Play a depression era song

[Inchworm]

Man, if Bing was on kareokee I would pwn :)

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," Bing Crosby. lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,
When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,
Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

:hug:

[Radical Activist]

1. This is one of my favorite songs.

It has such a beautiful sad melody. The Benny Goodman instrumental version is best but I don't see it on youtube. This version was recorded in the depression era:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVCqX0v6U6A

[Inchworm]

6. I love that era's "woman voice"

*rawr*

:)

[mcctatas]

2. two versions of the same song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iAIM02kv0g

pete seeger which side are you on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73NGB-siLIE&feature=PlayList&p=DFBD1C2746A64398&index=0&playnext=1

Dropkick Murphys - Which Side Are You On?

[Inchworm]

8. Love the Dropkick Murphys

Pete made the point a little clearer :P

:hi:

[Arugula Latte]

3. You Are My Sunshine

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away

The other night, dear,
As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms.
When I awoke, dear,
I was mistaken
And I hung my head and cried.

You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.
Please don't take my sunshine away.

Sung by Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, two guys who were both great in their own ways but don't really "sing": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqNPx1hbhfo

[Inchworm]

9. classic

One of my top 5 songs that never fade!

:woohoo:

[Radical Activist]

4. Take the A Train.

Another song I love. This counts depending on which year you think the depression ended. Is that the twist they're doing in the early 40's?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azHbjNMaEFc

It promotes public transportation too. That's another depression era value we need to restore!

[Inchworm]

11. Don't know who's who but...

I like the piano parts the best.

:hi:

[Radical Activist]

12. That would be Duke Ellington on piano

It became his signature song.

[Inchworm]

21. thought so

It's why I asked.. sideways.

:)

[Radical Activist]

5. The Carter Family

I love a lot of depression era music.

Wabash Cannonball (1929)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDNHmeiTg94

Can the Circle Be Unbroken
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqFda3HTpw

Keep on the Sunny Side
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJIk3DuYtao

[Inchworm]

13. Stop you hillbilly!

:hug::hug::hug: !!!!

You are pickin' my faves. I gotta keep on the down low :D

:woohoo::toast::woohoo:

[Radical Activist]

14. Its amazing how those songs last isn't it?

You can still hear them at a bluegrass festival anytime you like.
The music is what I miss most about living in the South. And the hills.

[Inchworm]

16. You can come here and stay a spell

after my brother goes to jail :rofl:

:D

[CreekDog]

25. Thanks to a cover of "Will The Circle..." I learned of it and came to appreciate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3afUrkx_VwM

quite a lineup on the late 1980's remake.

when i first heard it in high school, it's meaning was lost on me.

20 years later, it chokes me up every time i hear it. :cry:

[Inchworm]

31. Ol' Johnny

He done well as far as singing the songs. It's funny to me. I'm not like old, but I heard these songs sung in "harmony" before I got to hear the songs on the radio. I thought I was weird when I moved away from home.

Cash is the most real popular singer that does it like it is.

:woohoo:

[Connonym]

7. Big Rock Candy Mountain

I loved this song when I was a kid. And check out the hobo code of ethics at the bottom of the lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4rG5nB7wB0

Big Rock Candy Mountain

One evening as the sun went down and the jungle fire was burning
Down the track came a hobo hiking and he said boys I'm not turning
I'm headin for a land that's far away beside the crystal fountains
So come with me we'll go and see the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains there's a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars are all empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees
Where the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay
Oh, I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall and the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains you never change your socks
And the little streams of alcohol come a-trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats and the railroad bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew and of whiskey too
You can paddle all around 'em in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains the jails are made of tin
And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in
There ain't no short handled shovels, no axes saws or picks
I'm a goin to stay where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

I'll see you all this coming fall in the Big Rock Candy Mountains
--------------------------------------------------------
Hobo ethical code

