Topic: "Come Along Little Children" ("Raise a Ruckus Tonight")-Picaninny Jug Band

[Cleoma]

Hi folks,
This song was recorded by several hillbilly bands in the 30s; I'm trying to decipher the Picanninny Jug Band's version.  Here's what I've got so far, and an MP3.  I've not written down all the various interjections.  Thanks in advance!  Here is "Come Along Little Children":



Come Along Little Children (Raise a Ruckus Tonight)

Come along, little children come along
While the moon is shining bright
Get on board (on the boat), down the river float
We?re gonna raise a ruckus tonight

My old mistress promised me
When she died she?d set me free
She lived so long til her head got bald
?  at all


Now some folks say a  preacher won?t steal
I caught 2 in my watermelon field
Just eating them watermelongs, throwing away the rind]
?? a dime

You know I had a little dog and he had no sense
He?s always ?chickens on the fence
The chicken flew off and hit him in the jaw
You oughta heard that dog holler ha ha haw

Now when I die just serve me tea
Place a jug of molasses at my feet
Just put some in my hand
I?ll .strop () my way to the promised land


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[Gumbo]

Hi Cleoma
here's what i hear.

1. SHE GET OUT THE NOTION OF DYIN' at all

2. THEM PREACHERS PRAYIN AND STEALIN' ALL THE TIME

3. Well I had a little dog and he had no STRENGTH
    he's always BARKIN" AT THE chickens on the fence

4. When I die just BURY ME DEEP
i don't really get the rest of this verse yet but it sounds like "light bread". is that good for dipping in molasses? And could strop mean something like dip?

[dj]

The last two verses are:

You know I had a little dog and he had no sense
He?s always BARKIN' AT THE chickens on the fence
The chicken flew off and hit him in the jaw
You oughta heard that dog holler ha ha haw

Now when I die just BURY ME DEEP
Place a jug of molasses at my feet
Just put some LIGHT BREAD in my hand
I?ll SOP my way to the promised land

I think Gumbo's STRENGTH at the end of the first line of the third verse is wrong, and that SENSE is the correct reading.

[Cleoma]

Thanks so much!  Here are the lyrics with the corrections, and I added a few of the interjections as well. 

Chorus:
(Oh well it?s) Come along, little children come along
(Oh well it?s) While the moon is shining bright
(Oh won?t you) Get on board (on the boat), down the river float
We?re gonna raise a ruckus tonight

Now my old mistress promised me
When she died she?d set me free
She lived so long til her head got bald
She get out of the notion of dying at all

Now some folks say a preacher won?t steal
I caught 2 in my watermelon field
Just eating them watermelons, throwing away the rind]
Them preachers prayin? and stealin? all the time

You know I had a little dog and he had no sense
He?s always barking at the chickens on the fence
The chicken flew off and hit him in the jaw
You oughta heard that dog holler ha ha haw

Now when I die just bury me deep
Place a jug of ?lasses at my feet
Just put some light bread in my hand
I?ll sop my way to the promised land

Let's raise one...

[Lastfirstface]

I unfortunately don't have the Picaninny Jug Band recording, but I've been listening to a lot of Georgia Yellow Hammers stuff lately, and I thought I'd take the time to add my transcription of their version to the thread. I'm sure I'm missing some things, as I find Bud Landress' voice difficult to understand at times.

Going To Raise a Ruckus Tonight
Georgia Yellow Hammers, 1927 Victor recording

Well my old mistress promised me (gonna raise a ruckus tonight)
That when she died she gonna set me free (gonna raise a ruckus tonight)

Oh, Come on children come along
While the moon is shining bright
Get on the boat and down the river float
I'm gonna raise a ruckus tonight

There ain't no use in me workin' so hard
'Cause I've got a woman in the white folks yard

Every night at half past eight
I hang my bucket on the white folks gate

She steals me meat and she steals me lard
She steals me chickens from the white folks yard

When I die gonna bury me deep
And put a jug of home brew at my feet

[Lastfirstface]

While I'm at it, here's what I'm hearing on Gary Davis' version from the "At Home and Church" album. I love the way he pronounces 'ruckus':

Raise a Ruckus Tonight
Rev. Gary Davis, from At Home and Church (disc 2)

Chorus:
Won't you come along, children come along
While the moon is shining bright
Jump on board and down the river float
Gonna raise a ruckus tonight

(Well...) Two little men black as tar (raise a ruckus tonight)
Tryin' to get to heaven on a flat car (raise a ruckus tonight)
Wheels jump off and [went?] to the ground (raise a ruckus tonight)
They quit, saying thank god they're heaven-bound (raise a ruckus tonight)

Well the bullfrog jumped up on the pulpit stand
Well he preached the gospel like a natural man
I've never seen so many join the church before
Thirteen-thousand and fifty four

Note:
In both this and the Yellow Hammers version, the chorus repeats after each verse. On the Rev's version, he starts it off with the chorus and finishes by punctuating a instrumental take on the verse with a final chorus.

[Gumbo]

Thanks for those LastFaceFirst. Did you see there is an mp3 of the Picaninny Jug Band attached to Cleoma's original post? Well worth a listen.

and dj.
"Sop"

Of course! kudos to you.

[Lastfirstface]

Whoops. Completely missed that. Thanks Gumbo.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Lonzie Thomas does a great version of this song on the George Mitchell Collection.  It is included in the Lonzie Thomas Lyrics thread.
All best,
Johnm