Such a
time! Lots of fun, though. The fellows got out and pulled flowers,
and seed cucumbers, and things and threw them at folks. You never
saw such cut-ups as they are. Pretty good singers, too. Good
part of the way, they sung "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," and
"How Can I Bear to Leave Thee," nice and slow, you know, a good
deal of tenor and not much bass, and plenty of these" minor chords."
(Yes, I know, some people call them "barber-shop chords," but I
think "minor" is a nicer name.)
The band played "Hiawatha" eighteen times. One old fellow got
on at Huntsville, and he says, to Joe Bangs (that's the leader),
"Shay," he says, "play 'Turkey in er Straw,' won't you? Aw, go on.
Play it. Thass goof feller. Go on."
Joe, he never heard of the tune. Don't you know it? Goes like this:
. . . No, that ain't it. That's "Gray Eagle." Funny, I can't
think how that tune starts. Well, no matter. They played an
arrangement that had "Old Zip Coon" in it.
"Naw," he says, "tha' ain' it 't all. Go on. Play it. Play 'Turkey
in er Straw.' Ah, ye don't know it. Thass reason. Betch don' know
it. Don' know 'Turkey in er Straw!' Ho! Caw seff ml-m' sishn.
Ho! You - you - you ain' no m'sishn. You - you you're zis bluff."
Only about half-past eight, too. Think of that! So early in the
morning.
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