"Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" Rhymes That Include The "Saw You With Your Boyfriend" Verse

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post features examples of the playground rhyme that begins with the "eenie meenie sisaleenie" (or similar spelling) verse and also includes the "saw you with your boyfriend" verse. Text analysis and other comments about these rhymes and some other related rhymes are also included in this post.

The content of this post is provided for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

DISCLAIMER
Including these rhymes on this blog that focuses on African American rhymes & songs and rhymes & songs from other Black cultures throughout the world, isn't meant to imply that examples of this rhyme are only chanted by Black people. That is obviously not true. However, given its structure and its words, I believe that some, if not all, of the early examples of this rhyme originated with African Americans.

****
EDITOR'S TEXT ANALYSIS OF "EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE"
"Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" (or similarly pronounced spelling) is a large family of playground rhymes that originated in the United States. Those rhymes may be chanted as a four line verse without the addition of "saw you with your boyfriend" or any other verse. Other versions of this rhyme begin with a two line rhyme similar to that given as Example #1 in the "Other Text Examples" found below or this three line example:
Eenie Meanie Justa Leanie
Ooca lacka Trackalacka
I love you.

In those examples, the first line contains an internal rhyme based on the "eenie" syllable, and the second line contains an internal rhyme based on the "acka" syllable.

I chanted a four line version of this rhyme while doing a partner hand clap routine (Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1950s). We sang:
Eenie meenie epsodeenie
Ooh aah umbaleenie
Ashie mashie kohkah lashie
I_ love_ you

[The dashes represent one pause in the beat.]
-snip-
Four Line Structure
In the four line "eenie meenie sissalini" verse, the first line contains an internal rhyme made from the the "eenie" syllable. The last word of the second line also ends with the "eenie" sound and thus rhymes with the first line. The third line contains an internal rhyme made by the "ie" (pronounced "ee") syllable, and thus rhymes with the first and second lines. The fourth line is the only one that does not have an internal or end word rhyme.

"Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" rhymes can be recited with just those lines; However, that core verse is often combined with other stand alone (independent) rhymes such as the "take a peach take a plum" and/or "saw you with your boyfriend"* verses Those combined rhymes flow into each other without any transitioning words or phrases.

*Although I categorize "saw you with your boyfriend" as an independent rhyme (a rhyme that can be chanted alone), I've not yet found any examples online of that rhyme being chanted alone.
-snip-
Since at least the 1970s, it appears that most but not all examples of "Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" rhymes begin with the four line "eenie meenie sissaleeni" verse and return to that verse at the end of the rhyme.

"Saw you with your boyfriend" is a verse that is often combined with the "eenie meenie sisileeni" verse. "Saw you with your boyfriend" is usually made up of a series of non-rhyming lines that are each followed by a two word or one word response to that particular line - for instance "looked through the key hole/nosy nosy" (or "nosy"). My guess is that the two word response is the earliest version of the responding line as it appears to me to be the more rhythmic than the single word. However, that is just a guess. In some contemporary versions of this rhyme "looked through the key hole" and "looked through the peep hole" has been changed to "looked through the window".

Other independent rhymes (such as verses of the "Down Down Baby" rhymes) may be combined with "eenie meenie sissaleeni" without the "saw you with your boyfriend" lines. Or other independent rhymes might be combined with the core verse and be placed before or after those "saw you with your boyfriend" lines.

To date, I've only collected one example of "saw you with..." that replaces the word "boyfriend" for "girlfriend" e.g. "caught your with your girlfriend". Visit the Hand clap Rhymes #1 page of my Cocojams cultural website for that example which is found under the title "Eenie meenie pepsa deenie". The link for that Cocojams page is given in the "Related Links" section below.
-snip-
The words "eenie meenie" undoubtedly have their source in the very old European counting out rhyme "Eeny meenie minie mo". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe for information about that rhyme.

The word "sisaleenie" or similarly pronounced words is a made-up rhyming word with no meaning.

I also believe that the word "liberace" (also found as "Liberachi", "Liborachi" or similar spellings) is a newer substition for made-up rhyming phonetic phrases such as "kohkah lashie" which have no meaning. "Liberace" (also written as "Liberachi") has its origins in the last name of the flamboyant American pianist/vocalist known by his last name "Liberace" (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace. However, I doubt that most people who've recited that rhyme are aware of that informational tidbit.

Tune
To date, I've heard two different tunes for "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" rhymes. I believe that the most common tune in the United States is the one used in video example given as example #1 and example #2 below. That is the tune that I used when I chanted this rhyme in the 1950s.

Performance Activities
As is the case with most playground rhymes in the United States, "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" rhymes were originally chanted while jumping rope*. However, since at least the 1970s, they are usually chanted as a partner hand clap game. And, as it appears to often be the case with many hand clap rhymes in the United States, those rhymes are also performed with actions which mimic the words that are chanted.

****
VIDEO EXAMPLES WITH TRANSCRIPTIONS
[Transcriptions made by listening to the videos. Additions and corrections are welcome.]

Video Example #1: Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny Clapping Songs



sharonmnich, Uploaded on Oct 2, 2009

Kids Clapping Songs
-snip-
Transcription:

Eenie meanie sassaleeny.
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi achi liberace.
I love you.
Take a peach.
Take a plum.
Take a stick of bubble gum.
No peach.
No plum.
No stick of bubble gum.
Saw you with my boyfriend
last night.
How'd you know.
Peekin through the peep hole*
Nosy
Ate a lot of candy
Greedy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Jumped out the window
Doggone crazy
And that's why they call you.
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Ooh ah babalini,
Achi atchi Liberace,
I love you.
-snip-
*One of the girls seemed to start to chant "looked out" instead of "peeped through".

Additional examples of this rhyme are found in the viewer comment section of this video.

****
Video Example #2: Eenie meenie sissalini



Miamichellekaraoke, Published on May 19, 2012

Mia and Michelle demonstrate their new hand game
-snip-
Transcription: Rhyme begins at .021

Ready. Go.

