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27 Jun 02 - 12:13 PM (#738250) Subject: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: GUEST,Les B. "Bully of the Town" is one of my favorite tunes, either as a fiddle tune or as a finger picked guitar piece. Its words, unfortunately, belong to the "coon song" genre so popular around 1900. A famous singer by the name of May Irwin popularized it in a stage show called "The Widow Jones." With careful editing a singable version can be lifted out of the original. In looking over the original verses I was always puzzled by one of the terms – "coonjined" - as in "..I coonjined in the front door, the coons were prancin' high, for dat levee darky I skinned my foxy eye…" I thought it must be some kind of a dance step, like the "eagle rock" in the song Titanic, but wasn't sure. Yesterday I stumbled onto a book in a second hand shop that explained that term. The book is "John Henry" by Roark Bradford, printed in 1935. It's a 225-page novel that seems to tell the story of John Henry, written in African-American dialect, and uses lyrics from a lot of folk and blues songs as part of the text. In idly flipping through it, my eye fell on a chapter headed "Coonjine" – and there it was! Coonjine was a step used by levee workers as they rolled (or in John Henry's case carried) 500-pound bales of cotton up the long springy planks from docks onto the boats. From the book – "And so John Henry got a spring in his knees and a weave in his hips, and a buck in his back… 'Jine it, you coon, jine it!' said the mate. 'Grab your cotton and jine that step!'" Now I know – and thought some of you out in cyberspace might want to know too. Or maybe not.
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27 Jun 02 - 12:54 PM (#738277) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Jim Krause This must be a different Bully of the Town than I know. Jim |
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27 Jun 02 - 12:59 PM (#738283) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: GUEST,Les B. Jim - those are very pared down and cleaned up words taken from the original. You can find the original version at the Levy sheet music site (sorry, I don't know blue clicky trick) under "Bully". (There are several, including New Bully - you want the original by May Irwin) |
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27 Jun 02 - 01:00 PM (#738284) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Mark Clark Les, That's great information. Thanks. I play the piece as a guitar instrumental but seldom sing any words. The only words I know include the line “Lookin' for the bully that shot the woman down” and I no longer rember where they're from, maybe Elizabeth Cotten, maybe Lead Belly. I looked up “Bully of the Town” in the DT but it doesn't include the word “coonjined” either. Can you give us your version of the song or as least the verse(s) that deal with coonjine? - Mark |
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27 Jun 02 - 01:08 PM (#738294) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Art Thieme "Coonjine" is the particular step (sort of a dance step) that a person carrying a heavy load like a cotton bale up a long springy plank onto a steamboat would use to keep his footing and keep from dropping his load into the river. Art Thieme |
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27 Jun 02 - 01:17 PM (#738305) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: GUEST,Les B. Mark - we were posting at the same time. See my reference above. Here's the words I sometimes sing. If you compare to the original, you'll see I edited pretty heavily.
Have you heard about that bully that's just come to town
Now I'm a Tennessee rounder, and I simply don't allow
CHORUS:
I'm a gonna take my razor, I'm a gonna cut him bad
CHORUS:
When I got through with bully, a doctor and a nurse
CHORUS:
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27 Jun 02 - 04:08 PM (#738429) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Charley Noble Nice work, Les! CAUTION: Thread Creep Ever run into any early versions of "West Indies Blues"? I've been doing some research trying to track down some more Charlston verses. Charley Noble |
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27 Jun 02 - 05:03 PM (#738456) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: GUEST,Les B. Who did that tune, it sounds vaguely familiar? |
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27 Jun 02 - 07:04 PM (#738519) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: old moose The only "Bully of the Town" That I know of is in the Leadbely legacy recordings. The coonjine word isn't in that. I'll look up the leadbelly recording numbers and post them lttle later. |
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27 Jun 02 - 07:12 PM (#738522) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Jim Krause I have some different verses to Bully of the Town likely learned from Riley Puckett
I'm lookin' for that bully, that bully can't be found I'm lookin' for that bully of the town. When I walk this levee round, round, round Now when you see me comin' raise your windows high Jim |
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27 Jun 02 - 09:13 PM (#738579) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Sorcha WOW! Jim, those are the words I am familiar with. They don't fit the fiddle tune too well, but the others do! I never heard the word "coonjined" either. Amazing what you can learn here, eh? |
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27 Jun 02 - 10:15 PM (#738629) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Art Thieme The words I used I got from Paul Clayton a long time ago...
