"A Tisket A Tasket" (information, lyrics, and video)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information about and examples of the nursery rhyme & the song "A Tisket A Tasket".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, recreational, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT "A TISKET A TASKET".
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-Tisket,_A-Tasket
"A Tisket A Tasket is a nursery rhyme first recorded in America in the late nineteenth century.[1][2] It was used as the basis for a very successful and highly regarded 1938 recording by Ella Fitzgerald. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13188.

The rhyme was first noted in the United States in 1879 [3] as a children's rhyming game. It was sung while children danced in a circle. One of the number ran on the outside of the circle and dropped a handkerchief. The nearest child would then pick it up and chase the dropper. If caught the dropper was either kissed, joined the circle, or had to tell the name of their sweetheart.[2] An early noted version had the lyrics:

A-tisket a-tasket
A green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it,
I dropped it,
And on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up
and put it in his pocket.[2]

In some variants, the second line is "I lost my yellow basket"."

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SONG LYRICS - A TISKET A TASKET
(Ella Fitzgerald, in conjunction with Al Feldman, later known as Van Alexander)

A-tisket A-tasket
A brown and yellow basket
I send a letter to my mommy
On the way I dropped it

I dropped it
I dropped it
Yes on the way I dropped it
A little girlie picked it up
And put it in her pocket

She was atruckin on down the avenue
But not a single thing to do
She went peck peck pecking all around
When she spied it on the ground

She took it
She took it
My little yellow basket
And if she doesn't bring it back, I think that I will die

A-tisket A-tasket
I lost my yellow basket
And if that girl don't return it
I don't know what I'll do

Oh dear I wonder where my basket can be
(So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we)
Oh gee I wish that little girl I could see
(So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we, so do we)

Oh why was I so careless with that basket of mine?
That itty bitty basket was a joy of mine!

A-tisket
A-tasket
I lost my yellow basket
Won't someone help me find my basket
And make me happy again? again

(Was it green?) No, no, no, no
(Was it red?) No, no, no, no
(Was it blue?) No, no, no, no

Just a little yellow basket
A little yellow basket

Source: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/A-tisket-A-tasket-lyrics-Ella-Fitzgerald/5F3E2C5F547CDE5F48256D290029CCC4

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SHOWCASE VIDEO

Ella Fitzgerald A Tisket a Tasket - From Ride Em Cowboy



Arnold Beltran, Uploaded on Feb 23, 2009

Grammy Induced Song

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ADDENDUM
In response to the question "What is a "tisket" and a "tasket" in the rhyme & song "A Tisket A Tasket", Sasami81 wrote in 2008 that "Tisket= basket part/ tasket= handle part" http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081009182414AAVb6zh

I've not been able to find any other information online to confirm or refute that answer.
**
The word "truckin" in the line "She was atruckin on down the avenue" can be broadly said to mean "she was moving on down the avenue". However, "truckin" refers to an actual social dance that was introduced in Harlem (New York) in 1927 if not earlier.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-jazz-dance-truckin-information.html for a post about "truckin".
**
The word "peckin" in the line also refers to a Jazz (Jitterbug)dance movement that was popularized in 1937.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/peckin-dance-movement-jazz-composition.html for a pancocojams post on "peckin".

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Thanks to the unknown composer/s of the children's rhyme "A Tisket A Tasket". Thanks also to Ella Fitzgerald for her musical legacy and thanks to Al Feldman (Van Alexander) for jointly composing the Jazz song which is based on that rhyme. Thanks to all those quoted in this post as well as the publisher of this featured video.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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"The Old Black Booger" Folk Song (information, comments, & lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

"The Old Black Booger" is a folk song with an interesting title whose structure, lyrics, and tune clearly testify to its membership in the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" family.

Here's information about the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" family of folk songs
From http://web.spsp.net/jbealle/bullfrog/Bullfrogtext.html

Introduction:
Bullfrog Jumped: The Long and Short Histories of Songs on the CD
by Joyce Cauthen
"Bullfrog Jumped is a CD of children’s songs that were recorded across Alabama in 1947

..."Under a wide variety of titles, "Old Shiboots and Leggings" has appeared in British and American collections since the 1700s. Other titles include "The Old Man's Courtship," "Old Shoes and Leggins," "The Old Man from Over the Sea," "Old Grey Beard," "The Dottered Auld Carle," and many others. All depict, in farcical tones, a failed courtship. Early country music versions were recorded by Henry Whitter ("Overshoes and Leggins," Okeh, 1926), Uncle Eck Dunford ("Old Shoes and Leggins," Victor V-40060, 1928) and the Burnett Brothers ("Old Shoes a-Draggin'," Victor 23727, 1932).

