Great American Bum, The (Three Jolly Bums)

DESCRIPTION: "Come all you jolly jokers if you want to have some fun And listen while I relate the tale of a great American bum." The singer rejoices getting maximum results from minimum work: "I am a bum, a jolly old bum, and I live like a royal Turk...."
AUTHOR: Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag)
KEYWORDS: rambling begging work
FOUND IN: US Australia
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Fahey-Eureka-SongsThatMadeAustralia, pp. 192-193, "The Two Professional Hums" (sic; see note) (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal-OldBushSongs-CentenaryEdition, pp. 293-295, "Two Professional Hums" (1 text)
Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag, p. 183, "Shovellin' Iron Ore"; 192, "We Are Four Bums" (1 text plus a fragment, 2 tunes)
Gilbert-LostChords, pp. 184-185, "The Great American Bum" (1 text)
Lingenfelter/Dwyer/Cohen-SongsOfAmericanWest, pp. 532-533, "The Great American Bum" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 50, "The Great American Bum" (1 text)
Roud #9833
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "The Bum Song" (Columbia 1488-D, 1928)
Dick Holmes, "The Bum Song" (Oriole 1324, 1928)
Eddie Kirk, "Bum Song" (Edison 52384, 1928)
Frank Luther, "The Bum Song" (Brunswick 254/Brunswick 4029, 1928)
Frank Marvin, "The Bum Song" (Romeo 719/Cameo 8296 [as Lazy Larry], 1928
Harry "Mac" McClintock, "The Bum Song" (Victor 21343, c. 1928) (Decca 5640, 1939)
Hobo Jack Turner [pseud. Ernest Hare] "The Bum Song" (Harmony 705-H/Diva 2705-G/Velvet Tone 1705-V, 1928)
"Weary Willie", "The Bum Song" (Perfect 12461/Pathe 32382, 1928; this is, surprisingly, not the same recording as the one by "Lazy Larry")
Pete Wiggins, "The Bum Song" (OKeh 41092, 1928)
SAME TUNE:
Vernon Dalhart, "The Bum Song No. 2" (CYL: Edison [BA] 5653, n.d.); Vernon Dalhart & Co., "The Bum Song, No. 2" (Edison 52472, 1929)
Jerry Ellis [pseud. for Jack Golding] "Bum Song #2" (Champion 15646, 1928; Supertone 9342 [as Weary Willie], 1929)
Harry "Mac" McClintock, "The Bum Song, No. 2" (Victor 21704, 1928) (Decca 5689, 1939)
Carson Robison Trio, "Bum Song No. 5" (Pathe 32477, 1929; Perfect 12571, 1930)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Bum Song
NOTES [67 words]: "Hum" is Australian slang for "bum"; the Australian version abounds in such localizations.
Something like the "gimmick" of this song seems to go back about four centuries. I have lost the source of the citation (it's apparently from T. A. Shippey on p. 33 of some book, but I don't know which), but there is a 1622 citation, "I might haue been a scholler, learn'd my Grammer, But I haue lost all...." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: FaE192

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