Roger McGuinn carries on the tradition of folk music http://folkden.com
This is a rare recording of me playing with Bobby Darin and his band at the Coconut Grove nightclub in Hollywood circa 1963. I’m playing my Vega 5-string banjo and singing harmony.
[G] Boil ’em cabbage boys[C] down, [G] turn the ho-cakes [D7]round
[G] The only song that [C] I can sing is [G] Boil ’em [D7] cabbage [G] down
“The Dodger” was used as a campaign song to belittle Republican James G. Blaine in the 1884 Presidential election between Blaine and Grover Cleveland, the Democratic candidate. Cleveland had won the support of progressives by his fight against Tammany Hall in New York. The version known today is based on a Library of Congress recording by Mrs. Emma Dusenberry of Mena, Arkansas, who learned it in the 1880s.
Aaron Copland wrote an arrangement for it as part of Old American Songs, a collection of arrangements of folk songs.
I have often been called “Roger Dodger.” Here’s a story about the origin of that phrase: It’s set in the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II:
A squadron of Navy aircraft was returning to base after a wildly successful mission. One pilot in particular was feeling especially cocky. After receiving landing instructions, the pilot signed off his radio message with, “Roger Dodger!”
The next transmission was from an irate-sounding naval officer. He bellowed, “In this man’s Navy, there will be no flippant remarks on the radio!” He went on to say that he was a U.S. Navy Commander and intended to find the offender to personally reprimand him.
The rambunctious pilot acknowledged by saying, “Roger Dodger, you ol’ codger. I’m a Commander too!”
Oh, the lawyer, he’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh, the lawyer, he’s a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll plead your case and claim you for a friend,
But look out, boys, he’s easy for to bend.
We’re all a-dodgin’,
Dodgin’, dodgin’, dodgin’,
Oh, we’re all a-dodgin’ out the way through the world.
Oh, the merchant, he’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh, the merchant, he’s a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll sell you goods at double the price,
But when you go to pay him you’ll have to pay him twice.
We’re all a-dodgin’,
Dodgin’, dodgin’, dodgin’,
Oh, we’re all a-dodgin’ out the way through the world.
Oh, the general, he’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh the general, he’s a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll march you up and he’ll march you down,
But look out, boys, he’ll put you under ground.
We’re all a-dodgin’,
Dodgin’, dodgin’, dodgin’,
Oh, we’re all a-dodgin’ out the way through the world. X2
[E] There was a knight a courteous knight
A-walking [B7] up the [E] hill
[A] It was a fine June [E] morning
[F#m] He spied some [B7] daffodils
Chorus
[E] Singing blow away the morning dew
Adieu, and [A] Adieu.
[E] Blow away the morning dew,
[B7] How sweet the winds do [E] blow.
He looked high, he looked low,
He cast an under look;
And there he saw a pretty maid
A-swimming in the brook
Cast over me my mantle fair
And pin it o’er my gown;
And, if you’il take hold of my hand,
Then I shall be your own.
If you come down to my father’s house
Which is walled all around,
And, you shall have a kiss from me
And twenty thousand pound.
He mounted on a milk white steed
And she upon another;
And then they rode along the lane
Like sister and like brother.
But when they came to her father’s gate,
So nimble she popped in:
And said: There is a fool without
And here’s a maid within.
A Long Time Ago (AKA Noah’s Ark) is a halyard chantey, collected by Cecil Sharp on the 3rd June,1914 from Capt. Hole, of Watchet, Somerset England.
I love how Noah put the dog to work plugging up the hole and that’s why dog’s noses are cold.
In Frisco Bay there were three ships
To me way, hey, hey-oh
In Frisco Bay there were three ships
A long time ago
And one of them ships was Noah’s old ark
To me way, hey, hey-oh
All covered all o’er wi’ hickory bark
A long time ago
They took two animals of every kind
To me way, hey, hey-oh
They took two animals of every kind
A long time ago
The bull and the cow they started t’ row
To me way, hey, hey-oh
The bull and the cow they started t’ row
A long time ago
Then said old Noah with a crack of his whip
To me way, hey, hey-oh
Come stop this row or I’ll scuttle the ship
A long time ago
But the bull struck his horn through the side of the ark
To me way, hey, hey-oh
The little black dog he started t’ bark
A long time ago
So Noah took the dog, shoved its nose up the hole
To me way, hey, hey-oh
And ever since then dogs’ nose has been cold
A long time ago
It’s a long, long time and a very long time
To me way, hey, hey-o
It’s a long, long time and a very long time
A long time ago
This is a traditional bluegrass song.
[G] Johnson boys [C] raised in the [G] ashes
Didn’t know how to court [D7] a maid
[G] Turn their backs and [C] hide their [G] faces
Sight of a pretty girl [D7] makes ’em [G] afraid
Sight of a pretty girl [C] makes ’em [G] afraid
Sight of a pretty girl makes [D7] ’em afraid
[G] Sight of a pretty girl [C] makes ’em [G] afraid
Sight of a pretty girl makes [D7]’em [G] afraid
Johnson boys went a-huntin’
Took two dogs and went astray
Tore their clothes and scratched their faces
Didn’t come home ’til the break of day
Didn’t come home ’til the break of day
Didn’t come home ’til the break of day
Didn’t come home ’til the break of day
Didn’t come home ’til the break of day
Johnson Boys went to the city
Johnson Boys didn’t mean to stay
They came home all broke and hungry
Had no money for to pay their way
Had no money for to pay their way
Had no money for to pay their way
Had no money for to pay their way
Had no money for to pay their way
Johnson boys’ll never get married
They’ll stay single all their life
They’re too scared to pop the question
Ain’t no woman gonna be their wife
Ain’t no woman gonna be their wife
Ain’t no woman gonna be their wife
Ain’t no woman gonna be their wife
Ain’t no woman gonna be their wife