Most of us who sing folk and old time Songs in San Diego and have been around this city for awhile grew up with the music of the late Sam Hinton and Johnny Walker. We saw them in concerts at our schools, in the various Folk Festivals and places they played around our city. All those wonderful songs that we only heard when they sang them. None of us sang them because they were Sam and Johnny’s songs and you didn’t do that to living icons. Now that they are no longer with us it’s time to dig into those song books and start singing their songs. So for my annual list of songs to sing I’m going to give you 50 each that those two gentlemen sang, which I’m sure they’d want passed along.
The Songs of Sam Hinton: 1. The Rivers of Texas 2. Tell Old Bill 3. I Just Don’t Wanna Be Rich 4. Brian O’Lynn 5. Hang Me, Oh Hang Me 6. Sowing on the Mountain 7. Talking Atomic Blues 8. Lost John 9. The Soldier and the Lady 10. Damn Yankee Lad 11. I Want to Die Easy 12. Old Bangum and the Boar 13. Billy Barlow 14.The Bent County Bachelor 15. Who Ever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts 16. The Ballad of Sam Bass 17. Grieve, Oh Grieve, My True Love Grieve 18. Hell In Texas 19. Mule Drivers Song (Whoa Back Buck) 20. Old King Cole 21. Grandmother Brown 22. Hang on the Bell Nellie 23. Johnathan Smith 24. Goodbye My Lover Goodbye 25. The Capture of Major Andre 26. The Crow Song 27. The Land Knows You’re There 28. Harry Herman 29. The Old Man in the Woods 30. Three Jolly Rogues 31. When I Was a Little Boy 32. When You Go a-Courtin’ 33. Little Old Woman All Skin and Bones 34. Michael Finnigan 35. There Was an Old Sow 36. Gay Jimmy the Miller 37. Jim the Roper 38. The Barnyard Song 39. Lowlands 40. Doney Gal 41. Springfield Mountain 42. My Jewel, My Joy 43. The Miller’s Will 44. Looky Looky Yonder 45. The Valiant Soldier 46. See the Steamer Go Round the Bend 47. A Horse Named Bill 48. The Ladies of the Court of King Caractimus 49. Mary Had a William Goat 50. The Banks of the Sacramento (and about a thousand more that Sam Sang and collected over the years)
The Songs of Johnny Walker: 1. A-Beggin’ I Will Go 2. A Dalesman’s Litany 3. Cushie Butterfield 4. The Dewey Dens of Yarrow 5. The Manchester Rambler 6. Fathom the Bowl 7. Four Pence a Day 8. Don’t Chuck Your Muck in My Dust Bin 9. The Vicar of Bray 10. Gloria Victoria 11. Sweeney Todd the Barber 12. Go to the Sea Once More 13. Hanging Johnny 14. The Manchester Rambler 15. John Barleycorn 16. Lassie Wi’ a Yellow Coatie 17. Lord Lovel 18.Mary’s the Fairest of All 19. Never No More 20. Poverty Knock 21. She’s Proud and She’s Beautiful 22. The Blaiden Races 23. The Drummer and the Cookie 24. The Methody Parson 25. The Nightingale 26. The Shoals of Herring 27. Willie Went to Westerdale
28. The Squid Jiggin’ Ground 29. Pleasant and Delightful 30. The Jubilee Sovereign 31. A Brisk Young Tailor 32. Summer Is a Comin’ In 33. The Lyke Wake Dirge
34. The White Hare 35. Row Bullies Row 36. Robin Hood and the Bishop of Herford 37. The Flower of Northumberland 38. With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm 39. The D Day Dodgers 40. Maggie May 41. Ah, But Your Love Was Easily Won 42. Albert and the Lion 43. Angus McFargus McTavish Dundee 44. Away Rio 45. Four Pounds a Day 45. Merrily Cheerily 46. Paddy Doyle 47. Bound for the Rio Grande 48. Derry Down 49. Roll Bullies Roll 50. Give to the Belly Boys Beer Enough (there are many more that Johnny collected and sang, this is only a start).
A lot of the songs Johnny and Sam sang, coming from tradition, may appear with different tunes and lyrics than the ones they sang, but I can’t think of a better place to start than their versions. Lets all try to sing their songs.
LOU and VIRGINIA CURTISS Tuesday Night Sings to end.
We have been doing these get togethers for quite a few years now and many of you came regularly and I thank you for that. I like to sit around and gab about music, sing songs old and new. However, I think there are just too many conflicts and places to go and we are a ways to drive on a work night so we are going to try to get out to some of these other get togethers and maybe have an all day sing and potluck on a weekend sometime at our place. I’ll let you all know. You can check my Facebook page (that’s Louis F Curtiss) for regular updates on old music and what I’m doing about it.
Check my radio show “Jazz Roots” on KSDS 88.3FM or Jazz88.org on Sunday nights from 8pm to 10pm or if you have a question about old music and songs you can e mail me at “lou_curtiss@cox.net” or c/o San Diego Troubadour (I’m sure they’ll get it to me). Happy New Year to you all.
Recordially,
Lou Curtiss
