The Banjo
I heard a banjo pluck a tune
and thought to myself 'it's only noon.'
Shouldn't banjos be plucked at night
while girls are clogging in delight?
I turned and saw the banjo player
and could tell that he was just a purveyor
of musical beats for all the girls
with round hoop skirts and golden curls.
Dance away you southern belles
while the magnolia sweetly smells.
For when the banjo is all strummed out
the gents shall clap and loudly shout.
'More, more. It's only noon.
poem by Edwina Reizer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
I told my father I wanted to play the banjo, and so he saved the money and got ready to give me a banjo for my next birthday, and between that time and my birthday, I lost interest in the banjo and was playing guitar.
quote by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Applejack
He lived by the apple orchard in this little orchard shack
His real name was jackson taylor but I called him applejack
Now old applejack was loved by everyone he ever knew
Applejack picked apples but he picked the banjo too
Chorus:
Play a song for me applejack, applejack
Play a song for me and Ill sing
Play a song for me applejack, applejack
Play a song, let your banjo ring
Now Id go down to applejacks almost everyday
Wed sit and wed drink applejack that old applejack had made
Then hed take his banjo down then hed ask me if Id sing
And he would play the banjo and Id play my tambourine
Repeat chorus
Thats when I was just a kid and now that I am grown
All I have are memories, old applejack is gone
Oh but he left me his banjo and it always takes me back
And everytime I play it I still hear applejack
Repeat chorus 3 times
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Grandad Played The Banjo
When my grandadpassed away-He left his old banjo to me-He played it unti hiis death-At the age of eighty-three-One of my fondest memories-Was hearing my grandad play-Old-time songs on his banjo-At the end of a summer day-Often on a balmy evening-Grandad brought his banjo to play-Daddy joined in with his guitar-And we passed the time away-We gathered on the back porch-Sometimes neighbors would stop by-Often there was some singing-Of pretty songs by our granny Di.
poem by Joy Thacker
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Oh, Susannah
Well I come from alabama with my banjo on my knee
And Im bound for louisiana, my own true love for to see
It did rain all night the day I left
The weather was bone dry
The sun was so hot I froze myself
Suzanne, dont you go on and cry
I said, oh, suzannah
Now, dont you cry for me
As I come from alabama with this banjo on my knee
Well I had myself a dream the other night
When everything was still
I dreamed that I saw my girl suzanne
She was coming around the hill
Now, the buckwheat cake was in her mouth
A tear was in her eye
I said, that I come from dixie land
Suzanne, dont you break down and cry
I said, oh, suzannah
Now, dont you cry for me
cause I come from alabama with my banjo on my knee
song performed by by James Taylor
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ring Ring The Banjo
De time is nebber dreary if de darkey nebber groans;
De ladies nebber weary wid de rattle of de bones:
Den come again Susanna by de gaslight ob de moon;
We'll tum de old Piano when de banjo's out ob tune.
Chorus:
Ring, ring de banjo! I like dat good old song,
Come again my true lub, Oh! wha you been so long?
poem by Stephen C. Foster
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I didn't see any girls playing the banjo, and I thought it was just so different and bizarre and wonderful at the same time.
quote by Emily Robison
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Like, What is the least often heard sentence in the English language? That would be: Say, isn't that the banjo player's Porsche parked outside?
quote by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Key To Life
Id love to hear my daddy play once again
All the songs that he taught me when I was a kid
John henry, ol shep and faded love
I fall to pieces and on the wings of a dove
Just a few chords on the banjo that was all he knew
But in the eyes of a child, man his fingers flew
I practiced and I practiced til I got it right
Packed up everything and just took off one night
I made it from the beer joints to the opry stage
He said the only difference is what youre gettin paid
He didnt care that everybody knew my name
He said its all for nothin if you dont stay the same
But when he died the preacher cried and said hes the lucky one
Hes walkin hand in hand in hand with gods only son
My faith and common sense tell me the preachers right
But Id love to hear the banjo ring for me tonight
And I will honor my father with these words I write down
As long as I remember him hell always be around
And the pain of losin him cuts like a randall knife
I learned a few chords on the banjo as the key to life
And the pain of losin him cuts like a randall knife
I learned a few chords on the banjo as the key to life
song performed by by Vince Gill
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To All The Girls
Yea...
