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L’il Liza Jane (See also: Good-bye Liza Jane; Liza Jane)
Old-Time, Bluegrass, Western Swing; Breakdown. USA, Widely Spread, Composed by Countess Ada de Lachau – 1916.
ARTIST: From Wendy, Geocities.com
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: Published in 1916
OTHER NAMES: “Little Liza Jane” “Sweet Little Liza Jane” Used for other “Liza Jane” songs.
RELATED TO: Other “Liza Jane” Songs.
RECORDING INFO: First recorded "L'il Liza Jane" by Harry C. Brown in 1918, Co A2622; “Liza Jane” John and Emery McClung in 1927 Br 135; "L'il Liza Jane" Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys 1941 on OK 06371; Little Liza Jane; Blair, Kay. Potpourri, Dancing Doll DLP 612, LP (1985), cut#A.10; Simmons Family. Wandering Through the Rackensack, Dancing Doll, LP (198?), cut#A.06; Smith, Betty. For My Friends of Song, June Appal JA 0018, LP (1977), cut# 11; Tarriers. Tarriers at the "Bitter End", Decca DL 4342, LP (196?), cut#A.04; Wear, DeWayne; and the Great Wear Family. Hoe Down! Vol. 4, Rural Rhythm RR 121, LP (197?), cut# 18; Wills, Bob; and the Texas Playboys. Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 8. More of the Best, Kalidescope F-32, LP (1988), cut# 11; Monroe, Charlie; & the Kentucky Pardners. Songs of Charlie Monroe and the Kentucky Pardners, County 539, LP (1974), cut# 3
SOURCES: Silber-FSWB, p. 37, "L'il Liza Jane" (1 text)
NOTES: Composed by Countess Ada de Lachau in1916, "L'il Liza Jane" was a take off on the earlier minstrel songs and was written in minstrel dialect (see Version) In my opinion, it is basically a rewrite of “Camptown Races” by Stephen Foster with “L’il Liza Jane” substituted for “Oh doo-day day:”
Verse: De Camptown ladies sing dis song,
Doo-dah! doo-dah!
De Camp-town race-track five miles long,
Oh! doo-dah day!
Come my love and live with me;
L'il Liza Jane
I will take good care of thee;
L'il Liza Jane.
“Liza Jane” was a common minstrel and Tin-Pan Alley name. In the 1880's Eddie Cox, a minstrel show performer, published "Good-bye, Liza Jane" and in 1903 the Tin Pan Alley composer, Harry von Tilzer, published "Good-Bye, Eliza Jane."
The “L’il Liza Jane” song (“I's got a gal and you've got none, L'il Liza Jane”) is an entirely different song combining the “Liza” name from Cox and Von Tilzer with the Camptown Races melody. The tag (Chorus) was added making it a unique adaptation: “Oh Liza, L'il Liza Jane; Oh Liza, L'il Liza Jane.”
Bob Wills did a Texas Style breakdown version in Hollywood, Ca. in 1941, similar to the version found in Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 143. The title “Little Liza Jane” appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954 (may refer to any of the "Liza Jane" variants).
Here are the lyrics to “L’il Liza Jane” from Geocities:
Liza Jane has gone to camp
Little Liza Jane
Two pair of gumboots and a lamp
Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Liza Jane has pitched her tent
Little Liza Jane
She thought by pitch 'twas tar they meant
Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Liza Jane did colours today
Little Liza Jane
The wind it blew them all away
Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Liza Jane was chopping wood
Little Liza Jane
The head of the axe is gone for good
Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Liza Jane made Irish stew
Little Liza Jane
We had dinner by half part two
Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Liza Jane said never fear
Little Liza Jane
I'm coming back to camp next year
Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane
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