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13 Feb 97 - 01:51 AM (#2182) Subject: It ain't no lie From: joerg.meffert@schering.de I'm looking for the lyrics called "It ain't no lie" or similar title. It should be from Elizabeth Cotton (1964). |
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13 Feb 97 - 10:08 AM (#2188) Subject: ADD: It ain't no lie^^ From: dani This is from a recording of Jerry Garcia's Acoustic Band. He dedicates this song to the memory of Elizabeth Cotton. One old woman in this town keep a-tellin' lies on me Wish to my soul that old woman would die keep a-tellin' lies on me Oh baby it ain't no lie oh baby it ain't no lie oh baby it ain't no lie you know this life I live is mighty [(fine) I think] Been all around this whole round world Lord I just got back to day work all the week, honey and I give it all to you Honey, please, what more can I do? Oh....etc Repeat first Oh....etc Hope this helps! I'd love to be able to play this as well as sing it - anyone know where I could find 5-string banjo tabs for this and similar stuff? |
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14 Feb 97 - 12:05 AM (#2205) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Les Benedict From the Elizabeth Cotton album liner notes - lines are pretty much the same as the Jerry Garcia thread, except the chorus is -- "... this life I'm living is very high"
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14 Feb 97 - 06:53 PM (#2230) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: rich r A mellow "folk" version of this Elizabeth Cotton song was recorded in 1965 by a Canadian group The Allen-Ward Trio (self-titled, Vanguard VSD-79189). As far as I know this was their only album, but it is really quite pleasant. rich r |
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03 Aug 97 - 09:01 AM (#10007) Subject: Lyr Add: OH BABE IT AIN'T NO LIE^^ From: Peter Timmerman A contribution to DT from a fave of Max's (El Sorter Ascending, The Grand Mudcat Mufti, He-Who-Must-Be-Oyveyed, The 10,000 Digits of Dr. M) and mine: OH, BABE IT AIN'T NO LIE One old woman, Lord, in this town Keeps a telling lies on me. Wish to my soul that she would die, Lord, She's telling lies on me. Chorus: Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, This life I'm living is very hard. Been all around this whole round world, Lord, and I just got back today. Work all the week, honey and I give it all to you, Honey babe, what more can I do? -- Elizabeth Cotton.^^ |
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04 Nov 98 - 06:12 PM (#44233) Subject: Need lyrics From: ggherron@aol.com I'm looking for lyrics for a blues song with a title that is something like "This Life I'm Livin' Is Very Hard". That may be a line form the song and not the title. Has anyone out there heard it and do you have the lyrics or know where I can get them? |
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04 Nov 98 - 09:26 PM (#44275) Subject: RE: From: rich r I believe the song you are looking for is "Oh, Babe, It Ain't No Lie" which was written by Elizabeth Cotton. I will have to transcribe it from a recording unless someone else has ready acess to the lyrics. rich r |
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04 Nov 98 - 10:43 PM (#44286) Subject: RE: Life I've been living From: Pete Peterson This is how I remember it Some old woman in this old town keeps telling lies on me Lord how I wish that old woman would die Who keeps telling lies on me Chor:
Been all around this whole round world |
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05 Nov 98 - 12:37 PM (#44342) Subject: RE: From: Sean Ruprecht-Belt The version I'm most familiar with is Stefan Grossman's and there it's definitely a hard life. His lyrics are a lttle different in the verses, though. I'd be happy to post them if anyone is interested. ...Sean |
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06 Nov 98 - 03:37 PM (#44498) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Philippa It's also recorded by Carolyn Hester. But I suppose Elizabeth Cotten would be the best source. I haven't browsed the thread on "This life I'm living is mighty hard" yet, but I wonder if "hard" is a mistake for "high" and someone else seeks the same song. I'll have a look now, but I won't be returning to this thread to tell you. |
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06 Nov 98 - 03:43 PM (#44500) Subject: RE: From: Philippa note that there's another thread "It ain't no lie" about the Elizabeth Cotten song "Oh, babe it ain't no lie, This life I'm living is mighty high". so if that is the song you want, you'll also find a bit of (similar) information in that thread (Nov6 and earlier) |
