THEY GO WILD OVER ME / THE POPULAR WOBBLY
by T-Bone Slim (Valentine Huhta)
I'm as mild-mannered man as can be,
And I've never done no harm as I can see.
Still on me they put a ban,
And they threw me in the can,
They go wild, simply wild over me.
They accuse me of rascality,
But I can't see why they always pick on me,
I'm as gentle as a lamb
But they take me for a ram,
They go wild, simply wild over me.
Oh the "bull" he went wild over me,
And he held his gun where everyone could see,
He was breathing rather hard
When he saw my union card
He went wild, simply wild over me.
Then the judge he went wild over me.
And I plainly saw we never could agree,
So I let "his Nibs" obey
What his conscience had to say.
He went wild, simply wild over me.
Oh the jailer he went wild over me,
And he locked me up and threw away the key
It seems to be the rage
So they keep me in a cage,
They go wild, simply wild over me.
They go wild, simply wild over me,
I'm referring to the bedbug and the flea,
They disturb my slumber deep
And I murmur in my sleep,
They go wild, simply wild over me.
Will the roses grow wild over me,
When I'm gone into the land that is to be ?
When my soul and body part
In the stillness of my heart,
Will the roses grow wild over me ?
Even God, he went wild over me
This I found out when I knelt upon my knee
Did he hear my humble yell?
No, he told me, "Go to hell!"
They go wild, simply wild over me
It was amazing, almost shocking, when we found out that our favorite IWW song 'The Popular Wobbly / They go wild over me' was originally from Cologne -- our hometown, how strange!
To be exact, it's more complicated: the famous Finnish-American wobbly T-Bone Slim put his rebellious-ironic IWW lyrics over a song by Fred Fisher - the 'king of Irish music', who lived in New York, had never seen Ireland, but was born in Cologne. Said Emil Breitenbach made his fortune in America as Fred Fisher. Unfortunately, he composed numerous nasty racist coon songs in which he made fun of African Americans.
In contrast to that, T-Bone Slim's lyrics bring a Charlie Chaplin character to life in our mind's eye. Why always just me? Why did I end up in prison?
Soon there will be a German version of the song!
MUG SHOTS: RALPH CHAPLIN + ELMER LEWIS
Another amazing incident: while researching prisoner photos, we found mug shots of IWW members who were incarcerated at Leavenworth Prison in Kansas.
Below is prisoner No. 13104, Ralph Chaplin, editor and organizer of the IWW, lyricist of "Solidarity forever," cartoonist of the rebel wildcat (Sabocat).
The top prisoner #6850 is named Elmer Lewis. Whether he was also Wobbly, why he was sitting, is unknown. But he has such a nice hat and looks so hopeful and free....
Wikipedia says: "Chaplin and about 100 other Wobblies were arrested and convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 for conspiracy to obstruct the draft and encouraging desertion. He wrote Bars And Shadows: The Prison Poems while serving four years of a 20-year sentence."
SEX PISTOLS: WHO KILLED BAMBI?
On the B-side of this single you'll find our version of a rather unknown Sex Pistols song, hidden somewhere in the back of the debauched 'The Great Rock'n Roll Swindle'. We like the arabesque frame and the accordion-polka beat very much. What do you folks think?
___________________________
AUF DEUTSCH:
SIE SIND VERRÜCKT NACH MIR / DER ALLSEITS BELIEBTE WOBBLY
Es war erstaunlich, fast schockierend, als wir heraus fanden, dass unser Lieblings-IWW-Song 'The Popular Wobbly / They go wild, simply wirld, over me' ursprünglich aus Köln stammt -- unserer Heimatstadt. Wie schräg!
Genauer gesagt ist es komplizierter: der berühmte finnisch-amerikanische Wobbly T-Bone Slim hat seine rebellisch-ironischen IWW-Texte über einen Song von Fred Fisher gelegt - dem 'König der irischen Musik', der in New York lebte, Irland nie gesehen hatte, aber in Köln geboren war. Besagter Emil Breitenbach machte sein Glück in Amerika als Fred Fisher. Leider komponierte er zahlreiche üble, rassistische coon songs (Waschbären-Lieder), in denen er sich über Afroamerikaner lustig machte.
Der Text von T-Bone Slim hingegen erwecken eine Charlie Chaplin-Figur vor unserem geistigen Auge zum Leben. Warum nur immer ich? Was mache ausgerechnet ich hier im Knast?
Demnächst gibt es eine deutsche Version des Songs!
MUG SHOTS: RALPH CHAPLIN + ELMER LEWIS
Eine weitere erstaunliche Begebenheit: Bei der Recherche nach Gefangenenfotos fanden wir Mug shots (Verbrecherfotos) von IWW-Mitgliedern, die im Leavenworth-Gefängnis in Kansas inhaftiert waren.
Unten sehen Sie den Gefangenen Nr. 13104, Ralph Chaplin, Redakteur und Organizer der IWW, Texter von "Solidarity forever", Zeichner der rebellischen Wildkatze (Sabocat).
Der obere Gefangene Nr. 6850 heißt Elmer Lewis. Ob er auch Wobbly war, warum er saß, ist unbekannt. Aber er hat so einen schönen Hut und guckt so hoffnungsvoll und frei...
Wikipedia sagt: "Chaplin und etwa 100 andere Wobblies wurden nach dem Spionagegesetz von 1917 wegen Verschwörung zur Behinderung der Einberufung und Ermutigung zur Desertion verhaftet und verurteilt. Er schrieb Bars And Shadows: The Prison Poems", während er vier Jahre einer 20-jährigen Haftstrafe verbüßte.
SEX PISTOLS: WHO KILLED BAMBI?
Auf der B-Seite dieser Single findet ihr unsere Version eines eher unbekannten Sex Pistols Songs, der irgendwo hinten auf dem ausschweifenden 'The Great Rock'n Roll Swindle' versteckt ist. Uns gefällt der arabeske Rahmen und das Akkordeon-Gepolka sehr gut.
Was meint ihr?
credits
released July 29, 2021
Jessi Landlos -- Vocals, Accordion
Reverend Elmore Y. -- Vocals, Banjolele
Chad Hawkins -- Bass
Recorded at STUDIO B / smail-shock-production, Berlin.
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