Topic: Memphis Minnie Lyrics

[banjochris]

I think Gumbo is on track for 5 -- for 3 I hear:

My cow in the lane, she can?t get no water
She find a little calf and you might have heard her holler

[Suzy T]

Actually I now believe that verse 3 is:

My cow's titty aches, she can't get no water
She got a little calf, say you might've heard her holler

Love this song!

[Gumbo]

If it's not it should be! 

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I merged Suzy's "Soo Cow Soo" thread into the Memphis Minnie Lyrics thread.
All best,
Johnm

[meredithanthraxelrod]

Anyone want to venture?

[One-Eyed Ross]

This is as good as my old ears and bad ear buds can do....

I got to go I'm a little behind
I got the stuff that'll change your mind
Because I got good ol' soppin I mean I got
Well I got good soppin I'm tryin' to [juice] myself

It'd be [?] and it won't treat me right
Try and keep the boy [children] out of my sight
Because I got good ol' soppin I mean I got
Well I got good soppin I'm tryin' to [juice] myself

Third verse is undecipherable to my ear

I dunno just take [?]
[Spread] my soppin is the best in the world
Because I got good ol' soppin I mean I got
Well I got good soppin I'm tryin' to [juice] myself

And I don't know how you mens can tell
[?] and you bet it won't swell
Because I got good ol' soppin I mean I got
Well I got good soppin I'm tryin' to [juice] myself

[One-Eyed Ross]

(As an aside, the general rule around here is to post what you have already, and let the rest of us try to fill in the pieces).

[Stuart]

Yeah, but look at  it this way, Ross--You've done the easy stuff and now Meredith has to do the heavy lifting. 

Tomorrow I'll turn on the stereo and put on the headphones. Maybe I'll be able decipher a word or two.  And if all else fails, Meredith can always call upon "artistic license" and make up her own lyrics for the unintelligible spots. If no one in the audience can understand the original, will they really be able to tell the difference? 

[One-Eyed Ross]

And remember, there is no "R" in Warshington...

[banjochris]

This should be pretty darn close (thanks to One-Eyed Ross for most of the work):

I?ve got to go I'm little behind
I?ve got the stuff that'll change your mind
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself

Little bit light and it won't treat me right
Tryin? keep the boy chillun out of my sight
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? and grind the juice myself

Pick my own cane, I pack my own seed,
When I get settled I pick my own leaves
Just because I got good ol' soppin I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself


Play it for me now. Yeah!
Good soppin? you all know it?s sugar cane!
Nice on a hot biscuit [there?s a stray ?m? sound between ?nice? and ?on? but I think Minnie just misspoke a bit]


I don?t know just take the word
Says my soppin? is the best in the world
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself

And I don't know how you mens can tell
Sop mama?s legs then your belly won?t swell
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself

Pick one of the sugar for 'em now
Good old soppin? cane molasses it?s nice and mellow!
Let?s play it whilst I sop here. Yeah!


And Meredith, a pleasure to see you around these parts!
Chris

[One-Eyed Ross]

Whoa, Chris, you got some good ears there!  I had no idea what a lot of those words were!  Good on you, mate!

[Stuart]

Well done, Chris. I listened a little bit this morning and picked up a couple of the things you got, but in no way approaching your comprehensive transcription.

I checked Woman With Guitar, and although Good Soppin is mentioned, there's nothing in the way of a transcription. On p. 15 there's a quote from Minnie where she says that they grew sugarcane and sorghum on the farm where she lived and she would strip the cane and take it to the mill where they would grind and press the juice out. Good Soppin is also mentioned on p.191 in the introductory paragraph to the "Food and Cooking" chapter.

I tried to find some info on the range of meaning of "soppin" around the time when the song was recorded, but nothing really enlightening came up. Of course, there's "soppin sauce" that's used on barbecue, which has sugar or molasses as an ingredient. Perhaps, as the lyrics and spoken asides imply, sugar cane juice was simply used straight up on foods like biscuits, etc. Back in the day, some of my relatives used to use sugar syrup on pancakes and waffles, even when maple syrup was readily available and affordable. Lingering effects of living through the Depression,  I guess. 

Edited to add: Being originally from NJ, I'm not familiar with the history of Southern agriculture (re: what grows where) and cooking--and I'm sure that there was--and is--a lot of regional variation. I did a little searching and found this:

http://www.syrupsopping.org/id2.html

My guess is that "soppin" ("sopping") probably originally referred to cane syrup, and maybe sorghum syrup as well. The wiki entry for "Sweet sorghum" reads in part, "Sorghum syrup and hot biscuits are a traditional breakfast in the Southern United States. Sorghum syrup is also used on pancakes, cornmeal mush, grits and other hot cereals..."

So Minnie was singing about something that was everyday fare, something well known and that she had first hand knowledge of, from the field to the table.
----------------------------------------------------------------

If you haven't seen a cane press, they're worth checking out.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=sugar+cane+press+photos

When I lived in Taiwan back in the 70's-80's, many of the fruit stands / juice shops had them. Some were hand cranked, some were electric. We'd order a glass of juice and they'd run a stalk of cane between the rollers to press the juice out. Mixed with shave ice, there's nothing like it on a hot, sub-tropical day. The stalk of cane through the rollers is a suggestive image, perhaps one that Minnie had in mind--but we'll never know.

[banjochris]

Thanks for that extra info, Stuart -- always love the background!

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I merged the recent thread on Memphis Minnie's lyrics to "Good Soppin'" into the Memphis Minnie Lyrics thread.
All best,
Johnm

[meredithanthraxelrod]

Ah, thank you both so much!  Chris, how did you EVER decipher that?  That is fabulous! Below I am quoting your work and adding a few notes and thanks.

I?ve got to go I'm little behind
I?ve got the stuff that'll change your mind  {NICE - so, she pronounces it "chang" and "cane" sounds like "cang"}
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself

Little bit light and it won't treat me right
Tryin? keep the boy chillun out of my sight {Yeah it sounds like that but what the heck does it mean?  I wonder instead if she's singing about something related to the work she's doing; I wonder if the first line is about "lightning" and the second line is "tryin' to keep the XXXXXX out of my sight" and "XXXXXXX" has to do with bad weather?}
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? and grind the juice myself

Pick my own cane, I pack my own seed,   {THANKS FOR GETTING "cane"!}
When I get settled I pick my own leaves
Just because I got good ol' soppin I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself


Play it for me now. Yeah!
Good soppin? you all know it?s sugar cane!
Nice on a hot biscuit [there?s a stray ?m? sound between ?nice? and ?on? but I think Minnie just misspoke a bit] {YEAH!!  GREAT!}


I don?t know just take the word {Are you sure about this line? I think it might be something else, but i can't hear what}
Says my soppin? is the best in the world
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself

And I don't know how you mens can tell
Sop mama?s legs then your belly won?t swell {my ear hears the words "sop my molass' then your belly won't swell"}
Just because I got good ol' soppin? I mean I got
Well I got good soppin? I grind the juice myself

Pick one of the sugar for 'em now
Good old soppin? cane molasses it?s nice and mellow!
Let?s play it whilst I sop here. Yeah!

***THANK YOU!!!!!!!  It is SO GRATIFYING to understand these lyrics!****