Fats Waller - My Mommie Sent Me To The Store (sound file & lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases Fats Waller's 1940 recording "My Mommie Sent Me To The Store". The lyrics to this song are included in this post, as well as information about a Parker Brothers board game that may have been the inspiration for this song.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: MY MOMMIE SENT ME TO THE STORE by Fats Waller 1940



cdbpdx, Uploaded on Apr 25, 2011

Just finished recording a collection of Fats Waller tunes from 1935 - 1942. Most are tunes you don't hear very much. Here is MY MOMMIE SENT ME TO THE STORE, recorded in 1940. Enjoy!
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Waller
"Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an influential jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer, whose innovations to the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano, and whose best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame posthumously, in 1984 and 1999."

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LYRICS: MY MOMMIE SENT ME TO THE STORE
(composers: Ken Hecht and Sid Bass)*

My mommy sent me to the store, to the store, to the store.
But what my mommy sent me for
I really can’t remember.

I think it was the grocery
Let me see, let me see.
Oh gee. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Oh gee.
I don’t remember.

I forgotten what she needed
For the pantry shelf.
All I know is that she said
To keep a nickel for myself
And I got that.

But mommy sent me to the store to the store, to the store
But what my mommy sent me for
I really can’t remember.

Can you boys help me out?
(Male voices: Did she send you out for pie?)
No, you know she didn’t ask for pie.
(Male voices: Did she want a loaf of rye?)
You know my mama didn’t like no liquid. No!

[Instrumental]

It wasn’t pie.
It wasn’t rye.
Oh, what was I supposed to buy?

[Drum roll]

Oh I really can’t,
Really can’t
Remember.

[Spoken]- My memory is so unreliable.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. At the end of the sound file Fats Waller says something that I can't decipher. Additions and corrections welcome.

Update: Hat tip to Silvio: The word I couldn't decipher at the end is "Mercy!"

* Update -Thanks to Old corpsman for the names of this song's composers.

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ADDENDUM - "MY MOTHER SENT ME TO THE GROCERY STORE" CARD GAME
I think that it's very likely that Fats Waller's 1940 Jazz song "My Mommie Sent Me To The Store" was inspired by the card game "My Mother Sent Me To The Grocery Store". That memory game was first produced by Parker Brothers around 1902. Here are two quotes about that game:
From http://www.zandkantiques.com/Antique_American_Game_Parker_Brothers_My_Mother_Sent_Me_Grocery_Store_For_Sale.html
"My Mother Sent Me to the Grocery Store

Parker Brothers, Salem Mass, NY & London Circa 1902

This nice early American antique game from Parker Brothers features a charming image of a toddler galloping home from the grocery story on his imaginary steed, a tiny whip in one hand and a basket of apples on the opposite arm. This game includes its original instructions and many of its original playing cards and is a great value for the money."

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From http://www.americanchristmassongs.com/2013/11/02/my-mother-sent-me-to-the-grocery-store-parker-brothers-1887/
Ronnie says:
November 2, 2013 at 11:34 am
"Here’s a description I found:

“In this game, players take turns reading the big card in front of them (“My mother sent me to the grocery store to get…”) and then drawing a slip from the pile in the center of the table. If the object drawn would be available at the location read, they keep the slip. Play continues around until every player has drawn for one location, and then a new location is pulled. Once all the big cards have been used, the player with the most slips wins the game.” "

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RELATED LINK
A pancocojams post of children's rhymes that include the line "my mommy sent me to the store"
will be published ASAP.

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Thanks to Fats Waller for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.

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Visitor comments are welcome.