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09 Nov 98 - 01:41 PM (#44653) Subject: RE: From: dick greenhaus Never bother asking if anyone is interested in lyrics you might post. WE are! |
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09 Nov 98 - 02:44 PM (#44665) Subject: RE: From: Einnor I want them too. I always try to play the tunes that show up on the forum. I have a limited repitoire[sp]. |
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09 Nov 98 - 06:09 PM (#44711) Subject: Lyr Add: OH BABE IT AIN'T NO LIE (Elizabeth Cotten From: Sean Ruprecht-Belt Sorry for the delay of a few days since I promised to post these. I can but say that time flies whether you're having fun or not. Anyway, these are the lyrics I sing when I play this song. I am pretty sure I picked them up from a Stefan Grossman record several years ago. Some old woman in this old town Keeps telling lies on me. I wish to my soul that old woman would die, Stop tellin' her lies on me. Oh, babe, it ain't no lie Oh, babe, it ain't no lie Oh, babe, it ain't no lie This life I'm living is very hard. Been all around this great big world Just got back today. Work all week and give my money all to you Honey, what more can I do? Oh, babe, it ain't no lie... |
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27 Feb 00 - 01:48 PM (#185805) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: GUEST,James Heyward Im thinking about using - It ain't no lie - in a short documentary for Television. Can nyone tell me who owns the rights ? |
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27 Feb 00 - 02:59 PM (#185820) Subject: Lyr Add: IT AIN'T NO LIE^^ From: MK I learned an Elizabeth Cotten version of it from Stefan Grossman... Oh Babe, Ain't No lie, with lyrics:
One old woman in this town |
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27 Feb 00 - 03:38 PM (#185826) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Dani I suspect Jerry added that second verse. Anyone have a recording of Elizabeth singing it? BTW she told a charming story about the genesis of this song. When I have more time, I'll add it.
Dani |
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27 Feb 00 - 09:04 PM (#185933) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Pete Peterson I don't have it but I remeber a Folkways record with Libba Cotten singing the verses above. Nobody, thank the Goddess, has written additional verses as has happend to Freight Train. I suspect Libba's estate owns the copyright-- Mike or Peggy Seeger would know I bet! (It is also possible that Folkways Records, now Smithsonian Institution, owns the copyright!) As Gilbert and Sullvan would say-- topsy-turvy! |
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28 Feb 00 - 08:33 AM (#186106) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Allan C. I am fortunate enough to have a recording of Dani singing this song at the 1999 Getaway. It was the first time I had heard it. Nice song! Hearing it was among the really good things about going to something like the Getaway. |
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28 Feb 00 - 02:21 PM (#186300) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Dani Yeah, but dammit I sang the wrong words, as evidenced above. It was never clear to me from listening to the CD I have, which has no lyrics enclosed. I have since been corrected! You are very kind, Allan. Yesterday at a song circle I thought of Moonchild, and you, when we sang Five Hundred Miles (also a highlight of the Getaway). All of which reminds me, has anyone knowledge of other recordings from that weekend? I'll start another thread, I guess. Dani
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18 Apr 01 - 04:57 AM (#443241) Subject: : ain't no lie From: lilith thanks to all who are replying to my autoharp question... now i've got another request! i'm trying to find full lyrics and chords/tabs for "ain't no lie"... i don't know who sang it originally, but in the version i have (sung by mojave), the first verse is: one old woman in this old town keeps telling her lies on me wish to my heart that old woman would die keeps telling her lies on me oh lord, it ain't no lie (repeats 3x) this life i'm living is mighty high (or fine?) thanks |
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18 Apr 01 - 05:56 AM (#443256) Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: : ain't no lie From: Mark Clark "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" is an Elizabeth Cotton tune. The same lady who wrote "Freight Train." If you've never heard her recording of the tune, you really should look it up. Below are the chords I play. If someone has better ones, perhaps they'll post them as well.
