This pancocojams post showcases Fats Waller's 1938-1940 Jazz record "Eep, Ipe, Wanna Piece of Pie".
Special attention is given in this post to the vocal technique "eephing" that is referenced in the title of this song.
The Addendum to this post showcases a bonus sound file of King Coleman's "The Boo Boo Song" [1967] along with a transcription of a portion of that record that features a version of the "Eep Ipe I Wanna Piece Of Pie" rhyme.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Fats Waller for his musical legacy. Thanks also to King Coleman for his musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these sound files on YouTube.
Special thanks to Jim Dixon from Mudcat' folk music forum for sharing information about eephing and for transcribing this Fats Waller song.
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Eep, Ipe, Wanna Piece of Pie
Fats Waller - Topic Published on Aug 23, 2015
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises
Historical Jazz Recordings: 1938-1940
The Addendum to this post showcases a bonus sound file of King Coleman's "The Boo Boo Song" [1967] along with a transcription of a portion of that record that features a version of the "Eep Ipe I Wanna Piece Of Pie" rhyme.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Fats Waller for his musical legacy. Thanks also to King Coleman for his musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these sound files on YouTube.
Special thanks to Jim Dixon from Mudcat' folk music forum for sharing information about eephing and for transcribing this Fats Waller song.
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Eep, Ipe, Wanna Piece of Pie
Fats Waller - Topic Published on Aug 23, 2015
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises
Historical Jazz Recordings: 1938-1940
[Update: October 30, 2020]
****
COMMENTS AND LYRICS
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=119521
Subject: Lyr Add: EEP, IPE, WANNA PIECE OF PIE (Fats Waller
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 06:12 PM
"This is the song that I was reminded of when reading the thread Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie*, and which in turn inspired me to start this thread about eephing.
This is my transcription from Fats Waller and His Rhythm, on the 78-rpm record MIGHTY FINE (Razaf, Waller) b/w EEP, IPE, WANNA PIECE OF PIE (Blaine, Dann), Bluebird 10744, 1940:
EEP, IPE, WANNA PIECE OF PIE
By Jerry Blaine and Artie Dann (some sources add: Nick Catamas)
J. R. LaFleur & Son Ltd., 1940.
Eep*, ipe*, wanna piece of pie.
Eep*, ipe*, wanna bowl of soup.
Eep*, ipe*, let your tongue turn.
Eep*, ipe*, easy to learn.
Eep*, ipe*, clock is on the wall.
Eep*, ipe*, sounds like doubletalk.
Eep*, ipe*, ippy ippy way.
Eep*, wop*, wop*, wop*, you do it all day.
If your fire* on the copembagger* is worthwhile,
Then the fire* eeply*, op*, op* sets the style,
If you burrrowackasacki* and you hold real tight,
You need fop*, rop*, rop*, rop*, rop*, I guess'll do all right.
You pucker up your lips and then you hold real tight.
Let it go. It's bound to do all right.
Come on, children, one, two, three,
Together, come on, follow me:
Ah, eep*, ipe*, want a piece of pie?
Eep*, ipe*, want a bowl of soup?
A bowl of soup, bup*, bup*, bup*, piece of pie,
Sip*, sip*, sip*, sip*, sip*, sip*, yes, yes.
Aw, eep*, ipe*, wanna piece of pie?
Oop*, eep*, ipe*, wanna bowl of soup?
Eep*, ipe*, let your tongue turn.
Eep*, ipe*, eep*, easy to learn, yes,
Eep*, ipe*, clock is on the wall.
Eph*, eep*, yeah, sounds like doubletalk.
Yessiree.... [The recording I transcribed from breaks off at this point, but I don't think it's complete; it came from a "mix tape."]
[*Note: I have retained the spelling "Eep, ipe" because that is the spelling in the title, but that is only an approximation of how the words are pronounced. In fact, all the asterisked words are nonsense, and the spelling is approximate, and wherever I have used a "p" in them, Waller is more or less "blowing a raspberry." Even in the words that are intelligible English words, Waller frequently mumbles, slurs, or lisps in a manner that is surely intentional and quite unlike his other recordings, where his diction is normally clear as a bell.
[The line "if you burrrowackasacki* and you hold real tight" is apparently a reference to the song HOLD TIGHT (WANT SOME SEAFOOD, MAMA) made famous by the Andrews Sisters.]
