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15 Aug 98 - 03:33 PM (#34937) Subject: Lyr Add: ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE (Ken Hicks) From: Joe Offer ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE by Ken Hicks, published by Folk Legacy Records This is a song for all the good people All the good people who touched up my life. This is a song for all the good people People I'm thankin' my stars for tonight. This is a verse for all the good women * Who knew what I needed was something they had Food on the table, a heart that was able Able to keep me just this side of sad. This is a song for all the good fellows Who shared up my time, some good and some bad We drank in the kitchen and shared no competition Each knowing the other was a good friend to have This is a song for all the good people All the good people who touched up my life. Some helped in small ways, and some helped in hallways And some always told me you're doin' all right. This is a song I sing for my lady For my lady who puts up with me My ramblin' and roamin', my late night come-homin' She is the sunshine that flows down on me. This is a verse for the pickers and singers Whose songs and whose voices have blended with mine On the back steps and stages, for hugs and for wages, It's some kind of sharing and some kind of fine. A E D A / D A D E / A E D A / D A E A *Sandy Paton sings this line: This is a song for all the good peopleHe uses the first verse as a chorus, sung after every verse. Here are the lyrics and notes from the Folk-Legacy recording:
ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE (Ken Hicks, BMI) |
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Additional chorus vocals: Caroline Paton, Ed Trickett, Harry Tuft Ken Hicks, the "round mound of sound" from Virginia Beach, VA, is known for his humorous songs delivered amid monologues that leave one's laugh-muscles aching. But, occasionally, one catches a glimpse of the sensitive and caring person that lives within the clown. This song, a simple "thank you" written for his friends and his wife, could be a theme sono for all of those who enjoy sharing good songs and good times with good people - in other words: for all the "Golden Rings" that gather to make music in kitchens and living rooms everywhere. Many singers have added verses to this song, including loan Sprung, Bob Zentz, and Ken himself. In fact, Ken says, "It's not unusual for someone to change verses or add new ones to thank their own 'good people,' so if this is, one day, the longest song ever written, I'll be pleased as punch." This is a song for all the good people, This is a song for all the good people And this is a song for all the good fellows And this is a song I sing for my lady,
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©1992 Folk-Legacy Records, Inc. Sharon, Connecticut 06069
Source: Cathy Barton & Dave Para Website.
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15 Aug 98 - 11:36 PM (#34976) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: rich r Nice mellow song. Somewhere I have a recording of Fred Holstein of Chicago singing this. Without looking for it I can't remember if it was from a concert setting or was from the old Flea Market radio show in the 80's which was hosted by such notables as Fred himself, Jim Post, and last but not leased, Art Thieme. rich r |
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16 Aug 98 - 05:42 PM (#35042) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Roger Himler Thanks Joe, I forget about this song. I first heard Bob Zentz do it a few years back. It tingles my spine just reading it again!! God I love it when music does that. Roger in Baltimore |
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10 Jan 01 - 02:51 AM (#372031) Subject: Lyr Add: ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE (Ken Hicks, Bob Fitch From: Joe Offer I love this song, but I've always been a bit uncomfortable with the lyrics because they seem borderline sexist to me. On the New Golden Ring CD called All the Good People, Sandy Paton sings the lyrics exactly as I posted them above (and of course he does a stunning job). My friend Bob Fitch (now of Santa Cruz) wrote some different lyrics and used them at a funeral of a folkie friend in December, 1997. I can't say I'm completely in love with Bob's version, but it has some good qualities. I do like the "those who left early" verse - because I dearly loved the man it was written for. I hate Bob's "great kiddos" verse - but I have to admit it's pure Bob Fitch. -Joe Offer- ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE (Ken Hicks - adapted by Bob Fitch) This is a song for all the good people This is a verse for all the kind people This is a verse for all the great kiddos This is a verse for all my work comrades And this is a verse for those who left early This is a verse for the pickers and singers |
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10 Jan 01 - 03:08 AM (#372035) Subject: Lyr Add: ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE (Ken Hicks, others) From: Joe Offer All the Good People (Ken Hicks - adapted by Carol Holdstock, Faith Petric, and others) Chorus: This is a song for all my companions This is a song for all the good travelers This is a song for all the good singers, Some helped in small ways; some helped me always. Carol sings the chorus between each verse and at the beginning and end of the song. The words "shared what they had" in the first verse are Carol's. That last verse she sent doesn't seem right - I'll ask her about it and post corrections. She said Ken Hicks heard her sing this version and liked it better than his own. I agree. I have one verse that I made up:
-Joe Offer- |
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10 Jan 01 - 02:36 PM (#372311) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: MAG (inactive) The adapted verse above, "all my companions," is also how Fred Holstein sings/sang that verse -- he also found the original sexist. -- MA |
