Topic: Pigmeat Pete & Catjuice Charlie Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Pigmeat Pete & Cat Juice Charlie performed "On Our Turpentine Farm", with Charlie accompanying the duo out of F position in standard tuning.  The duo's real names were Socks Wilson and Harry McDaniel.  Their delivery of the song is really droll.  The first three phrases of the chorus is answered by a hummed "mmm-hmm" and the last line is sung in harmony.  "Turpentine" is pronounced "tare-pen-tine" here.  Here is "On Our Turpentine Farm":



SPOKEN:  Whoa, there.  What's in there, you fool?  Back up there.  Back up there, Peg.  You hear me!

REFRAIN:  On our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm), on our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm)
Where the work ain't hard (mmm-hmm), and the weather is warm

We drove our mule to the water to the water trough
Wouldn't drink and he wouldn't back off
With turpentine we stroke him good
He drunk all the water in our neighborhood

REFRAIN:  On our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm), on our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm)
Where the work ain't hard (mmm-hmm), and the weather is warm

The hogs wouldn't grunt and the cows wouldn't moo
We tried to think what in the world to do
We give 'em some turpentine to make them sore
The doggone fools come back for more

REFRAIN:  On our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm), on our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm)
Where the work ain't hard (mmm-hmm), and the weather is warm

The horse we had done seen his best
He walked four blocks and he sit down to rest
He set down one day in some turpentine
Now the poor horse, he done lost his mind

REFRAIN:  On our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm), on our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm)
Where the work ain't hard (mmm-hmm), and the weather is warm

We had old dog so doggone mean
Worst old dog we had ever seen
We fixed him up out in the old woodshed
Now when we call him, he goes under the bed

REFRAIN:  On our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm), on our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm)
Where the work ain't hard (mmm-hmm), and the weather is warm

Our bossman is a lazy hound
He chew his tobacco, spits on the ground
Smokes his pipe and he lays in the shade
The laziest man that ever was made

REFRAIN:  On our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm), on our turpentine farm (mmm-hmm)
Where the work ain't hard (mmm-hmm), and the weather is warm

All best,
Johnm










 

[sustaireblues]

Just gave that a listen and I love it!

Mighty fine, thanks John for posting,
Joe

[Johnm]

Those guys are fun, aren't they, Joe?  I wish I could find video for those other two cuts, because they're hilarious.
All best,
Johnm

[Lastfirstface]

Thanks for posting these, John. I've been working on this tune with a friend of mine as a mandolin and guitar duet and its a lot of fun, I was going to try to take a video of it and put it up when we play this week. I'd never heard their real names before as I just picked up a track here and there on compilations. "Socks Wilson" is as cool sounding as his pseudonym.

[Johnm]

I'm glad you enjoy them too, Lastfirstface.  I have to give Bunker Hill and Stuart credit for tracking the artists down.  Evidently "Socks"'s given name was Wesley.  Socks is a pretty tough monicker to beat.  One oddity of the duo's recordings is that all three of their songs that I've heard thus far were accompanied out of the F position, not the first choice for most of the players of the day.
All best,
Johnm

[Lastfirstface]

The fact that they play out of F was part of what made me want to learn the song. My buddy and I play a lot of rags out of F and it fits his flatpicking accompaniment well. I just checked Weeniepedia and oddly Turpentine Farm isn't in the list of Blues in F but their other aforementioned songs are. I'd edit it in but I'm not sure I have editing privileges.

[Johnm]

Yup, I'll edit it in.  There's a couple more I need to put in that were just identified recently.  Thanks for the reminder.

[uncle bud]

The fact that they play out of F was part of what made me want to learn the song. My buddy and I play a lot of rags out of F and it fits his flatpicking accompaniment well. I just checked Weeniepedia and oddly Turpentine Farm isn't in the list of Blues in F but their other aforementioned songs are. I'd edit it in but I'm not sure I have editing privileges.

For future reference, you should have editing privileges (I think after 5 forum posts or something, to stop spammers). So feel free to add stuff.

[banjochris]

Just as an aside, the NLCR recorded this with an extra verse John Cohen made up about an artist -- they don't sing the lazy bossman verse.