To all the brooklyn girls
To all the french girls
To all the oriental girls
Chinese...
Japanese...
To all the swiss girls
To the italian women
To the upper east side mombiles
To all the jamaican girls
And to the top-less dancers
Australian...
And brazilian
To the southern belles
To the porte rican girls
To the stewardesses flying around the world...
song performed by by Beastie Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Nashville Casualty & Life
In faded gabardine he used to stand
Down by the union station with that ol hat in his hand.
A banjo-pickin devil, a singin rag-time saint.
The young folks called him beautiful, the old folks called him quaint.
And the station-master pointed to the sign
And they busted him for loiterin when he was makin memories rhyme.
Out in the falling snow hed sing his song
To a world too cold to listen and too white to sing along.
Just a nashville casualty and life
Done left him without a dime.
Ever since the good lord took his wife
Youll find him strummin on the corner all the time.
And most of music city never the saw the world within the song
Of a nashville casualty and life goes on.
In the attic sets a dusty hat and cane
And the kids they found a banjo there all rusted from the rain.
I strummed a little rusty rag-time beat
And I sang for every soul out on the street.
I could almost see him standin in the rain
His black and blinded face reflectin all the pain
Of all the years and people passin by
And all the ringin memories that can make a banjo cry.
Just a nashville casualty and life
Its a riff thats hell to play.
You sings for your livin in the street
And you sleeps in the back of some caf
And most of music city never sees the world within the song
Of a nashville casualty and life goes on.
song performed by by Kinky Friedman, lyrics by Kinky Friedman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Biscuit City
Id like to be in biscuit city
With my banjo in my hand
I dont need no long vacation
In some foreign land
Cause the sound of my own breathing
Has been turning to a sigh
I wish that I could make the time
To be in biscuit city by and by
Oh the water is of emerald
And the beach is white as snow
And everyones got money
And no place to go
In a land of milk and honey
It can really make you smile
And if I had a ticket
I would stay in biscuit city for a while
All the girls are in bikinis
All the boys are in the buff
With the baby in between and
That makes three of us
And the streets are all so quiet
And the walls are squeaky clean
I think you aint been nowhere til
The town of biscuit city you have seen
Id rather be in biscuit city
With my banjo in my hand
Than take a big vacation
In some foreign land
Cause the sound of my own breathing
Has been turning to a sigh
If it were not for misfortune
I would be in biscuit city by and by
If it were not for misfortune
I would stay in biscuit city til I die
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Banjo Song
OH, dere's lots o' keer an' trouble
In dis world to swaller down;
An' ol' Sorrer's purty lively
In her way o' gittin' roun'.
Yet dere's times when I furgit 'em, —
Aches an' pains an' troubles all, —
An' it's when I tek at ebenin'
My ol' banjo f'om de wall.
'Bout de time dat night is fallin'
An' my daily wu'k is done,
An' above de shady hilltops
I kin see de settin' sun;
When de quiet, restful shadders
Is beginnin' jes' to fall, —
Den I take de little banjo
F'om its place upon de wall.
Den my fam'ly gadders roun' me
In de fadin' o' de light,
Ez I strike de strings to try 'em
Ef dey all is tuned er-right.
An' it seems we're so nigh heaben
We kin hyeah de angels sing
When de music o' dat banjo
Sets my cabin all er-ring.
An' my wife an' all de othahs, —
Male an' female, small an' big, —
Even up to gray-haired granny,
Seem jes' boun' to do a jig;
'Twell I change de style o' music,
Change de movement an' de time,
An' de ringin' little banjo
Plays an ol' hea't-feelin' hime.
An' somehow my th'oat gits choky,
An' a lump keeps tryin' to rise
Lak it wan'ed to ketch de water
Dat was flowin' to my eyes;
An' I feel dat I could sorter
Knock de socks clean off o' sin
Ez I hyeah my po' ol' granny
Wif huh tremblin' voice jine in.
Den we all th'ow in our voices
Fu' to he'p de chune out too,
Lak a big camp-meetin' choiry
Tryin' to sing a mou'nah th'oo.
