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Author Topic: John Jackson Lyrics  (Read 6821 times)

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Offline Chezztone

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John Jackson Lyrics
« on: March 13, 2006, 01:54:14 PM »
OK, this should be an easy one, since it's a clear modern recording and it's by a singer we're all familiar with. But John Jackson seems to use some arcane term on "West Texas Blues" (which he attributes to Jimmie Rodgers, but I suspect is his own song in Rodgers' style). It's from his Front Porch Blues CD. Fourth verse:
   I got a pretty, pretty mama (???) and a (???) too (2x)
   My pretty mama don't love me just like my (???) do.
Now what the heck is he saying there? If it's some slang term, is anyone familiar with it or know what it means?



 Thanks! Chezz
« Last Edit: July 05, 2020, 06:39:24 AM by Johnm »

Offline uncle bud

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Re: John Jackson's "West Texas Blues"
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2006, 10:53:08 AM »
The first verse seems to be coming from "Jimmie's Texas Blues." I'm not sure any of the other verses appear there, but I'd bet some at least are in other Rodgers tunes. As to the verse in question, boy, that's tricky. All I can help with is, I hear "Lord, like my ??? do", not "just like". Sorry, not much help. What I'm hearing phonetically is something like "boot love" -- oh, well.  :P This is a great song. I love John Jackson's versions of Jimmie Rodgers songs. He always pulls them off beautifully. I'm attaching a lo-fi mp3 of the song to see if any other ears can help.

Front Porch Blues is also a really wonderful CD, which I notice is not on the Juke. I'd recommend it to everyone, especially if you like songsters. John was amazing. One of my current favorites off this CD is Steel Mill Blues. In the notes it goes uncredited, and John says he can't remember who it was by. But it seems to be a version of Ralph Willis's Steel Mill Blues, which in turn seems loosely based on Blind Blake's song of the same title.

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Offline Johnm

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Re: John Jackson's "West Texas Blues"
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2006, 11:53:04 AM »
Hi Chezz,
I think John is saying,
   I got a pretty, pretty mama, Lord, and a bulldog, too(2)
   My pretty mama don't love me, Lord, like my bulldog do
All best,
Johnm

Offline uncle bud

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Re: John Jackson's "West Texas Blues"
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2006, 12:50:25 PM »
Yup, sounds good to me, John. It's clear now that you've pointed it out.

P.S. We've also managed to get Front Porch Blues on the Juke rather quickly as well.  :D

Offline Chezztone

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Re: John Jackson's "West Texas Blues"
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2006, 01:11:32 PM »
"Bulldog"! Yup, of course that's it. I been trying to figure out why a "boodlum" loved him. Very good. Thanks, John!

Offline Steve Pajik

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Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2011, 09:23:01 PM »
Hi, y'all ...

Just wondering if anyone knows of a site or other resource which contains the lyrics to all the tunes on John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down". Using an out of print Mel Bay book of transcriptions as my guide, I have given myself the goal of learning and recording all the songs on this album (but excluding the banjo instrumental, methinks!). Kinda crazy but it seems like a fun and rewarding personal challenge!  :D

The only problem is that the Mel Bay book doesn't contain the lyrics (beyond the first verses, at least) and I've searched high and low on the Web and can't find anything!! I reckoned I could search for the individual tunes on the album and maybe find some variation of the lyrics that way, even if it was based on another artist's version. But I struck out with the album's very first song Going Down In Georgia On a Horn, so I'm conceding defeat!

I could try to figure them out by ear, but I have virtually no talent for deciphering lyrics at the best of times ... and Jackson's accent would make this approach even more intimidating. hehe

Would everyone be up for the challenge of going through this album song by song, perhaps??  :D

In any event, any help would be much appreciated.  :)

Cheers!

Offline Steve Pajik

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2011, 09:32:38 PM »
I should add that if anyone is game to help me figure out some of the lyrics, I'm not really concerned with the songs in which there exists many variations that can be found on the Web and elsewhere - "John Henry", "Nobody's Dirty Business" "Police Dog Blues" etc. Focus would be on the ones that aren't as common - such as "Going Down In Georgia On a Horn".

