The Folk Song Of The Week is I Took My Gal Out Walkin’. It’s a fun song on frailing / clawhammer banjo. I have simplified it down to the bare essentials and it still has a kick to it!

Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to sing it!

I Took My Gal Out Walkin’ MP3

I Took My Gal Out Walkin’ (PDF)

I TOOK MY GAL OUT WALKIN’

I [G]took my gal out walkin ‘twas on a Saturday night

I took my gal out walkin’ and the [A]moon was shinin’ [D]bright

[C]I asked her if she’d [G]kiss me and [C]this is what she [D7]said

[G]She said she would not kiss me so [D7]I kissed her [G]instead

CHORUS:

Oh I ain’t got nobody [D7]I’m as blue as can be

I ain’t got nobody to [G]make a big fuss over me

If I don’t get somebody [D7]I’m goin’ back to the farm’

Milk those cows and chickens and [G]I don’t give a golly gosh darn

I took my gal out walkin ‘twas on a Saturday night
I took my gal out walkin’ and the moon was shinin’ bright
I asked her if she’d marry me and this is what she said
She said she would not marry me if the rest of the world was dead!

The Folk Song Of The Week this time around is Sweet Sunny South. There are many more verses than what I sang on the video and it’s a great, great song. This is a mainstay at our monthly jams and I love to make it as long as possible.

Have fun with it and don’t forget to sing!

Sweet Sunny South MP3

Sweet Sunny South (PDF)

SWEET SUNNY SOUTH

[G]Take me back to the place where I first saw the light

To the sweet sunny south take me [C]home

[G]Where the mockingbirds sang me to rest ev’ry night

Oh, why was I [D7]tempted to [G]roam

I think with regret of the dear home I left
Of the warm hearts that sheltered me there
Of the wife and the dear ones of whom I’m bereft
For the old place again do I sigh

Take me back to the place where the orange trees grew
To my cot’ in the evergreen shade
Where the flow’rs on the river’s green margin may blow
And spread their sweet scent o’er the glade

The path to our cottage they say has grown green
And the place is quite lonely around
And I know that the smiles and the forms I have seen
Now lie ‘neath the dark mossy ground

Take me back, let me see what is left that I knew
Can it be that the old house is gone?
Dear friends of my childhood indeed must be few
And now I must face death all alone

But yet I’ll return to the place of my birth
Where the children have played ’round the door
Where they gathered wild blossoms that grew on the bank
That will echo our footsteps no more

Take me back to the place where I first saw the light
To The sweet sunny south take me home
Where the mockingbirds sang me to rest ev’ry night
Oh, why was I tempted to roam

It was a frustrating experience trying not to be distracted by Sandy and Amber while I was recording this, but it was fun at the same time!

If I Lose, I Don’t Care follows the same melody as White House Blues on the verse so today you get a two for one special.

Have fun with it!

If I Lose, I Don’t Care MP3

If I Lose, I Don’t Care (PDF)

IF I LOSE, LET ME LOSE

[C]I can’t walk, neither can I talk

[F]Just gettin’ back from the [C]state of old New York

One [G]morning before [C]day

Flossie, oh Flossie, now what is the matter
Walked all the way from old Cincinatta
One morning before day

CHORUS:

[C]If I lose, let me lose

I don’t [G]care how much I [C]lose

If I lose a hundred dollars while I’m [F]tryin’ to win a dime

For my [G]baby, she needs money all the [C]time

The blood was a-runnin’, and I was runnin’ too
Give my feet some exercise, I had nothing else to do
One morning before day

The peas was so greasy, the meat was so fat
The boys was fightin’ the Spaniards while I was fightin’ gnats
One morning before day

See them girls settin’ at the tank
Ready to catch a freight train they call old Nancy Hanks
One morning before day

I was glad to get this request since it’s a song that every banjo player should play at least once in their lives. Oh, Susanna is a great song on frailing banjo, so here goes the Folk Song Of The Week.

Remember, have fun no matter what!

Oh, Susanna MP3

Oh, Susanna (PDF)

OH SUSANNA!

Oh I [G]come from Alabama with a banjo on my [D7]knee,

I’m [G]going to Louisiana, my true love [D7]for to [G]see

It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was [D7]dry

The [G]sun so hot I froze to death; Susanna, [D7]don’t you [G]cry.

