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Hi everyone.
Mark Kaufman's comment on a hook from the free hooks posting has led me to suggest a songwriting challenge I've been considering for some time now. He suggested the hook/title "Twenty Chickens for a Saddle" would be a hook several might wish to work with.
Well, why not? I propose we establish it as the "Community Hook" for purposes of this challenge, and have as many of us as are able and willing write our own lyric based on that hook, or a near derivative of it. That way we've got a common starting point, and can see which direction our varied muses lead us by way of lyric structure, end line rhyme patterns, character development, emotional shading, settings, and storylines. It seems like a good way to find out who we are in comparison with each other--and also as writers with our own distinct voices.
Anybody game? Here's that hook again---"Twenty Chickens for a Saddle". See what you can do with it, then post your results below on this thread, as well as in a separate thread if you'd like.
Skip
P.S. I'll post my just jotted contribution first by way of example. (No need to read mine until after you're written yours.)
Last edited by Skip Johnson; 05/21/08 12:28 AM.
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LOL... and I was kidding! But that's a fine challenge...
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Songwriting Challenge: One Hook/Title, Many Lyricists From the hook: "Twenty Chickens for a Saddle" Example Entry: Skip Johnson
Twenty Chickens for a Saddle
Twenty chickens for a saddle, Then I'm riding to Seattle, Where the hills rise evergreen As a fragrant Christmas tree. Dreams can grow 'cause they've been watered, Here they die, like lean hogs slaughtered. I'm tired of Oaklahoma dust, I'm bound to chase the rain.
Twenty chickens for a saddle, I've an old nag I can paddle Down Seattle's streaming streets When those clouds begin to pour. There its raining ten months steady-- The other two, its getting ready. My Dust Bowl corn patch died from thirst, I'm bound to chase the rain.
When this hot wind blows, Burning dust clogs my nose. I keep my eyes half closed-- If I had tears, I'd cry. These chickens still are pecking, They will do for stew, I reckon. As for me, I'll soon be trecking Where fat rain clouds fill the sky.
Twenty chickens for a saddle, Then I'm riding to Seattle. Hounds dogpaddle there like fishes, And when crows fly, they swim. There a lusty, lucky fella Meets a girl with an umbrella. I'm tired of Oaklahoma dust, I'm bound to chase the rain.
I'm so tired of Oaklahama dust, I'm bound to chase the rain. This parched land's a place God cussed, I'm bound to chase the rain.
c2008 Skip Johnson All rights reserved
Note: My mother's family were Oakies who came out in the Dust Bowl days and finally settled a few hours drive south of Seattle, near the Centralia/Chehalis twin cities. That's where I grew up. So there's a bit of family history behind my take on this hook/title. The only time I actually saw a bird swimming as it flew was 30 feet down in a briny kelp forest in northern California where I'd gone spear fishing. I glanced up through my mask, and there was a bird flying through the water chasing a fish right in front of me! Strangest thing I ever saw, though some of the other critters down there may have been saying the same thing about me.
Washington State is a rainy place. I grew up within walking distance of five lakes, two ponds, two rivers, and two streams that all became a single body of water filling the entire valley when the spring rains hit the snow pack. It has gotten even worse since I left, so far as the flooding is concerned. I've never seen more beautiful mountain rivers anywhere else--clear, strong, and filled with fish.
I worked on a chicken farm growing up and learned to ride my Grandpa's horses as a boy. I think that's the reason this particular hook snagged me and made my personal list in the first place. Also the implied longing for getting a fresh start in a more favorable location tugged at my restless spirit. (Hope springs infernal.) I've moved many times to many places as a part of my work as a pastor. So many times my family begins getting open road fever after we've been one place for a while. They don't mind going someplace entirely new. They've actually developed a taste for new horizons--so long as we're together. Who we travel with is more important than where we are going.
In fact, if someone needs a crew to move permanently to a new planet to colonize it--sign us up. After all, my ancestor, Resolved White, came over on the Mayflower to this New World. (Or, better yet, why don't all of us leave planet Earth for heaven together? Now that will be an adventure I don't want to miss!)
