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Preacher and the Bear
Old-Time Song by Geoge Fairman circa 1902/ usually credited to Joe Arizonia (1904); Fiddle breakdown and solo USA;
ARTIST: from Joe Arizonia (original); Other lyrics
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: 1904;
RECORDING INFO: The Preacher and the Bear [Me II-Y 86] - Williams, Alfred/Arzonia, Joe
Ford, Ira W. / Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1965/1940), p300
Kennedy, Charles O'Brien (ed.) / Treasury of American Ballads; Gay, Naug, McBride, Bk (1954), p185
Barron, Rik. Bound for the Ice, Odd Sock PRO 101, Cas (199?), trk# B.04a
Griffith, Andy. Andy Griffith Shouts the Blues and other Old Timey Songs, Capitol T 1105, LP (1959), trk# A.01
Holt, David. Reel and Rock, Flying Fish FF 372, LP (1985), trk# A.06
Jenkins, Snuffy; and Pappy Sherrill. Crazy Water Barn Dance, Rounder 0059, LP (1976), trk# 6
Kweskin, Jim. Side by Side, Mountain Railroad MR 52790, LP (1979), trk# 6
Mainer, J. E. (Joseph Emmet). Legendary J. E. Mainer. Vol 4, Rural Rhythm RRJE 208, LP (196?), trk# A.05
McGhee, John. West Virginia Hills. Early Recordings from West Virginia, Old Homestead OHCS 141, LP (1982), trk# 11 [1927/11/16]
Poplin Family. Poplin Family of Sumter, South Carolina, Folkways FA 2306, LP (1963), trk# A.10
Post, Jim. Jim Post & Friends, Flying Fish FF70 409, CD (1993/1983), trk# 10 (Preacher Went A-Hunting)
Reuge, Yvonne. Tenino Old Time Music Festival. 1970-72, Voyager VRLP 308-S, LP (1973?), trk# 14
Spencer, Tom. Songs: Silly, Sad, and Sentimental, Davis Unlimited DU 33034, LP (1977), trk# A.03
Vass, Ruby. Shellans, Herbert (ed.) / Folk Songs of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Oak, Sof (1968), p80 [1959/06/20]
OTHER NAMES: Coon and the Bear; Preacher and the Bicycle
SOURCES: Mudcat; Folk Index;
NOTES: The Preacher and the Bear was very popular after Aurthur Collins recording was released in 1905. The song was in the repertoire of Fiddlin' Doc Roberts, Riley Puckett and old-time fiddler Sam Dykes.
Sam Dykes lived at Telford, Tennessee and died in 1936 in a traffic accident. He was a comedian and his specialty was "The Preacher and the Bear" which he is said to have recorded at Bristol's WOPI studios, but again, the name of the group is not known. Dykes played both banjo and fiddle.
The song is a fiddle solo (Fiddle Tunes--Kentucky) in the Digital Library of Appalachia collection: Preacher and the Bear; Corina; Medley of two Fiddle tunes played by Jim Stone with piano accompaniment and recorded by John Harrod in Montgomery County, Kentucky (no date).
The song is usually credited to Joe Arizonia but was written in 1903 but George Fairman of Front Royal, VA. Fairman, who played piano in Arizonia's nightclub, sold the rights to Arizonia for $250 in 1902 or 1903 shortly after he composed the song. Arthur Longbrake, a songwriter, gets credit for arranging the song on the sheet music as Arizonia was merely the purchaser of the song.
Title: The preacher and the bear
Composer/Lyricist: words and music by Joe Arzonia.
Publication: Philadelphia : Jos. Morris, c1904.
Description: 1 score (5 p.) ; 31 cm.
Collection: Rag
http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/cgi-bin/sheetmusic.pl?RagPreach&Rag&main
THE PREACHER AND THE BEAR- Original lyrics
(Joe Arzonia, 1904)
A preacher went out a-hunting. 'Twas on one Sunday morn.
Of course, it was against his religion, but he took his gun along.
He shot himself some very fine quail and one big measly hare,
And on his way returning home, he met a great big grizzly bear.
