Old Rub Alcohol Blues

DESCRIPTION: Singer's "darling threw me down." His pockets are empty; he won't work and is walking the railroad ties. "Peace on earth I cannot find." "... one more plan ... Soak up the old rub alcohol Ease all troubles off my mind."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (StuffDreams1)
KEYWORDS: grief love rejection rambling drink suicide nonballad lover hobo
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1919 - The Volstead Act establishes prohibition of "intoxicating liquors" to carry out the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
1933 - The 21st amendment to the U.S. Constitution ends prohibition.
FOUND IN:
Roud #12160
RECORDINGS:
Dock Boggs, "Old Rub Alcohol Blues" (on StuffDreams1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Got the Jake Leg Too" (Prohibition alcohol surrogates) and references there
NOTES [146 words]: During prohibition rubbing alcohol was among the surrogates people drank as a replacement for illegal "intoxicating liquors." It was intended as a massage liniment and was never safe to drink. - BS
Rubbing alcohol is usually isopropyl alcohol (isopropynol), C3H8O or CH3CHOHCH3; it differs from propyl alcohol in that the hydroxyl group -OH comes off the middle carbon, not one of the carbons on the end. Like most alcohols other than ethyl alcohol, it gives a brief buzz but is deadly if metabolized; indeed, it is a skin irritant. It was not widely available until after World War I, so somebody must have tried it out as an ethanol substitute quite quickly. For more on the use of alcohols other than ethyl alcohol, see "The Man that Waters the Workers' Beer"; for more about the various alcohol substitutes during prohibition, see the notes to "Got the Jake Leg Too." - RBW
Last updated in version 5.2
File: RcORuAB

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