Pub with No Beer
Encyclopedia
A Pub With No Beer is the title of a humorous
country song
made famous by country singers Slim Dusty
(in Australia
and the USA) and Bobbejaan Schoepen
(in Belgium
, Holland, Germany
and Austria
).
The song was adapted by Gordon Parsons
from the original poem "A Pub Without Beer" by Dan Sheahan of Ingham, North Queensland
(originally from Newmarket, Ireland). In 1957
, "A Pub With No Beer" became the first Australian single
to go gold and was the biggest-selling record
by an Australian at that time. In 1959, Dusty wrote and recorded a sequel "The Answer To A Pub With No Beer", explaining the reason for the beer delivery truck's failure to arrive and describing the townsmen's efforts to solve the problem.
In May 2001, Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs
of all time. As decided by a 100 strong industry panel, "A Pub With No Beer" was ranked fifth on the list. In June 2008, the song was included in the National Film and Sound Archive
's Sounds of Australia registry.
entertainer Bobbejaan Schoepen
recorded the song in several languages. His Dutch version ("Café zonder bier") debuted in 1959 and his German version ("Ich steh an der Bar und ich habe kein Geld") in 1960. Both became number one hits in Belgium
and in Austria
. In Germany
. The song remained in the German charts for 30 weeks and reached #6.
"A Pub With No Beer" is also the theme song and title of a 1962 Belgian-British film
starring Bobbejaan Schoepen, also known as De Ordonnans and At the Drop of a Head.In 1999, the alternative rock band Dead Man Ray
wrote (partly) a new soundtrack for the film and went on tour with it in the Low Countries
. The band also covered the song and released it on one of their albums.
Hard liquor sales increased 25%. Non Unionized Formosa Spring operated at full capacity until it ran out of beer august 29, 1958. Many people purchased beer smuggled in from USA and Quebec with bootleggers collecting up to C$20.00 for a case of 24 pints (previously sold at C$4.25).
This song could be heard daily on most radio stations during the beer strike.
Aug 7, 1958 - The first hint of things to come arose as a result of Ontario's major beer strike. Starting on Thursday August 7, 1958 when 1200 Brewers Warehousing Ltd. ( Brewers Retail) employees walked off their jobs over pay, layoffs became industry wide as retail beer was no longer available. Originally aimed at Brewers Warehousing, the dispute quickly spread as contracts at various breweries across Ontario came up for renewal.
the lyrics to "A Pub With No Beer" and titled it "Bar With No Beer." The song became a regional hit on the Hall-Way label. The melody of the song is almost identical to Stephen Foster
's "Beautiful Dreamer
." "Bar with No Beer" was recorded by Tom T. Hall
in 1985 on the album "Song in a Seashell". Johnny Cash
, who also performed the song, advised him to record it.
, Bobbejaan Schoepen
(Benelux
, Germany
, Austria
, 1959/1960), Johnny Cash
, Bluey Francis, Errol Gray, Foster & Allen, Gordon Parsons
, The Irish Rovers
, Johnny Greenwood, John Williamson (performed a parody version of the song called "A Dog With No Hair"), Nokturnl, Richard Clayderman, Rodney Vincent, The Singing Kettles, Stewart Peters and The Ten Tenors. Other sources mention versions by Johnny Ashcroft
, The Pogues
, Danny O'Flaherty, Patsy Watchorn, The Clancy Brothers, Merv Allen & The Jimmy Johnston Showband and Wilson Cole, Rolf Harris (UK, 1963), Hamish Imlach (UK, 1995), The Dubliners
(1967), Adge Cutler & The Wurzels
(UK, 1968), Midnight Oil
(Australia, 1998), Dead Man Ray
(Belgium, 2001), Donut Kings
(2009).
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
country song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
made famous by country singers Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty
David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
(in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the USA) and Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen is a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music...
(in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Holland, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
).
The song was adapted by Gordon Parsons
Gordon Parsons (song-writer)
Gordon Parsons was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, best-known as the composer of Slim Dusty's 1957 hit song "A Pub With No Beer".-Early Life and Career:...
from the original poem "A Pub Without Beer" by Dan Sheahan of Ingham, North Queensland
Ingham, Queensland
Ingham is a town in the Great Green Way region of North Queensland, Australia. The town was founded in 1864, gazetted a shire in 1879, and is the service centre for many sugarcane plantations, pioneered in the 1870s by William Ingham, for whom the town is named...
(originally from Newmarket, Ireland). In 1957
1957 in music
-Events:*January 5 – Renato Carosone and his band start their American tour in Cuba.*January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.*January 16 – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, UK....
, "A Pub With No Beer" became the first Australian single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
to go gold and was the biggest-selling record
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by an Australian at that time. In 1959, Dusty wrote and recorded a sequel "The Answer To A Pub With No Beer", explaining the reason for the beer delivery truck's failure to arrive and describing the townsmen's efforts to solve the problem.
In May 2001, Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...
of all time. As decided by a 100 strong industry panel, "A Pub With No Beer" was ranked fifth on the list. In June 2008, the song was included in the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...
's Sounds of Australia registry.