The bear marched out in the middle of the road and he waltzed to the coon, you see.
The coon got so excited that he climbed a persimmon tree.
The bear sat down upon the ground and the coon climbed out on a limb.
He cast his eyes to the God in the skies and these words he said to him:
CHORUS: Oh Lord, didn't you deliver Daniel from the lion's den?
Also deliver Jonah from the belly of the whale and then,
Three Hebrew children from the fiery furnace, so the good books do declare.
Now, Lord, if you can't help me, for goodness sake don't you help that bear.
This coon stayed up in that tree. I think it was all night.
He says, "Oh Lord, if you don't help that bear, then you'll see one awful fight."
Just about then, the limb let go and the coon came tumbling down,
You should have seen him get his razor out before he struck the ground.
He hit the ground cutting right and left, 'tis true. He put up a very game fight.
Just then, the bear hugged this coon. He squeezed him a little too tight.
The coon he then lost his razor, but the bear held on with a vim.
He cast his eyes to the God in the skies and once more he said to him:
CHORUS
Riley Puckett cut the first old-time country recording in 1925 and made several recordings of the song. It became a hit for phil Harris in 1947 for RCA with alterations to the lyrics to replace the racial derogative "coon" lyric.
The song has been recorded recently by Ray Stevens, Jerry Reed and many others including Andy Griffith; Sons Of The Pioneers; Lesley Schatz; Mac Wiseman; Albert Whelan; Hylo Brown; David Dusing Singers; and Rufus Thomas. Here are some recordings by date:
Arthur Collins - 1905
Riley Puckett- 1925
Claude Hopkins - 1935
Golden Gate Quartet - 1937
Phil Harris - 1947
The Jubalaires - 1947
The Big Bopper - 1958
New Christy Minstrels - 1962
Jerry Reed - 1971
Jim Kweskin - 1979
David Holt - 1986
Robert Decormier Singers - 1996
Michael Redman - 1998
Randy Sparks with New Christy Minstrels added a third verse, which is included below.
The Preacher and the Bear- new lyrics with third verse
A preacher went out a hunting
twas on one Sunday morn,
Of course it was against his religion
but he took his gun along.
He shot himself some very fine quail
and one big measly hare,
And on his way returning home
he met a great big grizzly bear,
The bear marched out in the middle of the road
and he waltzed up to him you see,
Then he got so excited,
that he climbed a persimmon tree,
The bear sat down upon the ground
while he climbed way out on a limb,
He cast his eyes to the God in the skies
and these words he said to him:
Chorus: Oh Lord, didn't you deliver Daniel from the Lion's den?
Also deliver Jonah from the belly of the whale and then,
Three Hebrew children from the fiery furnace
so the good books do declare,
Now Lord, if you can't help me
for goodness sake don't you help that bear.
This preacher stayed up in that tree
I think it was all night,
He says, "Oh Lord, if you don't help that bear
then you'll see one awful fight,
Just about then the limb let go,
the preacher came tumbling down,
You should have seen him get his razor out
before he struck the ground,
He hit the ground cutting right and left,
'tis true he put up a very game fight,
The bear then started hugging,
he squeezed him a little too tight,
The preacher then lost his razor
but the bear held on with a vim,
He cast his eyes to the God in the skies
and once more he said to him:
Repeat Chorus
Well, they fought plumb down to the river--
It was terrible fight;
That bear was bitin', scratchin', and growlin',
But the preacher was doin' all right.
He drug that beast into the water--three times in and out;
Then the bear got up and limped away, and the preacher began to shout:
FINAL CHORUS: Lord, you delivered Daniel from the lions' den
You also delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale--AMEN!
I know it may not look like much from where You sit up there,
But the hardest work I ever done was baptizin' that bear!