An ethical code was created by Tourist Union #63 during its 1889 National Hobo Convention in St. Louis Missouri.<4> This code was voted upon as a concrete set of laws to govern the Nation-wide Hobo Body, it reads this way;

1. Decide your own life, don't let another person run or rule you.
2. When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.
3. Don't take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos.
4. Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but ensure employment should you return to that town again.
5. When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.
6. Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals treatment of other hobos.
7. When jungling in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.
8. Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.
9. If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.
10. Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible.
11. When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.
12. Do not cause problems in a train yard, another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.
13. Do not allow other hobos to molest children, expose to authorities all molesters, they are the worst garbage to infest any society.
14. Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.
15. Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.

[Inchworm]

15. Never seen that code written

but it's worth living it :)

+)

PS: I sang that song to daughter.. way before "oh brother where art though" ..which I LOVED!

I love that version though - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6kv_eGSGZ4

:hi:

[Radical Activist]

10. Muleskinner Blues (1930)

Jimmie Rodgers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXV9_WilcHs

These songs probably capture the feeling and desperation of the era as well as any other. It's hard to imagine that this is what country music used to be...back before the opri moved to the suburbs.

Waiting for a Train
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbzc77Tz6PA

[Inchworm]

18. oh! Tony Rice!

Can't find him on youtube.. natch.

I love the banter in thei Jerry Reed/ Chet Atkins version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydNck47cuX4

:woohoo:

PS: Chet could farkin PLAY.. Jerry could HAVE fun!

[BrotherBuzz]

17. Woody Guthrie - So long it's been good to know you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqiblXFlZuk&feature=related

[Inchworm]

19. Can't mention the time without saying Woody

Been a while since I heard the words to that'n. It is one of my "whistle" songs.

Here is my favorite Woody. Funny in a real way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUDtFdnn9oQ&feature=related

:hi:

[Radical Activist]

20. Knoxville Girl

This song probably pre-dates the depression and this version was recorded later...but it counts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKJbscNE2rk

[Inchworm]

23. I love you!

Thats the cool thing most don't know about bluegrassish tunes. They are dark as night.

Rose Connalee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxlS1jQjqTI

:hi:

[Radical Activist]

30. great version

And sad songs can be sung upbeat.

[Inchworm]

22. Off era, but the same sentiments - Iris Dement?!

Maybe not, but I wanted to hear it :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ArylRGWME

:hi:

[CreekDog]

28. here's a couple to add to your "sub thread"

Workin' Man (Nowhere to Go)--Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M3QWoCUu2A

Trouble In The Fields --Nanci Griffith and Maura O'Connell

Little Man --Alan Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l87JpWkbI0

let's hear it for the artists that keep old music and old ideas alive so that they will not be forgotten. :applause:

[Radical Activist]

29. If you're going to take things that direction.

This is the only clip of Nimrod Workman I can find on youtube. 2:30 into the trailer for Harlan County USA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCiVMngILEI

Also one of the greatest movies ever made.
"If I get shot they can't shoot the union out of me."

[CreekDog]

32. if we're going off track but keeping the sentiment then...

King Of The Road, Roger Miller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q84BezIMEdU

[CreekDog]

24. Pastures of Plenty by Woody Guthrie

Thanks to Peter, Paul and Mary, I know of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDKYkvuRXik


Pastures Of Plenty

It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed
My poor feet have traveled a hot dusty road
Out of your Dust Bowl and Westward we rolled
And your deserts were hot and your mountains were cold

I worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
I slept on the ground in the light of the moon
On the edge of the city you'll see us and then
We come with the dust and we go with the wind

California, Arizona, I harvest your crops
Well its North up to Oregon to gather your hops
Dig the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
To set on your table your light sparkling wine

Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down
Every state in the Union us migrants have been
We'll work in this fight and we'll fight till we win

It's always we rambled, that river and I
All along your green valley, I will work till I die
My land I'll defend with my life if it be
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free

[Inchworm]

26. Loverly

Ain't heard in a coon's age.