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10 Jan 01 - 02:59 PM (#372328) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: catspaw49 I guess I'm an old fart.........I like some of the new verses added here, but the sexist bit............. Some songs are sung by men, others by women. Sometimes we sing songs written from the other gender's point of view without changing the lyric. Sometimes we change the lyric to fit. Sometimes, as above, somebody comes up with a "unisex" version. All well and good and part of the process. HOWEVER, describing it as "sexist" bothers me as it implies, in today's vernacular, both chauvinism and slander. I don't see the intent or message of the original doing either. Spaw |
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10 Jan 01 - 04:16 PM (#372384) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: MAG (inactive) You don't have a problem with "food on the table," etc., being applied only to women??? |
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10 Jan 01 - 04:26 PM (#372387) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Joe Offer From what I would guess about the quality of Spaw's cooking, it's no wonder he expects his "wimmenfolk" to do it... [grin] -Joe Offer, a decent cook- |
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10 Jan 01 - 04:40 PM (#372397) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: mousethief If I am fed many good meals by women, but few or none by men, and I write a song thanking the wonderful people I've known, should I just not mention it? Are we so politically correct we must change our personal history to avoid offending someone? Alex |
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10 Jan 01 - 04:47 PM (#372401) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: MMario 'spaw's a good cook tho. still - considering the first couplet of that verse
"This is a verse for all the good women I'd be releaved he went with food |
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10 Jan 01 - 05:48 PM (#372445) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: MAG (inactive) Actually, it wasn't just food; that was part of my point ... |
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10 Jan 01 - 06:17 PM (#372480) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Allan C. Mess with the lyrics all you want. It couldn't hurt. This still has the potential for being among the dullest songs I have ever had the misfortune of hearing. The sentiment is lovely; but I have yet to hear a delivery that was able to overcome the endlessly repetitive tune and the clonish verses. I sincerely hope that there are those among you who have found innovative treatments for this song that somehow improve it. |
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10 Jan 01 - 06:22 PM (#372486) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: mousethief MAG, it was the heart? Sounds like he's talking about food and good conversation. Anything else I would submit is a product of the dirty mind of the listener.
JMHO, |
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10 Jan 01 - 06:27 PM (#372490) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: MAG (inactive) And how familiar are you with the groupie scene, friend??? |
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10 Jan 01 - 06:36 PM (#372497) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: mousethief You can read into it whatever you want, based, if you like, on your experience of groupies. But all it says is food and heart's ease. |
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10 Jan 01 - 06:42 PM (#372504) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: catspaw49 Well, in my home, we have a working mother and a househusband who does get easily offended by teachers and others always asking for Mom first. All points are considered. MT and MAG....have at it! Now that Allan has mentioned it, I'm inclined to agree. Spaw |
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11 Jan 01 - 02:28 PM (#372895) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Jacob B The one time I saw Bob Zentz, he added another verse to this song: This is a verse for all the other people All the other people who fucked up my life Some by invention, and some by intention And some I won't mention, because of my wife He had made a reference earlier to Gordon Bok having made up a "truly awful" verse to the song. I suspect that this was the verse he was referring to. His wife was sitting next to him on the stage when he sang the song. She grimaced at this verse. Come to think of it, she might have been the one who used the phrase "truly awful". Jacob |
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11 Jan 01 - 02:42 PM (#372905) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Joe Offer Well, I can't say whether the song is quality stuff or not. I suppose there's all sorts of things about it you could criticize, but I like it. It's easy to sing and people like to sing it; it expresses a good sentiment; and it's easy to add "custom" verses to it. Whadda ya want, Stravinsky? -Joe Offer- |
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11 Jan 01 - 08:47 PM (#373078) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Sandy Paton Listen again, Joe, to the version I sing. The "women" kitchen assignment always rubbed me a bit the wrong way, so I usually sing "people" again there, even though it repeats the opening line of the first verse. Did I decide to sing it as Ken wrote it when I recorded it? If I did, I'm sorry. I've always noticed that men friends can offer nourishing meals and sympathetic hearts, too. As for the "others" verse: I believe it was a mutual effort by Bob Zentz and Gordon Bok, ribbing Ken a bit. I think I remember them singing it for him at Old Songs, years ago. However they euphemized with "screwed up my life," eschewing the F word the Berrymans warn us about. The one verse I failed to record, and wish I had, is the "back steps and stages, for hugs and for wages," which was added by Joan Sprung. Ken Hicks loves that one. Sandy |
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12 Jan 01 - 12:34 AM (#373162) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Joe Offer Yep, Sandy - I changed the first message to reflect what you do with the verse. You also do the 'sing for my lady' verse a bit differently - This is a song I sing for my ladyAnd I like your recording very much, Sandy. For those don't know, Sandy Paton's recording of the song is on For All the Good People: A Golden Ring Reunion. It's available at Folk-Legacy Records, of course. All of the Golden Ring CD's are classics. -Joe Offer, a completely unbiased and objective reviewer-
