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G If a query has come in to which there is no answer, as yet, that songtitle
will appear in boldface, and in red
GING GANG GOOLIE
GRANDMA'S LYE SOAP
GRANDMOTHER'S SONG, (see OUT UPON THE PRAIRIE on the “O” page)
GREAT GREEN GOBS
GREEN-EYED DRAGON
GING GANG GOOLIE
Q1. From Sean R: DEAR SIRS CAN YOU TELL US THE ORIGINS AND SENSE BEHIND
GING GANG GOOLIE AS WE AT WORK CANNOT UNDERSTAND IT. KIND REGARDS, SEAN
A1. Sorry, I know nothing about its origins, but think that the inherent
joke is that it's "non-sense."
Q2 from Brian K: When I was a kid fory years ago our music teacher said
that Ging Gang Goolie was an African song and that the words actually meant
something. I have no idea if this is true. In your response to a question
you said the words were most likely nonsense. Could be. Or maybe it is
Swahili?
A2 I've checked with an African Archeologist who is reasonably fluent in
Swahili. He assures me that it is not Swahili (PR) But here follow two other
replies to the GGG question:
A3 A personal history from Joy J. and the Origin of Ging Gang Guli,
Version I
I don't know if you are aware that this song was composed just
after World War 2. There was to be a large international Boy Scout Jamboree
held in England I think. The song was written so that regardless of language
everyone could learn and sing it together. After almost six years of war and
the first confused years of peace it was a great celebration for Scouts and
Guides to meet with their brothers and sisters from around the world.
At the time I was a Sea Ranger in the UK and I remember the
excitement when we had Guides who had continued their Guiding activities in
secret in Holland vist us at Foxlease for a small international get together
in 1948. They had tiny hand embroidered badges about the size of a dime
which they had made to keep track of their badge work.
Also we met Guiders who had volunteered with the Guide
International Service and worked with refugees in various European
countries. Their gear was the epitome of efficient lightweight camping.
Moving around Europe in poor conditions they had to be mobile and flexible
to work with the people who needed their skills.
Seeing the words "Ging Gang Guli" brought back memories of those
days when the war was over and the UN seemed the hope for a peaceful world.
The Guide and Scout movements once again could bring young people from
around the world to share the fun of living outdoors in co-operation and
friendship.
A4: The story of Ging Gang Goolie, Version II :
[During the first World Jamboree B.P. was looking for a song that
everyone could sing, no matter what their language was. Ging Gang Gooli was
the result. It is of no language, but it means a lot of fun. The story was
apparently created later.]
In the deepest darkest Africa there is a legend concerning the Great
Grey Ghost Elephant. Every year, after the rains, the great grey ghost
elephant arose from the mists and wandered throughout the land at dawn. When
he came to a village, he would stop and sniff the air, then he would either
go around the village or through it. If he went round the village, the
village would have a prosperous year, if he went through it, there would be
hunger and drought.
The village of Wat-Cha had been visited three years in a row by the
elephant and things were very bad indeed. The village leader, Ging-Ganga was
very worried, as was the village medicine man Ha-la-shay. Together, they
decided to do something about the problem. Now Ging-Ganga and his warriors
were huge men with big shields and spears. They decided to stand in the path
of the elephant and shake their shields and spears at it to frighten it
away. Hay-la-shay and his followers were going to cast magic spells to deter
the elephant by shaking their medicine bags which made the sound
"shalawally, shalawally, shalawally" as the elephant approached.
Very early in the morning of the day the Great Grey Elephant came, the
villagers gathered at the edge of the village, on one side were Ging-Ganga
and his warriors, (indicate right) and on the other was Hay-la-shay and his
followers (indicate left). As they waited the warriors sang softly about
their leader "Ging gang gooli, gooli, gooli, gooli, watcha, Ging, gang, goo,
Ging gang goo, Ging gang gooli, gooli, gooli, gooli, watcha, Ging, gang,
goo, Ging gang goo."
As they waited the medicine men sang of their leader "Heyla,
heyla sheyla, Heyla sheyla, heyla ho, Heyla, heyla sheyla, Heyla sheyla,
heyla ho." And they shook their medicine bags "Shalli-walli, shalli-walli,
Shalli-walli, shalli-walli."
And from the river came the mighty great grey elephants's reply
"Oompa, oompa, oompa, oompa . . ." The elephant came closer, so the warriors
beat their shields and sang louder (signal warriors to stand and beat their
thighs in time) "Ging gang gooli, gooli, gooli, gooli, watcha, Ging, gang,
goo, Ging gang goo, Ging gang gooli, gooli, gooli, gooli, watcha, Ging,
gang, goo, Ging gang goo."
Then the medicine men rose and sang loudly "Heyla, heyla sheyla,
Heyla sheyla, heyla ho, Heyla, heyla sheyla, Heyla sheyla, heyla ho." And
they shook their medicine bags "Shalli-walli, shalli-walli, Shalli-walli,
shalli-walli." And the mighty great grey elephant turned aside and went
around the village saying "Oompa, oompa, oompa, oompa . . ."
There was great rejoicing in the village and all the villagers joined
together to sing . . . "Ging gang gooli . . ."
[The story titled "The Great Grey Ghost Elephant" was written by Dorothy
Unterschutz, a Scouter from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was published for
the first time in Scouts Canada's "The Leader" magazine in the June/July
1991 issue (page 7).]
GRANDMA'S LYE SOAP (circa 1952-1953)
Q1 from Harvey Smith . . .I think on the other side of the 45 was a
recording of a prayer meeting. Looking for the recording if possible. Some
of the lyrics:
Grandma's lye soap good for anything in the home the pots and kettles,the
dirty
dishes and for your hands.
Brother Herman and Cousin Thurman had an aversion for washing their ears,
Grandma washed them with the lye soap and they haven't heard a word in
years.
Q2 from R.R: When "Grand Old Opry" was on the radio, there was a man who
did kind of a country preacher thing. He told fractured Bible stories, and
ended his act with the song "Grandma`s Lye Soap". Does anybody know who this
man was?
A. Here's one set of lyrics: Musical Exchange written by Johnny Standley and
Art Thorsen
Do you remember Grandma's Lye Soap,
Good for everything in the home,
And the secret was in the scrubbing,
It wouldn't suds, and wouldn't foam,
Oh, let us sing right out (sing out!)
For Grandma's Lye Soap,
Sing it out, all over the place!
For pots and pans, and dirty dishes,
And for your hands,
And for your face!
Little Therman, and Brother Herman,
Had an aversion to washing their ears...
Grandma scrubbed them with her lye soap,
And they haven't heard a word in years!
Oh, let us sing right out (sing out!)
For Grandma's Lye Soap,
Sing it out, all over the place!
For pots and pans, and dirty dishes,
And for your hands,
And for your face!
Mrs. O'Malley, out in the valley,
Suffered from ulcers, I understand,
She swallowed a cake of Grandma's Lye Soap,
Has the cleanest ulcers in the land!
Oh, let us sing right out (sing out!)
For Grandma's Lye Soap,
Sing it out, all over the place!
For pots and pans, and dirty dishes,
And for your face!
And for your hands.
GREAT GREEN GOBS
Q. from Tina B.
I am 33 years old and always thought that this song was created by me
and my cousins. What is the true history of this really cool song? I have
taught both of my kids our version of it. We love to sing it in the car.
Also, do you have any recollection of a song about a dead dog named
Rover? (_see query listing on "D" page_) Just wondering.
A1. From Barbara O. I'm not even sure of what made me think of this old
song we sang as children. I was having a little trouble rememering the words
and thought - I'll bet I could just type in "great green gobs" and come up
with a website - sure enough - here I am!
Some of our words were a little different. We sang:
Great green gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts
Mutilated monkey meat
Concentrated birdie's feet
All wrapped up in ???? (I can't remember!)
And I'm without a spoon!
A2: And another variant from Mrs M.: The eyeball part always cracked me up.
Once our minister intoned, Now suppose your whole body were an eye ( I Cor.
12:17), how would you like to see a thing like that, bouncing down the
street? I nearly lost it that day. We sang it like this:
Great Big Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts
Mutilated Monkey Meat
Disconnected Birdies' Beaks
Gory Eyeballs Rolling Down the Dusty Street
And I Forgot My Spoon!
And another from Dawn:
Great green gobs of
greasy, grimy, gopher guts,
percolated monkey meat,
little birdies's stinky feet,
french fried eyeballs,
boiled in a pot of blood,
and me without my spoon!
I sang this for years while carving jack o'lanterns. :)
And more . . .From RC D. Two variations of Great Green Gobs:
Great big gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts
Medicated monkey meat
Little birdies' dirty feet
French-fried eyeballs swimmin' in a bowl of blood
That's what I had for lunch!
2)
Great big gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts
Medicated monkey meat
Little birdies' dirty feet
Ski-i-i-n sandwiches soaked in kerosene
All on a plate for a dollar ninety-eight! (and three cents ta-a-a-a-x!)
[note: "and three cents ta-a-a-x" is sung to the tune of vaudeville's "Good
evening frie-e-e-nds!" I learned both these versions as a child in Dayton,
Ohio in the mid-to-late 1960s]
From Dominick M.
Years ago in camp.. I learned the ??Great Big Globs song??.. Reviewing the
words on your website it is a bit different.. here is what I learned at
summer camp so many years ago.. pass it on to posterity please !
Great big globs of greasy grimy gopher guts, mutilated monkey meat, little
birdies dirty feet
all wrapped up in alligators’ purple puss, I forgot my spoon
Snails sandwiches pus on top, elephants vomit, monkey snot
Cows’ eyeballs dipped in glue, eat it XYZ it's good for you!
Dom
And From Blakewood:
Greesy grimey gopher guts
chopped up baby parakeet
mutilated monkey meat
french fried eyeballs
boiling in a pot of blood
i forgot my spoon but not my straw
slurp hmm good
[Ed.Note: see also [2]]
(THE) GREEN-EYED DRAGON
Q1. From "Lionruby": When I was small my dad used to sing me this as a
lullabye (heh, some lullabye!). It was old when he sang it. It's been lots
of years since I've heard it... Coming to motherhood late as I am, I'd like
to sing this for my little girl, but all I can remember is the chorus:
Beware, Take care
Of the Green eyed Dragon with the thirteen tails
He'll feed, with greed
on little boys, puppy dogs, and big fat snails
so run up the stairs, and say your prayers
and tuck your head, your curly little head
beneath the clothes, the clothes, the clothes.
I remember that the dragon terrorized everyone in a castle until one day he
ate a pie that the princess baked and died of a stomachache. . .
Please, Please, if anyone can help... I adore this silly song and I miss it.
Q2 from Dr.Gil L. Hi! Can you please tell me how I might get a recording
of "The Green-Eyed Dragon
with the Thirteen Tails", which, I believe, was recorded by John
McCormick in the 30's. Also, do you know whether a recording of "Billie Boy"
is available? (See BILLY BOY & MILLY GIRL)
My granddaughter thanks you!
A.GREEN-EYED DRAGON
From: Marion J. H., who recalls a Stanley Holloway recording of it:
Here are all the lyrics -- the AAARGH! at the end is sort of freehand, and
you do the best dragon roar you can come up with at the time to frighten the
children -- helps if you swing away from the piano bench and lunge at your
unsuspecting audience at the same time that you're roaring.
Once upon a time lived a Fair Princess
Most beautiful and charming;
Her Father, the King, was a wicked old thing,
With manners most alarming.
And always on the front door mat,
A most ferocious Dragon sat,
It made such an awful shrieking noise
So all you little girls and boys...
Beware, take care,
Of the Green-eyed dragon with the 13 tails,
He'll feed,
With greed
On little boys, puppy dogs and big fat snails.
Then off to his lair each child he'll drag,
And each of his 13 tails he'll wag
Beware,
Take care
And creep off on tip toes.
And hurry up the stairs,
And say your prayers,
And duck your heads, your pretty curly heads,
Beneath the clothes, the clothes, the clothes.
That Dragon he lived for years and years,
But he never grew much thinner.
For lunch, he'd try a Policeman pie,
Or a roast *M.P. for dinner;
One brave man went 'round with an axe
And tried to collect his income tax
The Dragon he smiled with fiendish glee,
And sadly murmured ** "R.I.P."...
Beware, take care,
Of the Green-eyed dragon with the 13 tails,
He'll feed,
With greed
On little boys, puppy dogs and big fat snails.
Then off to his lair each child he'll drag,
And each of his 13 tails he'll wag
Beware,
Take care
And creep off on tip toes.
And hurry up the stairs,
And say your prayers,
And duck your heads, your pretty curly heads,
Beneath the clothes, the clothes, the clothes.
That Dragon went down to the kitchen one day
Where the Fair Princess was baking;
He ate, by mistake, some rich plum cake
Which the Fair Princess was making,
That homemade cake, he could not digest,
He moaned and he groaned, and at last went west -
And now his ghost, with bloodshot eyes
At midnight clanks his chains and cries...
Beware, take care,
Of the Green-eyed dragon with the 13 tails,
He'll feed,
With greed
On little boys, puppy dogs and big fat snails.
Then off to his lair each child he'll drag,
And each of his 13 tails he'll wag
Beware,
Take care
And creep off on tip toes.
And hurry up the stairs,
And say your prayers,
And duck your heads, your pretty curly heads,
Beneath the clothes, the clothes, the clothes.
AAAARGH!
And Wes Velkov adds the following information:
The Green-Eyed Dragon
Words by Greatrix Newman, Music by Wolseley Charles
Copyright 1926 by Boosey & Co., Ltd.; Renewed 1953
Copyright for all countries. All rights reserved.
SGB 2231. Printed in U.S.A. key of A minor.
* Minister of Parliament ** Rest in Peace
Even without the music, this makes a fun dramatic reading.
Our thanks go also to Naomi C., J. Allen , Mary H, & Jessica K, and
Heather M, all of whom responded with lyrics and information to solve this
one!
And From John B. #1 The Green-eyed Dragon sung by John Charles Thomas
Read your page where some people asked about the song "The Green-eyed
Dragon." I just finished digitizing my old audio cassettes (about 180 of
them), on my Macintosh computer, and on the 2nd side of the last cassette, I
found a recording I had made off FM radio in Chicago
(probably in the early to middle 1980's), of The Green-eyed Dragon with the
Thirteen Tails. To my pleasant surprise, it even included an announcement at
the end, of the vocalist, John Charles Thomas.
I'm quite sure he's the one who made the classic recording of this work,
because it's what I heard when I was a boy back in the 1940's. His rendition
-- the inflections of his voice, the speed with which he sang it -- is truly
a classic. I am presently using an audio editor, cleaning up the little pops
or snaps, as it was played over the air from a phonograph record. All in
all, it's in pretty good shape. I don't know if a CD exists of this
performance, but I've been burning all the digitized audio from my
cassettes, onto CDs. Of course I can't sell them, since most of the content
is copyrighted.
John B.
And From Dr.Gil L.
Hi! Can you please tell me how I might get a recording of "The Green-Eyed
Dragon
with the Thirteen Tails", which, I believe, was recorded by John McCormick
in the 30's.
Reply from ?(name lost in “e-space”) I have no idea how old this query is or
how to contact "Dr. Gil L." but I heard on the radio today the very song - I
hadn't heard it for years - they mentioned the singer so I searched the net
to find: http://www.wyastone.co.uk/nrl/pvoce/783
Chris Fahey: I know a lot - our family would tremble around the Hi-Fi
Listening to this extreme dramatic horror reading -and always jump at the
HA!! at the end~!
This would be a fantastic live performance/dramatic/choreographic
piece---Stephen, would you look into it? Breathe life, or at least find us a
version?
Chris
PS: I sent a copy to Stephen Hatfield, Canadian composer/arranger with
extensive folk/international experience.
Chris’ letter to SH follows:
Stephen- This piece is greatly desired by our family and others, and may
make an apothacaripileptic [ Ed.Note?] performance. Could you please help us
find it? "I Hear America Singing" was the album.
And here is Stephen Hatfield’s reply:
Dear Chris and Julia,
Actually, the princess was baking plum cake, not pie. You are thinking
of the dragon's lunch, perhaps?
The dragon he lived for years and years
And never grew much thinner.
For lunch he'd try a policeman pie
Or a stout MP for dinner.
As for the plum cake....(it's something like this anyway)
The dragon went down to the kitchen one day
Where the fair princess was baking.
He ate by mistake some rich plum cake
That the fair princess was making.
That home made cake he could not digest
So he moaned and groaned and fled out west.
And now his ghost with bloodshot eyes
At midnight clangs his wings and cries,
"Beware...."!
I remember this from childhood too. I have it on a 45, sung by Robert
Merrill with Leila Edwards at the Piano. The composer is merely listed as
"Charles", but the lyricist gets his full name - and what a name: "Greatrex
Newman".
You are right that this would make a stunning piece for choir for all the
reasons you gave. The piano part is so superb that I cannot imagine doing
anything but slavishly copying it, which makes me wonder that if the
original music can't be found, somebody with a good ear could lift the piano
part for you. I wouldn't be able to devote the time for another year or more
- for me it's a time-consuming job because I don't have the kind of precise
aural recall that makes piano transcription like taking dictation.
I can send (record) the song for you - it would have to be on cassette tape;
I don't have the technology for putting vinyl onto DVD. The 45 is old and
weathered, and there are places where the surface noise is very loud.
Cheers - Stephen
Last revised: 28 October 2016. Conditions of Use.
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2: http://grandfolkies.com/ysmp.htm