Eenie meanie sassaleeny,
Ooh ah babalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
No peach
No plum
Just a stick of bubble gum
Saw you with my boyfriend
last night
How'd you know
I looked through my window
Nosy
Ate a lot of cookies
Greedy
Didn’t flush the toilet
Nasty
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
And that's why they call you.
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you.
Oops ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you!

****
Video Example #3: eenie mini dissemini fun and easy clapping games!



Mitzi Brennan, Published on Apr 28, 2013
-snip-

Transcription:
Eenie mini dissemini
You are the one and only
Education
Liberation
I like you.
Downtown baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet cherry
No place to go
Didn’t do the dishes
Lazy lazy
Stole a box of chocolates
Greedy greedy
Snogged your boyfriend
Naughty naughty
Jumped out the window
Flippin crazy
Eenie mini dissemini
You are the one and only
Education
Liberation
I like you.
-snip-
"Italics" mean that I'm not sure of this word.

From the girls' accents, I assumed that this example of "Eenie Meanie" is from outside of the United States.

[Update: December 16, 2013: I corrected the words that I was uncertain about as per a comment from that video uploader Mitzi Brennan, who thanked me for featuring her video. Mitzi confirmed that she lives in England.]

"Education liberation", "downtown baby", "down by the rollercoaster" etc. are phrases that either come from or are folk etymology forms of phrases that are found in some versions of the playground rhyme "Down Down Baby". For example, "downtown baby” is folk etymology for "down down baby" and "Sweet sweet cherry/No place to go" is a folk etymology form of "sweet sweet baby/I really love you so". Visit the Hand clap #1 page of my Cocojams website whose link is given below for examples of "Down Down Baby".

Similar examples of "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" that include phrases from "Down Down Baby" are found in the viewer comments threads for the video given as Example #1 in this post.

****
OTHER TEXT EXAMPLES
Example #1
Eenie Meanie Justa Leanie
Ooca lakca Trackalacka, I love you.
Take a peach, Take a plum
Take a piece of bubble gum.
Teacher, Teacher, Dummy Dum
Gimme back my bubble gum.
Saw you with your boyfriend last night.
How do you know?
I was peekin' through the keyhold.
NOSY
Wash them dishes
LAZY
Jump out the window
CRAZY
Peaches on the tree, Bananas on the floor
Jump back baby. I Don't Love You No More!
-Donetta A. (Pittsburgh, PA 1984); collected by Azizi Powell,
1998; posted on Cocojams by Azizi on 2/26/2006
-snip-
Donetta A (African American woman) responded to a voluntary written survey of playground rhymes that I conducted at my former work place. Donetta said she learned this rhyme when she was growing up from her cousin who visited her from the South. She indicated that she performed it as a partner hand clap game.

The line "peaches on the tree, bananas' on the floor" reminds me of the "apples on the shelf /I'm so tired of living by myself" verse that is found in in Thomas W. Talley's 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes Wise And Otherwise.* Versions of that line are found in other African American playground rhymes, Blues songs, and other compositions along with the line "I've seen the line "Jump back, baby I don't love you no more" or similar lines such as "Step back, baby/I don't love you no more".

*This is the last verse of the rhyme entitled "Mama's Darling" (p. 188) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm
"I has apples on de table,
An' I has peaches on de shelf;
But I wish I had a husband—
I'se so tired stayin' to myself."

****
Example #2:
Eenie meenie sicileenie ooh ahh combaleenie ochie cochie liverochi C-O-D
Take a peach, take a plum, take a stick of bubblegum
No peach, no plum, just a stick of bubblegum
Saw you with your boyfriend last night
How'd you know?
Peeked through the peek hole
Noisy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Ate a box of candy
Greedy
Jumped out the window
Now I know you're really crazy, thats why we call you
Eenie meenie sicileenie ooh ahh combaleenie ochi cochi liverochi C-O-D
Source:
Me and my friends used to love this!
-qwerty, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080126135642AA0Q3LB "Hand clap game.. What are the words?", 2007
-snip-
Asker's rating [the highest rating 5 stars] & comment
"Haha so did we! i was trying to think of it the other day and i couldnt. Thanks!
-ashley jonasss; (asked 2007).o

****
Example #3:
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Opps ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
No peach
No plumb
No stick of bubble gum
Saw you with your boyfriend
last night
How'd you know
I was peaking through the key hole
Nosy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Stole a box of candy
Greedy
Jumped out the window
Dog on crazy*
That's why they call me...
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Opps ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you!
- http://funclapping.com/Eenie.php

****
Example #4
eenie meenie sissaleney
o a tumbaline
achie gachif temberachi
i love you
take a peach
take a plum
take a sitck of bubble gum
no peach no plum
just a stick a bubble gum
saw you with your boyfreind last night
you werea huggin anda kissin
anda holdin on tight
how do i know
LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW
NOSEY
ATE ALL YA COOKIES
GREEDY
DIDNT DO THE DISHES
LAZY THATS WY DEY CALL ME
eenie meenie sissaleney
o a tumberlinie
achie gachie liverachie
i love you
-jazz09932, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C2cBh_NZNU, 2012
-snip-
I reformatted this example from its paragraph form (a form that seems to be the default for YouTube.com) to lined poetry form. However, I left the capitalizations that the blogger wrote "as is". I think those words were capitalized to serve as a "correction" for the words that were chanted in the video. Btw, I also believe that the tempo in that video is slower than the tempo that I've usually found for this rhyme.

ADDENDUM - TWO EXAMPLES OF "SAW YOU WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND" VERSE WITHOUT THE "EENIE MEANIE SISALEENI" VERSE

Example #1:
A.B.C.
It’s easy as 1.2.3.
My momma takes care of me.
My father don’t yell at me.

Caught you with your boyfriend.
Naughty, Naughty.
Didn’t do the dishes.
Lazy, Lazy.
Ate all the candy
Greedy, greedy.
Jumped out the window.
Man, you’re crazy!
- anonymous woman (White; Washington, D. C), collected by Azizi Powell,1999
-snip-
This example was collecting via a volunatary written survey that I conducted at my former workplace. As per my directions, the woman indicated the geographical location where she performed this rhyme. She wrote that she learned it when she was a child living in a "mostly Black neighborhood". She also wrote that she performed it as a hand clap game.

"ABC it's easy as 1, 2, 3" is lifted from the Jackson Five R&B song "ABC". That song could help to date the earliest examples of rhymes with that introductory verse.

****
Example #2
Ziz Zag zag
take a piece take a plum
take a piece of bubble gum
do you like it?
do you love it?
do the alabama shake it
shake it up
shake it down
shake it all around
Spying on my boy friend - baby
didn't do the dishes - lazy
jumped out the window - crazy
and thats the facts of boys boys boys
- Miranda R, http://octopuses.chaoticinsanity.com
(Octoblog- "Schoolyard games"), December 5, 2004
Unfortunately, this website is no longer viable.

****
RELATED LINK
Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes for other examples of and comments about "Eenie Meaniee Sisalini".

****
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Here's Who Else Is White! (excerpt from a tongue in cheek dailykos diary)

Edited by Azizi Powell

I admit that this is a departure from the usual posts on this blog, but I want to share a short daily kos diary & selected comments frpm that diary that were written in response to Fox News host Megyn Kelly's December 11, 2013 on-air comments that both Santa Claus and Jesus are White.

Although this daily kos diary and its comments are tongue in cheek, they also creatively address the continued existence of White default & White priviledge in the United States.

Unlike the entire daily kos diary, the selected comments that are posted here contain no profanity and are relatively free of political opinion.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, sociological, and entertainment purposes [with sincere apologies to any readers who may not be knowledgeable about all of the United States cultural refereences].

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
BACKGROUND
Click http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-megyn-kelly-fox-news-christmas-war-santa-claus-just-is-white-20131212,0,2380655.story#axzz2nRo4wEUk for an article about Megyn Kelly's comments. That article contains a video of the news segment in which Kelly made those comments.

****
DAILY KOS DIARY
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/13/1262510/-People-Beyond-Santa-Clause-Jesus-who-are-verifiably-WHITE by Jeff Lieber

"I feel compelled to confirm the WHITE-I-TUDE of the following individuals...

Cupid
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
All The People Riding In That One Horse Open Sleigh
The Dude Your Wife Lost Her Virginity To
Tweety Bird
Sarah Palin
The Tooth Fairy
The Star Of That New Movie You Want To See
Eric The White (Formerly Eric The Red)
The Man In The Moon
The Pillsbury Dough Boy
6 of the 7 Dwarves. All 8 of the Reindeer.
Sarah Palin
Sully From "Monsters Inc."
Ferdinand The Bull
Tarzan
Corporations
Chewbaca, R2D2 and C3P0
Casper the FRIENDLY ghost.
Jenny from the 867-5309 Song
Sea Monkeys
Humpty Dumpty
Oh Susana... who shouldn't cry for me because I've come from Alabama w/ a banjo on my knee.
Sarah [profanity deleted] Palin.
God (also, important to note... MALE).

Noticeably, but understandably, absent on this list...
[picture of Barack Obama]
NONWHITER AMERICAN.

****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THAT DIARY
(These comments are all from December 13, 2013 and are numbered according to the order of their appearance in that diary.)

1. Yo, you forgot Mr. Clean.
by Publius2008

2. Paul Bunyan, obviously.
Babe, however, was a OoC (Ox of Color).
by grover

3. Honestly Frosty the Snowman is the
only 100% verifiable white guy around, and even he could have some off colors.
by AnnieR

4. especially if a dog's been nearby
Beware of yellow snow!
by Front Toward Enemy

5. Well, one of those for sure
The Pillsbury Dough Boy
by gulfgal98

6. He used to be.
But what with all the emphasis on whole grains, he looks more tan nowadays.
by JBL55

7. The Road Runnier is obviously white.
Wylie E. Coyote....hmmm, shady and dishonest and pretty stupid. Definitely not white.
by ExpatGirl

8. "Runnier"....sigh.
by ExpatGirl

9. Add any character whose ethnicity is not explicitly stated in a book: white

Even characters who are explicitly black in a book are supposed to be white in the movie adaptation. So sayeth the supposed diehard fans of the book "The Hunger Games" who had a Twitter meltdown when the black character Rue was played by a black actress in the movie. They know better than the author.

When it comes to acting, you know actual for real pretending to be someone else, you can never cast a non-white person in a "white" role.

White actors however can play any ethnicity they want because of course it's just make believe.
by Vita Brevis

10. Pillsbury Dough Boy
and his cousins, the Michelin Man and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
Not a bit of melanin in that family's genes.
by grover

11. Well done!
Also:

Jack and Jill
Peter Pan
Bilbo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Lassie
Sponge Bob Square Pants. (it's a white sponge)
Yogi Bear

The list goes on and on.
by TomP

12. Wait, Sponge Bob is white?
I always took him for yellow. Maybe he's one of those people who's acquired honorary whiteness...
by FogCityJohn

13. Snoopy
And all of the Peanuts characters, including Franklin.
by RudiB

14. You know, on a serious note,
it's the right-wing logical fallacy at work:
White is good.
Jesus and Santa are good.
Therefore, Jesus and Santa are white.
Facts have nothing to do with it.
by Cali Scribe

15. Um...not to sure about Humpty Dumpty.
He may appear to be eggshell white but he has cousins who were definitely colored. I believe they are the Easter Eggs.
by Dave the Wave

****
16. You want white, you can take this one to the bank
The Easter Bunny.
by pollbuster

17. Except, of course,
chocolate Easter Bunnies which everyone knows aren't real.
by pollbuster

18. Another in the definite white category
Snow White.
by pollbuster

19. Superman
All Kryptonians are white. Fact.
by duha

20. Um, no "e" in Santa Claus
whether he's white or not
by exlrrp

****
Thanks to all who are quoted in that diary.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

The Christmas Song "Behold That Star" & Its African American Composer Thomas W. Talley

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the Christmas song "Behold That Star" and its African American composer Thomas Washington Talley.