THE PREACHER AND THE BEAR (Transcribed from the Jerry Reed recording by Mel Priddle - August 2005)
Also recorded by:
The preacher went out a huntin', it was on one Sunday morn'
It was against his religion, but he took a shotgun along
He got himself a mess o' mighty fine quail and one old scraggly hare
And on the way home he crossed the path of a great big grizzly bear
Well the bear got down lookin' ready to charge
The preacher never seen nothin' quite that large
They looked each other right smack in the eye
Didn't take that preacher long to say bye
The preacher, he run till he spotted a tree
He said, "Up in that tree's where I oughta be"
By the time that bear made a grab for him
The preacher was a sittin' on top a that limb
Scared to death, he turned about
He looked to the sky and began to shout
"Hey lord, you delivered Daniel from the bottom of the lion's den
You delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale and then
The Hebrew children from the fiery furnace
So the good books do declare
Hey lord, if you can't help me,
For goodness sake don't help that bear"
Yea, look out preacher!
Well, about that time the limb broke off
And the preacher came tumblin' down
Had a straight razor out of his pocket
By the time he lit on the ground
He landed on his feet right in front a that bear
And Lord, what an awful fight
The preacher and the bear and the razor and the hair
Flyin' from left to right
Well first they was up and then they was down
The preacher and the bear runnin' round an' round
The bear he roared, and the the preacher he groaned
He was havin' a tough time holdin' his own!
He said, "Lord if I get out a here alive
To the good book I'll abide
No more huntin' on the Sabbath day
Come Sunday I'm headin' to the church to pray"
Up to the heavens the preacher glanced
He said, "Lord won't you give me just one more chance"
So the preacher got away, he looked around
Seen a tree where he'd be safe and sound
Jumped on a limb, turned about
Looked to the sky and began to shout
"Hey lord, you delivered Daniel from the bottom of the lion's den
You delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale and then
The Hebrew children from the fiery furnace
So the good books do declare
Hey lord, if you can't help me,
For goodness sake don't help that bear"
The Preacher and the Bear (from a 1968 recording by Phil Harris; first in 1947)
[Bb] Now a preacher went out walkin'
Was [Eb] on one Sunday [Bb] morn'
It was against his religion
But he [C] took his gun a-[F] long
He [Bb] shot himself some mighty fine quail
And [Eb] one little "measly" [Bb] hare
But [Eb] on his way [Bb] returnin' home
He met a [F] great big grizzly [Bb] bear;
NARRATION: Well, the bear got down in the middle of the road
On all fours like a great big toad
And looked that preacher right square in the eye
And the preacher looked at him and said: "Bye-bye."
Started down the road and took out to run
The bear right after that preacher did come
Run and they run for about a mile
Then they both sat down and rested awhile
The preacher got up - started again
The bear he started out with more vim
They ran and they ran til he spotted a tree
Said: "Up on the limb is the place for me."
The bear got close - made a grab for him
Preacher leaps up and he made the limb
Pulled himself up and turns about
Cast his eyes to the skies and he did shout;
Refrain: "[Bb] Oh, Lawd, you delivered [Eb] Daniel from the lion's [Bb] den
Also delivered Jonah from the [C] belly of the whale and [F] then
The [Bb] Hebrew children from the fiery furnace
So the [Eb] good book do [Bb] declare
Yes! [Eb] Lord, if you can't [Bb] help me,
For goodness [F] sake don't help that [Bb] bear."
NARRATION: Just about then the limb let go
And the preacher came tumblin' down
Reached in his pocket, pulled his razor out
Just before he hit the ground
He hit the ground with an awful bang
It was a terrible sight
The preacher and the bear, with a razor in his hair
Just a-cuttin' left and right
Well, they rolled around on the ground
The preacher was up and then he was down
The bear let out an awful moan
It looked like the preacher was holdin' his own
"Lord, if I get out of here alive
That Good Book I will abide
I'll never sin on Sabbath day
And Sunday come, I'll pray and pray."
To the heavens, he did glance
Said; "Lord, just gimme one more chance."
Then his suspenders gave away
And he knocked that bear ten feet away
Then the preacher got up and made a bound
To the tree where he'd be safe and sound
Pulled himself up and turned about
Cast his eyes to the skies and he did shout:
Refrain:
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