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10 Nov 02 - 11:24 AM (#822678) Subject: Lyr Add: CAT'S GOT THE MEASLES From: GUEST,Richie The Cat's Got The Measles And The Dog's Got The Whooping Cough Jerry Jordan; Recording Supertone (Sears) 9407; 1929 I've been trying to transcribe this song from Honkingduck; Can anyone help me finish the lyrics? Here's a link: http://honkingduck.com/mc/listen/jerry-jordan/cats-got-measles-and-dogs-got-whooping-cough Jerry Jordan: Recording Supertone (Sears) 9407 Chorus: The cat's got the measles and the dog's got the whooping cough doggone The cat's got the measles, dog's got the whooping cough, Doggone then let a woman his boss, doggone my time. Thought I heard a rock indeed down in the ground, doggone Thought I heard a rock indeed down in the ground, It musta been the devil that chained my good gal down. (instrumental) I ain't good lookin' and my teeth don't shine like pearls, doggone I ain't good lookin' and my teeth don't shine like pearls But I got what it takes to carry me through this (? ) world The cat's got the measles and the dog's got the whooping cough doggone The cat's got the measles, and dog's got the whooping cough, Doggone let a woman his boss, doggone my time. (instrumental) I ain't no devil just born in the lion's den, doggone I ain't no devil just born in the lion's den And the (?) takin' women from the monkey men The men don't like me just because I keep my side doggone The men don't like me just because I keep my side But the women cryin' papa they don't want to be my bride. The cat's got the measles and the dog's got the whooping cough doggone The cat's got the measles, dog's got the whooping cough, Doggone then let a woman his boss, doggone my time. (instrumental) -Richie |
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10 Nov 02 - 06:07 PM (#822906) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: Sonnet Our cat's no hair on, no hair on, no hair on, Our cat's no hair on, so come and have a look. And if you don't believe me, believe me, believe me, If you don't believe me, then come and have a look. I've got a pimple, a gum-boil, a belly-ache, I've got a pimple; a pimple on me bum. And if you don't believe me, believe me, believe me, If you don't believe me, then come and have a look. Learnt at my granny's knee, Guest, Richie,:-) - is this anything to do with your song? Jay |
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10 Nov 02 - 07:29 PM (#822951) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: GUEST,Richie Jay- You didn't fix the lyrics to the song but it's interesting to me that the song you posted is possibly related to the Keel Row songs. Here's a bit: The cat caught the measles, the measles, the measles, The cat caught the measles, the measles caught the cat. I was wondering myself about that connection. Thanks for sharing your song with us. If you'd like more info about "Keel Row" songs let me know. Or perhaps someone else can comment. -Richie |
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10 Nov 02 - 08:08 PM (#822972) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: 12-stringer Chorus: "Doggone a man let a woman be his boss." I hear the next verse as "Thought I heard a rockin' deep down in the ground (x2) It musta been the devil a-chainin' my good gal down." next ? line is "to carry me through this cock-eyed world." next ? is "my chief oc'pation's takin' women from the monkey men." Actual personnel are Walter "Kid" Smith, vocal, with Posey Rorer on fiddle and Norman Woodlieff on guitar (Richmond, IN, 20 March 1929, mx 14943, released on Gennett 6825 plus a couple of pseudonymous cheap label reissues on Champion and Supertone, the latter credited to "Jerry Jordan"). |
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10 Nov 02 - 09:05 PM (#822994) Subject: Lyr Add: THE CAT'S GOT THE MEASLES AND THE DOG... From: GUEST,Richie Thanks 12-Stringer, I guess since you play 12 strings you must have 4 ears! Here are the corrections: THE CAT'S GOT THE MEASLES AND THE DOG'S GOT THE WHOOPING COUGH The cat's got the measles and the dog got the whooping cough, doggone. The cat's got the measles and the dog got the whooping cough. Doggone a man let a woman be his boss, doggone my time. Thought I heard a rockin' deep down in the ground, doggone. Thought I heard a rockin' deep down in the ground. It musta been the devil a-chainin' my good gal down, doggone my time. (Instrumental) I ain't good lookin' and my teeth don't shine like pearl, doggone. I ain't good lookin' and my teeth don't shine like pearl, But I got what it takes to carry me through this cock-eyed world, doggone my time. The cat's got the measles and the dog got the whooping cough, doggone. The cat's got the measles and the dog got the whooping cough. Doggone a man let a woman be his boss, doggone my time. (Instrumental) I ain't no devil, just born in the lion's den, doggone. I ain't no devil, just born in the lion's den, An' my chief oc'pation's takin' women from the monkey men, doggone my time. The men don't like me just because I keep my side, doggone. The men don't like me just because I keep my side, But the women cryin' papa, they don't want to be my bride, doggone my time. (Instrumental) The cat's got the measles and the dog got the whooping cough, doggone. The cat's got the measles and the dog got the whooping cough. Doggone a man let a woman be his boss, doggone my time. (Instrumental) Walter "Kid" Smith, vocal, with Posey Rorer on fiddle and Norman Woodlieff on guitar (Richmond, IN, 20 March 1929, mx 14943, released on Gennett 6825 plus a couple of pseudonymous cheap label reissues on Champion and Supertone, the latter credited to "Jerry Jordan" on Supertone (Sears) 9407. -Richie |
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11 Nov 02 - 04:57 AM (#823167) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: Sonnet Richie; yes, the tune to the lyrics I supplied is the Keel Row. Jay |