Have you heard the tale 'bout the bully of the tow,
Well, I come across that bully just about four o'clock,
Chorus) Lookin' for that bully of the town, town, town, town,
Now that bully is dead and gone and they called for the herse,
Lookin' for that bully of the town, town, town, (might be more but that's all I used to do I think---plus the fun of finger-picking it 5 or 6 times within the song.) Art Thieme |
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27 Jun 02 - 10:16 PM (#738630) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Dicho (Frank Staplin) Put -cairo- in the DT and Forum Search, and you will find the song "Rolling Down to Cairo Town." Coonjine appears in the last verse of the Bustin version. There was discussion in a recent thread, but Art and Les B are correct in their definition. The word was used by the levee and roustabout workers on the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio Rivers; Cairo in "Little Egypt," Shawneetown and others were important loading sites. "Bully on the Town," versions sung by Negroes, are found in several collections of Negro songs. |
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27 Jun 02 - 10:21 PM (#738634) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Art Thieme Another first verse that's more like what Paul Clayton sang now that I think about it some more.:
Have you heard the latest 'bout the bully of the town, Art Thieme |
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27 Jun 02 - 10:29 PM (#738637) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Art Thieme The words I used I got from Paul Clayton a long time ago...
Have you heard the tale 'bout the bully of the tow,
Well, I come across that bully just about four o'clock,
Chorus) Lookin' for that bully of the town, town, town, town,
Now that bully is dead and gone and they called for the herse,
Lookin' for that bully of the town, town, town, (might be more but that's all I used to do I think---plus the fun of finger-picking it 5 or 6 times within the song.) Art Thieme |
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27 Jun 02 - 11:25 PM (#738652) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Louie Roy This is the version of the Bully of the town that I learned back in the 1930s and it was played by all the bands at the local barn dances,Grange halls or country schools and it fits a fiddle guitar banjo mandolin piano or voice and it is also a good dance tune. 1st Verse He thinks he is the toughest guy that ever came around>br> They've got him branded as the bully of the town.
Chorus
Well tonight I'm walking around the town
2nd verse
He walks into a juice joint and lays his money down
4th Verse
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27 Jun 02 - 11:44 PM (#738659) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Jim Krause Man, I never knew there were so many different versions of the song. That's pretty interesting. And several of 'em fit the melody Riley Puckett sang. I wonder how universal that particular melody was. It had kind of a ragtime chord progression. Maybe I'll have to work up a version and sing it on PalTalk sometime. Jim |
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28 Jun 02 - 01:33 AM (#738684) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: GUEST,Les B. This is pretty much the way I play the chords, in the key of C with walkdown runs to connect them. I usually capo up two frets so it's in D, to fit my voice. Fiddlers around here seem to play it in G because of double stop possibilities. I fiddle it in D. (C) Have you heard about that (Cb) bully that's (C)just come to town He's (A)out among the (A7) poor folks, just (F)layin' their bodies (Dm) down I'm (G)lookin' for that bully and he must be (C)found (C) Now I'm a Tennessee (Cb)rounder, and I (C)simply don't allow No (A)red-eyed river (A7)roustabout with (F)me to raise a (Dm)row I'm (G) lookin' for that bully and I'll make him (C) bow CHORUS: (C) Well I've walked this levee (G7) round, round, round Lookin' for that bully of the (C) town, town, town Well I've walked this (F)levee (Dm)round (G)Lookin' for that bully of the (C)town
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28 Jun 02 - 03:47 AM (#738713) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Nigel Parsons For the version with the word 'coonjined' goto This site and either scroll down to class 15, or go to 'edit' and 'find on this page'. This is the first time I've used Google and found only a single example of the word searched! Nigel |
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28 Jun 02 - 12:41 PM (#738920) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: GUEST,Les B. I guess the other line that has me mildly puzzled is "I was sandin' down the Mobile Buck just to cut a shine" Any idea what that means ? |
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28 Jun 02 - 02:44 PM (#738984) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Dicho (Frank Staplin) Nigel, a wonderful collection of songs at that site. It won't bookmark for me, however. The Negro version of a "Bully" song that you pointed to is more complete that others I have seen. |
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07 Sep 15 - 04:06 PM (#3736084) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: GUEST,On Personette I remember my father strumming his guitar and singing this song when I was a small child back in the 1930's. The only words I remember are; "when you see me walking round round round, when you see me with my head bowed down, when you see me walking round round round I'm looking for the bully of the town." Dad sang many songs that today would be banned, among them was "Stay In Your Own Back Yard," and one about a child flying a kite that landed in a Jewish lady's yard and being killed by her. |
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07 Sep 15 - 06:59 PM (#3736128) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: Louie Roy The only tune of the bully of the town is the same one Jim Krause posted and I learned it about 1931 and it was a very popular dance tune at that time at the farm barn dances or at the local county school barn dances. These dances were very popular because you went there to drink home made-- home brew--- rot gut moonshine and home made wine and flex your muscles and end up with a black eye bloody nose but it was the only Saturday fun we had Louie Roy |
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08 Sep 15 - 03:10 PM (#3736299) Subject: RE: 'Bully of the Town' - mystery word From: BrooklynJay A 1907 recording by May Irwin (see OP) can be heard here. WARNING: By today's standards, the lyrics would be considered offensive. Proceed at your own risk. Jay |