CHORUS:

[C]Oh, Susanna, [G]don’t you cry for [D7]me

For I [G]come from Alabama with my banjo [D7]on my [G]knee.

I had a dream the other night when everything was still,

I thought I saw Susanna coming up the hill,

The buckwheat cake was in her mouth, the tear was in her eye,

I said I’m coming from Dixieland, Susanna don’t you cry.

I soon will be in New Orleans

And then I’ll look around

And when I find my gal Susanne,

I’ll fall upon the ground.

The Folk Song Of The Week this time around is Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down. The funniest part of the video is really not that evident unless I point it out. I had exactly 15 minutes to get this video done before I had to give a lesson over Skype. I was near the finish and I see that the camera that is recording my right hand is about to run out of battery power. I got it done, but just barely and you can see the look on my face as I try to figure out if I am going to make it!!

Have fun with the song and remember it’s only frailing banjo, everything about it should be fun!

Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down MP3

Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (PDF)

DON’T LET YOUR DEAL GO DOWN

Now, I’ve [D]been all around this [G]whole wide world,

I’ve [C]been down to Memphis, [F]Tennessee;

And it’s [D]any old place I [G]hang my hat

[C]Is home, sweet home to [F]me.

Chorus:

Don’t let your deal go down (x3)
‘Fore my last gold dollar is gone.

Now, I left my little girl crying,
Standing in the door;
She throwed her arms around my neck,
Saying, “Honey, don’t you go.”

Now, I’ve been all around this whole wide world,
Done most everything;
I’ve played cards with the King and the Queen,
The ace, the eight, or the trey.

Now, where did you get them high-top shoes,
Dress you wear so fine?
I got my shoes from a railroad man,
And my dress from a driver in the mine.

Who’s gonna shoe your pretty white feet;
Who’s gonna glove your hand;
Who’s gonna kiss your lily white cheeks;
Who’s gonna be your man?

Now, Papa may shoe my pretty white feet;
Mama can glove my hand;
She can kiss my lily white cheeks
Till you come back again.

This time the Folk Song Of The Week is Army Life. This was requested and I have to say that it brought back memories of my childhood and Desert Storm. Both of them were good memories, but now I realize that I only keep in touch with one of my buddies from my military days. I think I am going to have to search some of the others out and see how life has treated them.

Have fun with this song and add your favorite lyrics to it because there are plenty out there.

Army Life MP3

Army Life (PDF)

ARMY LIFE

The [G]coffee that they give you, they [D7]said was mighty fine

Good for cuts and bruises and [G]tastes like iodine ooh

[C]I don’t want no more of [G]army life

Gee bud, I [D7]want to go [G]home

The chicken that they give you, they said was mighty fine
One rolled off the table and started marking time ooh

The biscuits that they give you, they said was mighty fine
One jumped off the table, boys, and it knocked down a pal of mine ooh

The women in the PX, they said were mighty fine
Most are over 90 and the rest are under 9 ooh

The money that they give you, they said was mighty fine
Ask for fifty dollars, boy, and they’ll take back forty-nine ooh

I was able to move a couple of lessons around so I could get at least one video workshop up this week. I am still going through the requests for the Folk Song Of The Week and taking the songs in the order they came in. This time around it’s Wabash Cannonball. It’s a fun song and one we do at our monthly jams. Have fun with it and remember that having fun is 99% of learning to play frailing / clawhammer banjo.

Wabash Cannonball MP3

Wabash Cannonball (PDF)

WABASH CANNONBALL

From the [G]great Atlantic ocean to the wide Pacific [C]shore

From the [D7]green New Hampshire mountains to the southland’s cajun [G]lore

She’s mighty tall and handsome and loved by one and [C]all

[D7]She’s the combination called the Wabash Cannon[G]ball

Chorus:

Oh listen to the jingle the rumble and the [C]roar

As she [D7]glides along the woodlands through the hills and by the [G]shore

Hear the mighty rush of the engine, hear that lonesome hobo’s [C]call

We’re [D7]traveling through the jungles on the Wabash Cannon[G]ball

Your eastern states are dandies so the people always say
From New York to St. Louis and Chicago by the way
Through the hills of Minnesota where the rippling waters fall
No changes can be taken on the Wabash Cannonball

