Banjer Days: Song Lyrics
- 10/01/2006 -
The song lyrics provided here are for the five songs sung by me on the Banjer Days recording. It should be noted that I might not have listed some of the verses exactly as sung on the recording. This is because I don’t always sing each song the same way every time I perform.
Track 3; Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase, g-CGCD: This was one of my father’s favorite songs; however, he sang only one verse. When laying the banjo down he would invariably comment: “Son, that was Clay Collins’s favorite tune.” Clay Collins was very old when I asked him about the song - he couldn’t remember any additional verses. However, another Knott County neighbor, John Austin, did remember a verse or two. I play this song in a banjo style very close to my father’s style of playing.
Hand me down my old suitcase
And all of my dirty clothes,
Policeman comes ‘round here tonight,
Tell him I’m sleeping out of doors.
If I had listened to what my mother said,
I wouldn’t have been here today,
I wouldn’t have been in this old jailhouse,<
Rotting my sweet life away.
If you see my brother,
Take him a letter from me,
Tell him not to ramble, not to gamble,
Not to leave his happy home.
Hand me down my old suitcase,
And all of my dirty clothes,
Policeman comes ‘round here tonight,
Tell him George is sleeping out of doors.
Track 4; Moonshiner, g-DGAD: I learned a verse or two of this song from John Hall and his son Carl. Carl Hall was an excellent singer and had been taught many of the old songs by his father. I remember Carl singing songs such as Omie Wise and Pretty Polly in front of class when we were in the third grade. John had quit playing banjo and Carl did not play an instrument, so I chose a tuning I thought suited the song and worked out my own version. I did not know that my father played this tune until he was 90 years old. He played the tune in the conventional g-DGBD tuning. His version sounded great; however, I still play the version I learned over 50 years ago.
I’ve been a moonshiner for 21 long years,
I’ve spent all my money on whiskey and beers.
I’ll go to some hollow and set up my still,
And sell you one gallon for a two dollar bill.
I’ll go to some grocery and drink with my friends,
I have no woman to see what I spend.
God bless those pretty women, how I wish they were mine,
Their breath tastes as sweet as the good old moonshine.
(or, as sweetly as the dew on the vine.)
Come all you pretty women and stand in a row,
You look so sad and lonesome, so lonesome I know.
Oh how I love those pretty women, I love them one and all,
But women and whiskey have been my downfall.
Well it’s cornbread when I’m hungry, corn whiskey when I’m dry,
Its pretty women when I’m lonesome and a casket when I die.
The whole world’s a bottle and life’s but a dram,<
When a bottle gets empty, it ain’t worth one damn.
Track 5; PASS AROUND THE BOTTLE, g-CGCD: I learned this song from James Slone, who was seven years older than I. James did something very rare for that time and place: he played old time banjo rather than bluegrass. James learned this song from the Amburgey brothers, Mel and Shade. This song was sung by both sides during the Civil War; however, this version is obviously from the southern side.
The common misconception is that all mountain counties were strongly Union during the Civil War. This was not true in Knott County, Kentucky. Voter registration today is 95% Democratic, and has been since that horrible conflict. Sometimes choosing a side in the war was a matter of protecting your family. I had ancestors that sympathized with the Union cause; however, they all fought for the South. I had a great-great grandfather killed by Union brigands in Knott County.
Pass around the bottle and we’ll all take a drink,
Pass around the bottle and we’ll all take a drink,
Pass around the bottle and we’ll all take a drink,
As we go marching on.
Chorus: Glory, glory hallelujah,
Glory, glory hallelujah,
Glory, glory hallelujah,
As we go marching on.
Red pot of pepper on a green potato vine,
Red pot of pepper on a green potato vine,
Red pot of pepper on a green potato vine,
As we go marching on.
Chorus
We’ll hang Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree,
We’ll hang Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree,
We’ll hang Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree,
As we go marching on.
Chorus
Pass around the bottle and we’ll all take a drink,
Pass around the bottle and we’ll all take a drink,
Pass around the bottle and we’ll all take a drink,
As we go marching on.
Track 20; SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN, g-DGBD: I heard Gar Maxie play the banjo once at my father’s country grocery store. Gar was an exceptional player: his playing was fast, clean and dynamic. Sourwood Mountain was one of the songs he played for me. Gar occasionally made and sold moonshine. He said the following to me after he had an altercation with a neighbor: “Son, I believe I am the rudiest man in Knott County.” People in Knott County were very fond of language and often used it in unusual and effective ways. Gar took the word “rude” and turned it into a word that described himself as a most dangerous man.
Sourwood Mountain, I believe, is a song that originated in east Kentucky. Creeks and hollows are the streets and avenues of east Kentucky and all are named. Little Doubles and Big Doubles are the names of two creeks in Knott County. Big Doubles was commonly shortened to “Doubles.” Letcher is the name of the county adjoining Knott, and Beaver is the name of a prominent creek in the area of Knott, Letcher and Floyd Counties. I got the verse about Beaver from Gran Hudson, who had a well developed sense of humor. He would often fashion a rhyme on the spur of the moment. A young couple from Beaver Creek described their marital problems to Gran, who then fashioned this ditty: “Mary and Sam live on Beaver, she won’t go and he can’t leave’er.” (I have changed the names to protect the guilty.). After hearing this rhyme I turned it into a verse for Sourwood Mountain, which Gran thought was most entertaining.
Chickens crowing on Sourwood Mountain,
So many pretty girls I can’t count them,
Ho Ding’a diddle di day.
I’ve got a girl lives in Letcher,
She won’t come and I won’t fetch her,
Ho ding’a diddle di day.
I’ve got a girl that’s a blue eyed daisy,
She won’t work and I’m too lazy,
Ho ding’a diddle di day.
I’ve go a gal in the head of the holler,
She won’t come and I won’t foller,
Ho ding’a diddle di day.
I’ve got a girl lives on Beaver,
She won’t go and I can’t leave’er,
Ho ding’a diddle di day.
I’ve got a girl lives on Doubles,
Lord she causes me lots of troubles,
Ho ding’a diddle di day.
Track 21; BONNIE BLUE EYES, g-CGCD: I heard a verse or two of this sung when I was a boy, perhaps by John or Carl Hall. Most of the verses, however, came from Pap Brewer from Roan Mountain in Tennessee. Pap Brewer has a recording that is sold by June Appal Recording, a division of Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky.
Hush up my little Bonnie don’t cry,
Hush little Bonnie don’t cry,
For if you cry you’ll spoil those blue eyes,
Hush up little Bonnie don’t cry.
Hush up little Bonnie blue eyes,
Hush up little Bonnie don’t cry,
For I’ve told you more lies than stars in the sky,
Hush up little Bonnie blue eyes.
Goodbye my little Bonnie, Goodbye,
Goodbye my little Bonnie, Goodbye,
I’m going to the west to the girl I love best,
Goodbye my little Bonnie, Goodbye.
Goodbye my little Bonnie, Goodbye,
Goodbye my little Bonnie, Goodbye,
My trunk’s all packed and I ain’t coming back,
Goodbye my little Bonnie, Goodbye.
Hush up little Bonnie blue eyes,
Hush up little Bonnie don’t cry,
I’ll see you again but the good Lord knows when,
Hush up little Bonnie blue eyes.