"and my pastures of plenty must always be free"

:hi:

[Radical Activist]

27. My favorite Guthrie song.

[cemaphonic]

33. This song is actually pre-depression, but Leadbelly's version is from the 30s

And it certainly fits the mood.

John Hardy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiT3W4OuOCk

Also, the Carter Family's "No Depression in Heaven."

[Silver Swan]

34. An Irving Berlin tune

Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syvLVpPTYEc

[rug]

35. This chestnut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suVB3YGIUk0

[fNord]

36. Bucky fuller turned me on to this.....

"Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" Ogden Nash (probably)

I'm an autocratic figure in these democratic states,
A dandy demonstration of hereditary traits.
As the children of the baker bake the most delicious breads,
As the sons of Casanova fill the most exclusive beds,
As the Barrymores, the Roosevelts, and others I could name
Inherited the talents that perpetuate their fame,
My position in the structure of society I owe
To the qualities my parents bequeathed me long ago.
My pappy was a gentleman, and musical to boot,
He used to play piano in a house of ill repute.
The madam was a lady, and a credit to her cult.
She enjoyed my pappy's playing, and I was the result!
So my mammy and my pappy are the ones I have to thank
That I'm Chairman of the Board of the National Silly Bank!

Chorus:
Oh, our parents forgot to get married,
Oh, our parents forgot to get wed,
Did a wedding bell chime, it was always a time
When our parents were somewhere in bed.
Then all thanks to our kind loving parents,
We are kings in the land of the free.
Your banker, your broker, your Washington joker,
Three prominent bastards are we, tra la,
Three prominent bastards are we!

2.
In a cozy little farmhouse in a cozy little dell,
A dear old-fashioned farmer and his daughter used to dwell.
She was pretty, she was charming, she was tender, she was mild,
And her sympathy was such that she was frequently with child.
The year her hospitality attained a record high
She became the happy mother of an infant, which was I.
Whenever she was gloomy I could always make her grin
By childishly inquiring who my daddy could have been.
The hired man was favored by the girls in Mummy's set
And a trav'ling man from Scranton was an even money bet.
But such were Mammy's motives, and such was her allure,
That even Roger Babson wasn't altogether sure.
Well I took my mother's morals and I took my daddy's crust,
And I grew to be the founder of the New York Blanker's Trust.

Chorus:
Oh, our parents forgot to get married, etc.

3.
In a torrid penal chain gang on a dusty southern road,
My late lamented daddy had his permanent abode.
Now some were there for stealing, but my daddy's only fault
Was an overwhelming tendency for criminal ault.
His philosophy was simple and quite free of moral taint:
Seduction is for sissies, but a he-man wants his rape.
Daddy's total list of victims was embarrassingly rich,
And one of them was Mother, but he couldn't tell me which.
Well I didn't go to college, but I got me a degree.
I reckon I'm the model of a perfect S.O.B.
I'm a debit to my country but a credit to my Dad,
The most expensive senator the country ever had.
I remember Daddy's warning -- that raping is a crime,
Unless you rape the voters a million at a time.

Chorus:
Oh, our parents forgot to get married, etc.

4.
I'm an ordinary figure in these democratic states,
A pathetic demonstration of hereditary traits.
As the children of the cop possess the flattest kind of feet,
As the daughter of the floozie has a waggle to her seat,
My position at the bottom of society I owe
To the qualities my parents bequeathed me long ago.
My father was a married man and, what is even more,
He was married to my mother -- a fact which I deplore.
I was born in holy wedlock, consequently by and by,
I was rooked by every bastard who had plunder in his eye.
I invested, I deposited, I voted every fall,
And I saved up every penny and the bastards took it all.
At last I've learned my lesson and I'm on the proper track:
I'm a self-appointed bastard and I'M GOING TO GET IT BACK!

