Well, folks, should we pull out some of the old standards and dust them off?

[KansDem]

In preparation for the BushCo "Smash and Grab" $7,700,000,000,000 bailout?

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

Hallelujah I'm a Bum

Oh, why don't I work like other men do?
How the hell can I work when there's no work to do?

cho: Hallelujah! I'm a bum, Hallelujah bum again,
Hallelujah! give us a handout and revive us again.
Oh, I love my boss and my boss loves me,
And that is the reason I'm so hungry.

Well, springtime has come and I'm just out of jail,
Without any money, without any bail

Oh why don't you save all the money you earn?
Well if I didn't eat, I'd have money to burn.

Oh, I like my boss, he's a good friend of mine,
And that's why I'm standing out in the breadline.

I can't buy a job 'cause I ain't got the dough
So I ride in a boxcar 'cause I'm a hobo.

I went to a house and I knocked on the door,
The lady said, "Scram, bum, you've been here before!"

I went to a bar and I asked for a drink,
They gave me a glass and they showed me the sink.

Oh why don't you work like other folks do?
How can I get a job when you're holding down two?

Whenever I get all the money I earn,
The boss will be broke and to work he must turn.

I went to a house and I knocked on the door;
A lady came out, says, "You been here before."

I went to a house, and I asked for some bread;
A lady came out, says, "The baker is dead."

When springtime does come, oh won't we have fun,
We'll throw up our jobs and we'll go on the bum.

The Great American Bum

Come all ye jolly jokers and listen while I hum
The story I'll relate to you, the great American Bum
From East to West from North and South
Like swarms of bees they come
Sleep in the dirt and wear a shirt, filthy and full of crumbs

It's early in the morning, the dew is on the ground
The bum arises from his nest and gazes all around
From boxcar to the haystack, he gazes everywhere
He never turns back upon his track until he gets a square

I've topped the spruce, I've worked the sluice
I've taken a turn at the plow
I've dug for gold in rain and cold
And worked on a river scow
I've picked the clam, I've packed the clam
I've packed the elusive prune
But my troubles pale when I hit the trail
Packing my own balloon

Oh lady would you be kind enough to gimme a bite to eat
A piece of pie and custard and a ten foot slice of meat
A piece of pie and custard to tickle me appetite
For lady, I'm so hungry, I don't know where to sleep tonight

Oh it's sleepin' in the station, tra la la la la lation
That's our recommedation, harrah haroo harum
We are three bums, three jolly bums, we live like royal Turks
We have good luck abummin' our chuck
God bless the man that works

Oh I met a man the other day, I'd never met before
He asked me if I wanted a job shovlin' iron ore
I asked him what the wages were, he said ten cents a ton
I said ol' fellow, go chase yourself, I'd sooner be on the bum

Oh it's sleepin' in the oggies, hi oggy oggy oggies
Smokin' snipes and stogies, harrah haroo harum
We are three bums, three jolly bums, we live like royal Turks
We have good luck abummin' our chuck
God bless the man that works



I'll play banjo...

[JuniperLea]

1. Time to bone up on the written language too...

http://www.allisonhunter.com/Signmakers/symbols.html

[KansDem]

3. Thanks! These will come in handy...

Some of those are intuitive ("man with a gun lives here," "kind lady lives here," "religious talk gets free meal"), some of the others not quite so ("2/10" for "there are thieves about").

Very interesting...

[rvablue]

10. This is interesting...posted about the "cat head" earlier but

didn't know there was a whole language.

Hopefully these will not become well-known again.


:cry:

[demodonkey]

2. My grandmother in Western PA used to keep a special set of eating utensils on the back porch...

...for the bums and hobos she would feed. As my mother remembers it was a tin plate, cup, and silverware, all used only for the bums. My grandmother kept them clean and washed, and gladly spared a meal when one of these guys came around.

Of course this was when my mother was a child before and during the Great Depression, decades before my time. I can't remember ever seeing any bums but both parents talked about them. My Dad was fond of using the term "bums" as something scary and maybe supernatural, like the boogyman.

[monmouth]

4. And never leave a pie on the sill to cool. Be gone in a heartbeat

by these poor guys...

[KansDem]

5. Thanks for sharing your story...

My grandmother kept them clean and washed, and gladly spared a meal when one of these guys came around.

It could be me, but weren't people more friendly, more compassionate during that time?

[JuniperLea]

8. My great granny fed the hobos too...

She had 15 kids to feed during the depression, and she managed to feed a lot more besides... family, friends, hobos... anyone in need.

There was always wood to chop, water to fetch, and home repairs to be made. An honest meal for a little honest work. And the 'bos ate as well as the family... but on the back porch. They could bath in the outdoor wash tub if they wanted, but she was always afraid of "little critters" so she was very careful.

I learned a lot from her, and one of her 9 daughters... my grandmother... I sure wish I'd paid more attention. Her "stitch in time" ideas would be worth a lot now. Still, I can mend just about anything. Thanks, great-granny and granny!

[lib2DaBone]

6. Thanks for the songs. So sad it's come to this......I wish we had rails left to ride.

....Bush and his buddies are ripping up the steel track and selling it as scrap to China for pennies ont he dollar. Is "Conservative" and "Insanity" a synonym?

[rvablue]

9. Is that really true....I haven't heard about this

Our federal government is ripping up railways and selling it to foreign governments?

Can you give a link or point me in the right direction to read about this?

I'm not questioning you, just outraged and would like to find out more.

[Hekate]

7. Buddy can you spare a dime...

PP&M version
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/p/peterpaulmary3035/brotherbuddycanyouspareadime143419.html

Once I built a railroad, I made it run
I made it run against time
Once I built a railroad, and now it's done
Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once I built a tower way up to the sun
Of bricks and morter and lime
Once I built a tower, and now it's done
Buddy can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell
Full of that Yankee-Doodlee-Dum
A half-a-million boots went sloggin' through hell
And I was the kid with the drum

Say don't you remember, you called me Al
It was Al all the time
Say don't you remember, I was your pal
Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run
I made it run against time
Once I built a railroad, and now it's done
Buddy, can you spare a dime?


Bing Crosby sings the original
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU

[KansDem]

11. Yes, I forgot this one!

So much truth in so little space.

Thanks for sharing! :hi: