My Son, the Folk Singer
Encyclopedia
My Son, the Folk Singer is an album
by Allan Sherman
[monophonic W-1475/stereophonic WS-1475], released by Warner Bros. Records in 1962. On the album sleeve, the title appears directly below the words "Allan Sherman's mother presents."
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
[monophonic W-1475/stereophonic WS-1475], released by Warner Bros. Records in 1962. On the album sleeve, the title appears directly below the words "Allan Sherman's mother presents."
Side One
- "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" ("The Battle Hymn of the RepublicThe Battle Hymn of the Republic"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is a hymn by American writer Julia Ward Howe using the music from the song "John Brown's Body". Howe's more famous lyrics were written in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862. It became popular during the American Civil War...
") - "Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max" ("Dear Old DonegalDear Old Donegal"Dear Old Donegal" is a traditional Irish folk song popularized by American singer Bing Crosby and written by Steve Graham. The song has an 'upbeat' rhythm and is meant to be the words of a poor Irishman who has to leave his homeland to go to America, however, he gets to return to his native County...
", a.k.a. "Shake Hands with Your Uncle Mike") - "Sir Greenbaum's Madrigal" ("GreensleevesGreensleeves"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song and tune, a ground of the form called a romanesca.A broadside ballad by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580 as "A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves". It then appears in the surviving A Handful of...
") - "My Zelda" ("MatildaMatilda (song)"Matilda" is a calypso lamenting a woman who took a man for all he was worth.The song dates back to at least the 1930s, when calypso pioneer King Radio recorded the song...
") - "The Streets of Miami" ("The Streets of Laredo")
Side Two
- "Sarah Jackman" (with Christine Nelson) ("Frere JacquesFrère Jacques"Frère Jacques" , in English sometimes called "Brother John" or "Brother Peter", is a French nursery melody. The song is traditionally sung in a round. When the first singer reaches the end of the first line the next person starts at the beginning...
") - "Jump Down, Spin Around (Pick a Dress o' Cotton)" ("Bale of Cotton")
- "Seltzer Boy" ("WaterboyWaterboy (song)"Waterboy" is an American traditional folk song.Originally a black prison work song composed by Jacques Wolfe, a Romanian immigrant, Waterboy became known as a jazz arrangement by Avery Robinson popularized "Water Boy" in the 1920s...
") - "Oh Boy" (Chiapanecas a.k.a. "The Hand Clapping Song")
- "Shticks and Stones"
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) (mono) | 1 |
Songs
Almost all the songs on the album contain some Jewish reference, or at least a main character or characters with apparently Jewish names.- "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" is a parody of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and includes many punsPunsPuns may refer to:*Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui, the Sahrawi political party* Pun, figure of speech* Phoenicians...
: "His name was Harry Lewis, and he worked for Irving Roth/He died while cutting velvetVelvetVelvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
on a hot July the FourthIndependence Day (United States)Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
.", and "Oh Harry Lewis perished / In the Service of his Lord / He was trampling through the warehouse / Where the Drapes of Roth are stored." - "Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max" is replete with Jewish surnames (..."Humburger, Schlumberger, Minkus, and Pincus, and Stein with an 'e-i' and Styne with a 'y.'" The last two words of the song ("Welcome home"), however, are sung with an Irish accent, a tribute to the original song, Dear Old Donegal, which contains the lyric "Shake hands with your Uncle Mike."
- "Sir Greenbaum's Madrigal" gets topical (and punny), taking up the subject of smokingSmokingSmoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
: "All day with the slaying and slewing and smiting and smoting like Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
/Oh, wouldst I could kick the habit and give up smoting for good") Sir Greenbaum, a medieval knight, also laments: "Foresooth, 'tis a sorry plight, that engendered my attitude bluish/ You see, I don't wanna be a knight, that's no job for a boy who is Jewish." - "My Zelda, my Zelda, my Zelda, she took the money and ran with the tailor!"
- "Sarah Jackman, Sarah Jackman, How's by you? How's by you? How's by you the family? How's your sister Emily? etc." (Jackman pronounced "JOCK-man"). "How's your cousin Shirley?" "She got married early." "How's your uncle Sidney?" "They took out a kidney" etc. The second verse had her asking the questions, "Jerry Bachman, so what's new?" etc. (Sung to the tune of Frere JacquesFrère Jacques"Frère Jacques" , in English sometimes called "Brother John" or "Brother Peter", is a French nursery melody. The song is traditionally sung in a round. When the first singer reaches the end of the first line the next person starts at the beginning...
.)- The liner notes for the next album claimed that "Sarah Jackman" was so popular that U.S. President John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
had been heard singing it. Sherman also reported that story on p. 20 of his autobiography, A Gift of Laughter.
- The liner notes for the next album claimed that "Sarah Jackman" was so popular that U.S. President John F. Kennedy
- "The Ballad of 'Oh Boy'", as Sherman called it, is sort of a reading-and-response song, in which Sherman merely says the phrase "Oh Boy" with differing inflections to express different reactions, for example:
- [Chorus] ThunderbirdsFord ThunderbirdThe Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...
and CadillacCadillacCadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
s? [Sherman] (delighted) Oh Boy!; - [Chorus] April fifteenth Income TaxIncome taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
? [Sherman] (irritated) Oh Boy."
- [Chorus] Thunderbirds
- "Shticks and Stones" is a medley of short ditties. For example:
- I'm upside down, my head is turning around, because I've got to sell the houseHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
in LevittownLevittown, New YorkLevittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
!" (Jamaica FarewellJamaica Farewell"Jamaica Farewell" is a calypso about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess . Lord Burgess was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1926. His mother was from Barbados and his father was from Virginia. The song first appeared on Harry Belafonte's...
by Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
) - Yasha got a bottle of GeritolGeritolGeritol is a US trademarked name for various dietary supplements, past and present. Geritol is currently a brand name for several vitamin complexes plus iron or multimineral products in both liquid form and tablets, containing from 9.5 to 18 mg of iron per daily dose...
... and he knocked a hole in the wall!' ("Joshua Fit de Battle ob JerichoJoshua Fit the Battle of Jericho"Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" is a well-known negro spiritual.The song is believed to have been composed by slaves in the first half of the nineteenth century. Some references suggest that it was copyrighted by Jay Roberts in 1865...
") - I'm Melvin Rose of Texas, my friends all call me Tex... ("The Yellow Rose of TexasThe Yellow Rose of Texas"The Yellow Rose of Texas" is a traditional folk song. The original love song has become associated with the legend of how an indentured servant named Emily Morgan "helped win the battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution."...
")
- I'm upside down, my head is turning around, because I've got to sell the house