Last edited by Skip Johnson; 05/22/08 02:35 AM.
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Here\s my quickie
When I rode into town I was like a tumbleweed jus needed some toobaccy and a snort to fill my needs But somehow I got tangled with a little miniskirt "n she talked me into gettin my hands in the dirt
Now the bleatin of those sheep 'n the clackin of those chicken sure sounds better'n that naggin from the kitchen didn't take me long to know what I was lackin and that old buggy horse looks a sure way to heaven
Chorus Has anyone got a saddle to trade for twenty chickens I'm gonna light a shuck for the places that I'm missin I'm goin anyway I'm goin even iffen nobody's got a saddle to trade for twenty chickens
Never thought I could get in this situation I like those high mountains and those faraway places I musta took a fall got knocked on the head got stuck in this pigsty with a buggy in the shed
chorus
tag she can have it all those animals of heathen all I plan to claim is that hoss and twenty chickens
chorus
Allen
Last edited by iceberg; 05/21/08 11:46 AM.
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Okeydokey then...Roger Miller style...
Twenty Chickens for a Saddle
Life on the farm Was cozy and warm I used to cherish our days together And what I loved best Was to build our nest In any kind of weather Two birds of a feather Now you're mean and now you're cruel You turned me into a henpecked fool But I got a bum spine So I painted me a sign And I tacked it up next to the mule:
Twenty chickens for a saddle Any kind will do Can't fight another battle Just makes me blue I don't care about the cattle I'm up the creek without a paddle Twenty chickens for a saddle That'll take me away from you
My sweet loving wife Was the joy of my life But these days I just feel like dyin' It's a lot like Hell Walking on an eggshell Now I'm tired of tryin' And I'm tired of cryin' You're always yelling and you're always mad I'm gonna ride away and I'll be glad But it hurts my spine So I went online And I posted me up this ad:
Twenty chickens for a saddle Any kind will do Can't fight another battle Just makes me blue I don't care about the cattle I'm up the creek without a paddle Twenty chickens for a saddle That'll take me away from you
At the grocery store I was struck by lightning Saw a note on the board In my wife's handwriting:
Twenty chickens for a saddle Any kind will do Can't fight another battle Just makes me blue I don't care about the cattle I'm up the creek without a paddle Twenty chickens for a saddle That'll take me away from you
(Copyright 2008 by Mark Kaufman)
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Here's mine Skip,
Sorry, I couldn't go with the title. This is as close as I could get.
This Cowboy’s Goin’ Home
I’d been ridin’ fences Near as long as I recall Chokin' on the doggies dust On trail rides every fall I’d had my fill of biscuits And dried out campfire beans I wanted a little house Beside a country stream
I traded in my saddle Six-shooter and my roan My broke in chaps and lariat Everything I owned Found a place so pretty Just outsida’ town Built a little cabin Started plowin’ ground
I got blisters on my calluses And walkin’ is a chore And pluckin’ feathers is a lot More than I bargained for Twenty chickens for a saddle My plow and all I own For a horse ‘n oufit This cowboys goin, home
You won’t hear me complainin’ About a little dust And when the rain is soakin’ me I won’t cause a fuss I’ve learned the grass ain’t greener It only looks that way So I’m back in the saddle And here I’m gonna stay
I got blisters on my calluses And walkin’ is a chore And pluckin’ feathers is a lot More than I bargained for Twenty chickens for a saddle My plow and all I own For a horse ‘n oufit This cowboys goin, home
Yeah this cowboys goin, home
Copyright 2008 John W. Selleck
Last edited by John W. Selleck; 05/23/08 10:37 AM.
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Skip - Great idea. I could never resist a challenge this off the wall. I loved it.
Twenty Chickens For A Saddle (c) 2008 Keith Sheasley
Verse 1 I was sore from riding bareback So I dressed and slicked my hair back And I left my chicken ranch and walked to town.
