Forum Activity for @folkfan

folkfan
@folkfan
02/07/10 02:09:20PM
357 posts

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.

Phil Myers
@phil-myers
02/07/10 09:07:03AM
31 posts

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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.
Paul Rappell
@paul-rappell
02/07/10 01:56:54AM
31 posts

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.
folkfan
@folkfan
02/06/10 06:18:25PM
357 posts

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Rag time!!!!!The Pussy Cat RagThe Black Cat Rag
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
02/06/10 05:08:33PM
1,568 posts

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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. :)
Strumelia
@strumelia
02/06/10 11:31:32AM
2,420 posts

cats & songs


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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
Bucko Futreal
@bucko-futreal
02/06/10 04:00:19AM
8 posts

cats & songs


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I've never tried it, but I bet "And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps" by Jethro Tull could be arranged for dulcimer...
Lil Plumer
@lil-plumer
02/05/10 08:52:22PM
2 posts

cats & songs


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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? :-)
Strumelia
@strumelia
02/05/10 08:49:44PM
2,420 posts

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And then there's "How Much is that Kitty in the Window?"Oh, wait a minute...maybe not..... :(
Strumelia
@strumelia
02/05/10 08:44:26PM
2,420 posts

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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
folkfan
@folkfan
02/05/10 08:38:49PM
357 posts

cats & songs


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The Cat Came Back!!!!!!!!!!!And that old favorite, Pussy Cat Pussy Cat Where Have You Been?
folkfan
@folkfan
02/05/10 08:35:30PM
357 posts

cats & songs


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The Cat Came Back!!!!!!!!!!!
Lil Plumer
@lil-plumer
02/05/10 08:35:24PM
2 posts

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Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm, Sadie at the Back Door
Strumelia
@strumelia
02/05/10 08:30:01PM
2,420 posts

cats & songs


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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
Strumelia
@strumelia
02/04/10 08:52:04PM
2,420 posts



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
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
01/17/11 11:23:41PM
1,568 posts

dogs & songs


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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!

Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
12/25/10 11:01:34PM
1,568 posts

dogs & songs


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Randall,

Never too late to add a good dog song!

Dusty Turtle
@dusty
10/29/10 11:37:01PM
1,870 posts

dogs & songs


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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?
Flint Hill
@flint-hill
10/29/10 10:39:28PM
62 posts

dogs & songs


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Yeah, that song's a killer.That's the part of farming that breaks your heart.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
10/29/10 07:53:04PM
1,568 posts

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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
Paul Certo
@paul-certo
10/28/10 10:51:26PM
242 posts

dogs & songs


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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
Ken Hulme
@ken-hulme
05/06/10 10:14:06AM
2,157 posts

dogs & songs


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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.
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
05/05/10 11:16:55PM
1,870 posts

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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.
Flint Hill
@flint-hill
05/05/10 02:15:48PM
62 posts

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.
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
05/05/10 12:39:21PM
1,870 posts

dogs & songs


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"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.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
05/05/10 12:19:24PM
1,568 posts

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Certainly no dog ever bit a baby in an OT tune.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
04/27/10 10:51:28AM
1,568 posts

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Mary Z Cox posted this "Old Blue" on YouTube-- and she's playing her new Paul Conrad-made Timbre Hill dulcimer:
Paul Rappell
@paul-rappell
02/07/10 02:19:04AM
31 posts

dogs & songs


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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.)
Phil Myers
@phil-myers
02/06/10 09:51:21AM
31 posts

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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.
Flint Hill
@flint-hill
02/06/10 09:11:48AM
62 posts

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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.
Phil Myers
@phil-myers
02/06/10 08:38:28AM
31 posts

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.
Flint Hill
@flint-hill
02/06/10 07:39:56AM
62 posts

dogs & songs


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Goodnight Little Cowup is my favorite sweet, sappy, country dog song. It's by Stephanie Davis, who has three Australian Shepherds.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
02/05/10 09:14:13PM
1,568 posts

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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.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
02/04/10 09:42:16AM
1,568 posts

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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! :)
Flint Hill
@flint-hill
02/04/10 09:15:01AM
62 posts

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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.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
02/03/10 09:46:52PM
1,568 posts

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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!
Flint Hill
@flint-hill
02/03/10 06:59:03PM
62 posts

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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. :)
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