BS: stewie is the man!

Subject: stewie is the man!
From: GUEST,uncle charlie
Date: 19 Apr 01 - 08:28 PM

dear stewie thanks ever so much for the lyrics to tennesee 1949. it is such a good song and it brings back memories of my travels through east tenn. and western north carolinia. several years back i was sitting on the beach in elat israel and a friend and i were speculating on the nature of god while looking at the desert mountains and the red sea. as we were talking i said to try to get a feeling of god's power one could contemplate the greatness of the ocean, but to get a feeling of his love and beauty you have to travel through the smokey mountains and the blue ridge of n.c. and virginia. if you haven't been there i hope some day you can make it. many thanks, uncle charlie

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: catspaw49
Date: 19 Apr 01 - 08:39 PM

Speaking as an old 'Catter......Stewie has always been the man! He has an incredible wealth of knowledge and has been a major help to members and visitors alike for a long time. I have always relied so much on what he says that one time he accidentally posted a reply in the wrong place and I was willing to take it as gospel even though it actually made no sense!

Thanks for coming back Uncle Charlie with a thank you for Stewie! Sometimes we don't even get an acknowledgement of someone's assistance. We appreciate hearing back.......and in this case I'm glad to see others appreciate Stewie as we all do.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Apr 01 - 11:25 PM

That's well said Uncle Charlie; are you gonna be stickin' around this place a bit?

Three cheers for Stewie--

hip hip HOORAY!

hip hip HOORAY!

hip hip HOORAY!

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: ddw
Date: 19 Apr 01 - 11:38 PM

I'll second that, 'Spaw! Stewie's come thru for me a couple of times when I was hanging my ignorance out for viewing. The guy's amazing with what he knows.

Goodonya, Stewie.

david

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Stewie
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 03:39 AM

It was my pleasure, Uncle Charlie. And, as Spaw says, it is nice to hear back.

Thanks Spaw, Susan and David for your kind words. What is amazing about this community is that everyone is so willing to share. And, if you put together all the private libraries, record collections, research abilities and memories of the people who make up this community, quite apart from what is already in the DT, that constitutes an amazing resource for an inquirer to draw upon. I feel sure that even kytrad's mysterious song will be tracked down eventually. As for knowledge, if I knew half what people like Sandy Paton, Art Thieme, Bruce Olson, Frank Hamilton and others here know about traditional music, I would be very happy. I certainly aim to keep working on it.

Cheers, Stewie.

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Peter T.
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 08:59 AM

HOMAGE:

Stewie, Stewie, oh, oh,
Stewie, Stewieh (followed by rest of "Louie, Louie", in incomprehensible garage speak)

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 09:21 AM

Whenever I've had a question about some obscure blues, Stewie has come through. Whenever I come back with some more CDs of "Deaf Lime Clinton live at the Sarsparilla-a-go-go in Smalltown 1926" etc. I tell Herself it's his fault for drawing them to my attention!
He's a diamond geezer (as Bert might say!)
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Rex
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 11:59 AM

I agree, Stewie certainly has a wealth of knowledge regarding traditional music in the U.S. I had him living somewhere in Kentucky or the like. How astonished I was to learn he was halfway around the world in Oz. How he knows so much is a mystery to me.

Rex

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 03:31 PM

I would also like to add my appreciation for the help Stewie provided when I was after lyrics to songs by Uncle Dave Macon see this thread. I certainly would still be wondering without his dedication.
Keep up the good work!
Quack
Geoff the Duck

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: GUEST,John Gray / Australia
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 07:17 PM

Stewie, while your on a roll can you help me out on this one. It seems to be in your area of expertise. I enquired here about 18 months ago but no-one could help. Okay, a bloke called Bob Dyer came to Australia from Tenn. just after WII. He stayed here, became a radio personality and had some of the first TV quiz shows. Back in Tenn. he was a hillbilly (?) singer. He, or his band, sang a song called The Death of Willy ( Willie ? ). One of the lines was, They knew that he was dying by the freckles on his breathe, his eyeballs were draggin' in the mud. And then something like, No more upon the mat will he tease poor pussy cat, our darlin' blue-eyed boy has kicked the bucket-bang-bang.

Any help on the full lyrics ?

JG/F.M.E.

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 07:44 PM

G'day John Gray,

I reckpn Stewie should breeze through this one as well ... but I will keep an eye on the thread. When I get a chance to troll through the CD breeding grounds around my player, there should be a CD of early music by Bob Dyer, put out by ScreenSound (The Australian Screen and Sound Archive, in Canberra). This is bound to include The Death of Little Willie - in fact I remember looking at the words while writing to a cyber-friend in NY about Bob Dyer.

