room of Pete Leibundguth's old music shop on 57th Street in Chicago. I had no idea what to ask him then-----but I knew he had an important story to tell. Flatboating on the Mississippi from St.Paul to New Orleans before there were any locks & dams on the upper river. Shipping out with Joe Hill on a steamer to Hawaii------Being part of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show-----Being at the Ludlow Massacre----being asleep under the boardwalk when the bomb went off at the Haymarket Riot in Chicago. He remembered the Wobblys breaking away from the Socialist Labor Party way back in 1905 !! Said he'd told 'em not to do it. "To fight with two arms is better than to fight with one arm."---------Whew, I'm truly glad those old tapes are making the rounds here at this late date. Paul was born in 1868. When I knew him he was 93. Sorry for the thread creep folks---but Abby, I'm glad you heard that show and were some moved by those old tapes.---------Gettin' back to Haywire Mac, I did his version of "Jerry Go And Oil That Car" on my 1998 CD. Art Thieme |
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28 May 02 - 05:14 AM (#718623) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman I had an interesting thought recently about the song "Ye Olde Ballad Of Something Or Other," the parody of Abdul Abulbul Amir that Haywire wrote. I've searched everywhere that I can think of and yet I find nothing in print or on record regarding this song. As I mentioned above, I learned it from Bill Higley (Willi Waw Willy) in 1950. Would it be possible that I am the LAST PERSON to know this song? That's a very scary thought. What would happen to this song if it had died with me? I'd love to hear from anyone else that knows this song! CHEERS, Bob(deckman)Nelson |
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28 May 02 - 08:53 PM (#719138) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Jon Bartlett Does anyone have anything to say about a song which starts: "Way over there in Europe, they're havin' lots of fun/Their highways and their big war debts have got them on the run/..." with a chorus that runs: Fifty years from now, fifty years from now/We'll be down where they can't reach us with a plough/Oh, it's hard on some beginners, to do without their dinners/ But it won't matter a helluva lot, fifty years from now." I had heard that this was a Haywire Mac song - is it? |
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28 May 02 - 09:31 PM (#719156) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Abby Sale Art, your 20-year-old self is to be congratulated for fine good instincts, then. I hope I'm that smart when I get to be that old. But, yes, I was moved by it. |
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28 May 02 - 09:33 PM (#719159) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Abby Sale Art, your 20-year-old self is to be congratulated for fine good instincts, then. I hope I'm that smart when I get to be that old. But, yes, I was moved by it. |
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28 May 02 - 09:57 PM (#719167) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Mark Ross That is a Haywire MAc tune FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW from is last commercial recording session in '31. It's been reissued on a CD(?), on Rounder I think, called RICH MAN POOR MAN. Mark Ross |
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28 May 02 - 11:52 PM (#719228) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman Jon ... vaguely familiar! I'll do some digging. Bob |
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22 Jun 08 - 08:47 PM (#2372211) Subject: Lyr Add: FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW (Harry McClintock) From: Jon Bartlett Found it! Harvester elves, here is FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW By "Mac" Harry McClintock and Sterling Sherwin, 1931 Now over there in Europe they're having lots of fun Their taxes and their big war debts have got them on the run We have to lend them money, just to keep them on their feet While a million good Americans are sleeping in the street Our international bankers are busy night and day They're figuring all the ways and means to give our dough away Our working men are unemployed; they're raising quite a row Prosperity's around the corner, fifty years from now. Chorus Fifty years from now, fifty years from now Just tell the grocery man you'll pay him fifty years from now When the landlord and the gasman come with both hands full of bills Just point towards the west and say there's gold in them thar hills. And fifty years from now, fifty years from now We will find a way to pay our bills somehow Oh, the situation's funny, we've lent Europe all our money And they won't be able to pay to back till fifty years from now. Our domestic situation is certainly hard to beat We have to go round hungry 'cause we've raised too much to eat We cannot ride our