The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THOMAS W. TALLEY & BEHOLD THAT STAR
From
http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1683
Thomas Washington Talley (1870-1952)

..."The majority of Talley’s teaching career, from 1903 to 1942, was spent at Fisk, where he taught chemistry, biology, and science, and was chair of the Chemistry Department for twenty-five years. Having earned a doctorate from Walden University in Nashville in 1896, he also spent two postgraduate summers, 1914 and 1916, at Harvard. In 1931 he finished a degree from the University of Chicago.

Although Talley’s profession was teaching and chemistry research, he made significant contributions to the study of American music, specifically black folk music. Music was a constant throughout Talley’s life. He joined the Fisk music program in 1888 and sang bass and toured with the New Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1890. He was a member of a quartet, active in the Mozart Society at Fisk, and conducted the Fisk choir for several seasons. Talley also participated in music activities at the Fisk Union Church.

Around the age of fifty, at the end of World War I, Talley began collecting rural black traditional songs. He sought texts from the Middle Tennessee countryside and elsewhere through an active network of friends, family, students, and colleagues, and recalled songs from memory or from his travels. In 1922 Macmillan published these folksongs as Negro Folk Rhymes (Wise and Otherwise) containing 349 secular folksongs (some with music notations), an essay by Talley, and an introduction by Walter Clyde Curry, literature professor at Vanderbilt University. This successful publication was the first serious collection of folksongs from Tennessee, the first compilation of black secular folksong, and the first to be assembled by a black scholar.

In addition, Talley accumulated stories from African American rural communities and compiled a manuscript of folk narratives. The unpublished work was entitled “Negro Traditions,” a version of which was later published in 1993. Talley also wrote an original composition, “Behold That Star,” which has since entered the Christmas music repertoire.

Talley retired from Fisk around 1942. He worked for the War Department during World War II. Talley moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1943 but eventually returned to Nashville, where he spent his last years writing about the sciences."

****
From http://folio.furman.edu/projects/anthems/pdf/Behold_That_Star.pdf "Behold That Star An Original Jubilee Carol by Thomas Washington Talley, Date: First Half of 20th Century"
... "[Thomas Washington] Talley was a gifted musician. He sang bass and toured with the New Fisk Jubilee Singers. He was director of Fisk's Mozart Society and for a time conducted the Fisk Choir. Seeking a Christmas spiritual for the Jubilee Singers to perform and finding none that was suitable, he composed "Behold That Star." At what date is not known.

Marian Anderson (1897–1993) performed Talley's spiritual in a 1916 arrangement made for solo voice and piano by Harry T. Burleigh (1866–1949). In this version for chorus and solo voices I have kept Burleigh's original accompaniment, and have arranged a choral refrain, alternating with verses set in a call-and-response pattern between soloists and choir."

[written by Albert Blackwell, February 2, 2012]

****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=152562 posted by Mary in Kentucky, Date: 10 Dec 01 - 04:05 PM
"Talley, Thomas W. Negro Folk Rhymes. A New expanded edition, with Music. Edited...by Charles K. Wolfe. Music transcriptions by Bill Ferreira. Knoxville: Univ. of Tennessee Press, 1991. Rev. ed. of Negro folk rhymes, wise and otherwise, published 1922 by the Macmillan Company.* Contains music (ISBN 0-87049-673-5)...

The following are quotes mentioning "Behold That Star" from the introduction [of that book]:

...Florence Hudson Botsford invited Talley to contribute a song to her collection, Folk Songs of Many Peoples, and he sent her an original composition called 'Behold That Star'." (pp. xviii-xix)...

During the [second world] war, Talley did classified work for the War Department; he returned to Nashville during this time and began working on a book-length manuscript entitled "A Concept of the Magnetic Atom." During his latter years, he seemed to view this as his life's work and he produced several drafts of it. It had little to do with folklore. He continued to compose music and completed a mass which was never published. His song "Behold That Star" entered the Christmas music repertoire and was widely reprinted in anthologies. In the early 1970s, the piece was performed on a national broadcast by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, with Leontyne Price singing. By this time the song had become so pervasive that Talley's name had been detatched from it, and Bernstein announced that he regretted that he did not know who had composed the song." (pp. xx-xxi).

The above information was gathered by Masato Sakurai.
-snip-
* The original 1922 edition of Thomas W. Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes Wise & Otherwise is available online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm
Warning: What is now known as "the n word" is fully spelled out in this book.

**Folk Songs of Many Peoples, Volume 1 by Florence Hudson Botsford was published by Womans Press , Harvard University in 1921. It is available online as a Google book http://books.google.com/books/about/Folk_Songs_of_Many_Peoples.html?id=0aQQAAAAYAAJ

****
LYRICS OF "BEHOLD THAT STAR"
(Thomas W. Talley)

Refrain:
Behold that star!
Behold that star up yonder,
Behold that star!
It is the star of Bethlehem.

1. There was no room found in the inn.
It is the star of Bethlehem.
For Him who was born free from sin.
It is the star of Bethlehem. Refrain

2. The wise men travelled from the East. [1]
It is the star of Bethlehem.
To worship Him, the Prince of Peace.
It is the star of Bethlehem. Refrain

3. A song broke forth upon the night.
It is the star of Bethlehem.
From angel hosts all robed in white.
It is the star of Bethlehem. Refrain

Source:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/behold_that_star.htm
1. Or: The wise men came on from the east.

****
THREE EXAMPLES OF "BEHOLD THAT STAR"
These examples are posted in chronological order based on their posting dates with the oldest dated exampls given first.]

Example #1: Behold That Star" (1963)- The Patterson Singers


JayEm86, Uploaded on Nov 29, 2008
-snip-
The Patterson Singers' rendition of Thomas W. Talley's "Behold That Star" is what I call a "gospelized song", that is, a song that is arranged and sung in a manner of African American Gospel song. There are many different types of African American Gospel music, but the tempo is usually increased in a "gospelized" song.

****
Example #2: Morehouse/Spelman Choirs - Behold The Star



mikep793, Uploaded on Dec 13, 2010

Christmas Concert
-snip-
"Behold That Star" is often categorized as a Spiritual. However, "Behold That Star" differs considerably from African American Spirituals in that it has a known composer and its lyrics are usually fixed. I describe "Behold That Star" as a Christmas song which was composed in the manner of African American Spirituals.

