Season 393 - Are You Hep to the Jive?

Hello fellow seasonistas.

Here is my take on the classic song ' Everybody Wants to be a Cat' - If ever there were some cool jazz cat slang then it is in this song. recorded straight onto the iPhone as we are moving so no real access to my fancy microphones etc.

On this tune I am playing the new (to me) Eastman EU60 Archtop Ukulele. It has a pickup system but I am just playing it acoustically. I have been after on of these rare ukes forever and finally managed to get one this summer, moved from a couple of states in the USand then to Denmark before it ended up in the UK with the help of several good friends. Eastman only produced these for a couple of years so you can't get them from new anymore, however mine doesn't look like it was ever played before I got it.

Enjoy.

 
I suspect most Brits on here will know it. It's an expression that I've heard and used most of my life. I'll see if I can find out more about its origins. I have a theory but it could be wildly wrong.

I was wildly wrong. No one knows the exact origins of the phrase but the earliest recording in print is from Pennsylvania in the 1890s with 'onion' in the singular. It seems to have become common in the 1920s USA together with a number of other similar phrases involving vegetables.

Interestingly there is a parallel French phrase "c'est mes oignions" which basically means "it's none of your business" and seems to have originated about the same time.

So origin uncertain, but most likely N. Eastern USA late 19th century.

If Alan wasn't familiar with it, maybe it didn't spread much beyond it's origin region in N. Amrica but it certainly crossed the pond as it was quite common here, though you don't hear it used as much these days.
 
I hope this makes the cut. Leon Redbone did it better than anyone. Great week, Christopher!

 
This song is totally Jive talking to me.



I used to think that it was just nonsense words, but apparently it is slang...
Floogie = Floosie
Floy Floy = Syphilis
 
I just can't manage a Cab Calloway today, vocally. Here's an obscure favorite, written by Paul McCartney.

The Kala Archtop Tobacco Burst Tenor is the most amazing and surprising gift I've ever received. Thank you.

 
Hello Randy above -And in a splash of synchronicity I was reminded of this song when looking through Randy's youtubes last week.A Frank Zappa with some self invented words / slang.From the great 70's album Overnite Sensation.Here's Camarillo Brillo.
 
paoriginal




Lyrics

Cookin a snag on the barbie
Stubbie in your hand
Watchin the ankle bitters
Tryin to cross the hot beach sand

A gatherin of the rellies
On a ripper summer day
The kids make it over the hot sand
Now the bindies block their way

Kids finally made it back to the mob
Sausage sanger in their hand
They won’t forget their flip flops
Next time they cross that sand

Time for a game of cricket
With an esky for the stumps
Bowler verse the batter
Of course grandpa is the ump

Uncle Bob hits a lofted smash
His young fella dives for the catch
Takes it clean as a whistle
But lands right in a bindi patch

Oldies snooze in their camp chairs
Kids bat on til it’s too dark to play
A gatherin of the rellies
On a ripper summer day
 
This song by my ukulele mentor Dr Sparkles begins with backng vocalist of bass and baritone chanting "Silly Psy been laughing all day"

When I couldn't get that right, I though I'd go simple on a Saturday night. Yeah, no. I still overcomplicated it...

https://youtu.be/iTnBbXOk8ow
 
Last edited:
Been a difficult week for me personally here Christopher, but I'm trying to find something that fits the theme that I can learn and do before the season ends. Thanks for hosting this week ~
 
I had to cut out to make a couple of gigs over the last few brights, but I got back to the crib to find all these fantabulous videos waiting for me!
I gotta say, "You people are cold knocking me out!" Hep-hep indeed!

Sorry to say I gotta throw this jive-juggernaut into autopilot again, cause I got another gig tonight, but I will be back to see what you cats and kittens have been throwin' down when I get back to the dom by early bright tomorrow.

Catch y'all on the flip-side!
 
Hey there, Frantic Ones! We are counting out the last hour before midnight Hawaii time. Time for another video? Smoke 'em if you got 'em. For the rest of you kiddies, it's time for a bedtime story:

 
bit late for the bedtime story, but hey, cats keep their owwwn time
blame Mads for this...
 
Thanks for hosting Christopher! Really enjoyed researching the topic and hearing some cool tunes. Sorry I wasn't able to get something done this week! Another clear reminder from the universe that I need to expand my chord vocabulary beyond Am C F and G7 ~
 
Top Bottom