- Mark Oh Babe It Ain't No LieThere's one old woman in this town, (C,E,F) |
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18 Apr 01 - 09:24 AM (#443356) Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: : ain't no lie From: lilith thanks mark... i was under the impression that there were further verses as well, but don't know the words to them - is this true, and if there are more verses, what are they? |
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18 Apr 01 - 10:46 AM (#443397) Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: : ain't no lie From: Grab I've got a version by Davey Graham which I'm pretty sure has more verses. I'll try and get the words written down sometime. |
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18 Apr 01 - 11:24 AM (#443425) Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: : ain't no lie From: Justa Picker (I play it a bit differently.) There's one old woman in this town, (C,F) Keeps tellin' those lies on me, (C,G7,C) I wish to the Lord that woman would die, (C,F) Keeps tellin' those lies on me. (C,G7, C) Oh Babe it ain't no lie, (G7,D7,G7,C) Oh Babe it ain't no lie, (E,F) Oh Babe it ain't no lie, (F,C) This life I'm livin' is very high. (C,F,G,C) |
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28 Sep 01 - 04:12 AM (#560543) Subject: RE: ADD:Oh, Babe It Ain't No Lie From: Sourdough I learned this song from Max Abramowitz in New Haven in 1960. A couple of years later, I was teaching in Paris and was talking about American traditional music to some of my students. The talk came around to Libba Cotton and I shared the song, "O, Babe It AIn't No Lie" witht hem. One said, "I know that song". I was very surprised since Max was the only one I had ever heard sing it and told them so. One of them said, "That's who it was, a woman named Max". And that's how I ran into Max in Paris. Anyway, the words I know are a little different but I don't know where Max got them.
There is an old woman, Lord. lives in this town
Chorus: Oh, Babe, it ain't no lie,
I've been all 'round this whole wide world Chorus: Sourdough |
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28 Sep 01 - 07:17 AM (#560594) Subject: RE: ADD:Oh, Babe It Ain't No Lie From: harpgirl I love this song! Libba Cottom tells of how she wrote it when she was a small girl and one of her mother's friends complained to her mother that she had been rude. She didn't think so and so wrote this song and sang it around the lady to get the last laugh and secret retribution!!I love Elizabeth Cotton. Her fingering style was incredible and so precise! |
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23 Dec 01 - 09:20 PM (#615606) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Artemis As Elizabeth Cotton tells the story, this song was about a woman in her neighborhood who told her mother a lie about her misbehaving or being rude. She didn't think she was rude, so she made up this song and sang it around the lady, who then complimented her on it! |
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24 Dec 01 - 12:14 PM (#615839) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: GUEST I have a recording of Dylan doing it and he seems to sing that " mighty High" Line. What does it that mean? "mighty hard" makes so much more sense.I have a live Elizibeth Cotten version, not a really good one, but, I always thought the line was "this life I'm living is mighty Hard". |
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24 Dec 01 - 06:18 PM (#616011) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Stewie The version in 'Folksinger's Wordbook', attributed to Cotten, has 'very hard'. --Stewie. |
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25 Dec 01 - 10:22 AM (#616218) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: GUEST,Bud The New Lost City Rambler's Songbook (Mike Seeger, co-Author) reads "mighty high." |
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25 Dec 01 - 10:40 AM (#616224) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Justa Picker Not sure if this link will work or not (-if it does, clicking on it should load and play the MP3 if your browser supports MP3 playback), but I have an instrumental version of it here which I recorded a couple of months ago. Yours for the download. Merry Christmas. "JP" |
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25 Dec 01 - 02:45 PM (#616274) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Amos I have always known the line as "hard" rather than "high" -- in context it makes more sense also! A |
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25 Dec 01 - 06:19 PM (#616318) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Stewie Bud, in my edition of the NLCR songbook, now 'Old-Time String Band Songbook' (p121), it reads 'very high'. Looks like Rafferty rules. --Stewie. |
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26 Dec 01 - 08:19 AM (#616461) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: GUEST,Bud Ah, Stewie, you went and looked it up. Right you are. |