****
Example #3: Behold That Star



Bel Canto Singers Bahamas, Published on Dec 19, 2012

****
Thanks to Thomas Washington Talley for his life worth, including composing the Christmas song "Behold That Star". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the vocalists & musicians who are showcased in this post & thanks to the publishers of those examples on YouTube.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Soweto Gospel Choir - Tribute To Nelson Mandela At Woolworths South Africa

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a performance by the Soweto Gospel Choir of Johnny Clegg's song "Asimbonanga" as a tribute to Madiba (Nelson Mandela)'s life.

The content of this post is presented for inspirational and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO:Woolies and Soweto Gospel Choir: Madiba Tribute



WOOLWORTHS SA, Published on Dec 9, 2013

Watch the Soweto Gospel Choir sing an incredible tribute to Madiba in our Parkview store.

On Saturday, 7 December 2013, Woolworths had planned a performance at our Parkview store in Pretoria to support our Operation Smile Christmas campaign. The Soweto Gospel Choir's planned a rendition of James Brown's I Feel Good. But, after Madiba's passing the choir decided on a tribute instead. They chose Johnny Clegg's Asimbonanga.
-snip-
Here are several comments from this video's viewer comment thread:

[2013]

Laquita Blockson
"Here is a translation of the lyrics (originally penned by Johnny Clegg):

Asimbonanga (We have not seen him)
Asimbonang' uMandela thina (We have not seen Mandela)
Laph'ekhona (In the place where he is)
Laph'ehleli khona (In the place where he is kept)

Hey wena (Hey you!)
Hey wena nawe (Hey you and you as well)
Siyofika nini la' siyakhona (When will we arrive at our destination)

**
Steve Woodward
"Johnny Clegg is South African and his songs are a mix of Zulu (in which he is fluent) and English."

**
duettists
"A beautiful tribute to Nelson Mandela. It must have come as such a pleasant surprise to everyone in that shop."

**

Helen Hughes
"The most moving tribute to Nelson Mandela I've seen. I'm not ashamed to admit that the tears are still in my eyes. It takes the flash mop to different level revealing a host of new possibilities"

**
Rob Evans
"Woolworths Marketing Team - I salute you. Soweto Gospel Choir and conductor - incredible performance; and the composer of the piece - moving."

**
Ebrahiema Kenny
"Wow! it really stirred my core and i don't even understand the language. Beautiful tribute to a humble man."

**
SoulNotes1
"A beautiful tribute... one that Madiba would have enjoyed... he so loved African music... and this is from the heart for a great man. Thanks to Woolies and the exceptional voices! Finally I also feel part with saying farewell Madiba... RIP."

****
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/johnny-clegg-savuka-asimbonanga-videos.html for a pancocojams post about the song "Asimbonanga" which includes information about that song and a surprise appearance on stage by Nelson Mandela.

****
RIP Nelson Mandela! Thanks to the Soweto Gospel Choir for this tribute to Madiba. Thanks also to Woolies South Africa for sponsoring this tribute, and thanks to the publisher of this video & all those who I quoteed in this post.

Thank you for vsiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Harold Melvin The Blue Notes (featuring Teddy Pendergrass) - "Wake Up Everybody" (videos & lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the 1975 R&B song "Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Included in this post are a sound file, video, song lyrics, and information about this song.

The content of this post is presented for inspirational, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
LYRICS: WAKE UP EVERYBODY
(Writers: Gene Mcfadden, Victor Carstarphen, John Whitehead)

Wake up everybody, no more sleepin' in bed
No more backward thinkin' time for thinkin' ahead
The world has changed so very much from what it used to be
So there is so much hatred war an' poverty

Wake up all the teachers, time to teach a new way
Maybe then they'll listen to whatcha have to say
'Cause they're the ones who's coming up and the world is in their hands
When you teach the children, teach 'em the very best you can

The world won't get no better
If we just let it be
The world won't get no better
We gotta change it, yeah, just you and me

Wake up all the doctors, make the ol' people well
They're the ones who suffer an' who catch all the hell
But they don't have so very long before the judgment day
So won'tcha make them happy before they pass away?

Wake up all the builders, time to build a new land
I know we can do it if we all lend a hand
The only thing we have to do is put it in our mind
Surely things will work out, they do it every time

The world won't get no better
If we just let it be
The world won't get no better
We gotta change it, yeah, just you and me

Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/teddypendergrass/wakeupeverybody.html
-snip-
Teddy Pendergrass is the lead singer in the song "Wake Up Everybody".

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_Up_Everybody
"Wake Up Everybody is an album released by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes on the Philadelphia International record label in November 1975. It was produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff. This would be the last album to include Teddy Pendergrass before he left the group for a solo career.on the Philadelphia International record label in November 1975. It was produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff. This would be the last album to include Teddy Pendergrass before he left the group for a solo career."...

****
FEATURED EXAMPLES WITH COMMENT
Example #1: Teddy Pendergrass with Harold Melvin The Blue Notes Wake Up Everybody



Dawn Higgins, Uploaded on Jan 26, 2011
-snip-
Comment from this video's viewer comment thread:

Marguerite Martin, 2013
"This Song is timeless. We have to change the world. Each one Teach One"

****
Example #2: WAKE UP EVERYBODY - Original Version (Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)



yxyoic, Uploaded on Sep 23, 2011

The original full-length song recorded in 1975. It's classic.
-snip-
Comment from this sound file's viewer comment thread:
Airnester Weems, 2013
"Groups like this sang of social consciousness and awareness. They instilled in some of us that we are ultimately responsible for each other. Until we practice what we peach, this world will always be in turmoil until it implodes on itself. There's no better way to teach it than through song. As music is a universal language."

****
Thanks to this song's composers & thanks to Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who I quoted in this post, and thankss to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

"The Negro General" & "Going To Ohio" songs from the 1840 book "Poor Jack"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents a portion of chapter seventeen of the 1840 book Poor Jack by Frederick Marryat. Poor Jack is book eleven of the "Poor Jack" fictional series. Click http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jack-Eleven-Marryat-Cycle/dp/1935585118 for a review of that book. In that review Federick Marryat is described as "the Father of Modern Nautical Fiction".

