Search on "Laurence" and maybe other variants too..... There's a "St. Laurence Avenue" in El Paso - maybe elsewhere...But Bronx and policy might make sense too - maybe Bo just got around!
Also - whole neighborhoods disappeared in some cities with "urban renewal" - you may need to search pre-war map indexes....
« Last Edit: June 07, 2013, 06:01:49 PM by thickpete »
Also, many Memphis city directories are online at http://register.shelby.tn.us/ -- I looked in a couple and couldn't find Bo, either under Chatman, Chatmon or Carter, but in the 1943 (I only looked in '43 for these) I found Lonnie Chatman, Peter Chatman, Walter Vinson, 3 Walter Lewises, Frank Stokes, about 20 Thomas Johnsons (none listed with wife Maggie!), Robert Wilkins and Booker White. Fun to dig around in.
I got a brand new skillet, i got a brand new lead all I needs is a woman just to burn my bread then I'm telling you baby I sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
Now I got the washboard, my baby's got the tub we gonna put em together gonna rub rub rub then I'm telling you baby I sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
mmm go an' let my banana spoil now mmhm let my banana spoil now I can see the way you're carryin on you don't want my banana no how
Now I got the dasher my baby got the churn we gonna churn churn churn until the butter comes then I'm telling you baby I sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
Now my baby's got the cloth, and I got the needle we gonna stick stick stick till we both will feel it then I'm telling you baby I sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
mmm go an' let my banana ruin now mmm go let my banana ruin now I can see the way you're carryin on you don't want my banana no how
Now my baby got the meat and i got the knife I'm gonna do her cutting sit down and solve my life, the balance of my life, then I'm telling you baby sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
edited to pick up correction from banjochris, below and edited again to add version info.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2020, 09:57:41 AM by Johnm »
thanks for the the "to 'ny it", chris I put that one in. The 'balance of my life' i can hear that it could well be that, but it doesn't make much sense, whereas all the other couplets in other verses add to the humour. Mine doesn't either. I have a feeling it might still be something else. Anyone else have an idea?
Gumbo, at least in parts of the US, "the balance" is a colloquial term for "the rest, the remainder". So "I'm gonna do her cuttin' the balance of my life" would mean "I'm gonna do her cuttin' the rest of my life", which makes sense in the context of the verse.
Gumbo, at least in parts of the US, "the balance" is a colloquial term for "the rest, the remainder". So "I'm gonna do her cuttin' the balance of my life" would mean "I'm gonna do her cuttin' the rest of my life", which makes sense in the context of the verse.
That "balance of my life," or whatever, has puzzled me for years -- thanks for all the ideas on it. I am still not sure what he says there. I agree that "balance of my life" doesn't really seem to fit as a lyrical statement, even if it "makes sense." Let's all keep listening and thinking about that line! As for St. Lawrence Avenue -- I don't think Carter recorded in Grafton. But even if he did pass through that town to record, I don't think he would have immediately learned the geography of a different Wisconsin city and included directions for a bookie to get to his "house" there in one of his songs. I love the idea of looking in old city directories for streets that might not exist anymore (or have been renamed), though, thanks for that suggestion! And while Carter lived in Memphis in his old age, that was post-recording. My guess is that the St. Lawrence Avenue we (and his policy man) are seeking was in Jackson, Miss. I'll check with long-time residents and old city directories there and see if I find a St. Lawrence Ave. Cheers, Ch.
Looks like it is Chicago's St. Lawrence Avenue that Carter sings about in "Policy Blues." By asking a librarian there to look at old city directories and maps, I found out that there never was a St. Lawrence Avenue in Jackson, Miss. (a city I know Carter lived in for years, the closest city to his birthplace in Bolton, and a city he mentioned in another song, therefore my first guess as to where "Policy Blues" would be set). The nearby cities of Memphis and New Orleans, which Carter also was familiar with, also lack St. Lawrence avenues past or present, per librarians in those cities. Chicago does have an avenue of that name. I originally did not consider that one as a possibility, since I didn't think Carter ever lived or spent much time there. But it turns out the St. Lawrence Avenue in Chicago is in the heart of that city's "Bronzeville," which was a thriving African-American business district from the 1920s on, with 94.6 percent black population by 1930. Here is a description:
Grand Boulevard became the hub of ?Bronzeville,? the name the Chicago Bee gave to Chicago's South Side African American community. A thriving center of successful black businesses, civic organizations, and churches, Bronzeville was in every way ?a city within a city.? The large number of black intellectuals, politicians, sports figures, artists, and writers who made their homes in Bronzeville made it a cultural mecca, the central institution of which was the famed Regal Theater located at 47th and Grand Boulevard.
That is exactly the kind of neighborhood that would have a policy game. And St. Lawrence Avenue was not the main drag, which makes sense -- Carter wants the policy man not to dally on Grand Boulevard, but to "cut across on St. Lawrence Avenue" to deliver his winnings promptly. As for how Carter would be familiar with Chicago and decide to use a Chicago geographical reference in a song -- the Mississippi Sheiks, probably including Carter, toured from 1930-35 to various places including Illinois. They may have stayed in Bronzeville long enough to become familiar with its streets and hear people talking about the policy game. Maybe that is where Carter became familiar with the policy game, which might not have existed (at least not in such an organized fashion, with runners who come to your house) in the South. And sharp businessman that he was, he certainly was aware that a lot of his record buyers lived in Chicago, and may have inserted the reference for their benefit.
Nice work, Chezztone - that's some interesting background info too.
There are two versions of Banana. Here is the later one from Document 5079 vol2. It doesn't help much with the mystery line, but does have a different last verse.
Banana In The Fruit Basket
I got a brand new skillet, i got a brand new lead all I needs is a woman now just to burn my bread and it's mmm baby I sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
Now my baby got the dasher and I got the churn we gonna churn churn churn until the butter comes and it's mmm baby I sure ain't going to 'ny it just let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
mmm gonna let my banana spoil now mmhm gonna let my banana spoil now I can see the way you're actin baby you don't want my banana no how
Now my baby got the cloth, and I got the needle we gonna stick stick stick till we both will feel it and it's mmm baby I sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
Now my baby got the meat and i got the knife I'm gonna do her cutting sit down and saw all my life or the balance of my life ? and it's mmm baby sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satisfied
mmm gonna let my banana spoil now mmhm gonna let my banana spoil now I can see the way you're actin baby you don't want my banana no how
You got the dairy, and i wanna milk coz your cows is just as soft as silk and it's mmm baby sure ain't going to 'ny it let me put my banana in your fruit basket then I'll be satis-fi-fi-nfi-fi nfi-fi fied