Among the many variants, there are a few narrative strategies that commonly recur. Callie Craven's version* follows a well-known course: at the mother's insistence, a hapless suitor is offered chances at courtship; the dutiful daughter seems to have little hope of avoiding marriage; but the man spoils the courtship with his ridiculous and crude behavior.

Although there some versions by male singers, this song is chiefly a women's song"..."
*Click http://www.allmusic.com/song/old-shiboots-and-leggings-mt0031668966 "Old Shiboots and Leggings" for a brief sound file of Callie Craven singing this song. (1946)

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/racially-derogatory-variants-of-old.html for a pancocojams post about this family of folk songs.

Here's a link to a brief sound file and lyrics for "The Old Black Booger"
http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=881

Cat. #0881 (MFH #687) - As sung by Ollie Gilbert, Mountain View, Arkansas on August 29, 1969

Here are the lyrics that are given on that website:

VERSE 1
O, yonder comes that ole black booger
O, I won't have him
Com'in across't th sea, t' marry me
With his ole shoe, boots an' leggins

VERSE 2
My mamma, she told me, t' open th door
O, I won't have him
I opened th door an' he fell in th floor
With his ole shoe, boots an' legg'ins

VERSE 3
Well, mamma she told me, t' set 'im a chair
O, I won't have him
Set 'im chair an' he looked like a dear
With his ole shoe, boots an' leggins

VERSE 4
Well mamma, she told me, t' set 'im a plate
O, I won't have him
Set 'im a plate an' he eat like a snake
With his ole shoe, boots an' legg'ins

VERSE 5
Well mamma, she told me, t' fix his bed
O, I won't have him
Fixed his bed an' he stood on his head
With his ole shoe, boots an' legg'ins

VERSE 6
Well mammy told me go saddle his horse
O, I won't have him
Went t' saddle his horse an' th bridle was lost
An' his ole shoe, boots an' legg'ins

VERSE 7
Mamma she told me, t' bid 'im farewell
O, I won't have him
I bid 'im farewell but I wished 'im in Hell
With his ole shoe, boots an' legg'ins

Variants
0217 With His Old Gray Beard a Shining
0254 With His Long Cane Pipe a Smokin'
0289 With His Ole Gray Beard A Shining
1539 Old Shoes and Leggins

COMMENTS ABOUT "THE OLD BLACK BOOGER"
The word "black"
Given that song's theme of a woman being courted by a ridiculous, crude old man, I believe that the word "Black" in the song "The Old Black Booger" refers to a person of ill repute and not a person of African descent.

For information about the adjective "black" being considered a negative, consider the sixth definition of that word in http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black
"a: thoroughly sinister or evil : wicked

b: indicative of condemnation or discredit "
-snip-
Also consider the meaning of the noun a "blackheart"...
http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-the-meaning-of-a-black-heart
"a person who have [sic] no feelings and no regards for other people's feelings. A healthy heart is considered to be red."

Of course, the definition of "black" as given above, if not the definition of "blackheart", is steeped in racism. But the point is that the use of the word "black" in "The Old Black Booger" song (or in any other song) doesn't necessarily mean that the song is about Black people.

That the word "black" in "The Old Black Booger" doesn't refer to a Black man is particularly true because in the Southern part of the United States, and elsewhere in that country up until fairly recently (and still among many people today) it would have been anathema for a White woman to be courted by a Black man. (Notice that I'm assuming that this song was sung by White Americans who weren't putting on the role of a Black person while singing this song.)

For those reasons, I don't think that the inclusion of the word "Black" in that song's title causes it to be categorized as racially deregoratory.

**
The word "booger"
I believe that the word "booger" in the song "The Old Black Booger" probably is a put down term for a man who thinks he is frightening.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booger
Booger [second colloquial definition]
"A ghost or hobgoblin used to frighten children, also boogerman, boogieman, or bogeyman (mainly southern U.S.)."

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The word "mammy"
I think that the use of the word "mammy" in this song [VERSE 6
"Well mammy told me go saddle his horse"] doesn't mean that the singer was Black or that the singer was putting on the role of a Black person for the purpose of this song. Non-Black people in the American South and in other nations also used the word "mammy". Note the past tense, as the word "mammy" has long been is retired from formal or informal use in the USA, probably because of its close association with the ante-bellum South. And I believe that "mammy" has also been retired from use in other nations - as well it should be.

