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16 Jul 02 - 02:17 AM (#748714) Subject: The Bosses' Songbook From: musicmick Does anyone remember the Bosses Songbook, that spoof of the People's Songbook that was created in the fifties by New York radical folksingers like Roy Berkeley and Dave VanRonk? Is it still in print? I remember some of the songs but I would love to have them all. Mike Miller |
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16 Jul 02 - 02:31 AM (#748719) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Mark Clark I remember it but I've never owned a copy. Haven't even seen one since back in those days. Still, I think it's been discussed here and a thread search may even locate someone who has a copy. - Mark
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16 Jul 02 - 06:16 AM (#748758) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Suffet I have a copy, but it's buried somewhere on a bookcase shelf along with a squillion jillion tons of other stuff I haven't looked at in years. I do remember one song that begins... They handed him his orders at Party headquarters, Saying, "Pete, you're way behind the times. This is not '38, it's 1947, There's been a change in the Party line." Pretty nasty stuff, but it had a lot of us laughing so hard we nearly peed in our collective pants. DvR was easily the funniest Trotskyite ever. Of course my friends who spent time hiding out in Mexico from Comintern thugs tell me that old Leon himself was quite a party animal! Shee-it! It looks like I'm in for a health dose of line rectification at the next criticism self-criticism meeting. --- Steve |
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16 Jul 02 - 10:03 PM (#749401) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Coyote Breath Yas, yas, yas! what a great little book ('songs to stifle the flames of discontent') Lord, I HAD a copy. now where is it? If anyone can come up with a source PLEASE PM me! My favorite (which I still play from time to time) was "Slaves of Wall Street". I've convinced my girlfriend that it is an old union song! hee hee hee CB |
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16 Jul 02 - 11:07 PM (#749423) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Art Thieme Tom, I had one too. Just told Carol, who thought I still had it, that it vanished maybe 25 years ago. Well, what's time to a pig?? ;-) Art Thieme |
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16 Jul 02 - 11:14 PM (#749426) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: harpgirl "what's dynamite dope to the pope or religion to a brown ground hog?" (oops, sorry for that thread creep) |
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17 Jul 02 - 05:36 PM (#749917) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Burke Libraries with Item: "The Bosses' songbook :
NY NEW YORK UNIV |
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17 Jul 02 - 06:32 PM (#749958) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Hollowfox Interlibrary loan, here I come! |
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17 Jul 02 - 06:50 PM (#749972) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Joe_F I have a copy, which I bought in California in 1958. Unfortunately, I have no scanner. It names no names. I am delighted to learn that Dave Van Ronk was involved in it. Rest in peace. |
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17 Jul 02 - 10:02 PM (#750086) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: musicmick Greetings to all my fellow aging leftists. I will be checking out those library sites and reporting them to the authorities, you may be sure. Do you remember that talking blues that went.... Listen here buddy, what's this I see I see you're makin' more than me It's plain to see we need a change Let's look around and see what we can arrange We need a union How 'bout thge Soviet Union? Wasn't it great when we were able to laugh at ourselves? |
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18 Jun 07 - 01:30 PM (#2080109) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: GUEST,Alexis Sorry for the belated addition -- found this thread while looking for an image of the cover. The IWW has copies of the Bosses' Songbook, which can be ordered by writing books@iww.org. |
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18 Jun 07 - 09:38 PM (#2080600) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Charley Noble And somewhere in my bookshelf is a long neglected copy. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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18 Jun 07 - 10:07 PM (#2080644) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Joe_F By now I have a scanner & copier. |
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13 Aug 08 - 01:04 PM (#2412626) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Joe Offer Somebody was asking about this book in another thread. Can anybody post at least the table of contents? -Joe- |
