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Old Noah/Brother Noah/Brother Norah
Traditional Gospel song;
ARTIST: From John J. Niles, Douglas S. Moore, & A. A. Walgren "The Songs My Mother Never Taught Me" (N.Y.: Macauley, 1929), pp. 137-40
SHEET MUSIC: http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiBRONOAH;ttBRONOAH.html
CATEGORY: Traditional And Shape-Note Gospel;
DATE: Probably 1800s; My Pious Friends and Drunken Companions by Frank Shay; Macaulay & Co, 1927
RECORDING INFO: Brother Noah
Shay, Frank (ed.) / My Pious Friends and Drunken Companions and More ..., Dover, Sof (1961/1927), p 10
The Shadows – Brother Noah – Brother Noah appears on the album Trojan Roots Box Set (disc 1).
Angola Quartet "Brother Norah" Angola Prison Spirituals, Arhoolie 9036, CD (2003), trk# 4 [1958ca]
OTHER NAMES: "Brother Noah" "Brother Norah" "Old Noah"
RELATED TO:
SOURCES: Folk Index; Mudcat,
My Pious Friends and Drunken Companions by Frank Shay; Macaulay & Co, 1927;
The Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, by John Jacob Niles et al. (N.Y.: Macauley, 1929),
NOTES: "Old Noah" or "Brother Noah" is a traditional gospel song published by John J. Niles, Douglas S. Moore, & A. A. Walgren in the book "The Songs My Mother Never Taught Me" (N.Y.: Macauley, 1929), pp. 137-40. It says: "As sung by the crew of the U.S.S. Newton, cargo ship between New York and Le Havre, 1918 and 1919."
Somewhere in the Gordon collection in the Library of Congress, Robert Gordon laments the fact that he'd heard the song at Harvard (I think) around 1917, thought it was hilarious, and forgot to write it down! A decade later, all he had was a vague recollection. Note implied moral for folklore enthusiasts.
A version appears [See version 1] in My Pious Friends and Drunken Companions by Frank Shay; Macaulay & Co, 1927;
A version similar to Dave Von Ronks was posted on the Mudcat discussion forum:
BROTHER NOAH
Brother Noah, Brother Noah,
May I come into the ark of the Lord.
For it's growing very dark and it's raining very hard.
Hallelue. Hallelue.
Hallelue-eu-eu-eu-ya.
No you can't sir. No you can't sir.
You can't come into the ark of the Lord.
For you have committed sin, so you ain't a-coming in.
Hallelue. Hallelue.
Hallelue-eu-eu-eu-ya.
Very well sir, Very well sir.
You can go to the devil with your darned old scow.
'Cos it ain't going to rain very hard, no how.
Hallelue. Hallelue.
Hallelue-eu-eu-eu-ya.
That's a lie sir. That's a lie sir.
You can darn soon tell that it ain't no sell
For it's sprinkling now, but it's going to rain like hell
Hallelue. Hallelue.
Hallelue-eu-eu-eu-ya.
OLD NOAH- John Jacob Niles
As sung by the crew of the U.S.S. Newton, cargo ship between New York and Le Havre, 1918 and 1919
(Explaining the sex complexes of the animal kingdom)
Old Noah built himself an ark the good old Christian soul
He put his family in the deck and the animals in the hold
And as he sailed away from shore with all his kith and kin,
The neighbors gathered on the bank and merrily mocked at him :
[Chorus :] Go to Hell now, go to Hell now
Go to Hell with your damned old leaky scow,
For it ain't goin' to rain any how, any how,
For it ain't goin' to rain any how.
For forty days and forty nights the rain came down like Hell,
It covered everything about including hill and dale.
Old Noah walked upon the deck and looked through the window pane;
And said, "Where are those poor damned fools who said it wouldn't rain."
Chorus
Now Noah had his troubles with the animals forsooth,
For the females they did roll their eyes and the males they felt their youth.
The lions and tigers all took holts, 'twas as natural as can be,
But in due time old Noah knew each couple would be three.
Chorus
The ark was small and crowded too, old Noah tore his hair,
He tried to find some place to land, for sail he didn't dare.
And when, alas, the pigeon came with news of land ahoy,
Old Noah signaled hard by port and shouted "Attaboy."
Chorus
When all the animals came off old Noah swelled with pride,
For they had multiplied by ten while taking the boat ride.
Now gather round me, sailor men, and listen to my tale,
If you should ship two animals, be sure that they are male.
Chorus
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