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ADDENDUM
Although these songs aren't related, I'm intrigued by the possibility that the word "booger" in the song "The Old Black Booger" could remind people of the song "Old Johnny Booker" which was also known as "Johnny Booger" and "Mister Booger", among other songs. In early versions of that song, the character "Johnny Booker" (Booger, Bucca, Bucker) wasn't necessarily Black, but the person asking for his help certainly was Black.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-old-time-song-johnny-booker.html for a post about the song "Johnny Booker".

Also click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/gus-cannon-old-john-booker-you-call.html for a post about the song "Old John Booker You Call That Gone.

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RELATED LINKS
http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=0217 "With His Old Gray Beard a Shining"

**
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=19426 "Penguin: The Old Man From Lee"

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Thanks to all who I have quoted in this post.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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Racially Derogatory Variants Of Old Shoe Boots And Leggings

Edited by Azizi Powell

In 2004 I started a Mudcat [folk music] discussion thread about "Songs Your Parents Didn't Allow".http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=73889.

The first song that I posted to that thread was one whose title I knew as "The Little Baldheaded Chinese". Shortly after I posted the lyrics to that song, Joybell, a commenter from Australia, indicated that the song I had posted was a variant of song "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings". Prior to reading that comment, I had never heard of that song by that title or any other title.

Here's the lyrics of that song which I had somehow learned as a child but definitely not from my parents:

My mother she told me to open the door.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I opened the door.
He fell on the floor.
The little bald-headed Chinese nese nese.

My mother she told me to get him a drink.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I gave him a drink.
He peed in the sink.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.

My mother she told me to give him a dance.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I gave him a dance.
He pulled down his pants.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
-snip-
Since then I've read other online versions of "The Little Bald Headed Chinese" which is also called "The Crazy Man From China" and other such titles. And I realize that my sisters and I added the "nese nese" ending for rhythmic effect. Besides that, those words that I remember from the mid 1950s Atlantic City, New Jersey are quite similar to examples of that song that I've found. (For what it's worth, I thought my mother didn't want my sisters and me to sing that song because it made fun of some one's race, and it was "nasty". By "nasty" I meant the "peed in the sink" line. It wasn't until I got older that I realized that my mother also didn't like the sexual overtones of the song. But as a young child, the sexual implications of the line about the Chinese man "pulling down his pants" went right over my head. I thought that the man was doing wrong because you weren't suppose to go to the bathroom or get ready to go to the bathroom in public.")

Here's another version of that song:

My Mother told me to open the door
Gee I don't wanna
But I opened the door and in stepped the man,
The dirty old man from China,

My mother told me to take him to a dance
Gee I dont wanna
But I took him to a dance and he peed in his pants
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to take him to school
Gee I don't wanna
But I took him to school and he acted like a fool
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to take him to bed
Gee I don't wanna
But I took him to bed, and I screwed off his head
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to bury his head
Gee I don't wanna
But I buried his head and that was the end
Of the dirty old man from China.

Collected by Lisa Null from her nieces who learned it in a school playground, early 1970s, in West Glover or Barton, Ver
-http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174
"Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" posted by Guest, Lisa Null,
January 2007

For comparison's sake, here's an American example of a song from the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" family:

WITH HIS OLD GRAY BEARD A SHINING
Cat. #0217 (MFH #687) - As sung by Mrs. Laura McDonald and Reba Glaze, Springdale, Arkansas on July 23, 1958

VERSE 1
There was an old man, lived over th lea
I hope, but I won't have 'im
Came over th lea, a courting with me
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 2
My Mother she told me, to open th door
I hope, but I won't have 'im
I opened th door, he fell on th floor
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 3
My Mamma she told me, to feed him some cake
I hope that I won't have 'im
I fed him some cake, he swallowed th flake
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 4
My Mamma she told me, to feed him some pie
I hope that I won't have 'im
I feed him some pie and he swallowed a fly
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 5
My Mother she told me, to put 'im to bed
I hope that I won't have him
I put 'im to bed an' I cut off his head
With his old gray beard a shining
http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=0217
-snip-
Here's some information about that family of folk songs from http://web.spsp.net/jbealle/bullfrog/Bullfrogtext.html
Introduction:
Bullfrog Jumped: The Long and Short Histories of Songs on the CD
by Joyce Cauthen
"Bullfrog Jumped is a CD of children’s songs that were recorded across Alabama in 1947

Under a wide variety of titles, "Old Shiboots and Leggings" has appeared in British and American collections since the 1700s. Other titles include "The Old Man's Courtship," "Old Shoes and Leggins," "The Old Man from Over the Sea," "Old Grey Beard," "The Dottered Auld Carle," and many others. All depict, in farcical tones, a failed courtship. Early country music versions were recorded by Henry Whitter ("Overshoes and Leggins," Okeh, 1926), Uncle Eck Dunford ("Old Shoes and Leggins," Victor V-40060, 1928) and the Burnett Brothers ("Old Shoes a-Draggin'," Victor 23727, 1932).

