LYRICS, POETRY, AND PROSE 170830
A place to share some words of beauty, inspiration, and fun. Today we have music from my past. The first, A-Round the Corner is a song my mom and my Aunt May used to sing about a man named Henry Lee. My uncle’s name was Henry, although everybody called him Hank, and my father’s name was Ernest Lee, although people often called him Lee. In their wives’ version of the song the lyric was “looking for Henry and Lee.” The second song was one of the songs that they really loved called Tennessee Waltz – both my uncle and dad were from Tennessee. The last song was one that got me in trouble, when my grandmother took me to the Baptist Church down the street and they began singing hymns, I chimed in with the only song I knew – Pistol Packing Mama. The congregation was scandalized. Click on the name of the piece to get a video or more information.
A-round the corner, ooh-ooh,
Beneath the berry tree
A-long the footpath, behind the bush
Looking for Henry Lee.
– A-Round the Corner Singer: Jo Stafford; Writer: Josef Marais
I was waltzing with my darlin’ to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
I introduced her to my loved one
And while they were waltzing
My friend stole my sweetheart from me
I remember that night and the Tennessee Waltz
Only you know how much I have lost
Yes, I lost my little darlin’ the night they were playin’
That beautiful Tennessee Waltz
– Tennessee Waltz Singer: Patsy Cline; Writers: Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart
Oh, drinkin’ beer in a cabaret
Was I havin’ fun!
Until one night she caught me right
And now I’m on the run.
Oh, lay that pistol down, Babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin’ mama
Lay that pistol down.
Oh, she kicked out my windshield
And she hit me over the head.
She cussed and cried and said I lied
And she wished that I was dead.
– Pistol Packin’ Mama Singer Willie Nelson; Writer: Al Dexter