Forum Activity for @folkfan

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Does it have to be published? I have a little song that I sing to Tigger to lull him to sleep.

He's a Tigger, he's a Tigger, he's our little Tigger boyHe's a Tigger, he's a Tigger, He's our pride and our joy.I love my Tigger, love my Tigger, I love my little Tigger catI love my Tigger, love my Tigger, though sometimes he's a brat!Several other verse along this line, sung to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine. Tigger has been known to fall asleep in my arms while being sung to.

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Here's my version of "The Old Black Cat Couldn't Catch a Rat". It was, however, played on a "dog dulcimer" so you might hear some barking in the background.

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I nearly went catatonic trying to think of a cat song - what a catastrophe!If lions count, then Bruce Cockburn's "Wondering Where the Lions Are" is one.If you want a "shared" song, Henry Thomas (by John Sebastian, recorded on Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful) has the line "Dig the dog the cat dragged in"!That song from Lady and the Tramp went: "We are Siamese if you please. We are Siamese if you don't please. We are former residents of Siam, and there is no finer cat than I am." I disagree. Our two, Schrodinger (named after a nuclear physicist) and Shelby (a.k.a. Schlubby), would say that grey polydactils are best.

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Rag time!!!!!The Pussy Cat RagThe Black Cat Rag

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

This is waaay harder than dog songs & tunes! I guess people just get sappier about dogs. :)With all the lonesome turtledoves flying from pine to pine, can you believe a cat never figured into that equation? There's a bunch of songs right there. :) And I can't believe there aren't a million songs that have cats and mice figuring into them some way. After all, how many cats have saved farmers from having all their grain looted by evil mice??? Someone should right this wrong and give cats their due! :)Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle" comes to mind. Though "Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm" is the only cat tune I play on dulcimer, I'd be happy to learn more tunes that feature felines. :)

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

There's a fiddle tune played by esteemed fiddler Edden (or "Edn") Hammons of West Virginia, found on the Edden Hammons Collection: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/hammons2.htm it has the rather indelicate title of "Old Black Cat S**t in the Shavings"....the title always make me laugh. =8-o LOL

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I've never tried it, but I bet "And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps" by Jethro Tull could be arranged for dulcimer...

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thought of a couple more Old Black Cat Couldn't Catch a Rat (Don Pedi recorded it). Does "The Lion Sleeps tonight" count as a cat song? :-)

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

And then there's "How Much is that Kitty in the Window?"Oh, wait a minute...maybe not..... :(

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

There's an old fiddle tune that Buddy Thomas played called "Kitty Puss". You can click on it here to hear a bit of it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010VJ1E4/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk11 My husband Brian plays it on fiddle and let me tell you it is REALLY HARD to play banjo to! It keeps modulating between different keys and uses some weird minor notes too. Yikes!I can do it, but what kills me is when Brian picks it as the very first tune we do in a gig when I haven't even warmed up yet. =8-o I always get mad when he does that. LOL

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

The Cat Came Back!!!!!!!!!!!And that old favorite, Pussy Cat Pussy Cat Where Have You Been?

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

The Cat Came Back!!!!!!!!!!!

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm, Sadie at the Back Door

cats & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Ok, so Robin made a thread of songs that have dogs in them.

It might not have as many, but....
I demand equal time for CAT songs and tunes!!! LOL

Anyone know some cat tunes?.... :)

updated by @strumelia: 07/31/23 09:18:10PM

Suzanne, we'd need to know the scale/VSL length of your dulcimer (distance in inches, from nut to bridge).
updated by @strumelia: 02/10/16 11:52:23AM

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Randall, it's a good one and you do it up right. I appreciate your posting the link.

Randall McKinnon said:

I just uploaded the entire song on my website-- www.randallmckinnon.com . You'll find it under the "Music" tab...Hope you enjoy it!

Robin Thompson said:

Randall,

Never too late to add a good dog song!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Randall,

Never too late to add a good dog song!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Here it is:
My Dog Loves Your Dog

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Back in the 20s, Cliff Edwards, known as "Ukulele Ike," sang a song called "My Dog Loves Your Dog."Some of the lyrics go:Look how she pets himAnd look how she lets himPlay around the wayI'd like to play with youChows and Pekinese who have pedigreesAre crazy over my houndBut your little mutt simply got him nutsAnd he gladly gave her his last piece of liver 'causeMy dog loves your dogYour dog loves my dogIf our doggies love each otherWhy can't we?

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Yeah, that song's a killer.That's the part of farming that breaks your heart.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

EmLee, thanks for giving me the name James King and the Echo Mountain title-- I think that may have been the song I heard on radio.Paul, what to say about Barney? Powerful. Thanks for the link

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I've been known to play Old Rattler , mostly on banjo, though. I did work up a dulcimer version of this horse song, Barney.