Among the many variants, there are a few narrative strategies that commonly recur. Callie Craven's version* follows a well-known course: at the mother's insistence, a hapless suitor is offered chances at courtship; the dutiful daughter seems to have little hope of avoiding marriage; but the man spoils the courtship with his ridiculous and crude behavior.

Although there some versions by male singers, this song is chiefly a women's song"...

* Click http://www.allmusic.com/song/old-shiboots-and-leggings-mt0031668966 "Old Shiboots and Leggings" for a brief sound file of Callie Craven singing this song. (1946)
-snip-
"The Little Bald Headed Chinese" songs don't seem to adhere to the overarching theme found in "Old Shoe Boats And Leggings" family of songs of a young woman's reactions to being courted by a ridiculous, crude old man. However, given the very close similarities between the structure, lyrics, and tune of "The Little Bald Headed Chinese" and the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" songs, it's curious that the connection between these songs doesn't appear to be that widely documented and discussed - online, anyway.

Also, given the historical and present day racism against Chinese, Japanese, and other East Asian people as reflected in mainstream American culture and other Western nations - including in examples of put down & ridiculing children's playground rhymes* - it seems to me that these "Little Bald Headed Chinese"/"Crazy Old Man From China" variants should be recognized as being potentially harmful to children & others as those songs can add to the generalized disparagement of East Asian people, whether or not that consequence is largely unconscious.

Unlike the other songs in the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" family, the Chinese examples aren't necessarily about a suitor, and aren't obstensibly about an old man. For what it's worth, as a child I didn't interprete the man being bald headed as an indication that the man was old.

*Examples of what I consider to be anti-Chinese playground songs are "Ching Chong Chinaman", "Me Chinese Me Drink Coke", and some examples of "I Went To The Chinese Restaurant".

ADDENDUM
"The Old Black Booger" is a song with an interesting title whose structure, lyrics, and tune clearly testify to its membership in the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" family. Given that song's theme of a woman being courted by a ridiculous, crude old man, I believe that the word "Black" in the song "The Old Black Booger" refers to a person of ill repute and not a person of African descent. This is particularly true because in the Southern part of the United States, and elsewhere in that country up until fairly recently (and still among many people today) it would have been anathema for a White woman to be courted by a Black man. For those reasons, I don't think that the inclusion of the word "Black" in that song's title causes it to be categorized as a racially deregoratory song.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-old-black-booger-folk-song.html for a separate pancocojams post about th song "The Old Black Booger".

RELATED LINKS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/examples-of-anti-asian-references-in.html "Examples Of Anti-Asian References In Children's Playground Rhymes"

**
http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=0217 "With His Old Gray Beard a Shining"

**
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=19426 "Penguin: The Old Man From Lee"

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Thanks to all who I have quoted in this post.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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Gus Cannon - Old John Booker You Call That Gone (information, lyrics, sound file)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is Part II of a two part series on "Johnny Booker" songs. This post focuses the song "Old John Booker [You] Call That Gone" as performed by Gus Cannon.

Part I focuses on American versions of this song whose titles include "Jonny Boker", "Old Johnny Booker", "Mister Booger" "What Johnny Booker Wouldn't Do" etc. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-old-time-song-johnny-booker.html for that post.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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Part II
INFORMATION ABOUT GUS CANNON
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Cannon
"Gus Cannon (September 12, 1883 – October 15, 1979) was an American blues musician who helped to popularize jug bands (such as his own Cannon's Jug Stompers) in the 1920s and 1930s. There is doubt about his birth year; his tombstone gives the date as 1874...

Cannon began recording as "Banjo Joe" for Paramount Records in 1927. At that session he was backed up by Blind Blake.[2] After the success of the Memphis Jug Band's first records, he quickly assembled a jug band featuring Noah Lewis and Ashley Thompson (later replaced by Elijah Avery)...