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926
-snip-
*Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926 for the Mudcat thread on the children's rhyme "Oh my, I want a piece of pie" that Jim Dixon mentioned in the beginning of his comment.
Some examples of that children's rhyme contain the eephing vocalizations that are found in Fats Waller's "Eep, Ipe, Wanna Piece of Pie" song. I believe that the standard beginning verse for another widely known children's rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" also was heavily influenced by this Fat Waller song.
Visit these three pancocojams posts for examples of the above mentioned rhymes:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/abc-its-easy-as-1-2-3-playground-rhyme.html
"ABC It's Easy As 1, 2, 3" Playground Rhyme & Its R&B Record Source
**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/aunt-maria-jumped-in-fire-there-was-man.html (for information about the Fats Waller song and for other examples of "ABC It's Easy As One Two Three")
**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/song-sources-for-down-by-banks-of-hanky.html Song Sources For Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE VOCAL TECHNIQUE OF EEPHING
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=119521
Eephing (type of vocal technique or 'mouth music')
Subject: Eephing
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Mar 09 - 02:00 PM
"Eephing is an old-time country style of vocal percussion somewhat similar to the recent "beatboxing" performed by hip-hop artists.
It is sometimes spelled eaphing, eefing, or eafing, but it is not related to effing or F'ing, a euphemism for f**king.
I call it percussion only because it sounds like percussion—it is much more rhythmic than melodic. It doesn't literally involve hitting anything, but it is often accompanied by truly percussive techniques like hamboning....
**
Subject: RE: Eephing (type of vocal technique or 'mouth music')
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 08:12 AM
"From Dictionary of American Regional English by Frederic Gomes Cassidy and Joan Houston Hall (Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1985): https://books.google.com/books?id=vAr2T4Bh7nkC&pg=PA275
Eephing vbl n [Echoic] Cf hoodling, whoop B
Creating wordless vocal music made up of nonsense syllables and percussive sounds; also n eaf such music.
1971 in 1978 I'm on My Journey Home (Phonodisc) wTN, [My maternal uncle] called it hoodlin'; they call it eephin' now. He [=the uncle] got it from somebody at a dance up at Dyersburg, Tennessee. 1978 Wolfe I'm on My Journey Home 2/1, [Liner notes:] Eephing (or hoodling) is one of a number of vocal-percussive effects still found in the mid-South....[It can be]...created by tickling...[the] throat...altering...[the] mouth cavity...tapping the cheeks....It has been reported in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi....Eephing has also been found among Afro-Americans. It is customarily performed informally in relaxed social situations. 1978 Dance Shuckin' & Jivin' 323 VA [Black], Have you ever heard this thing called "The Eaf"? Ee-poop-se-de-da-pa-de-da....Well, Bill Robinson [1878-1949, also known as "Mr. Bojangles"] and I used to go around and say that thing [=a long rhyme]...And then we start singing, "Ee-doop, se-da-da-pa-de-da-pa-pop!""
****
ADDENDUM: KING COLEMAN - THE BOO BOO SONG
King Coleman The Boo Boo Song [1967]
nightimelady, Uploaded on Nov 2, 2009
Hang on to your wigs its dance time!
If you like this then buy the album, in fact buy everything this guy did, hes amazing! :D
this can be found on the "king Coleman - It's Dance Time" compilation on Norton Records.
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from a review of this record:
http://funky16corners.blogspot.com/2006/04/king-coleman-boo-boo-song-pt1.html King Coleman - The Boo Boo Song Pt1
April 28, 2006, by Larry Grogan
...."you reach into the box and pull out something called ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ by a cat calling himself King Coleman. Though you are unfamiliar with the artist, you decide to give it a spin anyway, knowing that despite the suspect title, anything is possible. You unsleeve the record, place it on the turntable and absentmindedly apply needle to wax. The next few second are a blur. All you can remember is that following seemingly innocent opening, female singers chanting;
A hunting we will go A hunting we will go We will catch that fox and put him in a box And will not let him go! You momentarily figure you have a childrens record on your hands. And then, something happens that causes you to spit out your coffee and jump from your chair like your pants were on fire. There, booming out of the speakers is something that sounds like a bug-eyed madman on a caffeine bender.