When I got there I asked whether Any business dealt in leather And they pointed to the only shop around.
Verse 2 So I went down to the tack shop And I met a grizzled crackpot Who said I couldn’t have a thing until I paid him.
Then he mumbled his sad story, How he’d like a cacciatore, And he offered me a deal, and said, verbatim:
Chorus 1 Twenty chickens for a saddle Is the kind of pricing that’ll Seem a poultry sum to some And a lot to lots of others.
But I’ll throw in bit and bridle And the day of your first ride’ll Be the day that you are grateful To those twenty cluckers’ mothers.
Verse 3 Well, I sent the gray old-timer For some dinner at the diner ‘Cause the price was quite a lotta birds, you see.
And as I pondered chicken, little Answers popped up to the riddle And a solution to it soon occurred to me.
Chorus 2 ‘Cause twenty chickens for a saddle Is the kind of pricing that’ll Seem a poultry sum to some But a lot if you ain’t got ‘em.
So I hired some migrant pluckers Just to pluck them little suckers. Now my saddle’s stuffed with feathers And I’ve got a happy bottom.
Apologies all around.
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Keith....just a scream....always good to read what you come up with....love it...Jan
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I don't think it will ever cease to amaze me, the amount of talent, and very interesting minds we have here at JPF. I have liked every one I read. I had no clue how mine would turn out, let alone where you all would go. It's an interesting mix so far. Thank you all for sharing, and thank you Skip for starting this concoction.
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Twenty Chickens for a Saddle Mrs. Stash 2008
Delilah Sue and Buford banks were sweethearts Married on their first day out of school Delilah proved to be the perfect housewife Buford proved to be the perfect fool
While Delilah plowed their seven acres And bore their seven children, all well raised Buford he was throwin' back the tankards And running 'round with women half his age.
One day dumb old Buford he got dumber And told Delilah he was runnin' 'way With the Widdowe'd made her fortune runnin' lumber They drove off in her brand new Chevrolet. Delilah Sue was faced with a dilemma Winter settin' in and mouths to feed So she did what strong women oft do She set her mind to gettin' all she'd need
------ CHORUS She got Twenty chickens for his saddle A dairy cow for his armchair A brand new butter churn and paddle For his trap-door long underwear
She got Twenty chickens for his saddle Got two fat hogs for his old Ford For his unused leather Bible A case of green beans and some gourds
Delilah Sue made history with the biggest swap meet in Suwanee The day that she and Buford went to battle And she got Twenty chickens for a saddle
------ Winter came and went and soon Delilah Saw her family thriving in the spring But every once in 'while her eyes would well up when her eyes fell on her still worn wedding ring
As expected Buford came a crawlin' On back to Delilah one spring day She suffered him to take her by her worn hand As she listened to his sad apology
He told her he was sober as a priest now Left behind that Widdow and her wood Said that he belonged right back here in Suwanee And promised that from now on, he'd be good
She sighed and told him Darlin' I've been prayin' You'd be back here on the farm And you're more'n welcome to be stayin', but, I done sold your bed, so you'll stay in the barn.
CHORUS
WOW that was fun! The Title just screamed corn-pone to me LOL.
I purposefully did NOT read the other submissions before setting to work on this. Now I am going to go back and see what y'all came up with!
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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Skip,
That was some poignant imagry! I am impressed that this hook brought such a deep and heartfelt lyric out! WOW. This is cool.
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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Iceberg, this was too funny:
"Now the bleatin of those sheep 'n the clackin of those chicken sure sounds better'n that naggin from the kitchen"
Good job lol.
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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Mark, I like the twist at the end! (I was kinda feelin a bit guilty about having a "mean ole hubby" in my lyric. I am feelin better after readin these! LOL!)
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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John, Wow! You (and some of the other fella's here) talk like you really know cowboy type stuff! Lots of good ole western words in there. (I had to look up "tankards" to make sure it meant what I thought it did! LOL.)
Kieth, That was so cool! LOL poultry sum!!!!
GREAT WORK EVERYONE!!
