Whisky dry, Heaven die (1875)

[Page Stephens]

My favorite verse is.

"I drink my own whiskey
I make my own stew.
If I get drunk, madam,
It's nothing to you."

As I recall Tex Ritter used this verse.

When I see my late friend Dock Boggs quoted I feel very old.

A bit of advice for all of you.

Interview us old timers before we die so that you can learn from us.

Every time I hear some young folkie, ie under the age of 50 or so talking
about the old timers I almost have to laugh because I interviewed many of
them some forty years ago, and they are not old timers to me but my late
friends.

Please do not worship those who came before you whom you never had the
opportunity to know but go out today and interview those who are the same
age as the ones I interviewed when I was young because they will be soon
become part of the past and unless you interview them now no one else will
do so.

Another bit of advice: you may not like the forms of music they play but
neither did most of the folklorists who dismissed hillbilly, blues, etc.
artists when they were young and vital.

Such people dismissed such forms of music because they did not fit into
their preconceived ideas of what is or is not folk music, folklore etc. and
as a result they failed to understand what was going on in the real world.

Page Stephens

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wilson Gray" <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2005 9:03 AM
Subject: Re: Whisky dry, Heaven die (1875)


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Whisky dry, Heaven die (1875)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The variation among these old songs is impressive. I know at least
> three other versions of "Junker/Junko/Junkie Partner." The one I gave
> is the version that I learned first, in 1950, so I tend to think of it
> as the "right" version. But, actually, I have no clue as to what
> version is oldest.
>
> -Wilson
>