In the "blues revival" of the 1960s, he made some college and coffee house appearances with Furry Lewis and Bukka White,[3] but he had to pawn his banjo to pay his heating bill the winter before the Rooftop Singers had a hit with "Walk Right In".[4]

In the wake of becoming a hit composer, he recorded an album for Stax Records in 1963, with fellow Memphis musicians Will Shade, the former leader of the Memphis Jug Band, on jug and Milton Roby on washboard. Cannon performs a series of traditional songs, including "Kill It," "Salty Dog," "Going Around," "The Mountain," "Ol' Hen", "Gonna Raise A Ruckus Tonight," "Ain't Gonna Rain No More," "Boll-Weevil," "Come On Down To My House," "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor," "Get Up In The Morning Soon," and "Crawdad Hole" along with his own "Walk Right In," plus various stories and introductions between the songs. The album is almost an audio documentary tour through different corners of Cannon's life and career that, ideally, might've run to several volumes.[5]"

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "JOHNNY BOOKER"
From http://www.tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Johnny_Booker
"JOHNNY BOOKER. AKA and see "Knock John Booker," "Mister Booger," "Old Johnny Booker," "Old Johnny Bucker Wouldn't Do." Old-Time. This widely disseminated song/tune is known as a banjo piece and stems from the minstrel era where it was called "Old Johnny Bigger," among other titles. Sheet music published around 1840 gives the song as "Jonny Boker or the Broken Yoke" [1], "as sung by J. W. Sweeney" [Sweeney's Virginia Melodies]...

Gene Winnans mentions an African-American banjo player named Gus Cannon, who worked medicine shows from 1914 to 1929. Cannon's first two tunes (learned in "strumming style") were "Old John Booker You Call that Gone" and "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," learned from "Old Man Saul" Russell, who "just played around the house fro [sic] his own amusement." ...
-snip-
The song "Old John Booker You Call that Gone" can be said to be a variant form of the song "Old Johnny Booker".

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FEATURED SOUND FILE
Gus Cannon Old John Booker Call That Gone



jakartajive, Published on Jul 15, 2013

Gus Cannon was an American blues musician who helped to popularize jug bands (such as his own Cannon's Jug Stompers) in the 1920s and 1930s. He hung on in there well into his nineties, not passing on until 1979.

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LYRICS: OLD JOHN BOOKER YOU CALL THAT GONE
(As sung by Gus Cannon)

Old John Booker, call that gone!
Old John Booker, call that gone!
Old John Booker, call that gone!
I'm goin' back here on the farm!

Source: YouTube sound file and Negro Folk Music U.S.A, edited by Harold Courlander, 1963
-snip-
Although this song in mentioned in a number of online sources, I've not found any explanation of what "[you] call that gone" means. Given the last line of that verse, my guess is that it means "call people and tell them that I'm gone" (that I'm leaving to go back to the farm).

In addition, I think that "I'm going back here on the farm" just meeans "I'm going back to the farm".

Coincidentally, the Wikipedia page for Gus Cannon that is quoted above mentions that the first folk blues song he learned was entitled "Po' [Poor] Boy, Long Ways from Home". I'm not sure how that song sounds, but I get the sense from "Old John Booker You Call That Gone", that the singer is happy to be returning "back [home] to the farm".

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Thanks to Gus Cannon for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publishers of this sound file.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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The Old Time Music Song "Johnny Booker" - (Information, Comments, & Videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is Part I of a two part series on "Johnny Booker" songs. This post focuses on American versions of this song whose titles include "Jonny Boker", "Old Johnny Booker", "Mister Booger" "What Johnny Booker Wouldn't Do" etc.

Part II focuses on the song "Old John Booker [You] Call That Gone" as performed by Gus Cannon. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/gus-cannon-old-john-booker-you-call.html for that post.

The Caribbean shanty "Johnny Bowker" (also known as "Do My Jolly Boy") and the British song "Old Johnny Booger" are related to the American "Johnny Booker" songs. Links to information about those songs can be found below in the Related Links section.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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Part I
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "JOHNNY BOOKER"
From http://www.tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Johnny_Booker
"JOHNNY BOOKER. AKA and see "Knock John Booker," "Mister Booger," "Old Johnny Booker," "Old Johnny Bucker Wouldn't Do." Old-Time. This widely disseminated song/tune is known as a banjo piece and stems from the minstrel era where it was called "Old Johnny Bigger," among other titles. Sheet music published around 1840 gives the song as "Jonny Boker or the Broken Yoke" [1], "as sung by J. W. Sweeney" [Sweeney's Virginia Melodies]. Gene Winnans mentions an African-American banjo player named Gus Cannon, who worked medicine shows from 1914 to 1929. Cannon's first two tunes (learned in "strumming style") were "Old John Booker You Call that Gone" and "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," learned from "Old Man Saul" Russell, who "just played around the house fro his own amusement." The New Lost City Ramblers also report the song's use in by minstrel and medicine show comedians "up until 1910, most of them using a tune derived from 'Turkey in the Straw'. There are also some sea shanteys about Johnny Booker" (1964, p. 194). The musical West Virginia Hammons family had members who played this tune, as did Tygart Valley banjo players (Gerald Milnes, 1999). Verses to the song include "floaters" that appear in other songs ("Old Dan Tucker," for one).
-snip-
Another floating verse in some "Johnny Booker" songs is "I went to the river and I couldn't get across".