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26 Dec 01 - 09:01 AM (#616476) Subject: RE: It ain't no lie From: Suffet At the risk of offending Isis, or Athena, or whomever, I humbly off this third stanza, one which I have been singing for 20 years or more: One of these days I'm goin' back home, Goin' back to Baltimore, When I get there, gonna find an easy chair, And I won't hear her lies no more. [New words by Stephen L. Suffet © 2001] --- Steve |
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04 Dec 08 - 10:21 PM (#2508252) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Suffet Click here for a link to a video of me performing It Ain't No Lie at Danny's Art Bar in the artists' village of Ein Hod, Israel, on May 3, 2007. Enjoy! --- Steve |
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05 Dec 08 - 05:44 AM (#2508439) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Big Al Whittle I first heard the song in 1964. It was very popular with the boys at the school I was at, Leighton Park, in Reading - a posh English public school). Folk music was very big there and it was where I first got interested in folkmusic. The version they had and referred to was by The Charles River Valley Boys. I thought at the time they were a group of ancient hillbillys - like the Carter family. Turns out they were a group of University students from Boston (their group named after the Charles River that runs past their college). They made the album in England whilst on holiday over here. the story is told in Baby let me Follow You Down - the book by Ric Von Schmidt. Anyway it was pretty influential over here. Most 1960's folksingers learned Solid Gone, Hogans Alley, and Freight Train from these guys. Derek Brimstone made a great comedy routine about Freight Train/ Oh babe. |
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05 Dec 08 - 04:09 PM (#2508932) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: PoppaGator A long-time favorite of mine. I believe I first heard and learned it from an LP recorded by Jackie Washington (of Cambridge, Mass ~ not the Canadian Jackie Washington) way back in about 1963-64. A Vanguard record, if I remember correctly. "High" rhymes with "lie"; "hard" does not. That's why I have always understood, and sung, the closing line of the chorus as "You know this life I'm livin' is mighty high," even though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense in context. Someone above remarks "I don't know where Jerry got that extra verse." I don't see any any lyrics in addition to the well-established two verses plus one chorus, which one contributor provides as having been transcribed straight from Libba's recording. Of course, there are many slight variations from one person's reading to another's. It's such a great song that I've always wished that it HAD a couple more verses. I play the verse-and-chorus though instrumentally first time around, then sing the two verses, play without singing again, and repeat ~ just to make it last as long as I can. I might start using Suffet's very nice new third verse. It fits pretty well, and I don't really much care about absolute "authenticity." Long live the Folk Process! |
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05 Dec 08 - 05:01 PM (#2508987) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Suffet Greetings: Here are the lyrics I recorded on my Now the Wheel Has Turned CD: IT AIN'T NO LIE Based on traditional song as sung by Elizabeth Cotten Third verse by Steve Suffet ©2005 There's a woman who lives in this town, She tells all those dirty lies on me. I wish to God that old woman she would die, She'd stop telling those nasty lies on me. I said: Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, It's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, It's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, this life I lead is too damn high. I've been all around this whole wide world, I just got back home today. Been working really hard in the rich folks' yard, And I'm sending you all my pay. Oh, it's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, It's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, It's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, this life I lead is too damn high. Now, one of these days, and it won't be very long. I'm going back home to Baltimore, And when I get there, gonna sit in my easy chair, I won't hear her damned lies no more. Oh, it's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, It's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, It's Babe, oh, Babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, this life I lead is too damn high. The version I do in the video is only slightly different. For example, I sing "white folks' yard" instead of "rich folks' yard." And in the final verse, the one I added, I sing "her dirty lies" instead of "her damned lies." So please take your pick. You are welcome to sing that third verse the way I first wrote it around 1980, or the way I recorded it in 2005, or the way I sang it in Israel in 2007. Of the three versions, I like the one from 2005 the best. That's the version on the CD and transcribed into this message. --- Steve |