I'm particularly interested in Federick Marryat's portrayal of the Black fiddler/singer Bill White, who was given the nickname "Opposition Bill". This post features the two songs from that chapter that Opposition Bill sings. I'm not sure where Frederick Marryat got those songs, but it seems probable to me that, like the song "Spanish Ladies" (which is included in chapter seventeen and is "the earliest known set of complete lyrics to [that] classic sea chanty"), Marryat transcribed those two songs' lyrics from actually hearing renditions that he heard of those songs.

The title for the first song "The Negro General" was given in that book. The second song wasn't given a title in that book. I named it "Going To Ohio" because of its lyrics. Note: The folk song "Banks Of The Ohio" isn't the same song as "Going To Ohio".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER SEVENTEEN OF POOR JACK by FREDERICK MARRYAT
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21575/21575-h/21575-h.htm The Project Gutenberg EBook of Poor Jack, by Frederick Marryat [EBook #21575]

Chapter Seventeen.
A morning concert, in which the opposition is as great as black to white.

"Among my father’s associates there was a man of about forty years of age, Dick Harness by name. He had received a wound in the hip from a grape-shot, and his leg having in consequence contracted, it occasioned him to limp very much; but he was as strong and hearty in all other respects as a man could be. He was a very merry fellow, full of jokes, and if any one told a story which was at all verging on the marvellous, he was sure to tell another which would be still more incredible. He played the fiddle and sang to his own accompaniments, which were very droll, as he extracted very strange noises from his instrument; sometimes his bow would be on the wrong side of the bridge, sometimes down at the keys; besides which, he produced sounds by thumping the fiddle as well as by touching its strings as a guitar; indeed, he could imitate in a certain way almost every instrument, and most of the noises made by animals...

There was, however, another man who contributed much to the fun created by Dick Harness. He was an American black, who had served as cook in the Majestic, and had been wounded in the battle of the Nile; he had received a bullet in the knee, which had occasioned a stiff joint; and, as his leg was bent, he wore a short wooden stump. He also could play his fiddle and sing his songs, but in neither case so well as Dick Harness, although he thought otherwise himself. We used to call him Opposition Bill, but his name was Bill White, at least that was the purser’s name that he went by when on board of a man-of-war. His pleasure was to follow Dick Harness everywhere; and if Dick sung he would sing, if Dick played he would play also—not at the same time, but if Dick stopped Bill would strike up. Dick used to call him his black shadow; and sometimes he would execute a flourish on his fiddle, which would be quite a puzzler to Opposition Bill, who would attempt something of the kind, which invariably set every one laughing. At last Dick Harness’s performances were not considered to be complete if Opposition Bill was not in his company; and, as they were both very good-tempered funny fellows, they were a great amusement, especially in the fine weather, when they would sit on the benches upon the terrace about six or eight yards apart, for they seldom came nearer, and play and sing alternately. The songs sung by Dick Harness were chiefly old sea songs; those of Opposition Bill were picked up from every part of the world, principally, however, those sung by the negroes who worked on the plantations in Virginia and Carolina...

“Now, then, Billy, fire away.”

“You tink I ’bey your order, you Dick? No sar, suppose I fire away, I go off. I not go off, I stay here.”

“Well, but if you play, you’ll get in trouble, Billy.”

“How I get in trouble?”

“Why you’ll get in a scrape, won’t you?”

“He! you just got out of one, anyhow.”

Dick Harness then said to those who sat by him, “I’ll make him sing the Negro General.”

“Well, if you will howl, Mr Billy,” cried out Harness, “at all events don’t give us that abominable “Now, then, Billy, fire away.”

“You tink I ’bey your order, you Dick? No sar, suppose I fire away, I go off. I not go off, I stay here.”

“Well, but if you play, you’ll get in trouble, Billy.”

“How I get in trouble?”

“Why you’ll get in a scrape, won’t you?”

“He! you just got out of one, anyhow.”

Dick Harness then said to those who sat by him, “I’ll make him sing the Negro General.”

“Well, if you will howl, Mr Billy,” cried out Harness, “at all events don’t give us that abominable N----r* General; it always gives me the toothache.”

“Now I tink dat very fine song; so you may have whole jaw-ache for all I care. I sing dat, Mr Dick; you jealous of dat song, I know.”

Opposition Billy flourished a little, and then commenced—

“Listen, my boys, and I will tell you—
Tell you a leetle ’bout Gin’ral Gabriel.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“Dey advertise de N----r* Gin’ral,
A dousand pounds dey advertise him.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“And who betrayed de N----r* Gin’ral?
A leetle boy betrayed de Gin’ral.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“A leetle boy by de name of Daniel,
Betrayed him down at Norfolk Landing.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“He says, how do, my uncle Gabriel?
But dis is not your uncle Gabriel.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“Yes, it is my uncle Gabriel;
For I do know you, uncle Gabriel.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“De man belonged to Major Prosser,
So cum and hang de N----r* Gin’ral.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“For he’s ruined old Virginny!
Hard times in old Virginny.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“Dey wrote a letter to de tailor,
To cut out de Gin’ral’s ruffles.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“Dey cut de ruffles out o’ iron!
So they handcuff and chained him.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“Dey went and called a troop of light horse
To come and guard de N----r* Gin’ral!
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“To guard him all to de city of Richmond,
To guard him up unto de justice.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“De justice tuk him to de gobnor—
(Monroe he set up for gobnor).
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“Command him to de Penetenshy;
On Thursday week come on his trial.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“Dey went and called all de country
For to come and see de N----r* Gin’ral.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“Some dey call him Archy Mullen—
‘My right name is John Decullen.’
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“‘I’m here to-day and gone to-morrow;
I did not come for to stay for eber.’
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“So den day tuk him to de gallows,
Drive him down dere in a waggon.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“Dey drive him down unto de gallows,
Dey drive him down with four grey horses.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“Price’s Ben, he drive de waggon.
Very sad loss to Major Prosser.
Oh, my boys, I’m most done!