 :D

EDIT: If no one knows of any useful lyric resource(s) I can use, I'll definitely go through the songs by myself and determine which ones I'll need help with, then I'll present you guys with a final I-need-help-with-these-songs! list.  :)
« Last Edit: March 19, 2011, 09:40:48 PM by Deaf Steever »

Offline Steve Pajik

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2011, 07:03:00 AM »
Well, after scouring the web, cobbling together lyrics from other artists and sources, plus listening to the songs closely and using the Mel Bay book as my guide, I've narrowed down the list of songs I need help with to a mere two!

The two songs I need help with are:

Going Down In Georgia On a Horn
Trucking Little Baby

Any help with these lyrics would be great! I don't think they're that complex - I just have trouble deciphering Jackson's accent sometimes.  ::) If I get some free time later today, I'll post what I've figured out so far. However, if anyone feels ambitious, feel free to take a crack at them both beforehand!  ;D

Thanks!

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2011, 10:56:28 AM »
Hi Steever - fun project. There's a lot of playing in that album. Learn the banjo tune too.  :P How is the Mel Bay book? Who did the transcriptions?

 Here's my take on Going Down In Georgia on a Horn. Darby and Tarlton recorded Down In Florida On a Hog, and there are other "On a Hog" songs that escape me at the moment, though it's a traditional line. I'm not 100% certain John Jackson sings "horn" and not "hog", but have transcribed it as "horn".

 

Going Down In Georgia On a Horn - John Jackson

Said, I'm goin' down in Georgia on a horn
Goin' down in Georgia on a horn
Oh lordy me, trouble that I see
Goin' down in Georgia on a horn

I ain't had my right mind today
I ain't had my right mind today
Oh lordy me, trouble that I see
I ain't had my right mind today

Oh Lord, won't you please come down here
Oh Lord, won't you please come down here
Oh lordy me, trouble that I see
Oh Lord, won't you please come down here

Says I ain't had my right mind today
I ain't had my right mind today
Oh lordy me, trouble that I see
I ain't had my right mind today

Said I'm goin' down in Georgia on a horn
Goin' down in Georgia on a horn
Oh lordy me, trouble that I see
Goin' down in Georgia on a horn
« Last Edit: July 05, 2020, 06:40:25 AM by Johnm »

Offline Steve Pajik

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2011, 01:45:41 PM »
Thanks, Bud! That's great! I was having a lot of trouble understanding that third verse in particular, plus the odd word here and there throughout the tune. Now I can start my John Jackson Challenge - it was kinda delayed because GDIGOAH is the first track on the album!  :)

I never thought about the word "horn" actually being "hog". "Hog" sounds more appropriate. Kinda sounds like Jackson is singing "hog", too. But alas, the song is listed with the word "horn" so that's what I'll go with!

This is the Mel Bay book I'm using: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=2937610678&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26tn%3Djohn%2Bjackson%2Bdon%2527t%26x%3D45%26y%3D11

Lenny Carlson did the transcriptions. http://www.melbay.com/authors.asp?author=83

It's actually better than I expected it to be. It provides an excellent starting point. Entire songs aren't transcribed, but there's enough that if you're reasonably familiar with this style of playing, you can easily fill in the gaps. For a book that's been out of print for a while, I'm surprised that it's still available at such a reasonable price, too. Definitely worth a look if you like Jackson's stuff!

However, in a perfect world, the lyrics would have been transcribed, too.  :P

Anyway, thanks again for deciphering the GDIGOAH lyrics!

Steever


Offline lindy

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2011, 07:09:42 PM »

Just a quick note here: after I met John for the first time at the first Port Townsend workshop I attended, I went looking for the meaning of "horn" (I stupidly spaced out on asking him during the week). I found out that it's equal to a "scow"--not quite as large as a barge, but a flat-bottomed boat used for hauling stuff by river or along a coast. Can't remember where I got that info, it was '96 when I found it--in a book, not online, can you believe it?

Lindy

Offline Steve Pajik

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2011, 08:42:31 PM »
Lindy,

Firstly, thanks for the info on the meaning of "horn"! I was definitely curious - but it was really bugging my co-worker that he didn't know (he's a word nut who designs crosswords; he's had a few published in the NYTimes, LATimes, etc). In fact, I think I'll lord it (the fact that I know a word definition he doesn't know) over him for a while before I tell him exactly what kind of horn Jackson was referring to.  >:D

Secondly, you met (and presumably got lessons from) John Jackson?!! That is cool beyond belief.  :D

Thirdly, what the heck is this "book" thing you speak of?! Is it like Google?  :o

Steever


Offline lindy

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2011, 10:34:19 PM »

There's several people associated with Weenie who had the immeasurable pleasure of meeting John and learning songs from him at the Port Townsend workshop. Use the search function or tags, and you'll find lots of stories and memories of that wonderful man.

