Don't write for me no eulogy, and please don't shed no tears. Just talk the same trash about me that you did when I was here - Steve James, Will and Testament Blues, American Primitive
I remember Pat Conte talking on Secret Museum of Air about the myriad interpretations of what Charlie was saying on this one, so I'm sure I'm way off on some of this. Ok, well here goes nothing:
Monkey On a String
Most every year when the springtime comes and the birds begin to sing An Italian comes around this town with a monkey on a string An organ set where the monkey sat was in the grocery store The foolish things that monkey done he sent me in a roar
Now that's the time when the monk begins (laughter) Oh how that monkey hopped and grinned (laughter)
Some says he looks like Sally's [fish?] Some say like Deacon Brown And we sat by gosh the whole day long With that darn monkey's song
(laughter)
Some say he looks like Sally's [fish] Some say like Deacon Brown And we sat by gosh the whole day long With that darn monkey's song
Some said that the monk was made one night when I would see the way And that the monk was made from an Italian on the great creation day But a monk was made from an Irishman and I would see the way That a monk was made from Italian to pass the time away
Now that's the time when the monk begins (laughter) Oh how that monkey hopped and grinned (laughter)
Some says he looks like Sally's [fish?] Some say like Deacon Brown And we sat by gosh the whole day long With that darn monkey's song
« Last Edit: July 06, 2020, 09:36:13 AM by Johnm »
Good on you for taking on "Monkey On A String", Lastfirstface. I love the song and love to play it--Bflat is so pretty a key for the fiddle, but man, are those lyrics hard to hear--maybe the hardest to hear of any of Charlie Poole's lyrics. I'll re-listen tomorrow and see if I can come up with anything. It is interesting to sing the song, when the only part I feel reasonably certain about is the guffawing. All best, Johnm
"Monkey on a String" pretty much defeated Uncle Willie's word transcription abilities. Much of the entry is blank. He does, however, maintain that he hears "Some say he looks like Sally Smith ..." Wish I could be more helpful.
I guess I picked 'Monkey On a String' to try to transcribe because of how difficult it is to get a grasp on some of the lines. A friend of mine and I do it together sometimes and he pretty much just makes it up as he goes along. After I posted earlier I remembered hearing somewhere that Poole might have got the song from the earlier Cal Stewart recording. After a bit of poking around, I found it on archive.org:
Cal's lyrics are a bit different, and include a pretty clear "Sally Smith" on that line that Charlie always seems to swallow. I have my take on the lyrics to "You Ain't Talkin' to Me" written down somewhere, so I'll put those up too as soon as I find them.
Kinney Rorrer, a great nephew of Charlie Poole's and Posey Rorrer's (Charlie married Posey's sister), as alluded to by others wrote an excellent biography on him titled Rambling Blues The Life & Songs of Charlie Poole ( ISBN: 0-904395-01-4) that is full of historical information and colorful anecdotes and includes transcriptions to all of Poole's songs. It is a very informative and entertaining read. Here are the lyrics as transcribed therein.
Monkey On a String
Most every year when springtime comes And the birds begin to sing An Italian comes around this town With a monkey on a string And an organ that he plays around At the corner grocery store And the foolish things that monkey does Just sets me in a roar
Now thats the time the fun begins Ha-ha-ha-ha Oh how that monkey hops and grins Ha-ha-ha-ha Some says he looks Sally Smith Some say lie Deacon Brown And its laugh by gosh, from morn til night When that darn monk's in town
Ha-ha-ha-ha [etc] Some say he looks like Sally Smith Some say lie Deacon Brown And its laugh by gosh, the whole day long When that darn monk's in town
Some said that the monk was made one night That I would see the way And that the monk was made for mockery On the great creation day But a monk was made from an Irishman That I might see the way And a monk was made from....[?] To pass the time away
Chorus
I just checked on Amazon and according to the description it is currently out of print. It is however, still available but selling for a ridiculously high price. I am fairly confident if you contacted Kinney directly he be able to source copies that wouldn't require taking out a personal bank loan. I attended the CP festival last year in Eden, NC and I would swear copies were being sold there. BTW, Kinney heads up a tight knit band known as The New North Carolina Rambler's and he can pick just like CP. CD's and downloads are readily available and their playing can be heard on YouTube.