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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Hi Jamie,
Thanks for the kind words. You done yourself proud with yours too. It is nice to see a womans point of view on this one. I watched plenty of westerns in my time, and I remember Clint Eatwood when he was playing the riflemans son... It is really nice to go back to those roots and search my addled brain for the words to describe what I want to say. I ain't used roan, chaps, and lariat in a coons age. It was fun... I agree.
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Incredible! Every one of these is amazing, from poignant to funny - all from the same seed. What an outstanding congregation of talent.
Skip, thanks a heap for the challenge. It was a ball. And beautiful lyrics. "Dreams can grow 'cause they've been watered, Here they die, like lean hogs slaughtered."
Allen, I truly felt for the guy in your lyric. Glad I'm not him.
Mark, really great twist. I never saw it coming. Those are the best kind.
John, yours couldn't sound more authentic. I liked it very much. "I need a horse ‘n oufit This cowboys goin' home."
Jamie - What a perfect chorus. I wanna be there when they start filming yours 'cause I can picture it. Delilah Sue tells Buford he has to stay in the barn, he turns his hang-dog face to the camera for a close-up, and the trombone makes that 'wah wah waaah' loser sound. Ah, the corn is high. I laughed out loud.
Thanks to those who had kind words about my effort, and thanks again to Skip for instigating this. Looking forward to the next one.
Keith
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... and the trombone makes that 'wah wah waaah' loser sound. Ah, the corn is high. I laughed out loud.
Oh my! I just had to explain to my husband why I almost had tea come out my nose from laughing! Thanks for the compliment...and the laughs! -Jamie
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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Wow, I like every one of these! When I saw that title, I just started laughing...I was thinking it was a really stupid but funny title. Never dreamed someone would really want to make a song out of it. But Skip knew better, didn't he? I'm pretty thunderstruck--these are all good lyrics! Who woulda thunk it? Skip woulda. Thanks again for the wisdom, Skip. It was sorely missed!
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Love what everybody came up with. Here's my 2 cents.... "Twenty Chickens For A Saddle"(c)2008 Lynn Orloff 20 chickens for a saddle, that's how the sign read, Got my curosity all up in arms, Seems a broken hearted farmgirl had her reasons, She had fallen for some farmboy's foolish charms. Chorus 20 chickens for a saddle was her ticket, She had planned her getaway so thoroughly, She would leave at break of dawn, long before he'd know she'd gone, So he wouldn't see the tears when she would leave.Said I'm sorry that he bought you so much heartache, It appears your mind is made up that's for sure, Tell you what you sell those chickens, keep the money, Here's the saddle free of charge, sweetheart it's yours. See it wasn't long ago my heart got broken, And a saddle was the thing I needed most, Sometimes the leavin' is a way to start the healin', Hear the sunset's really pretty on the coast. 20 chickens for a saddle was her ticket, She had planned her getaway so thoroughly, She would leave at break of dawn, long before he'd know she'd gone, So he wouldn't see the tears when she would leave, So he couldn't see the tears when she would leave.
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OK, here's my quickie, early morning attempt
20 chickens for a saddle (c) Kevin Emmrioh 2008
(v)20 chickens for a saddle It used to be one Government says there's no inflation others don't believe in kingdom come
(v)20 chickens for a saddle It used to be one the cost of living is killing me stick a fork in me, I'm done
chorus (faster tempo -- cut time) 20 chickens for a saddle who knew it'd come to this but now I'm a cowboy without the cattle This lifestyle I'm gonna miss.
(v) 20 chickens for a saddle I can't even make chicken soup I used to have a bunch but the last one's flown the coop
(v) 20 chickens for a saddle it's sad but true I can't even pay the rent and make a sweet home for you
(chorus 2) 20 chickens for a saddle who knew it'd come to this but now I've lost the battle and this lifestyle I'm gonna miss
Kevin
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Haven't had a chance to go thru all these or add to them, but for the record, just wanted to say YAY...a succcessful song challenge! Unbelievable how many talented writers we have here, to take off with this quirky title. Love it...