[Lastfirstface]

Thanks Uncle Bud for letting me know I have editing privileges. I didn't make the connection before that Wesley "Socks" Wilson was also Kid Wilson who recorded with Coot Grant. A friend of mine has a Document compilation of Coot Grant and Kid Wilson that includes some other Pigmeat Pete and Catjuice Charlie 78s. The two I remember messing around with were "Can You Do That to Me?" and "Get Your Mind Out the Gutter" were raggy tunes pitched around D or maybe Eb that I think we were trying out of C position capoed up, so I guess they did get out of F.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Another great number by Pigmeat Pete & Catjuice Charlie is "In Kentucky".  The response lines are shown parenthetically.  Here is "In Kentucky":



INTRO

Now, the girls, they can't be beat, boy, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
The girls, they can't be beat, boy, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
The girls, they can't be beat, for they look so nice and sweet
And they got them great big feet, boy, in Kentucky

If you kiss a girl and hug her tight, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
Kiss and girl and hug her tight, boy, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
Kiss a girl and hug her tight, she'll yell out with all her might
"Will you be 'round tomorrow night?", in Kentucky

Now the boys act queer to me, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
The boys act queer to me, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
The boys act queer to me, wear their knickers above their knees
You can't tell the hes from the shes, in Kentucky

Five dollars to kiss a pretty gal, in Kentucky
Five dollars to kiss a pretty gal, boy, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
For ten dollars and a money order, you can kiss the judge's daughter
Old maids, just three for a quarter, in Kentucky

Now the girls, they sure rush the can, in Kentucky
Now the girls, they sure rush the can, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
The girls, they rush the can, drink all the beer that they can stand
And they'll take any woman's man, in Kentucky

Potatoes grow kind of small, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
Potatoes grow kind of small, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
Potatoes grow kind of small, and they dig 'em in the Fall
And you eat them, hull and all, in Kentucky

Now, they chew tobacco skins, in Kentucky (in Kentucky)
They chew tobacco skins, in Kentucky (they do it in Kentucky)
The chew tobacco skins, and the juice run down their chins
And they lapped it right back in, in Kentucky

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
(NOTE:  This post was originally in the "Rag Blues & Circle of Fifths" thread, but it seemed a shame not to have this Pigmeat Pete & Catjuice Charlie song in their lyrics thread.  I've added a youtube of "Do It Right" to this post as well.)

   

The record that had "The Gin Done Done It" had another tune by them that fits this thread too, as well as being an excellent number.  "Do It Right" is played out of the F position, capoed to the second fret, and I believe is the only instance I can think of in this music in which a musician chose to capo and play in F to sound in G.  I think it is very unlikely the guitar is simply tuned a whole step high because of the uptown nature of the musicianship.  The progression/form of the song works out as follows.  Assume four beats per bar unless otherwise indicated and the chords are named by position played rather than absolute pitch, which would be one whole step higher.

When the gal gets old, she wants to be alone, you left a little work undone at home
             |    F----C7                     | F--C7          |    F                   | D7/F#        |

Do it right                        Do it right                                      What-
|       G7       |G7- 4 + 2 beats   |        C7          |         C7               |

Ever you're doing, go on, do it right                                        When-
|    F          D7    |  G7    C7   |       F                |     F/A           C7     |

As you can see, the 2-beat pick-ups for the repetition of the phrase "do it" in the second bar of the second line are treated as add-ons to the four beats of the measure.
When this song started out, I thought it might be an advice-giving type of song like Sleepy John Estes's "Clean Up At Home".  It turns out to be a lot more subversive than that.  These guys were really funny and quick, and as with "The Gin Done Done It", it's all in the delivery.

   When the gal gets old, she wants to be alone, you left a little work undone at home
   CHORUS:  Do it right, do it right
   Whatever you're doing, go on, do it right

   Whenever you're doing whatever you should, just do your best to do it good
   CHORUS:

   When you have a fight and you didn't win, buy a shotgun, start over again
   CHORUS:

   If your gal comes home, she's feelin' tight, she wants some lovin' that very night
   CHORUS:

   If you're feelin' bad, 'cause you're on the shelf, get some rope, go hang yourself
   CHORUS:

   If your gal needs money, how bad you feel, get some money if you have to steal
   CHORUS:

   If your wife leaves home every time you do, somebody outside knows more than you
   CHORUS:

