RE: [Harp-L] Re: Zep tunes [When the Levee Breaks]



This kind of lyrical re-use happens all over... Just think of all the
variations on Girl from the North Country.
My issue with Zep..., when I have one... Was the seeming artlessness with
which they'd just go down the list...
But then, who ever invented language way back could take us all to task for
being derivative immitationists, right?
 Brad Trainham


-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Dan Berger
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 2:54 PM
To: David Payne; Harp L Harp L
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Zep tunes [When the Levee Breaks]

DAVE WROTE:>
> This is a Jimmie Rodgers line from "T for Texas."
> "Gonna buy me a pistol, just as long as I am tall...
> Gonna shoot poor Thelma just to see her jump and fall. "
>
> Peg Leg Howell, Sadie Lee Blues:
> "Gonna buy me a pistol, long as I am tall...
> I'm gonna shoot li'l Sadie, see her rise and fall"
>
> This is a line from Ma Rainey's See See Rider:
> "I'm gonna buy me a pistol, just as long as I am tall...
> Shoot my man, and catch a cannonball."
>
>>From Sonny Terry:
> Well, I'm gonna buy me a pistol, little woman, made up on a .44 frame...
> Well, you can look down in the ground, little woman, whoa, you know, 
> you can see that undertaker man
>
>>From "Mean Mama Blues" maybe somebody did it earlier, but the guy I'm 
>>thinking of is Ernest Tubb, who did it in 1941:
> I'm gonna buy me a pistol I'll think I'll get a 44...
> And when I get through shootin' that girl wont step no more

  You KNOW Jimmie Rodgers got it somewhere else- I love these kind of songs-
it was rural, southern music (no color)

These are travelin' lyrics, they can can go in all kinds of songs-  my band
mate, Rick Nestler, has a head full of lyrics and loves to mix 'em up, and
he sure can yodel in "T for Texas"-  he's got a big voice and his
"Neanderthal slash"
on his Taylor twelve string let's me just let loose on harp (but not when
he's yodeling).

Dan 

_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l




This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.