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11 Nov 02 - 10:12 AM (#823323) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: GUEST,Richie Jay- Aside from "Keel Row" being a popular fiddle and fife tune (see: Bayard) in the Pennsylvania (northeast US) region, there might be a connection to bluegrass music/old-time music through the "Cat's got the measles" ditty that is sometimes sung as the refrain. The old-time/jazz song "Cat's Got the Measles and the Dog's Got the Whoopin' Cough" possibly borrowed the material from the lyrics/structure of "Keel Row" though they are different songs. Could an English reel from 1774 be the inspiration for some of the lyrics to an American blues/jazz tune from 1924 (banjoist Papa Charlie Jackson)? -Richie |
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13 Nov 02 - 01:35 AM (#824910) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: GUEST,Steve Wise I was interested in the possible link to the Keel Row. When I heard this song it reminded me very strongly of Blind Lemon Jefferson's Bad Luck Blues: I wanna go home but I aint got sufficient clothes, doggone my bad luck soul Wanna go home but I ain't got sufficient clothes Sold my clothes and I wanna go home but I ain't got sufficient clothes The tune is very similar. The lyrics are different except for the 'doggone my bad luck soul' which is repeated in every verse. Blind Lemon recorded this in 1926 so it would have been around when Charlie Jackson recorded his song Steve Wise steve@suits-you-sir.freeserve.co.uk |
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13 Nov 02 - 09:41 AM (#825144) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: GUEST,Richie Here's some info on Keel Row from my web-site:http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/master/keelrow5.html -Richie |
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15 Mar 11 - 12:57 AM (#3113927) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: GUEST,Pete NZ Pretty sure it was my scottish gran who sang us this little ditty when we were small: Ive got a toothache, a gumboil, a bellyache Pains on my inside and a dimple on my chin |
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15 Mar 11 - 01:49 AM (#3113943) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: Gweltas A kid's song from where I grew up in the South West of Ireland is almost identical to the previous post from Guest,Pete NZ. The cat's got a toothache, a gumboil, a head-y-ache, A pain on his left side, And a pimple on his chin ! |
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15 Mar 11 - 07:28 AM (#3114047) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: GUEST,Bob Coltman Yes, what Walter Smith (Jerry Jordan is a pseudonym) is singing can sound a bit like "ain't no devil," but it's really I ain't no Daniel, just borned in the lion's den, doggone ... The rest as given by Richie seems accurate to me. Bob |
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16 Mar 11 - 02:36 PM (#3115115) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles From: Jim Dixon I listened to the recording at Honking Duck. I agree that it would make sense to sing "Daniel" but it sure sounds like "devil" to me. |
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16 Mar 11 - 03:36 PM (#3115162) Subject: Lyr Add: THE CAT'S GOT THE MEASLES (C Jackson) From: Jim Dixon The Online 78-rpm Discography Project says Papa Charlie Jackson's recording of THE CAT'S GOT THE MEASLES was earlier. (Paramount 12259-A, recorded Jan. 1925). Authorship was credited to "Murphy-Smiley." I don't know who Murphy and Smiley were; the recording seems to be a one-man performance, Jackson accompanying himself on the banjo. By the way, I learned that Jackson's instrument was actually a "hybrid banjo-guitar," with 6 strings tuned like a guitar, but with a banjo body. YouTube has two copies of the recording: This copy is cleaner, evidently from a Document CD. This copy has more hiss, but shows the original record label. Here's my transcription: [There is one word or phrase in verse 3 that stumps me. "Big-iron" is just a guess.] CAT'S GOT THE MEASLES As sung by Papa Charlie Jackson, 1925 1. Now the cat's got the measles. The dog got the whoopin' cough, doggone my soul, Lord, Lord. The cat's got the measles. The dog got the whoopin' cough. Doggone a man let a woman be his boss, doggone my soul. 2. Now I ain't no devil, born in the lion's den, doggone my soul, Lord, Lord. I ain't no devil, born in the lion's den, But my chief occupation's takin' women from their monkey men, doggone my soul. 3. Says I ain't good lookin'. My teeth don't shine like pearl, doggone my soul, Lord, Lord. I ain't good lookin'. My teeth don't shine like pearl, But I've got something, babe, to carry me through this big-iron(?) world, doggone my soul. 4. Now I think I heard a rumblin' deep down in the ground, doggone my soul, Lord, Lord. I think I heard a rumblin' deep down in the ground. Well, it must 'a' been the devil chainin' my good gal down, doggone my soul. 5. Now the men don't like me just because I speaks my mind, doggone my soul, Lord, Lord. The men don't like me just because I speak my mind, But the women cry papa, just because I take my time, doggone my soul. 6. Now the cat's got the measles. The dog got the whoopin' cough, doggone my soul, Lord, Lord. The cat's got the measles. The dog got the whoopin' cough. Doggone a man let a woman be his boss, doggone my soul. |
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16 Mar 11 - 07:02 PM (#3115269) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles (Walter Smith) From: Stewie Here's a link to Lyle Lofgren's short piece on this in his 'Remembering the Old Songs'. Cat's got the measles. --Stewie. |
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04 Jul 18 - 08:18 PM (#3935329) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles (Walter Smith) From: GUEST,Anonymous My great grandmother remembers it as The cats got a toothache a gum boil a belly ache the cats got a toothache with a pimple on ots bum |
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05 Jul 18 - 02:49 AM (#3935356) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cat's Got the Measles (Walter Smith) From: BobL Cat's got no hair on, no hair on, no hair on, The cat's got no hair on, he has to wear a wig. |