Thanks Skip, for getting this going....
Cheers, Beth
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OK, Skipper...this is Great Fun...here's a stab at that Hook:
If You Ride down to Nogales (Just across the Rio Grande) You can Get a Special Saddle It's Entirely Made-by-Hand..
& It's Made by Juan Morales Just His Fam'ly, No-one Else I got to Find His Hacienda I'd like to Buy One for Myself...
(CHORUS) TAKES 20 CHICKENS FOR ONE SADDLE & Juan Never Needs a Cow! TAKES 20 CHICKENS FOR ONE SADDLE (& ONLY JUAN Knows HOW!)
My Horse & I walked All The Backstreets Then we headed Towards The Hills Nostrils Filled with Sage & Mesquite (Findin' Juan took All Our Skills)
As My Eyes were Gettin' Weary & My Spurs were Full of Dust My Ears Heard a Rooster Crowin' (Down in that Canyon, Juan Heard Us)
(CHORUS, Sung w/Mexican Accent) TAKES 20 CHICKENS FOR ONE SADDLE & Juan NEVER Needs a COW! 20 CHICKENS FOR ONE SADDLE (& ONLY JUAN..Knows HOW!)
{BITTA FLAMENCO GUITAR}
Waal, we Strode into That Barnyard Lotsa Chickens; Air was Fowl Squawkin' Leghorns, Scrawny Bantams Half-Dressed Kids & Wife-A-Scowl
They All Smiled when They Saw Money (The Bag I Robbed from That Small Bank) Me & Juan & His Whole Fam'ly Had Albequerque Folks t'Thank~
(CHORUS, Mex. Accent Again) TAKES 20 CHICKENS FOR ONE SADDLE (They Look a LOT Like OSTRICH SKIN) NEED 20 CHICKENS FOR ONE SADDLE, Sen-yore, So Let The BARGAINING Begin!
I Got Tired of Them Tortillas Don't Wanna EAT..Another Egg! But Juan Treated Me Like-Fam'ly While that Saddle Took its Shape
Now Again, I'm In-The-Saddle (& It's COMFY, And It BREATHES~!) Horse Thinks It's "LIGHT-as-A-FEATHER!") (All 20 BIRDS..Between-My-Knees!)
(CHORUS, No Accent) TAKES 20 CHICKENS FOR A SADDLE Yeah, Juan REALLY Did His Best! 20 CHICKENS FOR A SADDLE (& NOW I'll Give This HOOK... [AND My Butt} ...A REST!)
(C) 2008 By Stan Good, BMI All Rights Reserved.
Hi-Yo...Horsefeathers...AWAYYYYY--- ;-)>
Last edited by "TampaStan" Good; 05/21/08 12:06 PM.
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Oh, my! Oh, my! LOL! This JPF crowd is a source of endless delight. This is like tying bright ribbons to the tails of swooping swallows--then seeing them set the sky to a swirling dance. A fine field of amazing flowers is springing from that one tiny song seed landing in such fertile soil.
Once everybody who wishes has had their go at a lyric and had a chance to go back and do a little brush up tinkering till they are satified with its shine, I'd like to do a final post (for this song writing challenge) of all the contributions. Then I'd like to go back and make some comments on entry posted--as some of you are already doing. Some lyrics make me laugh. Some make me want to cry. Some march right along like a train chugging down a track, while others pop like a bullwhip with an unexpected ending. IMO, each is excellent work. Makes me feel honored to be associated with such fine writers enjoying each other's successes.
It seems these lyrics make an important point: Each of us are best at being ourself when it comes to writing. We are our own best yardstick to measure ourselves by as we seek to improve our skills. Every flower has its place in God's garden. He certainly doesn't make photocopies when it comes to making people, does He? Each of us is a true original--a one-of-a-kind. Progressing as songwriters and lyricists (as well as human beings) is simply a matter of becoming more who we are--more of who we were meant to be. That is the best we've got to offer from the ink on our pen. And from what I see here, that's plenty good enough!