Chorus:
Oh, our parents forgot to get married,
Oh, our parents forgot to get wed,
Did a wedding bell chime, it was always a time
When our parents were somewhere in bed.
Then all thanks to our kind loving parents,
We are kings in the land of the free.
Your banker, your broker, your Washington joker,
Three prominent bastards are we, tra la,
Three prominent bastards are we!

[KamaAina]

37. Here you go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jJQoaBMJKI

Hey, you didn't say which depression! :P

edit: changed video. May the copyright police contract cholera while cracking down on bootleg videos in Zimbabwe. :grr:

[Radical Activist]

38. Louis Armstrong

Mahogany Hall Stomp 1929

I decided not to post one of his movie clips because they all looked too much like a minstrel show.
This is a great song though...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5r8m1mE6T0

[mykpart]

39. I wanted to play this one, but I can't find it.

I'll get by as long as I have you.
Though there be rain and darkness too,
I'll not complain, I'll see it through.
Poverty may come to me, it's true,
But what care I, hey, I'll get by
As long as I have you.

[HooptieWagon]

40. Don't know the name - my mother used to sing it to me...

"When the dog died
we had coffee,
When the cat died,
catnip tea,
When the Landlord died
I left there,
Spareribs were too much for me."

[Deja Q]

41. 1930s depression or today's?

"Funplex"

I'm a pleasure seeker, shoppin' for a new distraction
I'm a pleasure seeker, lookin' for some platinum action
I'm a pleasure seeker, movin' to the music
I'm a pleasure seeker, lookin' for the real thing

Chandalabra's in a wonderbra
Chris barn runway, a real draw
Faster pussycat, thrill, thrill
I'm at the mall on a diet pill

Oh, broke my heart at the funplex
Yes you did, yes you did
Oh, broke my heart at the funplex,
Yes you did, yes you did

The taco tiki hut is where we're all gonna meet
Underneath the chandelier at the ATM machine
Oh honey, is it all about money?

Hey Lady
What?
What lady?
That lady?
No!

Private property, hippy be quiet
Your peace sign t-shirt could cause a riot
Faster, faster can't get enough
What the hell will I do with this stuff?

I'm your daytime waitress at the taco tiki hut
I'm your daytime waitress here's your stupid 7-Up
You kicked my heart going up and down the escalator
You blew me off and now you've lost the real thing

Oh, broke my heart at the funplex
Yes you did, yes you did
Oh, broke my heart at the funplex
Yes you did, yes you did

You know fashion frenzy
(Panic at the funplex)
Gets me higher and higher
No will power and my wallet's on fire

(Panic at the funplex)
Fashion frenzy gets me higher and higher
No will power and my wallet's on fire

Oh, broke my heart at the funplex
Yes you did, yes you did
Oh, broke my heart at the funplex,
Yes you did, yes you did

The taco tiki hut is where we're all gonna meet
Underneath the chandelier at the ATM machine
Oh honey, is it all about money?

Oh, broke my heart
Oh, broke my heart
Panic at the funplex

Misery at the funplex
And there's too much sex
Faster, faster, thrill, thrill
Too much to do
It's time for a pill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfh4C0SFOy4

[Shell Beau]

42. Better Man---Pearl Jam

I read somewhere that he wrote the song about the abusive relationship his mom had with his dad or stepdad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kV8g2av2nQ&feature=related

[bikebloke]

43. Dust Bowl Blues by Woody Guthrie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2CLqYPUHfI

[greendog]

44. Depression era scat singing w/ taropatch ukulele.

Cliff Edwards and Buster Keaton:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p4uffTO-68I&feature=channel_page

[greendog]

45. Truckin'

Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3qS1ynyJss&mode=related&search=

[greendog]

46. Shout, Sister, Shout!

The Boswell Sisters ~ w/ Eddie Lang on guitar and Joe Venuti on violin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnAI8eKU9rg

[peacefreak]

47. The Boswell Sisters were great.

I was listening to them earlier tonight. "If I Had a Million Dollars" & "Take My Sugar to Tea" are a couple of good ones.