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From http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/R268.html "An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World"
"Johnny Booker (Mister Booger)
...DESCRIPTION: About the troubles experienced by a teamster/sailor along the way: A broken yoke, a stalled cart, etc. Chorus something like "Do, Johnny Booker, oh do, do me do, Do, Johnny Booker, oh do" or "So walk a Johnny Booger to help that ni***r"...
-snip-
Note that early versions of this song used the fully spelled out referent which is now known as "the n word".
For instance, the chorus: "O Jonny Boker, help dat n****r do, do Johnny Booker do".

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Three comments from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=67154 Lyr Req: Old Johnny Bucker /Johnny Booker [Hereafter given as Mudcat:Johnny Booker]
NOTE: The n word is fully spelled out in these comments.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old Johhny Bucker
From: Dave Sutherland
Date: 21 Feb 04 - 08:28 AM
"It is in the forum under "Old Johnny Booker". It started life as a minstrel song called "Old Johnny Bigger" with the politically incorrect chorus "Old Johnny Bigger was a gay old n****r". It later changed to Booker and was a favourite among soldiers in both the first and second world wars..."
**
[Quoted from an earlier post]
Thread #54642 Message #847172
Posted By: Richie
14-Dec-02 - 01:20 AM
...Here's an example of the lyrics by J.W. Sweeny from 1840:

As I went up to Lynchburg town,
I broke my yoke on de coaling ground;
I drove from dare to bowling spring,
And I tried for to mend my yoke and ring.

Chorus: O Jonny Boker, help dat n****r do,
Jonny Boker, do.

**
"Notes: From Jerry Jordan, Supertone 9407.
According to Randolph (Vol. II as Mister Booger) this song comes from an ante-bellum Negro reel (Scarborough, On Trail of Negro Folk Songs) Versions are reported from minstrels and medicine show comedians up until 1910, most of them using a tune derived from "Turkey in the Straw." There are also some sea shanteys about Johnny Booker. and Cousin Emmy (Kentucky) recorded a lively banjo version of this song."
-snip-
anti-bellum - before [the USA civil] war
"reel" = dance song
-Joe Offer, 2004

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As indicated above, "Jonny Boker" was the earliest form of the name used in this song. The name "Boker"/"Booker" is also found in versions of this song as “Bugger”, “Booger”, "Pucker", "Bucka", "Bucker", "Bucca",
"Bowker", etc. The name "Jonny Bigger" was also used to rhyme with the now pejorative word "n****r".

****
WORDS USED IN PLACE OF "THE N WORD" IN THE SONG "JOHNNY BOOKER"
The "n word" is usually given now as “old man”. I've also found an example of this song online that uses the referent "young man". And in the following example, the word "coon" was used instead of "the n word", "old man" or "yound man":

"There was an old man* and he went to school,
And he made his living by driving a mule.

CHORUS
And what Johnny Booker wouldn't do- do-do,
And what Johnny Booker wouldn't do.

*Walter Smith says "coon"
-posted by Joe Offer, 2004 Mudcat:Johnny Booker
-snip-
In the line "O Jonny Boker, help dat n****r do", the n word is used as a self-referent (meaning a Black man is saying that word as a referent for himself).

Although some Black Americans in the 19th century-particularly in the Southern region of the United States- used the n word as a self-referent and as a referent for other Black people, by no means was that word used by or accepted as a referent by all Black Americans. Furthermore, throughout the 20th century and nowadays an increasing number of people, including many African Americans, consider the n word to be a pejorative. Consequently, fewer people use that word as either a self-referent or as a referent for other people.

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WHAT "DO [ME] JOHNNY BOOKER DO" MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF THAT OLD TIME SONG
In contemporary colloquial American English the chorus "Do, Johnny Booker, do, or "Do, Johnny Booker, oh do, do me do"
has a sexualized connotation. However, those words and the words "what Johnny Booker wouldn't do [or "won't do"] have a much different meaning in the context of that 19th century song.

Instead of that sexualized meaning, "Do [me] Johnny Booker, Do [me] simply means "Help me, Johnny Booker, Help me"
Another way of saying that is "Do [this for] me" , for instance "Do what needs to be done to repair the damage to the wagon yoke (or help in some other specified way).