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: GUEST,John Gray / Australia
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 07:47 PM

Thanks Bob.

JG/F.M.E.

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 07:57 PM

G'day John,

Now, finding the CD ...

Regard(les)s,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Stewie
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 08:51 PM

John and Bob,

I'm afraid my knowledge of Bob Dwyer extends only to the Pick-a-box program that he ran on early Oz TV. Fortunately, it sounds like Bob has the matter nailed.

If you can't find the CD, Bob, I have a couple of avenues to try. Years ago, I did a country show on community radio with a bloke named Les Woods. I would play bluegrass and American old-timey on one Thursday night and he would alternate the next Thursday with Australian country - what was (perhaps affectionately) known as 'Queensland opera'. He had an enormous collection of the stuff - some excellent, but much of it quite mind-boggling in its banality. I could try to track him down but, as I say, it was a long time ago. Alternatively, Norm Walker of Hard To Find Recordings in Emu Plains may well be able to help. His email is [e-mail]

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Stewie
Date: 20 Apr 01 - 08:56 PM

That should have been 'Dyer' - it was just a typo!

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: simon-pierre
Date: 21 Apr 01 - 01:03 AM

yep, i'll add another good word for Stewie, who helped me for what I was looking for several times. Thanks for your help and klowledge, camarade.

Simon-Pierre

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 22 Apr 01 - 03:01 AM

G'day John Gray / Stewie:

Dang! I have not found the CD ... but I remember reading the words a little while ago ... I probably put the CD down in the computer room - that's really asking for trouble round here!

I will also run it past Jim Dangarfield, up at Bullaroo, who is the old records buff's record buff.

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: ADD: The Death of Willie ^^
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 08:51 AM

G'day again,

John Gray: I didn't find the specific CD I mentioned ... but I found Bob Dyer singing it on another compilation CD from National Film & Sound Archive (now called ScreenSound). Here are the words, as I here them:

The Death of Willie
As sung by Bob Dyer, February 1939
Tune; (roughly)Little Old Log Cabin on the Plain

(Howdy folks, howdy. I guess you people have heard hillbilly singers and hillbilly musicians of every rank - but you've never heard on as rank as me! I've got a song I want to sing for you folks – now is an awful sad song. It's called "The Death of Willie". Oh it's a sad song ... the way I sing the darned thing, it's pitiful. Anyway, it's called "The Death of Willie" .. and if Willie don't die, damn him, George and the boys'll kill him. What do you say? You all set - now here we go; get together and bear down . A one and a two and a toutely ensemble cantabile ... let her flicker!

He's gone from us forever, our darlin' blue-haired boy
Our cock-eyed darlin, we will see no more
He gently passed away on the 93rd of May
He never died so suddenly before.

We knowed that he was a'dyin' by the freckles on his breath
His eyeballs was draggin' in the mud
The doctor said the only way to save Willie's life
Was stop the circulation of the blood.
(Play it boys ... [instrumental] ...)

No more upon the mat, will he tease poor pussy cat
No more between his teeth will he chew her tail (g-nash, g-nash)
No more will he press her nose up against the red-hot stove
Our little brother Willie has kicked the pail ... kicked the bucket.

We soaked Willie's head, in the pot of boilin'lead
But, alas, all our efforts was in vain
The burglars came that night and they burgled without a light
And they burgled the mustard plasters off his chest.

We filled his mouth with glue, thinkin' that would fetch him to
But again all our efforts were in vain
For after all we tried, he just heaved a sigh and died
He sneezed, blowed his nose and died again.

(Here we go again! ... {instrumental break] ... )

I have included Bob Dyer's introduction and asides (in italics to give more of the general flavour of his performance, here in Australia, as the "Last of the Hillbillys" ... bashed-in hat, hayseed clothing, yellow socks and strumming a ukulele. (I am reliably informed that he was rated then as the third-best ukulele player in the world!)

This performance is re-released on Warren Fahey Presents Yesterday's Australia: Stars of Australian Stage & Radio, Volume 2,, Larrikin Records / National Film & Sound Archive CD LRH 430.

I will also post this on a separate "Lyr Add" thread, so It gets into DigiTrad.

Regards,

Bob Bolton ^^

Subject: RE: BS: stewie is the man!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Apr 01 - 02:44 PM

No need for an ADD thread, Bob - just put ADD and the song title in the "subject" box for the message. To make sure the song gets harvested, if it isn't in an "Add" thread, send me or Jim Dixon a personal message and tell us where it is. Posting songs in duplicate locations tends to make us duplicate efforts, so it's best to post a song only once.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-