Europe
FlemishFlemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
entertainer Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen is a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music...
recorded the song in several languages. His Dutch version ("Café zonder bier") debuted in 1959 and his German version ("Ich steh an der Bar und ich habe kein Geld") in 1960. Both became number one hits in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The song remained in the German charts for 30 weeks and reached #6.
"A Pub With No Beer" is also the theme song and title of a 1962 Belgian-British film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Bobbejaan Schoepen, also known as De Ordonnans and At the Drop of a Head.In 1999, the alternative rock band Dead Man Ray
Dead Man Ray
Dead Man Ray is a Belgian cult rock band, originating from Berchem near Antwerp. Among its members are Daan Stuyven, Rudy Trouvé , Elko Blijweerdt, Wouter Van Belle and Herman Houbrechts, who was later replaced by drummer Karel De Backer. Their debut Berchem was released in 1998 including the...
wrote (partly) a new soundtrack for the film and went on tour with it in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. The band also covered the song and released it on one of their albums.
Canada
This song was very popular in Ontario, Canada for a period following August 7, 1958 when a strike involving 1200 Brewers Warehousing employees stopped the flow of beer from various breweries for 48 days.Hard liquor sales increased 25%. Non Unionized Formosa Spring operated at full capacity until it ran out of beer august 29, 1958. Many people purchased beer smuggled in from USA and Quebec with bootleggers collecting up to C$20.00 for a case of 24 pints (previously sold at C$4.25).
This song could be heard daily on most radio stations during the beer strike.
Aug 7, 1958 - The first hint of things to come arose as a result of Ontario's major beer strike. Starting on Thursday August 7, 1958 when 1200 Brewers Warehousing Ltd. ( Brewers Retail) employees walked off their jobs over pay, layoffs became industry wide as retail beer was no longer available. Originally aimed at Brewers Warehousing, the dispute quickly spread as contracts at various breweries across Ontario came up for renewal.
United States of America
In 1960, Benny Barnes from Beaumont, Texas AmericanizedAmericanization
Americanization is the influence of the United States on the popular culture, technology, business practices, or political techniques of other countries. The term has been used since at least 1907. Inside the U.S...
the lyrics to "A Pub With No Beer" and titled it "Bar With No Beer." The song became a regional hit on the Hall-Way label. The melody of the song is almost identical to Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
's "Beautiful Dreamer
Beautiful Dreamer
"Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published posthumously in March 1864 by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition declares on the title page that "Beautiful Dreamer" is "the last song ever written by Stephen C. Foster. Composed but a few days prior to his...
." "Bar with No Beer" was recorded by Tom T. Hall
Tom T. Hall
Thomas "Tom T." Hall is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100...
in 1985 on the album "Song in a Seashell". Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, who also performed the song, advised him to record it.
List of releases/artists
Anne Kirkpatrick & Slim DustySlim Dusty
David Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
, Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen is a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music...
(Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, 1959/1960), Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Bluey Francis, Errol Gray, Foster & Allen, Gordon Parsons
Gordon Parsons
Gordon James Parsons is a first class cricketer . A burly medium fast bowler, he was born in 1959 in Slough and played most of his cricket for Leicestershire, although he also appeared for Boland, Buckinghamshire, Griqualand West, Orange Free State, Orange Free State Country Districts and...
, The Irish Rovers
The Irish Rovers
The Irish Rovers is a Canadian Irish folk group created in 1963 and named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover". The group is best known for their international television series, and renditions of traditional Irish drinking songs, as well as early hits, Shel Silverstein's "The Unicorn",...
, Johnny Greenwood, John Williamson (performed a parody version of the song called "A Dog With No Hair"), Nokturnl, Richard Clayderman, Rodney Vincent, The Singing Kettles, Stewart Peters and The Ten Tenors. Other sources mention versions by Johnny Ashcroft
Johnny Ashcroft
Johnny Ashcroft is an Australian country music entertainer, songwriter, recording artist and musician.- Early roots :...
, The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, Danny O'Flaherty, Patsy Watchorn, The Clancy Brothers, Merv Allen & The Jimmy Johnston Showband and Wilson Cole, Rolf Harris (UK, 1963), Hamish Imlach (UK, 1995), The Dubliners
The Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
(1967), Adge Cutler & The Wurzels
The Wurzels
The Wurzels are a British Scrumpy and Western band...
(UK, 1968), Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
(Australia, 1998), Dead Man Ray
Dead Man Ray
Dead Man Ray is a Belgian cult rock band, originating from Berchem near Antwerp. Among its members are Daan Stuyven, Rudy Trouvé , Elko Blijweerdt, Wouter Van Belle and Herman Houbrechts, who was later replaced by drummer Karel De Backer. Their debut Berchem was released in 1998 including the...
(Belgium, 2001), Donut Kings
Donut Kings
Donut Kings is a U.S. rock band formed in 1986.-Band history:The Donut Kings formed in 1986 with Nate Crowell , Rikk Desgres , and Pat Butler . In the fall of that year they released First Bite, their first record. The band was based mixing straight ahead pop music, with the silly, comical, novelty...
(2009).
External links
- Slim Dusty's official website
- Bobbejaan Schoepen's official website
- Dead Man Ray
- Listen to a clip from Slim Dusty singing 'Pub With No Beer' and read more about it on australianscreen online
- 'Pub With No Beer' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2008