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FEATURED VIDEOS

"Johnny Booker" - Cathy Barton and Dave Para



Uploaded on Dec 31, 2010
http://www.midwestbanjocamp.com/

Filmed by Brian Lee Bauer at the Midwest Banjo Camp 2010

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Cousin Emmy and her Kinfolks - 1939 1947 Johnny booker



MrWolve1973, Published on Feb 9, 2013
-snip-
"Cousin Emmy" = Cynthia May Carver (March 14, 1903 - April 11, 1980)

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RELATED LINKS
For lyrics to American versions of this song, click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=67154 Mudcat:Johnny Booker

For information about the Caribbean shanty "Johnny Bowker" or click http://www.shantynet.com/lyrics/johnny-bowker/.

For information about the British song "Johnny Booger", click http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/RcOlJoBo.html
Old Johnny Booger
"NOTES: Yates, Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Notes - Volume 14" - 8.9.02: "When I first came across this song, from a singer in Oxfordshire, the title was 'Old Johnny Bigger', the final word rhyming with the now unacceptable word 'n***r'. I presume that the song comes from the American Minstrel stage of the mid-19th century."
-snip-
The n word was fully spelled out in this citation.

****
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the featured artists and the publishers of these videos.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Seven Videos Of Drum Solos By African American Drummers

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases seven videos of snare drum solos by highly talented & highly skilled African American drummers. This is only a sample of videos available on YouTube of great African American drummers.

The content of this post is presented for historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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FEATURED VIDEOS
(These videos are presented in chronological order with the oldest dated video given first.)

Example #1: Roy Haynes Drum Solo 1973



fandango5 Uploaded on Apr 7, 2007

didit n didit n didit n didit n didit.....

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Example #2: The Fantastic Max Roach: Drum Solo 1



jazzart1, Uploaded on Jan 2, 2008

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Example #3: Jack DeJohnette - drum solo - Modern Drummer Festival 1997



brodestar93, Uploaded on Jan 7, 2009

Jack DeJohnette performs an amazing drum solo on a four piece kit.

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Example #4: Art Blakey Drum Solo 1965



Thegrassyknollvids, Uploaded on Aug 28, 2009

This video is from an excellent collection of Drum Solos released by Hudson Music. Check it out at www.hudsonmusic.com

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Example #5: QuestLove Drum Solo Live at Toronto Jazz Festival



Jason Scozzari, Uploaded on Jul 11, 2010

the man is incredible!

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Example #6: Elvin Jones drum solo (1968)



adrianwaj, Uploaded on Mar 26, 2011

Elvin Jones Trio
Jazz Omkring Midnat
Denmark TV 1968

Elvin Jones: Drums
Joe Farrel: Sax, Flute
Jimmy Garrison: Bass
full vid: http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc

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Example #7: Papa Jo Jones drum solo



andrebateriamachado, Uploaded on Jul 17, 2011

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RELATED LINK
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100122093829AADgN2I List a at least 5 black drummers?

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Thanks to the musicians who are showcased in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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"L'annee Passee", The Calypso Song That Became "Rum And Coca Cola"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents information about the Trinidadian song "L'annee Passee", whose melody was used for the 1906 Caribbean Calyso song "Rum And Coca Cola". After a New York court battle, the credit for the popular American song "Rum And Coca Cola" was given to that song's Trinidadian composers and lyricist.

The content of this post is presented for historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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GENERAL OVERVIEW OF "L'ANNEE PASSEE"
From http://berdina.tripod.com/rumandcocacola.htm
""L'Année Passée", meaning "Yesterday" (lit. Last year), is the true story of a girl named Mathilda Soye. She was the daughter of a very prominent Trinidad family and was educated at a Convent school. She fell in love with a man "in the street", a "common" fellow, who was no good. She lived with him for some time and then he made her work as a prostitute. The song was written in French Patois and was a lament of the girl on how just the other day she was a little girl and now she was a prostitute, walking the street.

This story became known in 1905 and Lionel Belasco, who was a young man at that time, composed the song "L'Année Passée" [in 1906], which told that story. It is common practice in Trinidad to compose calypsos dealing with whatever social/political events happened in that year."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAWSUIT REGARDING THE "RUM AND COCA COLA SONG"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_and_Coca-Cola
"Rum and Coca-Cola” is the title of a popular calypso. Originally composed by Lord Invader and Lionel Belasco, it was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and became a huge hit in 1945 for the Andrews Sisters, spending ten weeks at the top of Billboard's U.S. Pop Singles chart.[1]

Although the song was published in the United States with Amsterdam listed as the lyricist and Jeri Sullavan and Paul Baron as musical composers, the melody had been previously published as the work of Trinidadian calypso composer Lionel Belasco on a song titled “L'Année Passée,” which was in turn based on a folksong from Martinique.[2] The original lyrics to “Rum and Coca-Cola” were written by Rupert Grant, another calypso musician from Trinidad who went by the stage name of Lord Invader.[3] (The true credits for music and lyrics were restored in a plagiarism lawsuit won by attorney Louis Nizer, the account of which can be read in his book, My Life in Court.)"
-snip-
Click http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p01100.htm for information about Lionel Belasco.

Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Invader for information about Lord Invader (Rupert Grant).

****
LYRICS: L'ANNEE PASSEE (Last Year)
(A "Calypso" by Massie Patterson and Lionel Belasco
English version by Olga Paul)

L'année passée moen té yon fille,
Moen té yon fille L'en caille mama moen,
L'année cela moen c'est yon femme
Moen c'est un' femme a sur la rue.-

Femme la se-coué corps moen ké baou,
Femme la se-coué corps moen ké baou,
Femme la se-coué moen ké baou,
Moen ké baou moen ké baou
Tout ça qui doux.

Temps Martinique té pris du fé
Yo té cherché Man o' Wa',
Pour sauvéces Mart'niquens
Pour mené yo Port-d'Espagne.

Last year I was a little girl
Living with my dear mother at home;
This year I am a woman though,
On the streets you will find me roam.

I have learned to dance and I'm fair,
I have learned to dance and I'm fair,
I have learned to dance and I'm fair,
And I'm fair, and I'm fair;
My steps are rare.

When Martinique was all in flames,
They looked for a Man o' War,
Hoped to save the people there,
Port -f Spain they were aiming for.-

"Free transcription by Maurice Baron." Sheet music labeled Allegretto grazioso, voice and piano 2/4. Pages 22-23.

Copyright, 1943 by M. Baron Co., New York. "Calypso Songs of the West Indies," 1943, Massie Patterson and Lionel Belasco, Free transcription by Maurice Baron, ASCAP.

The Foreward by M. Baron says "The editor wishes to make acknowledgement to Miss Massie Patterson and Lionel Belasco, collectors of these authentic "Calypso" songs from the lip of the Lesser Antilles natives; also to Miss Olga Paul for her expert English version of the Creole lyrics."...

Source: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=66111#1102724 posted by Q, Date 27 Jan 04
-snip-
Here's a link to a brief midi [sound file] of "L'Annee Passee" that was included in that comment: http://mudcat.org/midi/midifiles/lanneepassee.mid.

A link to a sound file of "Rum And Coca Cola" was also included in that comment. Although that link is no longer viable, there are a number of YouTube examples of that song, including at least one sound file of the original lyricist Lord Invader, and several sound files of the Andrews Sisters record.

I've not been able to find a YouTube entry for the Caribbean song "L'Annee Passee".

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FEATURED EXAMPLES

Lord Invader - Rum and coca cola (audio)



calypzombie85, Uploaded on Oct 1, 2009
LYRICS: RUM AND COCA COLA
(Lord Invader)

Since the Yankees came to Trinidad
They have the young girls going mad.
The young girls say they treat them nice.
And they give them a better price.
They buy rum and coca cola
Go down Point Cumana
Both mother and daughter
Working for the Yankee dollar.

I had a little mopsy the other day
Her mother came and took her away.
Then her mother and her sisters
Went in a car with some soldiers
They buy rum and coca cola etc.

There are some aristos in Port-of-Spain
I know them well, I wont call names.
In the day they wouldn't give you a right.
But you can see them with the foreigners late at night.

A couple got married one afternoon
And went to go to Mayaro on a honeymoon.
The very night the wife went with a Yankee lad
And the stupid husband went staring mad.

Inspector Jory did a good job
At St. James he raid a recreation club
That was carrying on the brothel
The condition in which we found the girl I cannot tell.

Source: http://www.rumandcocacolareader.com/RumAndCocaCola/versions.html.

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The Andrews Sisters - Rum and Coca Cola



beyoncetyratina·Uploaded on Oct 15, 2010

Update (08/18/11): This song WAS originally by a Trinidadian by the name "Lord Invader". His version is quite great too, but the lyrics are much different...

And you guys stop fighting about it... What ever you are fighting about, both versions were WONDERFUL in their own rights. And yes, they went to court, Lord Invader won.
-snip-
Click http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_andrews_sisters/rum_and_coca-cola.html for lyrics to the Andrew Sisters' version of Rum And Coca Cola

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Thanks to the composers and lyricists of "L'Annee Passee" and "Rum And Coca Cola". Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More