“Dey drove him right beneath de gallows,
And den dey hang him and dey swing him.
Oh-e-oh! Oh-e-oh!

“And dat de fate of de N----r* Gin’ral,
Who almost ruined old Virginny!
Now, my boys, I’m quite done!”

[Dick Harness sings a song and Opposition Bill says]

“You call dat singing! Stop now! I sing a song you nebber hear in all your life,” cried Opposition Bill, tuning his fiddle.

“And never wish to hear again, most likely,” replied Dick. “Out with it, Bill; your face shines beautifully this morning.”

“I take de shine out of you, Massa Dick; now you listen:—

“Now your fader is asleep, maid, listen unto me;
Will you follow in my trail to Ken-tuck-y?
For cross de Alleghany to-morrow I must go,
To chase de bounding deer on de O-hi-o.

“And will you lub me truly, and kind to me will be,
If I quit my fader’s roof for Ken-tuck-y?
And will you nebber leave me, if I consent to go
To your shanty by de stream of de O-hi-o?

“Her fader’s not asleep, and he will not agree,
Dat you take away his dater to Ken-tuck-y.
So alone by yourself; good hunter, you must go,
Where the Ingin’s rifle cracks on de O-hi-o.

“Your moder, too, is near, aldough you did not see,
And wid her leave you nebber go to Ken-tuck-y.
He hab a wife already, as I do surely know,
Who weeps for his return to de O-hi-o.

“Man, I have dis purse of gold, half of it for ye;
Woman, I hab ne’er a wife in Ken-tuck-y;
Your dater is my only lub, so pridee let us go
To where my corn is ripening on de O-hi-o.

“De fader weighed de purse, he took his half wid glee,
De modor said her child might go to Ken-tuck-y.
So de hunter and de maid, arm in arm dey go
Across de Alleghany to de O-hi-o.”

"Bravo, Billy, that’s not so bad,” said some of the pensioners.
“I tell you, Dick, I take de shine out of you. You nebber believe till I make you fall in my wake, and den you soon be where de little boat was—long way astarn.”

“I’ll tell you what, Billy,” said Dick Harness, “you do improve, and we’ll allow you to sing that song once more before you die, just by way of encouragement..."

****
EDITOR'S NOTES
* That pejorative referent for Black people which is now known as "the n word" is spelled out in full in this song. The now retired referent "Negro" could replace "the n word" in this song if it were sung now.
-snip-
One of the songs that Frederick Marryat documented was sung by Dick Harness was Spanish Ladies. Marryat gives this reason for including that song in his book "As this song was very popular at that time among the seamen, and is now almost forgotten, I shall by inserting it here for a short time rescue it from oblivion.”
-snip-
The song "Spanish Ladies" has a Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Ladies and is sung in YouTube videos. However, the only mention I can find for those two songs sung by Opposition Bill are in several other Google books.
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Nile
"The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay, in French as the Bataille d'Aboukir or in Egyptian Arabic as معركة أبي قير البحرية) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off Egypt from 1 to 3 August 1798."
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Prosser
"Gabriel (1776 – October 10, 1800), today commonly – if incorrectly – known as Gabriel Prosser, was a literate enslaved blacksmith who planned a large slave rebellion in the Richmond area in the summer of 1800. Information regarding the revolt was leaked prior to its execution, and he and twenty-five followers were taken captive and hanged in punishment. In reaction, Virginia and other state legislatures passed restrictions on free blacks, as well as prohibiting the education, assembly, and hiring out of slaves, to restrict their chances to learn and to plan similar rebellions."...
-snip-
Regarding the use of "uncle" in "The Negro General" song, "uncle" was a title of respect for older Black males (as "aunt" was for older Black females) people. The titles "Mister", "Missus", and "Missie" (for girls and young ladies) were reserved for White people.
-snip-
I was interested to find the saying "fire away" and "take the shine out of [a person] in the Poor Jack book. With regard to "take as shine out of a person", that colloquial expresion means to "spoil the brilliance or excitement of": [example: the absence of new jobs has taken some of the shine off his stellar popularity ratings" http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/shine.

When it was addressed to the Black man known as "Opposition Bill", the saying "take a shine out of a person" was a play on words that carried the alternate meaning (or the added meaning) of taking away some of the "brightness" of the Black man's skin (with the assumption that Black people's skin is so dark that it shines at night like blue-black shoe polish.) The word "Shine" was also a colloquial, offensive referent for Black people. However, I don't know whether that particular slur was in use in England in the early 19th century when the book Poor Jack was published.
-snip-
I think that the nickname "Opposition Bill" may have been given to the Black man named Bill White because (from what is documented of him in that one chapter of Poor Jack) he had a quick retort for those who attempted to talk down to him. Although he was described as the White singer/fiddler's "black shadow", Bill White was by no means a submissive man who acted like a fool around White people. The very act of singng "The Negro General" song about Gabriel Prosser, a man who led a slave revolt, showed that "Opposition Bill" didn't take no stuff off of White people.
-snip-
The "Going To Ohio" song was particularly interesting to me because I live in Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That county is named for the Allegheny river. The Ohio and Monongahela rivers are also located in Pittsburgh, which is about two hours from the state of Ohio.
-snip-
Nursery rhyme excerpts are found throughout the Poor Jack book. Another song that was sung by Dick Harness and included in chapter 30 of Poor Jack is given below in the comment section of this post.