   When your pal buys your gal a Coca-Cola, you can bet your life he's playing her Victrola
   CHORUS:

   The elephant said when he swallowed the cat, "Got a mouthful of kitty and it's tight like that."
   CHORUS:  Do it right, he did it right
   Whatever you're doing, go on, do it right

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Here are the lyrics for Pigmeat Pete & Catjuice Charlie's "The Gin Done Done It".  For a more detailed musical analysis of this song, follow the link cited in the first post in this thread.  Here is the song:



   Goin' to take my gal to a social dance, but I didn't have no seat in my pants
   Give me four dollars, take me in, I took the four dollars and I bought some gin
   CHORUS: The gin done done it, all doggone it, the gin made a fool outa me

   I tore my hair and I walked the street, I wanted to whip everyone I meet
   'Long came John, who's my best friend, cut his head 'til it was a sin
   CHORUS: The gin done done it, all doggone it, the gin made a fool outa me

   I shot some craps to my disgrace, I run everybody out the place
   Dice was loaded, made me sore, I left four hustlers lyin' on the floor
   CHORUS

   I went to church to do the Holy roll, grabbed me a sister to convert her soul
   Two minutes later the preacher came in, she stopped rollin' with me, started rollin' with him
   CHORUS: The gin done done it, all doggone it, the gin made a fool outa me

   I took my cow to the doctor man, somethin' 'bout her I couldn't understand
   I milked her good, 'bout half past ten, didn't give nothin' but a bucket of gin
   CHORUS: The gin done done it, all doggone it, the gin made a fool outa me

   I tore up all my gal's good clothes, didn't mean to do it, the good Lord knows,
   My landlady is a good old soul, I even took some of her sweet jelly roll
   CHORUS: The gin done done it, all doggone it, the gin made a fool outa me

   I went downtown 'bout half past four, stole two hot dogs from a butcher's store
   Got locked up, the judge, he said, "Take six months to clear your head."
   CHORUS: The gin done done it, all doggone it, the gin made a fool outa me

   The jailhouse step was slick as glass, I tried to run away got shot in the
   Yes, I told my gal, to bring me beer, get some money if she had to sell a little coal
   CHORUS: The gin done done it, all doggone it, the gin made a fool outa me

All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
For "Just One More Time", the guitarist for Pigmeat Pete and Catjuice Charlie was playing out of C position in standard tuning, capoed up a way.  Vocal responses on the chorus are shown in parentheses.  Here is the song:



INTRO

I went to my gal's house, 'bout half past ten
Stuck her head out the door, she say, "You can't come in."
Said, "If I can't come in, don't let nobody out."
These the words she heard me shout:

REFRAIN:  Just one more time (just one more time), just one more time (just one more time)
Be here at six, so we can get it fixed, just one more time

If I ever catch you hangin', 'round the house
I'll cut you with my razor 'til you're small as a mouse
I'll beat you and kick you 'til your head turn gray
I'll ruin anybody gets in my way

REFRAIN:  Just one more time (just one more time), just one more time (just one more time)
I'll break every bone, if I catch you 'round my home, just one more time

Now, two cats was arguin' on the fence last night
Tomcat said, "Honey, you ain't feedin' me right.
You been arguin' the whole night through,
Here is what I want you to do."

REFRAIN:  Just one more time (just one more time), just one more time (just one more time)
I'm your king, so let's shake that thing, just one more time

I tried to be a smart man, don't you see
Stuck my hand in a pocket, didn't belong to me
The man grabbed my hand, and hit me in the face with his fist
To the man, I hollered this:

REFRAIN:  Just one more time (just one more time), just one more time (just one more time)
If you let me go, I won't do that no more, just one more time

Now, I wanted to be a big man with a great big name
Got on the wing of an aeroplane
I found myself, I's headed to the sky
To the pilot, he heard me cry

REFRAIN:  Just one more time (just one more time), just one more time (just one more time)
If I get on the ground, I'll be all around, just one more time

I went to the circus in town one day
In a tiger's cage I had to play
Stuck my hand through it, pat him on his head
Everybody heard me when I said

REFRAIN:  Just one more time (just one more time), just one more time (just one more time)
See that bone, what the meat was on, just one more time

All best,
Johnm