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05 Dec 08 - 05:25 PM (#2509008) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: PoppaGator Steve, the diction in your lyrics, as quoted, is so much more formal than the way I've been singing this song for years ~ and contains so many more syllables ~ that I imagine our instrumental settings (tempo, etc.) would have to differ a bit from each other. I'm not criticizing, mind you ~ different strikes for differnt folks and all that. And of course, I like your additional verse enough to consider adapting it myself I suppose my approach come from that old Jackie Washington record where I first heard the song. It was quite a while before I heard Ms Cotten's original, and of course by the time I heard Jerry Garcia's take, I had known the song for a l-o-o-o-n-g time already. The main difference I have from many others on this thread is that I've always sung the "all around the world" verse first, and the "one old woman" verse second. (They don't have much to do with each other; neither follows logically from the other, so it hardly matters which comes first.) Like so: Been all around / this whole round world And I just got back today Work all week / bring my money home to you Honey babe, what more can I [say/do*]? Oh, babe, it ain't no lie (3x) You know this life I'm livin' is mighty high. There's one old woman, Lord, in this old town Keeps tellin' dirty lies on me How I wish / that old woman would die So she'd stop tellin' them lies on me. (repeat chorus) * "Say" rhymes with "today," "do" rhymes with "to you." I've gone back and forth between the two alternatives for so long that I don't remember which I learned first. I just sing whichever comes out of my mouth, which always varies. Then, when I sing the same verse a second time, I'll generally use the other variation. |
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05 Dec 08 - 08:26 PM (#2509099) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Suffet Poppa Gator, You are welcome to use that third verse as you wish. Yes, the diction looks much more formal in print than it comes across in song. Please listen again to the video (see link above) to hear how the lyrics really do fit the music. I completely agree with your "different strokes" ("strikes"?) philosophy. Any song that I sing and any that I have recorded is my own interpretation. If all I were to do is replicate someone else's version note for note and word for word, then why bother? I'm also a big believer in the "just sing whichever comes out of my mouth" approach. Of course, it doesn't always work well when I'm singing with others, and I've driven more than one singing partner bonkers. But hey, that's who I am! --- Steve |
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08 Dec 08 - 01:51 PM (#2510080) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: PoppaGator Steve, Thanks for reminding me to check back to find your video link. For some reason, I had missed that (or forgotten it) and didn't realize that I could have a firsthand look & listen at your performance. If I were better equipped to record and publish videos (or even "audios"), I'd return the favor. Oh well, maybe someday... |
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08 Dec 08 - 11:28 PM (#2510374) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Suffet PoppaGator, I hope you liked it. --- Steve |
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09 Dec 08 - 08:23 AM (#2510604) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: PoppaGator Steve, Nice! Most (well, nearly all) of the time I spent on Mudcat is at work (don't tell) where I'm not equipped with speakers, so I don't generally have a chance to check out audio or video performances when I first happen upon links to them. I have to remember to look things up later, at home, and I'm not always anxious to sit back in front of a computer every evening and weekend. The sound quality is a lot better than the visual for that Israeli coffeehouse performance. If that's a conscious trade-off, it's probably a good decision; audio is the more important component, for sure. I'm guessing ~ well, I'm almost sure ~ that you're flatpicking rther than fingerpicking on that number. I'm going mostly by the sound, but the visual image of your right hand, low-rez at it is, seems to indicate that you're holding a flatpick. Am I right? |
