Tag: Jimmie Rodgers

Jimmie Rodgers – Blue Yodel No 1 (T For Texas)

T for Texas
T for Tennessee
T for Tennessee
T for Thelma
That gal that made a wreck out of me

Jimmie Rodgers was the first country star and is called the Father of Country Music. He is also called The Singing Brakeman and The Blue Yodeler. He was massively popular and others got their start imitating him like Roy Rodgers and Gene Autry. Rodgers had a deep love for Texas and all it represented. He drew inspiration from his travels and experiences across the country.

I never heard Rodgers version until the internet. I had read where a young George Harrison mention that he was a big influence on him. I do know this song well by Lynyrd Skynyrd who Ronnie Van Zant was influenced by him. They took this 1928 song and turned it on its ear.

Rodgers recorded this at what used to be Trinity Baptist Church in New Jersey. The record company Victor (later RCA Victor) was launched in Camden, New Jersey in 1901 and, in 1918, purchased Trinity Baptist Church, at 114 N. Fifth St., in order to have a space large enough to record a symphony orchestra, with good acoustics. Many artists recorded there including Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and the Carter Family. At the time of his death in 1933, his sales represented 10% of the total for the label. Even during the Depression his records sold well.

The song was released on February 3, 1928. Why the yodels? Rodgers said he saw a troupe of Swiss yodelers doing a demonstration at a church. They were touring America, and he just happened to catch it, liked it, and incorporated it into his songs. Altogether he wrote 13 Blue Yodels.

It’s been covered in every decade since. According to secondhandsongs.com it’s had 71 versions. Jimmie Rodgers died at 35 from a pulmonary embolism that was a direct result of tuberculosis he was diagnosed in 1924. He passed on May 26, 1933.

Journalist John Lilly wrote about the original song in 1992: It generated an excitement and record-buying frenzy that no one could have predicted. … The lyrics made an obvious connection to the southern states, talked about hard times with women and work, and had a macho, slightly dangerous undertone. Not only were these to be recurring themes in subsequent Jimmie Rodgers songs, (he re-worked these ideas for a total of 13 ‘Blue Yodels’ but they continue as themes in country songwriting to this day.”

Blue Yodel No 1 (T For Texas)

T for Texas
T for Tennessee
T for Tennessee
T for Thelma
That gal that made a wreck out of me

If you don’t want me mama
You sure don’t have to stall
You sure don’t have to stall
‘Cause I can get more women
Than a passenger train can haul

I’m gonna buy me a pistol
Just as long as I’m tall
Just as long as I’m tall
I’m gonna shoot poor Thelma
Just to see her jump and fall

I’m goin’ where the water
Drinks like cherry wine
Drinks like cherry wine
‘Cause this Georgia water
Tastes like turpentine

I’m gonna buy me a shotgun
With a great long shiny barrel
With a great long shiny barrel
I’m gonna shoot that rounder
That stole away my gal

‘Druther drink muddy water
Sleep in a holler log
Sleep in a holler log
Than to be in Atlanta
Treated like a dirty dog

…

Bob Dylan – Froggie Went A-Courtin’

I am amazed at how many covers there are to this song. I remember Kermit the Frog singing it long ago. I didn’t know whether to use Bob Dylan’s or others for today. Jimmie Rodgers did a great version of Froggie Went A-Courtin’.

It is on the  Dylan album Good as I Been to You that was released in 1992.

Who covered it? Here is a partial list: Jimmie Rodgers, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Woody Guthrie, Elvis Presley, Tex Ritter, and Blind Willie McTell.

There is a reference in the Stationer’s Register of 1580 to “A Moste Strange Weddinge of the Frogge and the Mouse.” The oldest known musical version is in Thomas Ravenscroft’s Melismata in 1611.

This great old story song has quite a history. Some people claim that it goes back 400 years to England and that the frog is actually a French Duke while the mouse is Queen Elizabeth I. It has been popular in America since colonial times, and it seems to change a little with each person who performs it.