An' our th'oahts let out de music,
Sweet an' solemn, loud an' free,
'Twell de raftahs o' my cabin
Echo wif de melody.
Oh, de music o' de banjo,
Quick an' deb'lish, solemn, slow,
Is de greates' joy an' solace
Dat a weary slave kin know!
So jes' let me hyeah it ringin',
Dough de chune be po' an' rough,
It's a pleasure; an' de pleasures
O' dis life is few enough.
Now, de blessed little angels
Up in heaben, we are told,
Don't do nothin' all dere lifetime
'Ceptin' play on ha'ps o' gold.
Now I think heaben'd be mo' homelike
Ef we'd hyeah some music fall
F'om a real ol'-fashioned banjo,
Like dat one upon de wall.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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How Do You Talk To Girls
Well Im sick of hanging out on the street
Every saturday night with the boys
Listening to the radios big beat
We crank it just to hear the noise
Yeah we talk about the girls, girls, girls
And we talk, talk, talk all night
Sure were all romeos and casanovas
But we cant seem to get it right
Seems Im making it harder and harder
While everybody else is doing well
I get confused by their bodies
I get tangled in their curls
How do you talk to girls
How do you talk to girls
Whats a poor boy to do
Tell me how do you talk to girls?
How do you talk to girls?
I see this girl over there right away
Im trying to think of something to say
Well I think Ill have one more drink
Ill be ready to make my play
But this guy moves in and he talks to her
And she nods her head
Well Im used to missing out on the girl
But I want to know what he said
Seems Im making it harder and harder
While everybody else is doing well
I get confused by their bodies
I get tangled in their curls
How do you talk to girls?
How do you talk to girls?
Whats a poor boy to do
Im tangled up in their curls
How do you talk to girls?
How do you talk to girls?
Out of wisdom and out of pearls
Tell me how do you talk to girls
Am I stupid or misunderstood
Id say something clever if I only could
Were only ten feet apart
But it feels like the world
How do you talk to girls?
How do you talk to girls?
Out of wisdom and out of pearls
Tell me how do you talk to girls
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Santa Rosa
Seems like 10 years ago
Though today my mind is slow
Me and Mickey Craig were running west from Idaho
Robbed a bank to get some bread
Seems like 15 men lay dead
In a path that led us straight to Santa Rosa
Now and then ol' Mick'd say
Boy at home you should of stayed
Than to follow me and learn the life of looking back
But he'd spit and slap his side
Just to see if he's alive
Then he'd sing his banjo song of Santa Rosa
He said whoa-oh, singing oh Santa Rosa
Whoa-oh, high and low-oh-oo
Then one day, sang ol' Craig,
I'll be free to go my way
And be standing by the bay at Santa Rosa
Now one time late at night
Mickey lit no fire light
Cause he feared the posse close behind might flush us out
But he picked a bit 'fore sleep
To the tune of Cripple Creek
He was murdered by a man from Santa Rosa
And he sang whoa-oh, singing oh Santa Rosa
whoa-oh, singing oh Santa Rosa
whoa-oh, high and low-o-o
Til I come once again with my banjo pickin' friend
We'll be oh high and low in Santa Rosa
song performed by by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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California Girls
Well east coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when Im down there
The mid-west farmers daughters really make you feel alright
And the northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night
I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california girls
The west coast has the sunshine
And the girls all get so tanned
I dig a french bikini on hawaii island
Dolls by a palm tree in the sand
I been all around this great big world
And I seen all kinds of girls
Yeah, but I couldnt wait to get back in the states
Back to the cutest girls in the world
I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california girls
I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
song performed by by Beach Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mandolin Rain
(bruce hornsby/john hornsby)
The song came and went
Like the times that we spent
Hiding out from the rain under the carnival tent
Id laugh and hed smile
And it would last for a while
You dont know what you got til you lose it all again
Listen to the mandolin rain, listen to the music on the lake
Listen to my heart break, every time that he goes away
Listen to the banjo wind, a sad song drifting low
Listen to my tears roll, down my face as he turns to go