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09 Dec 08 - 09:07 AM (#2510639) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Suffet PoppaGator, No, I'm not using a flatpick. I'm doing what I almost always do, which is use my thumb for the bass notes, especially for the 1 and 3 beats in 4/4 time. I then either pick down with my thumb, pick up with my index and/or middle finger, or brush up and/or down with both index and middle fingers for the 2 and 4 beats. Also, I sometimes pick up with my index and/or middle finger on the 2 or 4 beats at the same time I'm picking down with my thumb. I usually do that on measures where I'm not singing. While the overall effect may sound like flatpicking, the technique is really a version of thumb-lead fingerpicking. -- Steve |
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09 Dec 08 - 01:08 PM (#2510859) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: PoppaGator Hey Steve, Sounds pretty much like my own bare-fingered finger-picking approach. I was going as much by the (very obscure) visual image as by sound when I guessed you might be flatpicking. |
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09 Dec 08 - 01:35 PM (#2510878) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: The Sandman there is a you tube video of Wizz Jones,circa 1961,singing this. because the good burghers of Newquay objected to the beatniks[which included Wizz.,and my cousin Susie]both of whom feature in a BBC programme,with Cliff Michelmore.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsQSOf6_owhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsQSOf6_ow |
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09 Dec 08 - 01:39 PM (#2510885) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: The Sandman its about 3 50,in the video,the date is 1960, this can be confirmed on Wizz WEB site,and alsao from my cousin Sue,who is one of the two girls interviewed. |
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09 Dec 08 - 05:11 PM (#2511108) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Suffet PoppaGator, The reason the Ein Hod videos are so crude is that someone in the audience at Danny's Art Bar shot the raw footage with a small hand held camera. I had no idea he was doing so until afterwards. He later let me make a digital copy from which I was able to extract Hesitation Blues and It Ain't No Lie, and then add the titles. --- Steve |
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28 Feb 09 - 11:46 AM (#2577862) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Suffet You can now see that video of me performing It Ain't No Lie on You Tube. Just click here. --- Steve |
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05 Nov 09 - 09:53 PM (#2760547) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: GUEST,Mark Cool I learned the tune from my teacher, Dana Klipp. Dana was Libba's accompanist in her last years in Syracuse, my hometown. When I was a tenen I studied with Dana. He taught me all of her tunes; Freight Train, Babe it ain't no lie, Graduation March, Honeybaby your papa cares for you, Wilson Rag, etc. I still play this stuff live, and put a version of Babe it aint't no lie on my last cd, Introducing Mark Cool and the Folk Stars. Sold Gold, the Libba material. Nothing quite like it in my book. I've been listening to Etta Baker alot lately. Interesting the parallels between her and Libba, and Mississippi John Hurt. They all have tunes that sound similar, but with different names. |
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15 Apr 17 - 08:04 PM (#3850657) Subject: RE: ADD: Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Joe Offer Here are the lyrics we have in the Digital Tradition. Are they correct? I got a message from somebody today who thinks the chorus ends "Lord this life I'm living is very high." I can see his point. To me, it sounds like "high" after the first verse, and "hard" after the second. OH, BABE IT AIN'T NO LIE One old woman, Lord, in this town Keeps a telling lies on me. Wish to my soul that she would die, Lord, She's telling lies on me. Chorus: Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, This life I'm living is very hard. Been all around this whole round world, Lord, and I just got back today. Work all the week, honey and I give it all to you, Honey babe, what more can I do? Probably traditional, from the singing of Elizabeth Cotten. filename[ AINTLIE PT DB MK It appears that the lyrics came from this 1997 post from Peter Timmermann (click) Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry, which allows for both high and hard. Oh Babe, It Ain't No LieDESCRIPTION: Singer says that one old woman in the town is lying about her, and wishes the old woman would die. "Been all around this whole round world/I just got back today.... Oh, babe, it ain't no lie (x3), (Know) this life I'm living is very (hard/high)."AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (recording, Elizabeth Cotten) KEYWORDS: lie nonballad floatingverses hardtimes FOUND IN: US(SE) REFERENCES (2 citations): Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 121, "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 184, "Oh, Babe, It Ain't No Lie" (1 text) RECORDINGS: Elizabeth Cotten, "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" (on Cotten01) NOTES: Elizabeth Cotten learned this song from country blues singers around Chapel Hill, NC. - PJS I would note that the versions I've heard of this piece are very diverse; most seem to consist of floating lyrics (or at least themes) held together by the chorus "Oh babe, it ain't no lie." - RBW File: CSW121 Go to the Ballad Search form Go to the Ballad Index Instructions The Ballad Index Copyright 2016 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
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15 Apr 17 - 08:55 PM (#3850659) Subject: ADD Version: Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie (Cotten) From: Joe Offer The song is on Smithsonian/Folkways album SF 40009, Elizabeth Cotten: Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes. Here are the lyrics from the CD booklet (which I think is wrong about "women"): OH BABE IT AIN'T NO LIE An unusual blues sung around the Chapel Hill area One old women Lord in this town Keeps a-telling her lies on me. Wish to my soul that old women would die Keeps a-telling her lies on me. CHORUS: Oh babe it ain't no lie, Oh babe it ain't no lie, Oh babe it ain't no lie, Know this life I'm living is very high. Been all around this whole round world, Lord I just got back today. Work all the week, hon and I give it all to you, Honey baby what more can I do? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GFM6B0oQ8M Here's a live performance - you gotta see this! |
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15 Apr 17 - 09:10 PM (#3850660) Subject: ADD Version: Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie (Cotten) From: Joe Offer OH BABE IT AIN'T NO LIE One old woman, Lord, in this town, Keep a-telling her lies on me. Wish to my soul that old woman would die, Keep a-telling her lies on me. CHORUS: Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, Oh, babe, it ain't no lie, Know this life I'm living is very high. Been all around this whole round world, Lord, I just got back today. Work all the week, hon, and I give it all to you, Honey, baby, what more can I do? Notes: A country blues that Elizabeth Cotten learned around her home near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her "country ragtime" style and beautifully reserved manner of playing have become very popular in the cities. She plays a standard guitar left-handed. Source: Old-Time String Band Songbook, edited by John Cohen and Mike Seeger, Musical Transcriptions by Hally Wood. Oak Publications, 1964 & 1976, page 121 |
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15 Apr 17 - 09:19 PM (#3850661) Subject: RE: ADD: Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Jackaroodave On her Smithsonian Folkways album, Freight Train and Other North Carolina Songs and Tunes, she definitely sings "This life I'm living is very high." It rhymes exactly with "lie" in the line before. The vowel ending of "high" comprises a low back vowel (roughly "ah") and a glide to a high front vowel (roughly ee). If you say ah-ee rapidly, then make it one syllable, you'll come up with something like "eye." In some dialects of English, the glide is omitted, leaving ah. You see this often in eye-diakect dialogue: "Ah jes dunno." As you know, some dialects drop r unless it precedes a vowel: "Pahk yuh cah in Hahvahd Yahd." In some dialects then, "are" and "I" are both pronounced roughly "ah." The only difference, then, between "high" and "hard" is the final d in the latter. In the song, that d is absent. The last two lines of the refrain rhyme perfectly:"lie" is pronounced "lah." I wouldn't make such a meal of this, except it's a long-standing and respectable conflict, and it makes such a difference in the tone of the song. In one, the speaker bemoans being picked on; in the other she disdains the slander and suggests a motive. |
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15 Apr 17 - 09:28 PM (#3850664) Subject: ADD Verse: Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie From: Joe Offer This is such a great song, it could use another verse. Bill Staines has a nice third verse on his Old Dogs album: Been down so long, Lord it looks like up to me, Yet nobody seems to care; Sittin' here thinkin' that if trouble were money, Then I'd be a millionaire. Don't know if Staines wrote the verse or not, but it works. -Joe- |
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16 Apr 17 - 09:53 AM (#3850706) Subject: RE: ADD: Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie (Elizabeth Cotten) From: Mark Ross Miss Libba used to say that she wrote this for the woman next door who tattled on her. Libba said she took great delight in sitting on her front porch and playing and singing it as loud as she could. The mean woman next door looked over and said what a nice song that Libba was singing. Libba just smiled and thanked her. Mark Ross |