railroads 'cause we haven't got the fare And we've piled up stacks of clothing till we've nothing much to wear. They'll throw you in the hoosegow if you steal a loaf of bread But the gangsters fill our cities full of powder smoke and lead. We'd like to find the answer, but it seems we don't know how. We probably come out all right in fifty years from now. Chorus II Fifty years from now, fifty years from now Oh everything will be so lovely fifty years from now. In the meantime all you have to do is stand around and grin And do your starving gracefully or the cops will run you in. It's really quite the style to take it with a smile It's supposed to help a hungry man somehow. Though it's hard on some beginners when they do without their dinners Just think of their nice trim waistlines in fifty years from now. And now the Europeans will not starve any more And so to die off quickly they are spoiling for a war. Their building warships daily and their getting trim and fit And their great big standing armies never get a chance to sit. And while they're getting warlike our country fights for peace While gangsters, yeggs and robbers are a-spanking our police. Oh when the European nations start their war I vow we'll grab our guns and help 'em out in fifty years from now. Chorus III Fifty years from now, fifty years from now We won't remember a thing about it fifty years from now. We'll be out in the marble orchard where the tombstones are in bloom Underneath the daisies there is always lots of room, And fifty years from now, fifty years from now We'll be down where they can't reach us with a plow. And among the saints and sinners and the losers and the winners It won't matter a heck of a lot in fifty years from now. I've got the sheet music around somewhere. Jon Bartlett |
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22 Jun 08 - 11:22 PM (#2372243) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: dick greenhaus As far as I can tell, there are two CDs from McClintock currently available---the Folkways one and one on the BACM label. Both available from CAMSCO. Of course. |
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05 Sep 10 - 02:49 PM (#2980509) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,- Dean - I'm looking for the lyrics to and possibly an mp3 download of Mac McClintocks version of Sweet Violets. Can someone direct me to a source? Thanx, - Dean - |
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05 Sep 10 - 03:51 PM (#2980547) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Stringsinger I'm probably the only person on this thread or on Mudcat that actually met Haywire Mac when i visited him in San Pedro, California. He was extremely likeable and a great personality. He described himself as "old railroad boomer" which meant he partook of the privilege of hopping freights and not getting thrown off by the bulls, most of them who he knew personally. He had a radio show in Chicago that I used to hear. The day I visited him, he took us to the bandshell in the park in San Pedro to hear a Mexican Tipeca band with guitars, mandolins and plucked psaltery. He was happily married at the time. |
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06 Sep 10 - 08:19 AM (#2980870) Subject: RE: Haywire Mac Songs From: Deckman WOW ... I was surprised, and delighted, to find this thread active again. I saw the title and was interested ... imagine my surprise when I found out that I was the one who started it 8 and a half years ago. bob(deckman)nelson |
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30 Mar 11 - 11:08 PM (#3125289) Subject: RE: ADD: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,Gerald Baker I used to play this record, on a wind-up Victrola, in the early 1940s. Some people I knew had parts of it memorized. |
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27 Feb 12 - 08:35 AM (#3313990) Subject: RE: ADD: Haywire Mac Songs From: GUEST,OfficialArmonist "The punk rolled up his big blue eyes And said to the jocker, `Sandy, I've hiked and hiked and wandered, too, But I ain't seen any candy. I've hiked and hiked till my feet are sore, I'll be God-damned if I hike any more, To be buggered sore like a hobo's whore In the Big Rock Candy Mountains." |
