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05 Jan 07 - 06:25 PM (#1927766) Subject: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: 12-stringman Would like any transcriptions of lyrics for this song. I am using it in a Spanish-American War project. The link is here: Wilmer Watts -Fightin' In The War With Spain Thanks, Larry |
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05 Jan 07 - 07:57 PM (#1927825) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: dick greenhaus Check out "Battleship of Maine" in DigiTrad. Just enter Battleship in the search box. |
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05 Jan 07 - 08:01 PM (#1927827) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: Peace Battleship of Maine--in the DT. |
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05 Jan 07 - 08:01 PM (#1927830) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: Peace Sorry, Dick. Was looking and posted w/o checking to see if anyone else had. |
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05 Jan 07 - 08:19 PM (#1927841) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: Declan Another song from another war that fits the description is available at here Not sure if you will be given credit for related but not directly relevant material, but I hope this helps. |
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06 Jan 07 - 12:58 AM (#1927976) Subject: Lyr Add: FIGHTIN' IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN From: 12-stringer John Edwards Memorial Foundation [JEMF] Quarterly, #16 (Winter 1969), transcribed by Malcolm V Blackard as part of an article on the Wilmer Watts groups: FIGHTIN' IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN (Paramount 3254) The captain called out for volunteers, I shouldered up my gun; First Spaniard that I seen I dropped my gun and run, But I'se fightin' for that battleship of Maine. chorus: I'se fightin' in this great war with Spain Fightin' for the battleship of Maine; Oh, get back, Spain, I don't own your name I'm fightin' for this battleship of Maine. Marched out on the battlefield, I fell upon my knees, First thing my eyes fell on was a great big pot of peas, But I'se fightin' for the battleship of Maine. repeat chorus The peas they was greasy, meat it was fat, The rest fought the Spaniards, but I was fightin' that, While I'se fightin' for this battleship of Maine. repeat chorus The blood it was running, I was running too Give my feet good exercise like nothing else could do, While I'se fightin' for this battleship of Maine. The captain asked me why I run, was I 'fraid to die? Told him the reason that I run, cause I couldn't fly, But I'm fightin' for this battleship of Maine. It's all about the ... [can't understand what he's saying]+ All about this battleship of Maine, Oh, git back Spain, I don't own your name, I'm fighting for this battleship of Maine. I marched around to Cuby, all back to Spain The shot was falling round me, just like a shower of rain, But I'se fightin' for the battleship of Maine. I marched around to Cuby, I thought I'd lose my life, Before I'd go to war again I'd send my darling wife, To fight for all this battleship of Maine. repeat chorus You ought to seen the boat come around the bend, It wss loaded down with American men, Ready for war, honey babe, as sure as you're born. You can dodge behind the window, hide behind the door But you can't dodge American long .44s* While I'm fightin' for this battleship of Maine. +The chorus changes a bit, midway hrough, and I don't understand the singer's lyrics on the first line. *Blackard's text leaves the second half of this line as ..., but it seems reasonably clear to me. Blackard's headnote to the song references an article in Journal of Popular Culture, II (Spring 1969) called "We'll Make the Spanish Grunt" by W K McNeil, a survey of Sp-Am War pop songs, and refers to other hillbilly versions of the song -- by Red Patterson's Piedmont Log Rollers (downloadable at Juneberry as "Battleship of Maine"), Jimmie Yates' Boll Weevils (downloadable at Juneberry as "Bloody War" -- my favorite version of the song), and Richard Harold's "Battleship of Maine." Charlie Poole's "If I Lose, I Don't Care" is related in melody but not lyrics. It's also quite similar in tune to the versions of "All Night Long" that were done by Frank Hutchison and Uncle Dave ("Ain't It A Shame to Keep Your Honey Out in the Rain"). Blackard presumes a vaudeville origin for the song but doesn't know of a printed source antedating the hillbilly recordings of the 1920s. He also cites the Frank C Brown Collection of NC Folklore, II:550, for a field version. Scotty Wiseman recast this as a WWI song in the late 1930s, "That Crazy War." Stringbean and I independently rewrote it in the late 60s with a Vietnam slant -- mine was more left-wing but otherwise they were pretty much the same -- and somewhere I have a set of Iraq War words that I knocked together a year or so back. |
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06 Jan 07 - 04:16 AM (#1928028) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: Stewie It should be mentioned that this Wilmer Watts recording has been reissued on the superb compilation 'The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of: The Dead Sea Scrolls of Record Collecting' Yazoo 2202, a double CD set. --Stewie. |
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06 Jan 07 - 06:54 AM (#1928088) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: GUEST,Hootenanny Mr Hearst the newspaper man said he'd fix us up a war Said "I sell a lot of papers but I'd like to sell some more and I'll blame it on the battle ship of Maine" At war with etc etc A friend of mine got this from the singing of Tom Paley |
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06 Jan 07 - 11:38 AM (#1928289) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: dick greenhaus It's a very durable song. Versions have passed on from she Spanish-American War through WWI (That Crazy War), Korea (Fighting For that Bastard Singhman Rhee) and Vietnam (Fighting For that Bastard Colonel Nighn) |
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06 Jan 07 - 12:56 PM (#1928372) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: Lighter Dick, Can you post the Korean War and Vietnam versions? They aren't in the DT. |
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06 Jan 07 - 01:31 PM (#1928405) Subject: RE: Lyrics-Fightin' In The War With Spain From: dick greenhaus COLONEL NIGHN is in DT; I've heard the Korean version, but I don't have the lyrics. |
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02 Aug 17 - 11:57 AM (#3869543) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Fightin' in the War with Spain (W Watts) From: GUEST,exxlaw Missing words, verse 6: It's all about the goldarn rain |
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02 Aug 17 - 09:56 PM (#3869616) Subject: Lyr Add: FIGHTIN' IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN (W Watts) From: Jim Dixon My transcription from the album "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" (2006), found on Spotify. I have boldfaced the differences with the above transcription. FIGHTIN' IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN As recorded by Wilmer Watts and the Lonely Eagles, 1929. The captain called out for volunteers; I shouldered up my gun. First Spaniard that I seen, I dropped my gun and run, But I's fightin' for this battleship of Maine. CHORUS 1: I's fightin' in this great war with Spain, Fightin' for the battleship of Maine. Oh, get back, Spain; I don't own your name. I'm fightin' for this battleship of Maine. Marched out on the battlefield; I fell upon my knees. First thing my eyes fell on was a great big pot of peas, But I's fightin' for this battleship of Maine. The peas they were greasy; meat it was fat. The rest fought the Spaniards, but I was fightin' that, While I's fightin' for this battleship of Maine. CHORUS 2: It's all about this gol-darn rain, All about this battleship of Maine. Oh, get back, Spain; I don't own your name. I'm fightin' for this battleship of Maine. The blood it was runnin'; I was runnin' too. Give my feet good exercise; did(?) nothin' else to do, While I's fightin' for this battleship of Maine. The captain asked me why I run; was I 'fraid to die? Told him the reason that I run: because I couldn't fly, But I's fightin' for this battleship of Maine. CHORUS 2. I marched around through Cuby, all back to Spain, Through shot a-fallin' around me, just like a shower of rain, While I's fightin' for this battleship of Maine. I marched around through Cuby; I thought I'd lose my life. Before I'd go to war again, I'd send my darlin' wife, To fight for all this battleship of Maine. CHORUS 2 You ought to seen the boat; she come around the bend. She's loaded down with American men, Ready for war, honey babe, as sure as you're born. You can dodge behind the window, turn behind the door, But you can't dodge American long .44's, While I'm fightin' for this battleship of Maine. |