Keep writing.
Skip
P.S. Anybody set your lyric to music yet? Anybody want to set someone else's to music, or have someone work on theirs? It would be interesting to have a single albumn of songs all written from the same song hook. I don't think that's ever been done. From the looks of what I see here, it would be worth listening to. Let's see if we can write enough of them so we could use them for an albumn release if we wished. What would that be--12 songs, or so?
On the other hand, it seems to me song lyrics are the new sontas of our day--an enduring art form that has earned a right to its independent existance quite apart from any musical setting a lyric may, or may not, later recieve. So music, or not, these lyrics are excellent work complete in themselves--though they can always be taken further with the proper melody.
Thanks for jumping in. Hopefully, we'll have a few more entries still to come. There are some writers whose work I admire I'm still watching for here. As for me, I'm considering going back and writing a second lyric to our Community Song Hook, beginning with the lines...
"Twenty chickens for a saddle, Then I'll ride to Colorado..."
Last edited by Skip Johnson; 05/21/08 12:52 PM.
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YEah, mine needs a bit of tweaking. I realize I don't have the meter just right...yet! I kind of sort of have a melody line for my song. It's funny because during the verses, I was kind of singing "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" and "Last Public Hanging in West Virginia" in my head whilst writing them, leaving me somewhat flexible there (LOL). But the "hook" line and rest of the chorus I can actually hear in my head. Once I have the verse melody line nailed down, it will be clear which way I need to go when tidying up my meter. Thanks for another inspirational post, Skip. The words "there is only ONE of ME, I am unique, and special" have really started to mean something to me these past few years. Thanks for the reminder! -Jamie
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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Hi All This is really rough, but all in fun hey, I think mine will need a lot of tweaking. I am off to bed now. Goodnight, I will have another look at it tomorrow, when I am not so tired. Fun challenge, I had lots of fun reading everyone's posts. TWENTY CHICKENS FOR A SADDLE I'll head on in to town With my handsome Stallion Cause what I gotta do Is purchase him a saddle I picked twenty of my girls The fattest, and the finest They all looked so dashing The Roosters, just would die for I headed over to the markets To find that perfect saddle Right before my eyes I found what I was after Please Sir, can I please Give yah, Twenty chickens for a saddle My girls are the best, the fattest and my finest Please Sir, can I please Give yah, Twenty chickens for that saddle Please Sir, can I please I really want that Saddle....... Well I headed out of town Riding my perfect Stallion With the saddle that I wanted I was proud to get a bargain I stopped and turned around To say good bye to my girls I was horrored and shocked I wished I never looked Oh Gosh Golly Gee's He is chopping off there heads Oh Gosh Golly Gee's He's throwing them in hot water Oh Gosh Golly Gee's Now he's plucking out there feathers Oh Gosh Golly Gee's Twenty chickens for a saddle........ Michele Copyright 2008
Last edited by Michele Bolton; 05/21/08 01:30 PM.
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Hey Skip
you sure come up with some great ideas to get people involved.bet you don't have to many sleepers in your congegation...lol..
michele....golly gee....it's a real HOOT, that found my funny bone.....good one
Stan...so you saddled up your hoss...and rode outta town...on those chickens.... that sure must tickle the fancy...
Kevin...inflation...I'll give ya a deal they're a dollar each but I'll give ya three for five dollars...
Lynn....the lonely, big hearted farmgirl. always dreamin about faraway places....aren't they all the same.....
Jamie..thanks for the nice comment relly enjoyed yours...even sounds plausible...women always come up with a solution to many weird problems...lol..and her doin all the work....wal... ain't that the way its sposed to be ...lmao
CalmDog...Naa, I wouldn't change it if I could ...lol, but the thought occured to me...So I hired some pluckin migrants... good addition to the lyric caccicatoire (is that spelt rite(
John...short version of a best selling western pocket book,,,smoooth, and full of detail...real fine writin
Mark....like the way you used the different ways of advertising, and the twist....flows good
good writin
SKIP Some very descriptive scenes in that one,,,,I gotta pour myself a coffee.....feelin a bit dry.... enjoyed it It sure was a lot of fun writin, and readin all the others....thanks for startin it all
Allen
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Hey Allen, Hah! Thanks for the clever idea - but then I'd have to rhyme 'pluckin' migrants'. (Besides, I think I danced close enough to the edge with "cluckers' mothers").
