My Husband's A Mason Occupation wordplay persists. Writing in 1926 to Hubert Canfield, O. E. Stark of Kansas City, Missouri, noted these two stanzas to "Chicago Blues": I ain't no jockey, nor a jockey's son, But I'll do your easy-riding till the jockey comes. I ain't no iceman, nor an iceman's son, But I'll fill your box until the iceman comes. Stark added, cryptically: "And so on through countless occupations," but giving us no more than this sample. [ G ] From: Darla Eleina Moonstar Date: Tue, 1 Jul 1997 12:23:41 -0700 (PDT) X- To: bawdy-l@bdragon.shore.net Subject: Bawdy Song Message-Id: This is a traditional piece, not a filk, but I thought everyone might enjoy it. It is also quite easy to sing (the only song I can keep in tune to!). Follow the Band Oh, my husband's a farmer, a farmer, a farmer, My husband's a farmer is he. All day he plows fields, he plows fields, he plows fields, And at night he comes home and drinks tea! Chorus: Sing, hey diggy diggy Jig a little piggy Follow the band Follow the band Follow the band Hey diggy diggy Jig a little piggy Fall in and follow the band Oh, my husband's a sexton, a sexton, a sexton My husband's a sexton is he And all day he bangs bells, he bangs bells, he bangs bells, And at night he comes home and drinks tea! Oh, my wife is a glaizer, a glaizer, a glaizer, My wife is a glaizer is she And all day she blows glass, she blows glass, she blows glass, And at night she comes home and drinks tea! Oh, my husband's a groom, a groom, a groom, My husband's a groom is he And all day he mounts horses, mounts horses, mounts horses And at night he comes home and drinks tea! Oh, my husband's a mason, a mason, a mason, My husband's a mason is he All day he lays bricks, he lays bricks, he lays bricks, And at night he comes home and drinks tea! Oh, my wife is a jockey, a jockey, a jockey, My wife is a jockey is she All day she rides nags, she rides nags, she rides nags, And at night, she comes home--and nags me! My husband's a miner, a miner, a miner, My husband's a miner is he All day he goes down, he goes down, he goes down, And at night he comes up,--and goes down! 89. MARRIAGE A LA MODE ("MY Husband's a _________") Melody--Itself (Take turns leading verses) CHORUS: Hey jig-a-jig, fuck a little pig, Follow the band, Follow the band with my gland in your hand, Hey jig-a-jig, fuck a little pig, Follow the band, Follow the band all the way. My husband's (wife/boyfriend/girlfriend) a butcher, a butcher, a butcher, A very fine butcher is he. All day he stuffs sausage, stuffs sausage, stuffs sausage, At night he comes home and stuffs me. Jockey/rides thoroughbreds/rides me. Carpenter/whacks nails/whacks me. Sergeant/chews ass/chews me. Airline pilot/bores holes/bores me. Private/eats shit/eats me. Postman/licks stamps/licks me. Bus Driver/drives buses/drives me. Lion Tamer/tames lions/tames me. Plumber/reams pipes/reams me. Pervert/molests children/molests me. Pianist/tickles ivory/tickles me. Psychoanalyst/analyzes patients/anal-izes me. Pimp/beats whores/beats me. Stool Pigeon/fingers crooks/fingers me. Policeman/cuffs crooks/cuffs me. Ropemaker/ties knots/ties me. Baker/kneads dough/needs me. Asthmatic/sucks air/sucks me. Student/fucks off/fucks me. Lawyer/screws clients/screws me. Chimney Sweep/pokes smokestacks/pokes me. Guitarist/plays licks/licks me. Hasher/runs trail/snores. From Paul Woodford, "Hash Hymns II" (Honolulu, Hawaii, 1994) See too the punning in "The Jolly Trades-men" as printed in Thomas D'Urfey's 1720 edition of Pills to Purge Melancholy, Vol. 6, pp. 91-92, cited as well in the notes to "I Used to Work in Chicago."