Bayrum78
« Last Edit: January 31, 2012, 06:28:29 PM by bayrum78 »
Backtracking a bit to the lyrics of If I Lose, I Don't Care ....The boys was fighting Spaniards while i was fighting I always thought was The boys was fighting Spaniards while I was fighting gnats
(pardon the politically incorrect coon reference - but it is what he sings)
Coon From Tennessee
There's a coon from Tennessee Just as black as she could be And she never went to church or Sunday school Says she went there one day When she heard that preacher say
I'm gonna live in highways 'til I die The life I aim on living's very high Oh, sticks and stones gonna break my bones Talk about me when I'm dead and gone But I'm gonna live in highways 'til I die
I'm gonna run me a cemetery of my own If you don't let my girl there alone Gonna buy me a razor, gonna scrape the blade Gonna lay some son of a gun in the shade For I'm gonna live in highways 'til I die
The Georgia Yellowhammers also have a fantastic version of this song. Jim Jackson (and probably many others) sing about starting graveyard/cemetery of their own -may have been a common verse within the "coon song" genre
« Last Edit: July 06, 2020, 09:37:39 AM by Johnm »
Sounds more like "I'm gonna live in Iowa 'til I die" to me. Neither make a whole lot of sense but there you go. And please transcribe all the verses and choruses, thanks.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2012, 07:02:36 PM by Rivers »
Kinney Rorrer reprinted his book (originally published by Old Time Music in England), and, last I heard, sells it himself. I highly recommend it. The last address I have for him is Kinney Rorrer, 301 Carson Jones Road, Danville, VA 24540.
(pardon the politically incorrect coon reference - but it is what he sings)
Coon From Tennessee
There's a coon from Tennessee Just as black as she could be And she never went to church or Sunday school Says she went there one day When she heard that preacher say
I would say the gender is incorrect here and that Poole sings HE, and not she, throughout the verse. It would be more logical with the reference in the later verse to leaving his girl alone as well.
At the end in line 5.1, I think it might actually be "WHENCE he heard that preacher say"
Quote
I'm gonna live in highways 'til I die The life I aim on living's very high Oh, sticks and stones gonna break my bones Talk about me when I'm dead and gone But I'm gonna live in highways 'til I die
Agree with dj on THE HIGH WAYS.
2.1 The life I ARE living's very high
Re. the above. Not 100% certain of it, but I think that's what he's singing, and it would be typical of the deliberately mangled grammar of some coon songs (think Ragtime Joe in Sam McGee's version of Chicken - "'C' am the way to begin"..."'I' that am the third", "that am the way to spell chicken" etc.)
Missing repeated chorus:
I'm gonna live in the high ways 'til I die The life I are living's very high Oh, sticks and stones gonna break-a my bones Talk about me when I'm dead and gone But I'm gonna live in the high ways 'til I die
Possibly singing FOR instead of BUT in the last line?
Quote
I'm gonna run me a cemetery of my own If you don't let my girl there alone Gonna buy me a razor, gonna scrape the blade Gonna lay some son of a gun in the shade For I'm gonna live in highways 'til I die
4.2 If you don't let my GAL there alone 4.5 For I'm gonna live in THE HIGH WAYS 'til I die
Missing repeated choruses:
I'm gonna live in the high ways 'til I die The life I are living's very high Oh, sticks and stones gonna break-a my bones Talk about me when I'm dead and gone FOR I'm gonna live in the high ways 'til I die
I'm gonna live in the high ways 'til I die The life I are living's very high Oh, sticks and stones gonna break-a my bones Talk about me when I'm dead and gone FOR I'm gonna live in the high ways 'til I die
Quote
The Georgia Yellowhammers also have a fantastic version of this song.
Nate, did you mean the Georgia Crackers? They also sing "I'm a-gonna live anyhow till I die" in the chorus as Chris notes.
Here's a link to the original sheet music from 1901 for "I'm Gonna Live Anyhow Till I Die" by Shepard N. Edmonds that Chris mentioned.
« Last Edit: February 01, 2012, 12:26:00 PM by uncle bud »
Like uncle bud, I do think the gender in the first verse is masculine. This would mean that the third line would be "AS HE never went to church or Sunday school" as there's a definite "s" at the end of the first or the beginning of the second syllable.
Where uncle bud and I part ways is in the second line of the chorus. I think Poole is singing either "The life I AM A-livin's very high" or "The life I AIM ON livin's very high". With Poole's accent, the sounds of the two variants are essentially identical, so "you pays your money and you takes your pick" as my parent's used to say.