****
My thanks to Frederick Marryat for writing this book, and Project Gutenberg for publishing it as an ebook. Thanks also to an anonymous reader of this blog for alerting me to this book in a comment to the pancocojams post on http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/such-getting-upstairs-lyrics-morris.html

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Lead Belly's And Several Other Versions Of "Give The Fiddler A Dram" (Examples & Comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides several text examples, one sound file, and one video example of the Old Time Music fiddler song "Give The Fiddler A Dram".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT "GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM" (tune and song)
From http://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Give_the_Fiddler_a_Dram_(2)
"GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM [2]. AKA - "Fiddler a Dram," "Fiddler's Dram." Unrelated to "Dance All Night." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia... One version of this tune was played at a 1931 LaFollette, north-east Tennessee fiddlers' contest, according to a local newspaper of the time. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. It was also listed by the Fayette Northwest Alabamian of August 19th, 1929, as one of the tunes likely to be played at an upcoming fiddlers' convention (Cauthen, 1990), and was recorded in 1939 for the Library of Congress by Herbert Halpert from the playing of Mississippi fiddler W.E. Claunch. Gerry Milnes, in the notes for his album "Hell Up Coal Creek," writes that this tune was one of old Tom Dillon's (of Webster County, W.Va.) showpiece tune. Dillon was a character who busked around sandlot baseball games for drinks and tips, often dancing while he played. Another trick of his was to play with two bows strapped together. "Girl with the Blue Dress On" is a related tune."...

****
EXAMPLES OF "GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM"
Example #1: Lead Belly - Dig a Hole & Tight Like That



sherpa285, Uploaded on Dec 10, 2011
-snip-
From Google Books The Life & Legend Of Leadbelly by Charles K. Wolfe, ‎Kip Lornell, p. 20
“One old fiddle song- borrowed from the American fiddler tradition, not necessarily from whites- was Leadbelly’s version of the familiar “Give The Fiddler A Dram” which he called “Gwine Dig A Hole Put The Devil In”. This hard driven breakdown with simple expandable verses could easily be drawn into a fifteen- or-twenty minute set. Whites have often sung about giving the fiddler a dram of liquor; the line among black performers dealt with digging a hole to put the devil in...

Gwine* dig a hole put the devil in
Gwine dig a hole put the devil in
Gwine dig a hole
Gwine dig a hole
Letta dig a hole**
Letta dig a hole**

Yee ha! They all clappin and shoutin. The devil comin now. He don't know what it's all about, but they do.

Gwine dig a hole
Gwine dig a hole
Let me dig a hole to put the devil in
Let me dig a hole
Let the devil in
Let the devil in

Then they start

Gimme little bit of dram***
Little bit of dram
Little bit of dram
Little bit of dram

When the boss is gone they startin

I don't give a damn
Don't give a damn
Don't give a damn
Don't give a damn
Don't give a damn
I don't give a damn...
-snip-
*Gwine is a no longer used Southern regional (USA) dialectic word which means "gonna".

**This word sounds like "pole" but I think that Lead Belly meant "hole".

***dram - a portion of an alcoholic drink

This transcription is from a United States Library of Congress recording of an interview with Huddie Ledbetter that was conducted by Alan Lomax. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/lead-belly-dig-hole-put-devil-in-its.html for the complete lyrics with Lead Belly's comments. My opinions about the meaning of that rendition of "Give The Fiddler A Dram" are included in the comment section below.

****
Example #2: 14 PertNearSandstone 2011-04-09 Give The Fiddler A Dram



tapermark, Uploaded on May 13, 2011

Pert Near Sandstone live at the Goodfoot Lounge in Portland, Oregon on 4/9/2011 performing Give The Fiddler A Dram.
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pert_Near_Sandstone
"Pert Near Sandstone is a bluegrass band from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, and part of the Minnesota Roots Music scene"...
Click http://www.reverbnation.com/pertnearsandstone for more information about this band.

Here's my partial transcription of that rendition. Additions and corrections are welcome.

Dance all night with a bottle in my hand [3x]
Just go give the fiddler a dram*

Jawbone walk and jawbone talk
Jawbone eat with a knife and fork
Oh jawbone you better get along
Here comes Sally with the red dress on
Who’s been here since she’s been gone
Pretty little girl with the red dress on
She took it off and Jenny put it on
Here comes Sally with the big boots on
-snip-
Italics mean that I'm not sure about those words.
-snip-
It occurs to me that line "jawbone walk and jawbone talk" refers to the man who plays the jawbone. Understanding that that line refers to the jawbone player makes sense out of the subsequent line of that verse - except that there's another verse about putting a jawbone on a fence and haven't seen it since. That undoubtedly was an actual jaw bone.

****
Example #3 - #4 from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=56403
"Lyr Req: Give the Fiddler a Dram"

Example #3 (posted by Cluin 03 Feb 03 - 08:01 PM)

From the album "Atlantic Bridge" by Jane Rothfield & Allan Carr (with Martin Hadden), 1987 Green Linnet Records

FIDDLER A DRAM
(Trad. Arr. Rothfield & Carr)

My dog gone, Jimmy come along
Here comes Sammy with the red shoes on
He took `em off and I put `em on
Here comes Tommy with the big boots on
He took `em off and I put `em on
Here comes Sammy with the red dress on
He took it off, I put it on
Twenty long years since he's been gone

Got me a job, sittin' on a fence
Haven't seen a damn thing since
Worked all night with a bottle in my hand
Come on give the fiddler a dram

Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram

Some drink wine, some drink water
Come on give the fiddler a quarter
I drink whisky; it makes me holler
Come on give the fiddler a swaller
Got me a job, sittin' on a fence
Haven't done a damn thing since
Work all night with a fiddle in my hand
Come on give the fiddler a dram

Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram

****
Example #4 (posted by Bee-dubya-ell, Date: 03 Feb 03 - 09:25 PM)

I have a cassette recording of a radio program that was taped at a festival in Indiana in the 70's. Indiana fiddler Dan Gellert does "Give the Fiddler a Dram" on it. Here are the lyrics he uses:

Dance all night with a bottle in my hand
Good God almighty give the fiddler a dram

Who's been here since I've been gone
Pretty little girl with a red dress on

My name is Sam and I don't give a damn
I can get to Hell just as quick as you can

****
RELATED LINK
http://www.ceolas.org/cgi-bin/ht2/ht2-fc2/file=/tunes/fc2/fc.html&style=&refer=&abstract=&ftpstyle=&grab=&linemode=&max=250?give+the+fiddler+a+dram The Fiddler's Companion: "Give The Fiddler A Dram".

****
Thanks to these musicians/singers for their renditions of and recollections of "Give The Fiddler A Dram". Thanks to all those who I quoted in this post.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors comments are welcome.

Read More