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12 Jan 01 - 04:44 PM (#373536) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: GUEST,Arkie I heard Ken Hicks sing this at a festival in Virginia many years ago and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. Love the sentiment, love the tune, and even though the words aren't Pulitzer prize winning poetry, they get the job done in a charming sort of way. Ken also did a song about relieving a mini mart of a few things which were crowding its shelves. |
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17 Jan 01 - 10:21 PM (#376641) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: MAG (inactive) I remember the mini mart song. It's about a starving band lifting food, and vowing that after they make it, they'll pay the mini-mart back. "Good People" is a great feelgood song, and I doubt Ken Hicks minds how people customize it to taste. -- MA |
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18 Jan 01 - 11:00 AM (#376960) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Jacob B Here is a link to the mini mart song. |
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03 May 01 - 01:31 AM (#454501) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: GUEST,Jenny Fitz I enjoyed all the discussion regarding this song and I had needed the words and author, so many thanks. |
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20 Sep 02 - 07:20 PM (#788337) Subject: for all the people who touched up my lif From: glen197 Thjis song from the 70's by Ken Hicks of Eastern VA, prasises the various special people who ytouched up his life....popularized by Bob Zaentz...any body remember the exact words and melody? Glen Messages from multiple threads combined. Personal message and link sent to glen. |
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20 Sep 02 - 08:16 PM (#788358) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: for all the people who touched up my lif From: McGrath of Harlow "Touched up" must mean something different in Virginia... |
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21 Sep 02 - 11:46 AM (#788506) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Joe Offer Gee, this is one of my favorite songs, and I meant to sing it when I was in the UK last month. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't. So, Kevin, what does "touched up" mean in the UK? -Joe Offer- |
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21 Sep 02 - 12:02 PM (#788519) Subject: RE: LYRICS ADD: All the Good People From: Snuffy If you "touch up" a woman in Britain, she'll call a cop (molest is almost synonymous) We would say 'touched' rather than 'touched up' my life. It's like 'visit' and 'visit with', or 'beat up' and 'beat up on' - being a smaller country, we haven't got room for so many words as you left-siders. WassaiL! V |
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12 Mar 03 - 03:16 PM (#908393) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All the Good People From: Genie Sandy Paton's version is on the Mudcat CD: Orchid. Great song! Genie |
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27 Mar 03 - 11:59 AM (#919741) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All the Good People From: glen197 or thjose who ccomplain that the extra verses make the song to long...each time you siong it leave out or add different verses ands keep it to a comfie length. Glen |
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03 Aug 03 - 03:17 AM (#995825) Subject: Sung differently at camp! From: GUEST,Amy I'm trying to figure out the lyrics, the way my camp sings the song. It's the staff song, and it begins:
All the good people I've known in my life. Some helped in big ways, Some helped in small ways. Some only said 'You're doin' all right." I don't know where to go from there, but the end is: "This is a song for all the good people, People I'm thanking my stars for, tonight." |
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03 Aug 03 - 09:44 AM (#995889) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All the Good People From: Joe_F "Touch up", in America, usually means "correct the remaining or accumulated minor flaws in". It is often used, e.g., with regard to inspecting a paint job and dabbing the odd spot that you missed or mussed, or rereading a MS for omitted words & infelicities of style. I doubt if the phrase means quite that in the song, tho %^). I agree with some of the contributors to this thread in liking the song the way Mr Hicks wrote it. Even on the printed page, it comes thru with the voice of a man who recognizes that he has some of the traditionally masculine vices & that his womenfolk have some of the traditionally feminine virtues. So what? That's not all there is to life, but it's part of the truth. |
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16 Dec 06 - 04:06 PM (#1911243) Subject: Lyr Req: ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE From: glen197 THERE WAS WAS A THREAD FOR THIS CLASSIC SONG WRITTEN BY KEN HICKS AND SUNG BY BOB ZAENTZ. WHERE DID IT GO?
-Joe Offer- |
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29 Apr 08 - 02:15 PM (#2328875) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All the Good People (Ken Hicks) From: GUEST,Ed G Geez folks it's a song about thanks - quit reading between the lines and take it for what it is for cry'n out loud. We will sing these verses I penned at a memorial for an old sailing buddy and friend of many.
All the good sailors I've met on the sea This is a song for all those good sailors To all my mates who kept watch for me. This is a song for all the good travellers Who passed through my life as they moved along The ramblers, the thinkers, the just-one-more drinkers Each took the time to sing me a song This is a song for all those good sailors All those good sailers I’ve met on the Ruhm The tall ones the short ones the I’ll come along ones Yes All of those memories they’ll never be done PS: A Sailor can be either male or female. |
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29 Apr 08 - 03:33 PM (#2328931) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All the Good People (Ken Hicks) From: Waddon Pete I quite agree Guest Ed! It is a great song for remembering people.....I'm sure it will be much appreciated at the memorial. Best wishes, Peter |