Chorus

Here’s to Daddy Klaxton may his name forever stand
And alwyas be remembered through the courts of Alabam’
His earthly race is over, the curtains ’round him fall
We’ll carry him on to Glory on the Wabash Cannonball

Chorus

She pulled in to the station one cold December day
As she rolled up to the platform you could hear all the people say
There’s a gal from Tennessee; she’s long and she’s tall
She came down from Birmingham on the Wabash Cannonball

Chorus

I was asked to go back and revisit this song and I was happy to do so. The change I made this time was to sing it in the key that I like!

Lolly Too Dum is a great song on frailing banjo. Don’t let the key of D hold you back from trying it out. It’s fun to do and you’ll enjoy it!

Lolly Too Dum

Lolly Too Dum(PDF)

Lolly Too Dum

[D]As I Went Out One Morning To Take The Pleasant Air,
Lolly Too Dum, Too Dum, [A7]Lolly Too Dum[D] Day.
As I Went Out One Morning To [G]Take The Pleasant Air,
I [D]Overheard A Mother A-Scolding Her Daughter Fair,
Lolly Too Dum, Too Dum, [A7]Lolly Too Dum [D]Day.

You Better Go Wash Them Dishes, And Hush That Flattering Tongue
You Know You Want To Get Married And That You Are Too Young.

Oh, Pity My Condition Just As You Would Your Own.
For Fourteen Long Years, I’ve Been Living All Alone.

Supposing I Was Willing, Where Would You Get Your Man?
Why, Lordy, Mercy! Mammy, I’d Marry That Handsome Sam.

Supposing He Should Slight You Like You Done Him Before?
Why, Lordy, Mercy! Mama, I’d Marry Forty More

There’s Doctors And Lawyers And Boys From The Plow.
Why, Lordy, Mercy! Mammy, I’m Gettin’ That Feelin’ now

Now, My Daughter?s Married And Well For To Do.
Come All Ye Ladies, I’m On The Market, Too!

I found this request in my spam folder from June from John in California. It’s a bit late, but here it is: Yankee Doodle as a frailing banjo lesson!

Have fun!

Yankee Doodle MP3

Yankee Doodle (PDF)

Yankee Doodle

[C]Yankee Doodle went to town a-riding on a [G]pony

[C]Stuck a feather [F]in his hat and [C]called it [G]maca[C]roni.

[F]Yankee Doodle, keep it up. [C]Yankee Doodle dandy

[F]Mind the music and the step and [C]with the [G]girls be [C]handy.

Father and I went down to camp along with Captain Gooding
And there we saw the men and boys as thick as hasty pudding.

There was Captain Washington upon a slapping stallion
A-giving orders to his men I guess there was a million.

Oh, this is a great, great, great song to sing and get everyone involved! One More River is the Folk Song Of The Week and it is a blast to play on frailing / clawhammer banjo!!!

Have fun with it and make up words if you need to, it’s a folk song!

One More River MP3

One More River (PDF)

One More River To Cross

Oh [G]there’s one [C]more [G]river, and [D7]that’s the river [G]Jordan,

There’s one [C]more [G]river, there’s [D7]one more river to [G]cross.

The animals cane one by one, there’s [D7]one more river to [G]cross,

The elephant chewing a caraway bun, there’s [D7]one more river to [G]cross.

The animals came two by two, there’s one more river to cross,
The crocodile and the kangaroo, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals came three by three, there’s one more river to cross,
The tall giraffe and the tiny flea, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals cane four by four, there’s one more river to cross,
The hippos, they got stuck in the door, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals cane five by five, there’s one more river to cross,
The honey bees looking to build a hive, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals cane six by six, there’s one more river to cross.
The monkey, he was up to his tricks, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals cane seven by seven, there’s one more river to cross,
Said the bear to the elephant “Who are you shovin’?”, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals came eight by eight, there’s one more river to cross,
Some were early and some were late, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals came nine by nine, there’s one more river to cross,
They all joined up and marched in a line, there’s one more river to cross.

The animals came ten by ten, there’s one more river to cross,
If you want any more then I’ll sing it again, there’s one more river to cross.