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27 Feb 24 - 10:03 PM (#4198190) Subject: Lyr Add: THE BUM SONG (Harry McClintock) From: Jim Dixon I believe this is the song Coyote Breath quoted from, and referred to as “Shovelin’ Iron Ore” back on 28 Jan 02. THE BUM SONG As recorded by Harry McClintock (as “MAC”) on Victor 21343-A, 1928. [Listen at the Internet Archive.] Come all you jolly jokers and listen while I hum A story I'll relate to you of the great American bum. From the east to west, the north to south, like a swarm of bees they come. They sleep in the dirt and wear a shirt that's dirty and full of crumbs. Oh, it's early in the morning and the dew is off the ground. The bum arises from his nest and gazes all around. From the boxcar and the haystack he gazes ev'rywhere. He never turns back upon his tracks until he gets a square. I beat my way from Frisco Bay to the rockbound coast of Maine, To Canada and Mexico, then wandered back again. I've met town clowns and harnessed bulls as tough as a cop could be, And I've been in ev'ry calaboose in this land of liberty. I've topped the spruce and worked the sluice and taken a turn at the plough. I've searched for gold in the rain and cold and worked on a river scow. I've dug the clam and built the dam and packed the elusive prune. But my troubles pale when I hit the trail a-packin' my old balloon. Oh, standing in the railroad yards a-waitin' for a train, Waitin' for a westbound freight, but think it's all in vain. Goin' east, they're loaded; goin' west, sealed tight. I think we'll have to get aboard the fast express tonight. Oh, lady, would you be kind enough to give me something to eat? A piece of bread and butter and a ten foot slice of meat. A piece of pie or custard to tickle me appetite, But really I'm so hungry, I don't know where to sleep tonight. SPOKEN: BUM: Good morning, mum. LADY: Good morning, bum. BUM: I just got in. LADY: Yes, well, you can just get out again. BUM: But lady, I'm travellin'. LADY: Well, keep right on travellin', Who's keepin' ya? BUM: Honest, mum, I don't know where me next meal is comin'. LADY: And did ya think this was an information bureau? BUM: Lady, haven't you a bite to eat in the house? LADY: I have that, and a six foot Irishman comin' home at five o'clock to eat it. On your way now. BUM: All right. Goodbye, mum. LADY: Goodbye, bum. Oh, sleeping against the station, tra-la-la-la-la-lation, That's our recommendation, hurrah-harree-harrum! For we are three bums, three jolly old bums; we live like royal Turks. We have good luck in bummin' our chuck and we never bother to work. I met a man the other day I never had met before. He asked me if I wanted a job shovellin' iron ore. I asked him what the wages were and he said, "Ten cents a ton." I said, "Old fella, go chase yourself; I'd rather be on the bum." Oh, sleeping in the pokies, oggie-oggie-oggies, Smokin' snipes and stogies, hurrah-harree-harrum! For we are three bums, three jolly old bums; we live like royal Turks. We have good luck in bummin' our chuck; God bless the man that works. |
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28 Feb 24 - 02:05 PM (#4198231) Subject: Lyr Add: THE BUM SONG NO 2 (Harry McClintock) From: Jim Dixon And we might as well add its sequel: THE BUM SONG, NO. 2 As recorded by Harry McClintock (as "MAC") Victor 21704, 1928. [Listen at the Internet Archive.] Come all you jolly jokers an' listen while I hum. I’ve got some more to tell you of the great American bum. On the highways and the railroad tracks, you’ll find them everywhere. They’re shootin’ snipes; they’re smokin’ pipes; they’re bummin’ for a square. Oh, some folks like their high-class grub, with lots of service, too, But give me a shady jungle and a can of mulligan stew. There’s lots of sky and sunshine wherever I chance to roam, But how are you gonna see them if you always stay at home? Oh, travelin’ down the highway, gonna be gone so long; If you don’t think I’m goin’, just count the days I’m gone. Oh, once I met John Farmer; he stopped me on my way. He says: “I’ve got some potaters, and I want them dug today.” “I can’t dig no potaters, because I’m gettin’ fat; Go hire the guy that planted them, ’cause he knows where they’re at!” Oh, leave the work to the other guys, to honest workin’ men, But I don’t want to dig no spuds; I’m on the bum again. While I was sleeping in the shade, to pass the time away, A man came up and asked me to help him pitch some hay. He said his land was rollin’; I said: "Now, if that’s true, Just roll it here to this shady spot, and I’ll see what I can do!” Oh, sleeping among the daisies after hikin’ all the day, Some folks like a feather bed, but give me the new-mown hay. SPOKEN: BUM: Good mornin’, mum. LADY: Good mornin’, bum. BUM: I was just passin’ by. LADY: Well, why didn’t you keep on passin’ by? BUM: I walked twenty miles without a bite to eat. LADY: Well, walk twenty more and hang up a record(?). BUM: But listen, lady: my wife hasn’t seen my face in ten years. LADY: Did you ever try gettin’ a shave? BUM: Well, mum, I have a button here: could you sew a shirt on it for me? LADY: Where’s that broom? Out o’ here! On yer way! BUM: I—I’m goin’; goodbye, mum. LADY: Goodbye, bum. Oh, my clothes are gettin’ ragged; my shoes are gettin’ thin. But what do I care? I get the air; I’m on the bum again. The weather’s gettin’ chilly and soon we’ll all be froze. I’ve got to go to a sunny state where the weather fits me clothes. Oh, waitin’ at the water-tank for a freight train passin’ by, And if she doesn’t stop here, I’ll catch her on the fly. I hear a whistle blowin’ and yonder comes a train. I’ll see you in California; I’m on the bum again! |