Keith
(Dang, now you've got me tryin' to think of a rhyme for migrants... hydrants?...)
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We grew up on the farm without so many toys Taught to do our chores and better never tattle Caught my brother sneakin’ in the hen house With a bag of Magic Layin’ Mash before he yelled “skedaddle!”
Tommy got Twenty chickens for a saddle Twenty chickens for a saddle Teach ‘em all to scratch and scramble Twenty chickens for a saddle
Mama set the table, put the biscuits in a bowl Sissy was a-cryin’ cos she didn’t have a rattle So we played peek-a-boo and duck duck goose Pat-a-cake and This Little Piggy till I began to babble
Tommy got Twenty chickens for a saddle Twenty chickens for a saddle Teach ‘em all to scratch and scramble Twenty chickens for a saddle
My brother shot his tongue from out behind a scowl His narrowed eyes and scrunchied brows Threatened to throw a big thunderstorm, we were in for a battle
Just then Dad came in greasy from his shop He’d been fixin’ that model T Ford that rattled Said, I think I’m gonna go back to ridin’ horses Those newfangled motors eat more than twenty cows/horses--anybody seen my saddle?
“Tommy got Twenty chickens for a saddle Twenty chickens for a saddle Teach ‘em all to scratch and scramble Twenty chickens for a saddle
Look out Daddy’s got a paddle!”
(c)May2008baileybridges
My son says that it needs to read "more than twenty horses---like in horse power----so horses it is.
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Hey Keith
But I told him "no thanks" and I hired some pluckin migrants
Dang.....couldn't hep myself
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Skip (et al.), interesting challenge. I'm not sure I can meet it. I keep defaulting to "twenty saddles for the chicken." I'll keep trying.
Joe
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Joe,
Go with it. Kind of catches my fancy, too.
Skip
P.S. Here's a start...
Twenty saddles for a chicken, Now our cook's gone finger-lickin'. We're eatin' great, but going broke-- I had to sell my horse. Our grub wagon's a bucket...
Last edited by Skip Johnson; 05/21/08 11:13 PM.
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P.S. Anybody set your lyric to music yet?
Yes, Skip! Check out the MP3 forum. I dedicated this one to you...and Roger Miller! Thanks for the inspiration! -Mark
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Mark,
I'll go take a look.
Skip
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Oh, CalmDog!! You rock!! How CUTE is that???
"Grits is one of those country-boy words that is both singular and plural-like deer, elk and sheep. I think the singular is appropriate when there's a modifier that makes it clear one is talking about something specific. Like, 'Grits are good for you, but these here grits is tasty.'"~~Joe Wrabek
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Yours isn't too shabby, either, Allen. Got some good rhymes in there.
"Grits is one of those country-boy words that is both singular and plural-like deer, elk and sheep. I think the singular is appropriate when there's a modifier that makes it clear one is talking about something specific. Like, 'Grits are good for you, but these here grits is tasty.'"~~Joe Wrabek
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Okay, this is way too entertaining....oh my gosh...I should be sleeping....I can't even begin to try here. I am totally blown away by all your lyrics. Every one of them. Awesome. Skip! What have you started? The board is flooded with creativity! Will have lots of fun checking out the chickens and hooks all over the boards in the next few days...!
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. -- Abraham Maslow, American Psychologist
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Kristi,
I think Mark started this, actually. Have you checked out the recording of his entry on the MP3 forum? I listened to it three times in a row before I finally turned it off so I could quit laughing enough to catch my breath.
Skip
P.S. There's a bit more Hawiiana beneath the "Bouquet From the Islands" thread. I've been remembering good times there more the last few days with visitors arriving here from there.