After I posted my reply I went searching for confirmation on the Web for the word "horn"; I Googled combinations of "horn" "barge" and "scow", and didn't find anything. My memory is clear about reading that definition a long time ago, but I want a second source.

There's two other possibilities that would fit with the song title: horns on a cleat for tying a boat to a dock--sitting on a horn to Georgia wouldn't be much fun. The other is a horn timber, which supports the overhand of a boat's stern. Maybe the original songster was singing about sitting in a very uncomfortable place on a boat as he gets a cheap ride to Georgia.

I'm checking with a friend who knows a bunch about wooden boats . . .

L

 
« Last Edit: March 20, 2011, 10:38:07 PM by lindy »

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Lyrics for John Jackson's album "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down"
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2011, 08:30:29 AM »
The other possibility is that John just got the words wrong, or created new ones from what he misheard, not unprecedented, even within his own discography.

Digging into the past where the "on a hog" line has come up before, banjochris posted the following back in aught five:

I'm not sure about the first two lines of the last verse, so any help would be appreciated.
(snip)
   I was down in Cincinnati, baby, on the hog
   I'm down in Cincinnati, baby, on the hog
   I'm drinkin' muddy water, sleep in a hollow log

I don't have the record handy to listen to, but that's almost certainly right. According to a dictionary of old hobo slang (at http://www.hobonickels.org/alpert04.htm) -- on the hog means broke. The same phrase is in Darby and Tarlton's first record, "Down in Florida on a Hog," and is sort of there in John Jackson's "Going Down to Georgia on a Horn." I think I remember reading somewhere that a hog was slang for a railroad engine, so on the hog would mean on the bum.

Chris

The old-time singer Samantha Bumgarner used the line as "Goin' down in Florida on a bum" in her "Worried Blues" and "Georgia Blues" (though I can't find my recording of this so I am going by banjochris's very nice version of it).

Howard Odum collected a song called "On a Hog" (in The Negro and His Songs) with the following verse:

Come 'way to Georgia to git on a hog
Come 'way to Georgia to git on a hog
Come 'way to Georgia to git on a hog
Lord come 'way to Georgia to git on a hog

Bumgarner's songs are versions of what's become known as Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad or Lonesome Road Blues. John Jackson's song is rather different though.

Offline Johnm

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Re: John Jackson Lyrics
« Reply #14 on: September 20, 2019, 04:48:15 PM »
Hi all,
I just found this version of "Frankie and Johnny" by John Jackson.  John backed himself out of C position in standard tuning for it. I'm not at all sure I have the ending of the first line of the third verse from the end right, so any help would be appreciated.  Here it is:



Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts, oh Lord, how they did love
Sure be true to each other, true as the stars above
"He was my man, but he done me wrong."

Frankie went down to the corner, just for a bucket of beer
"Mr. Bartendler [sic], have my lovin' Johnny been here?
He was my man, but he done me wrong."

"I ain't going to teach you know story, I ain't going to tell you no lie.
I seen your lovin' Johnny, makin' love to Nellie Bye."
"He was my man, but he done me wrong."

Frankie looked over the transom, she got her little .44,
Say, "root", she shot three times, through that hardwood door
She shot her man, but he done her wrong

"Roll me over easy, roll me over slow,
Roll me over, 'cause my right side hurts me so."
"He was my man, but he done me wrong."

Bring out your rubber-tired buggy, bring out your steamin' hack
"I'm a-takin' my man to the graveyard, ain't gon' bring him back,
Was my man, but he done me wrong."

SOLO

They took Frank down to the warden, asked him what he's gonna do
The judge, he said to Frankie, "It's the 'lectric chair for you,
You shot your man, but he done you wrong."

This don't have no moral, this don't a-have no end
This story goes to show, just t'ain't no good in men
"He was my man, but he done me wrong."

Edited 9/22 to pick up correction from Rivers

All best,
Johnm



 
« Last Edit: September 22, 2019, 09:40:47 PM by Johnm »

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