I played it once at a late jam at Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, but it didn't seem to go over too well. One comment was on the order of "What a weird song." I guess if a person never cried at Old Shep, or the end of Old Yeller, Barney might seem weird. I've never played that one in public since that night. If ya can't cry at a good tear-jerker about dogs, cats, etc, you must have a hole in your soul. Better get that looked at.Paul

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the adventures of Ilene, The Two Legged Dog , as recorded by Cindy Funk of Sweetwater. Based in part on the story of a real dog named Skeezix, which she saw on TV.Hop around, hop around Ilene,Hop around just like a frog.Of legs she's got half,Please try not to laugh,At Ilene the two-legged dog.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

That's it! I must have Doc's version on vinyl somewhere, because I couldn't find in in my CD/iTunes collection. Not knowing the name of that song was driving me crazy. Now I can sleep tonight.D.T. Flint Hill said:

Good one!

I believe that forlorn doggie was last seen in the song Life Gets Teejus, Don't It ?

Cal Tinney did a popular version in the late 1940s and Doc Watson did a live recording in the early 1970s.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Good one!I believe that forlorn doggie was last seen in the song Life Gets Teejus, Don't It ?Cal Tinney did a popular version in the late 1940s and Doc Watson did a live recording in the early 1970s.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

"Hound dog howlin', he's so forlorn,The laziest dog that ever was born.He's a howlin' so 'cause he's a sitting on a thornAnd he's just too tired to roll over."That comes from some Doc Watson tune whose name I can't remember.And I heard years ago that the Beatles song "Martha My Dear" was about Paul's English sheepdog.Fun stuff.D.T.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Certainly no dog ever bit a baby in an OT tune.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Good one, Hunter!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Mary Z Cox posted this "Old Blue" on YouTube-- and she's playing her new Paul Conrad-made Timbre Hill dulcimer:

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I mentioned this one on the cat post: "Henry Thomas" by John Sebastian, from the late 1966 album "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful".My cat - dragged in - through the door - one fine mornOn its back - ears hungForty pounds of feet and tongue.Ooh wee, my dear Henry, dig the dog the cat dragged in.Can't fight - won't bite - has bugs - eats rugsSmells flowers - sleeps hoursGrowing like a dinosaur.There's a slide whistle solo. Go figure!(The late Zal Yanovsky, lead guitarist for the Spoonful, and quite likely the slide whistle player, moved to Kingston and opened a great gourmet restaurant, Chez Piggy, which is now run by his daughter, as well as Pan Chancho Bakery, both in historic buildings. Zal was quite the character in this town.)

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks Flint! Here's a picture of my dulcimer "Ellie" that I played the tune on. You can see why it is an appropriate instrument for a song about an old yellow dog.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

This really cooks, Phil. Like it a lot.It's striking to me how some old-time tunes sound like baroque French dance music when they're played on the dulcimer. I think it's the pacing and the implied harmony of the chords. A lot of those old gavottes and minuets started out as "country music" or turned into country music as they trickled down from the French court to the villages. Whatever, this sounds really rustic and pretty.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Here's my version of Old Yellow Dog. It probably should go faster but I tried it both ways and kinda like this one better.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Goodnight Little Cowup is my favorite sweet, sappy, country dog song. It's by Stephanie Davis, who has three Australian Shepherds.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Oh, "Gnarled" is great and great fun-- thanks for including it here, fellas!Suzanne, I've never seen these lyrics nor before heard the song. Poignant. Thank you.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Gnarled This has been a fun thread!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks for the links, Ken. I was familiar neither with the legend surrounding Gelert nor the story of Saint Guinefort.Dogs rule! Come to think of it, cats do, too! :)

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Robin, I don't know the song, but the story is known as the "Gelert Legend" among English-speaking people. It's a Welsh story, also found in cultures worldwide, with the faithful dog replaced by a tame bear, a mongoose, or whatever.See also the noncanonical Saint Guinefort who is definitely a good sort of saint.

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Ken, "Old Blue" is deserving of the praise it gets.I heard a song on radio about a man who returns to his cabin to find his dog bloodied. Believing the dog to have killed his child, the man kills the dog. Of course the fellow then learns the dog had gotten bloodied protecting (or trying to protect) the child from a wild animal.This ring a bell with anybody? I don't remember the facts of the song well-- probably obvious. Maybe it's one of the maudlin coon dog songs Ken mentioned. Anyway, the song hit me right in the heart. My, was it sad!

dogs & songs

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks Robin, for using Old Blue to kick this one off. We lost both our blueticks this year, and they're the last ones we'll have. Too old to keep up with them. :)I think all these have been mentioned, but here are some links.There's "Coon Dog" , aka "Old Coon Dog" which uses pretty much the same tune as Angeline the Baker.Then there's "My Old Coon Dog" sung to the same tune as "Whoa Mule".Here's "Old Rattler" sung by Grandpa Jones.You can buy whole CDs of maudlin coon dog songs if you go to one of the big hunts, but I would recommend it. :)