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09 Feb 06 - 06:30 AM (#1665086) Subject: Lyr Req You Don't Know What Lonesome Is From: GUEST,Bob Coltman Anyone happen to have the lyrics to the c. 1950 cowboy pop song "You Don't Know What Lonesome Is"? Recorded by, of all people, Perry Como with the Sons of the Pioneers, not to mention Bing Crosby. And, lately, Don Edwards. The song seems not to be in the DT and though there are references to it on the net, especially regarding recordings, I haven't been able to find a lyrics post anywhere. I've known the song for over 40 years, but there are some words I think I've got wrong, and would like to check them against the real lyrics. Thanks! Bob |
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09 Feb 06 - 11:16 AM (#1665259) Subject: Lyr Add: YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LONESOME IS From: Gene Found online... I may have Gene Autry's version somewhere... Was it also called cowboy blues? Perry Como - YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LONESOME IS (TILL YOU GET TO HERDIN' COWS) Words and Music by Foster Carling and Country Washburne Do me ah ma doo, do me ah ma day! All alone . . . All alone! When the hoot owl toots his tooloo to the wail of the nip wick hen, And the chink-funk chirps in the chilly night, it's mighty lonesome then; And it's mighty lonesome when the wind howls thru the jack-pine boughs But you don't know what lonesome is till you get to herdin' cows. Do me ah ma doo, do me ah ma day! All alone . . . All alone! Oh, the ordinary fella gets off on a Saturday night An' he gets a chance to see his pals, which ain't no more than right; But when the saddle is your life, there's no time to carouse, And you don't know what lonesome is till you get to herdin' cows. Do me ah ma doo, do me ah ma day! By myself . . . By myself! Now, the keeper of the lighthouse, an' the sailor-man at sea, An' the lookout on the mountain-top ain't got a thing on me; 'Cause I got all the lonesomeness that the common law allows. Man, you don't know what lonesome is, till you get to herdin' cows. Do me ah ma doo, do me ah ma day! Cowboy blues . . . Cowboy blues! Now, you may often wonder why a cowpoke sings so sad. He's a-thinkin' of the many things in life he's never had: No pal, no gal for company, jus' the cattle as they prowl. Man, you don't know what lonesome is till you get to herdin' cows. Do me ah ma doo, do me ah ma day! All alone . . . By myself! Cowboy blues . . . Doggone cow! Doggone cow! Doggone you, you licked me again! |
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10 Feb 06 - 08:20 AM (#1665936) Subject: RE: Lyr Req You Don't Know What Lonesome Is From: GUEST,Bob Coltman Gene: Many thanks for a good find. Now I know why people tended to giggle at this one...seems both the composers and Perry played it for laughs! Believe it or not, I heard this sung absolutely straight (minus the "you licked me" final line) in Jackson, Wyoming in 1959 and have always sung it so. It can, if not joked around with, be one of the most blood-freezingly lonesome songs the west has got to offer. The words I particularly wanted to check were, as I heard them: 1st verse: When the hoot owl hoots his tooin' to the wail of the nipwick hen and the jingpung chirps etc... So I wasn't too far off after all. But that nipwick hen and that chirping chink funk or whatever-it-is are pure mystery to me. I wonder whether the poster of these lyrics was going by what he heard, rather than by any official source, like sheet music? There are a couple other differences in the version from the guy who sang it to me, Dick Barker of Jackson Hole: 2nd verse: Which ain't no more than right But when the rope and saddle is your life 4th verse kettle = cattle, I think Cho: Cowboy blue Big mystery still! All you westernologists out there: If anyone knows what a "nip wick hen" or a "chink funk" might be, I would be very interested to know. Bob |
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10 Feb 06 - 10:30 AM (#1666026) Subject: RE: Lyr Req You Don't Know What Lonesome Is From: Gene can't vouch for the lyrics i FOUND online... ....still looking for a copy i have it by Australian Sundowners...but havent dug it out yet.. pretty sure i have Gene Autry's version somewhere... will keep looking for it...or any other version... Do me Ah Ma doo, Do me Ah Ma day! All alone . . . all alone! When the hoot owl toots his [tooloo] to the whale of the [nip wick hen], and the [chink funk] chirps in the chilly night, it's mighty lonesome then . . . And it's mighty lonesome when the wind, howls thru the jack-pine boughs but you don't kno' what lonesome is, 'till you get to herdin' cows . . . |
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11 Feb 06 - 10:07 AM (#1666775) Subject: RE: Lyr Req You Don't Know What Lonesome Is From: GUEST,leeneia I think "chink funk" is a form of "chipmunk." Some rodents can make a very musical chirping sound. I was in Glacier National Park once, and a rodent was doing that. A woman came up and said to her friend, "I don't want to leave till I figure out what bird is making that sound." I pointed to the rodent and showed her what is was that was doing the singing. My unabridged dictionary doesn't have a nipwick hen. I doubt if there is such a thing. I think that if you have been singing it straight and you like it, then you should deep-six these foolish words, put in some legitimate words, and keep on singing it. Folk process once again... |