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Skip, Oh, more Hawaii?? Yipee!!! Let me go see... And no, I'll have to check Mark's version...I need a good laugh! Kristi
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. -- Abraham Maslow, American Psychologist
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I couldn't resist this one.
Twenty Chickens For A Saddle ©2008 Myrtle M. Blankenship
I bought a farm out West that had chickens and some dogs, I had to plow the field, plant crops and cut logs, One day as I was riding past my neighbor’s spread, I saw he had a saddle and this is what I said.
CHORUS Twenty chickens for a saddle that’s sitting on your porch, I don’t have one on my horse and my butt’s about to scorch, Me and my old hound are on our way to town, And that saddle will lighten my load as I ride on down the road.
That man sold me the saddle and I put it on my horse, I said this sure feels better as I strutted with such force, It kept my buns real cool all the way to town and back, What I paid for this saddle was worth more than my shack.
CHORUS Twenty chickens for a saddle that was sitting on his porch, I didn’t have one on my horse and my butt was about to scorch, Me and my old hound just had to go to town, And that saddle did lighten my load as I went on down the road.
So, if you have some chickens and a horse on a farm, If you don’t have a saddle there’s cause for alarm, Go see a friendly neighbor and if he’s got one to spare, Make him this kind of offer and settle it with him there.
CHORUS Twenty chickens for a saddle that’s sitting on your porch, I don’t have one on my horse and my butt’s about to scorch, Me and my old hound are on our way to town, And that saddle will lighten my load as I ride on down the road.
Myrtle
Myrtle Blankenship
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I like them all. This was a very challenging write. How do you write a song if this is not one of your life experiences?
“What come from the heart touches the heart” ASCAP
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Okay. It looks like it's going to happen. Here's the chorus. I expdct I'll have the verses later tonight, after I get back from daughter's awards ceremony (6 hour drive).
I got twenty saddles for my chicken, And ev'ry one is different, and ev'ry one looks fine; I got twenty saddles for my chicken So we can look real special when we go for a ride.
Joe
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I like them all. This was a very challenging write. How do you write a song if this is not one of your life experiences? Once you open that window and fall through it, you can be anyone, do anything, defy gravity, take a dip into your front lawn and swim through solid ground. You play! Just like when you were a kid, it's all imagination. That's why we write "plays" and why we "play" music. Some of the best songs ever written were "life experience" songs...but most probably aren't. They're just created out of thin air by a person being playful.
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Say.....I wonder what Harriet Schock would think if most of this week's Mentor Lyric forum picks were all called...well, you know.
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Say.....I wonder what Harriet Schock would think if most of this week's Mentor Lyric forum picks were all called...well, you know. LOL!!
Jamie aka "Mrs. Stash Hershberger"
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I gotta think up something for this one it seems...am I the only gal who hasn't joined the bandwagon??
Gadzooks...
Beth
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Mark,
I thought exactly the same thing. I haven't entered something into the mentor songwriting forum yet, but think it would be hilarious if we all entered what we wrote on this thread one week just to see what would come of it. Might allow some interesting conversation regardless of which one/ones were selected.
A sort of smaller version of flooding the hit chart with the same...
Skip
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Yes Skip, she'd catch on pretty quick...but the first few moments of confusion would be priceless. Wait...did I really just see....?? Huh??? Count me in. And yes, Beth, you must. Unfortunately, I think the only saddle rhymes left are all Aztec. Here's one: Ixtaccíhuatl. Or not...
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Mark,
What is the process and deadline for entering lyrics into the mentor forum? Do you know? I haven't done it yet. Aztec saddle rhymes? Now we're getting exotic...
Skip
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Ooo, Aztec rhymes. Shades of Arlo Guthrie...
Chickens don't need no saddle, Chickens just need their Ixtaccíhuatl...
By the way (and just for the record), "Twenty Saddles for My Chicken" is posted somewhere around here. Fun reading y'all's posts. They are hilarious.
Joe
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