Alternative names for the song per Wiki

  • “A Frog He Would a-Wooing Go”
  • “Crambone”
  • “Die Padda wou gaan opsit” (Afrikaans version in South Africa)
  • “Frog in the Well”
  • “Froggie Went a-Courtin'”
  • “Froggy Would a-Wooing Go”
  • “The Frog’s Wooing”
  • “A Frog Went a-Walkin'”
  • “King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O”
  • “There Lived a Puddie in the Well”
  • “There Was a Puggie in a Well”
  • “Y Broga Bach” (Welsh)
  • “Yo para ser feliz quiero un camión”

Thanks to Observationblogger for helping me to think of this song again.

Froggie Went A-Courtin’

1. Frog went a-courtin’, and he did ride, Uh-huh,
Frog went a-courtin’, and he did ride, Uh-huh,
Frog went a-courtin’, and he did ride.
With a sword and a pistol by his side, Uh-huh.

2. Well he rode up to Miss Mousey’s door, Uh-huh,
Well he rode up to Miss Mousey’s door, Uh-huh,
Well he rode up to Miss Mousey’s door.
Gave three loud raps and a very big roar, Uh-huh.

3. Said, “Miss Mouse, are you within?” Uh-huh,
Said he, “Miss Mouse, are you within?” Uh-huh,
Said, “Miss Mouse, are you within?”
“Yes, kind sir, I sit and spin,” Uh-huh.

4. He took Miss Mousey on his knee, Uh-huh,
Took Miss Mousey on his knee, Uh-huh,
Took Miss Mousey on his knee.
Said, “Miss Mousey, will you marry me?” Uh-huh.

5. “Without my uncle Rat’s consent, Uh-huh
“Without my uncle Rat’s consent, Uh-huh
“Without my uncle Rat’s consent.
I wouldn’t marry the president, Uh-huh

6. Uncle Rat laughed and he shook his fat sides, Uh-huh,
Uncle Rat laughed and he shook his fat sides, Uh-huh,
Uncle Rat laughed and he shook his fat sides,.
To think his niece would be a bride, Uh-huh.

7. Uncle Rat went runnin’ downtown, Uh-huh,
Uncle Rat went runnin’ downtown, Uh-huh,
Uncle Rat went runnin’ downtown.
To buy his niece a wedding gown, Uh-huh

8. Where shall the wedding supper be? Uh-huh,
Where shall the wedding supper be? Uh-huh,
Where shall the wedding supper be?
Way down yonder in a hollow tree, Uh-huh

9. What should the wedding supper be? Uh-huh,
What should the wedding supper be? Uh-huh,
What should the wedding supper be?
Fried mosquito in a black-eye pea, Uh-huh.

10. Well, first to come in was a flyin’ moth, Uh-huh,
First to come in was a flyin’ moth, Uh-huh,
First to come in was a flyin’ moth.
She laid out the table cloth, Uh-huh.

11. Next to come in was a juney bug, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a juney bug, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a juney bug.
She brought the water jug, Uh-huh.

12. Next to come in was a bumbley bee, Uh-huh
Next to come in was a bumbley bee, Uh-huh
Next to come in was a bumbley bee.
Sat mosquito on his knee, Uh-huh.

13. Next to come in was a broken black flea, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a broken black flea, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a broken black flea.
Danced a jig with the bumbley bee, Uh-huh.

14. Next to come in was Mrs. Cow, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was Mrs. Cow, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was Mrs. Cow.
She tried to dance but she didn’t know how, Uh-huh.

15. Next to come in was a little black tick, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a little black tick, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a little black tick.
She ate so much she made us sick, Uh-huh.

16. Next to come in was a big black snake, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a big black snake, Uh-huh,
Next to come in was a big black snake.
Ate up all of the wedding cake, Uh-huh.

17. Next to come was the old gray cat, Uh-huh,
Next to come was the old gray cat, Uh-huh,
Next to come was the old gray cat.
Swallowed the mouse and ate up the rat, Uh-huh.

18. Mr. Frog went a-hoppin’ up over the brook, Uh-huh,
Mr. Frog went a-hoppin’ up over the brook, Uh-huh,
Mr. Frog went a-hoppin’ up over the brook.
A lily-white duck come and swallowed him up, Uh-huh.

19. A little piece of cornbread layin’ on a shelf, Uh-huh,
A little piece of cornbread layin’ on a shelf, Uh-huh,
A little piece of cornbread layin’ on a shelf.
If you want anymore, you can sing it yourself, Uh-huh.