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13 Aug 08 - 02:38 PM (#2412725) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Mark Ross THE BOSSES SONGBOOK A collection of modern political songs of satire collected and edited by Dave Van Ronk and Richard Ellington Second edition - 1959 Price: 50 cents Published by Richard Ellington PO Box 104 Cooper Station New York 3, N.Y. Copyright 1959 by Richard Ellington TWO POEMS BOSSES LIFEGUARD MODERN UNION MAID SONG OF THE SOUTH HOLD THE LINE STALINGRAD, ODESSA AND VLADIVOSTOK RIBALD REBERLS SONG BALLAD OF A PARTY FOLKSINGER RADICAL WHIFFENPOOF SONG LUBYANKA PRISON WHICH SIDE ARE WE ON FINK'S SONG JESUS CHRIST TWELVE DAYS OF MARXMAS BROTHERHOOD SONG THE GOOD OLD PARTY LINE LEFT-WING NEGRO'S SONG INCOMPLETE CAPITALIST WAR SONG THIS LAND IS THEIR LAND WHEN JOHNNY COMES HOBBLING HOME AGAIN BOMB DIRGE DIE GEDANKEN SIND FREI TALKIN' MANAGEMENT BLUES TALKIN' LITTLE ROCK TALKIN' STALIN BLUES THE RIGHT TO SUFFER BLUES NIHILIST SONG THE KOLKHOZ SONG SALVATION ARMY SONG NEW TALKIN' UNION BLUES POLITICIANS SONG HINTS FOR THE BEGINNER BASIC CHORD PATTERNS |
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13 Aug 08 - 02:53 PM (#2412743) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: katlaughing I posted links to two locations where you can buy a copy of it. |
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14 Aug 08 - 12:40 PM (#2413677) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Severn One said that the seller was temporarily away and the other linked to the same seller said it was available and took my order, so we'll see what becomes of this. I'll be tracking this order, for sure! Thanks Kat and Mark! |
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14 Aug 08 - 01:02 PM (#2413718) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: katlaughing Good luck, Severn! Here's some info I found I thought might be of interest: From Lee Hoffman's bio online HERE: One evening, Dave came by with Larry Block. While we were gabbing one of us came up with a line or two of satire on a union song. That immediately led to several satires such as The Twelve Days of Marxmas and The Fink's Song. We decided there should be a collection called The Bosses' Songbook. Dave followed up by getting together with Dick Ellington and actually producing a chapbook of the stuff we'd written that evening and some satires that had been around a while. It sold out so quickly that they developed a larger fancier second edition. and this about Dick Ellington,'s wife, from a small obit for her in 2001: She assisted Dick in the production of The Bosses' Songbook and had an illustration in it.. Not this book, but this was interesting, too, imo: Clickety. Also, there's a fellow who has put the Socialist's Song Book online. |
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14 Aug 08 - 01:09 PM (#2413731) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: dick greenhaus A much rarer issue was The Person's Songbook, from the U of Chi ca. 1949 I'd love to get my hands on a copy. |
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14 Aug 08 - 01:24 PM (#2413759) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Severn And since I'll hopefully be getting a copy of the Second Edition, "The Ballad Of Pete Seeger" will be listed instead as "The Ballad Of A Party Singer" Van Ronk talks of it in his memoir, "The Mayor Of MacDougal Street" (DeCapo Press 2006): "The Bosses' Songbook" was popular in our circle and caused a fair amount of irritation in others. I was told on good authority that Pete was thinking of suing us, and for our second printing, we changed the title......(Dick Ellington remembered this quite differently. He heard that Pete found the song funny and actually performed it a few times, and as proof presented Pete's order for three songbooks.) And thanks to Joe for starting the thread! |
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15 Aug 08 - 10:10 AM (#2414567) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: EBarnacle Thanks for the mention of Lee Hoffman. I met her at several parties at Jo and Don Meisner's and we eventually exchanged autographed books. I treasure my copy of "The truth about the Cannonball Kid." |
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30 Apr 09 - 09:51 PM (#2622325) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: GUEST,the_avb at yahoo dot com My father left me a 1959 2nd edition if anyone wants an original copy. Email me for a picture. |
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01 May 09 - 08:26 AM (#2622516) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Charley Noble Hmmmm? Charley Noble |
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22 Jan 10 - 07:52 PM (#2818991) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: GUEST,Chris Locke I found a pdf copy that can be printed from the internet. An SDS archive has been microfilmed by the University of Wisconsin library. The link is www.sds-1960s.org/documents.htm. Scroll down toward the bottom of the list and you will find The Bosses' Songbook Part 1 Part 2 (7 MB PDF files) "Songs to Stifle the Flames of Discontent." This Trotskyite-tinged parody of "The People's Songbook" is a collection of modern political songs of satire. Collected and edited by Dave Van Ronk and Richard Ellington, 1959. These songs were written and passed along by people of every conceivable political and apolitical tendency, and sometimes they don't even express the serious views of the writers themselves. Often they poke fun at the ruling classes, be they capitalist or Soviet. |
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22 Jan 10 - 10:35 PM (#2819084) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Mark Ross Chris Locke, the url couldn't be found. Mark Ross |
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22 Jan 10 - 10:36 PM (#2819085) Subject: RE: The Bosses' Songbook From: Mark Ross OK, I got it to work. Mark Ross |