Hallelujah! I'm a Bum
attrib Harry McClintock
This was on a 78 we had, and we thought it a bit of fun, probably because it was an excuse to say 'bum'. New Englanders can be a bit prudish.
The springtime has come and I'm just out of jail
Without any money, without any bail.
Chorus
Hallelujah, I'm a bum, Hallelujah bum again,
Hallelujah, give us a handout and revive us again.
Chorus
I went to a house and I knocked on the door
And the lady said, "Bum bum, you been here before."
Chorus
I went to a house, and I asked for some bread;
And the lady said, "Bum bum the baker is dead."
There was a short spoken bit in the middle of the song that went something like this:
"I went to a house the other day and a lady opened the door. I said 'Lady, I'm so hungry I could eat grass,' and she said, 'Well, go around the back of the house, the grass is longer back there."
Chorus
Oh, I love my boss and my boss he loves me,
And that is the reason I'm so hungry.
Chorus
Oh, why don't I work like other men do?
How the hell can I work when there's no work to do?
Chorus
Why don't you save all the money you earn?
If I didn't eat I'd have money to burn.
Chorus
When springtime does come, oh won't we have fun,
We'll throw down our shovels and go on the bum.
Chorus
Another spoken bit just before the final chorus:
"I'm the unluckiest bum in the world. If it was rainin' soup I'd be standin' with a fork in my hand."
Chorus
Hoboes, Bums and 78s
Over the years, I learned more about the history of the hoboes, of unemployment during the depression and of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). Wikipedia comments that this is "an American folk song that responds with humorous sarcasm to unhelpful moralizing about the circumstance of being a hobo."
On the other side of the 78 was a song called simply, 'The Bum Song'. I remember the tune but I only remember one verse.
I met a man the other day I never had met before.
He asked me if I wanted a job shovelling iron ore.
I asked him what the wages were, he said ten cents per ton.
I said, Old feller, go chase yourself, I'd rather be on the bum.
Comparison chart of records and CDs
We had a stack of 78s which we exploited thoroughly for entertainment. For the younger folk, here is a graphic showing the relative sizes and rpm of vinyl records against a CD.
In 1994, I bought a stereo system which comprised a turntable, a radio and CD player. I thought it was the bee’s knees! A few years ago, from the bowels of the shed, I retrieved a couple of boxes of vinyl and revisited some old friends. I still love them.