A cool evening dance
Listening to the bluegrass band takes the chill
From the air til they play the last song
And Ill do my time
Keeping you off my mind but theres moments
That I find, Im not feeling so strong
Listen to the mandolin rain, listen to the music on the lake
Listen to my heart break, every time that he goes away
Listen to the banjo wind, a sad song drifting low
Listen to my tears roll, down my face as he turns to go
Running down by the lakeshore
He did love the sound of a summer storm
It played on the lake like a mandolin
Now its washing him away once again
Once again, once again
Listen to the mandolin rain, listen to the music on the lake
Listen to my heart break, every time that he goes away
Listen to the banjo wind, a sad song drifting low
Listen to my tears roll, down my face as he turns to go
Listen to my tears roll, down my face as he turns to go
song performed by by Pam Tillis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Girls
Some girls got it some girls dont
Some girls do it some girls wont
Some girls want to run your life
Some want to sink your boat
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Make you break you girls dont care
Wake you shake you get you there
Some girls like to play it cool
Some like to kiss and tell
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Its not new but its gotta be faced
A man can be turned by a pretty face
Cant live with them
Cant live without them
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Girls in movies girls in space
Girls on t.v. girls that race
Some girls want to tie you down
Some girls dont want to know
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Its not true but its gotta be faced
A man can be turned by a pretty face
Cant live with them
Cant live without them
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Some girls got it some girls dont
Some girls do it some girls wont
Some girls want to run your life
Some want to sink your boat
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Girls- sweet sweet girls
Girls- sweet sweet sweet girls
(mccafferty,agnew,charlton,sweet)
Copyright 1989 m.a.c.s. music
song performed by by Nazareth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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New Orleans Solo
The swirling music stops within a moment
The banjo cuts through heavy scented air
Its high-tuned strings ring out into the darkness
High water and the flood are everywhere
The music cooled the flood of '27
Spirits rose on high from burying grounds
The levees once again lie breached and broken
Upon the deep resistance of this sound
She lacked the holy places for protection
No-one embraced her with a masterplan
A city stripped of all her antecedents
Concessionary purchase, sold again
Shadows perch on annual celebration
Jazz is heard, but playing on the screen
The smell of money dampens oleander
Homeless and poor left scattered by the sea
.
Free passage for all those with eyes averted
No Joan of Arc to lead a cry of rage
The tall oaks echo to the banjo music,
New Orleans solo, naked up on stage.
with thanks to B.D.
poem by Frank Bana
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
I HAVE AN EAR FOR MU-SIC, AND I HAVE AN EYE FOR A MAID.
I LIKE A PRET-TY GIRL-IE, WITH EACH PRET-TY TUNE THAT'S PLAYED.
THEY GO TO-GETH-ER, LIKE SUN-NY WEATH-ER GOES WITH THE MONTH OF MAY.
I'VE STUD-IED GIRLS AND MU-SIC, SO I'M QUAL-I-FIED TO SAY
Chorus
A PRET-TY GIRL IS LIKE A MEL-O-DY THAT HAUNTS YOU NIGHT AND DAY,
JUST LIKE THE STRAIN OF A HAUNT-ING RE-FRAIN,
SHE'LL START UP-ON A MAR-A-THON AND RUN A-ROUND YOUR BRAIN.
YOU CAN'T ES- CAPE SHE'S IN YOUR MEM-O-RY. BY MORN-ING NIGHT AND NOON.
SHE WILL LEAVE YOU AND THEN COME BACK A-GAIN,
A PRET-TY GIRL IS JUST LIKE A PRET-TY TUNE
song performed by by Irving Berlin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Girls On The Beach
Ah ah ah ah oo ooo ooo oo ahh
The girls on the beach
On the beach youll find them there
In the sun and salty air
The girls on the beach
Are all within reach
If you know what to do
How we love to lie around
Girls with tans of golden brown
The girls on the beach
Are all within reach
And one waits there for you
(girls on the beach)
The sun in her hair
The warmth of the air
On a summer day
As the sun dips out of sight
Couples on the beach at night
The girls on the beach
Are all within reach
And with the boys tonight
(girls on the beach)
Girls on the beach, girls on the beach
Girls on the beach, girls on the beach
song performed by by Beach Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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