Boo bo boo bo boo boo boo bo bo bo bo Bay bay buh baybay bay buh buh bay bay Bo bo bo bo bo bo bo (etc etc...)*
...[In] the late 60’s, Carlton ‘King’ Coleman laid down some of the butt-shakingest, eye-rollingest, high-stepping soul and funk 45s to ever roll down the pike. Every last one of them** is a guaranteed party starter. ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ is possibly the finest of them all, because it manages to rope in (barely) his explosive vocalizing, pairing it with some booming drums, blaring horns and organ, all of which make it a storming slice of soul evangelism – guaran-freaking-teed to peel off the wallflowers and send those already dancing into a sweaty trance. If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest most vociferously that when you play this track, you loosen your tie, turn the volume way up and let it wail. I would also recommend that if you have any small kids around, you play it for them too. I played it for my two-year old son, and he thought it was a hoot. Thankfully, of you’re not the type to go digging for 45s, the always brilliant folks at Norton Records have assemble the King’s best into a single compilation (see link below).
* Yeah, I know that isn't an exact transcription, but if you think I'm going to spend a half an hour, restarting the song 50 times so I can accurately count all the BOBO's and BAYBAY's, you my friend have another think coming"...
-snip-
[additional lyrics for that song at 1:57* [transcribed by Azizi Powell from that recording]
Eee eye I wanna a piece of pie
[female singers echo each line]
Pie too sweet, I wanna a piece of meat
The meat too tough I wanna ride a bus
The bus too full I wanna ride a bull
The bull won’t play, he had this to say
He said “ooh ahh ahh ooh aah ahh ooh aah ahh ooh ooh ooh
Come on baby, come on baby, show your daddy what you can do"...
-snip-
Thanks to GUEST,Fine Wine (2012) for referring to this video in the Mudcat thread Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
COMMENTS AND LYRICS
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=119521
Subject: Lyr Add: EEP, IPE, WANNA PIECE OF PIE (Fats Waller
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 06:12 PM
"This is the song that I was reminded of when reading the thread Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie*, and which in turn inspired me to start this thread about eephing.
This is my transcription from Fats Waller and His Rhythm, on the 78-rpm record MIGHTY FINE (Razaf, Waller) b/w EEP, IPE, WANNA PIECE OF PIE (Blaine, Dann), Bluebird 10744, 1940:
EEP, IPE, WANNA PIECE OF PIE
By Jerry Blaine and Artie Dann (some sources add: Nick Catamas)
J. R. LaFleur & Son Ltd., 1940.
Eep*, ipe*, wanna piece of pie.
Eep*, ipe*, wanna bowl of soup.
Eep*, ipe*, let your tongue turn.
Eep*, ipe*, easy to learn.
Eep*, ipe*, clock is on the wall.
Eep*, ipe*, sounds like doubletalk.
Eep*, ipe*, ippy ippy way.
Eep*, wop*, wop*, wop*, you do it all day.
If your fire* on the copembagger* is worthwhile,
Then the fire* eeply*, op*, op* sets the style,
If you burrrowackasacki* and you hold real tight,
You need fop*, rop*, rop*, rop*, rop*, I guess'll do all right.
You pucker up your lips and then you hold real tight.
Let it go. It's bound to do all right.
Come on, children, one, two, three,
Together, come on, follow me:
Ah, eep*, ipe*, want a piece of pie?
Eep*, ipe*, want a bowl of soup?
A bowl of soup, bup*, bup*, bup*, piece of pie,
Sip*, sip*, sip*, sip*, sip*, sip*, yes, yes.
Aw, eep*, ipe*, wanna piece of pie?
Oop*, eep*, ipe*, wanna bowl of soup?
Eep*, ipe*, let your tongue turn.
Eep*, ipe*, eep*, easy to learn, yes,
Eep*, ipe*, clock is on the wall.
Eph*, eep*, yeah, sounds like doubletalk.
Yessiree.... [The recording I transcribed from breaks off at this point, but I don't think it's complete; it came from a "mix tape."]
[*Note: I have retained the spelling "Eep, ipe" because that is the spelling in the title, but that is only an approximation of how the words are pronounced. In fact, all the asterisked words are nonsense, and the spelling is approximate, and wherever I have used a "p" in them, Waller is more or less "blowing a raspberry." Even in the words that are intelligible English words, Waller frequently mumbles, slurs, or lisps in a manner that is surely intentional and quite unlike his other recordings, where his diction is normally clear as a bell.
[The line "if you burrrowackasacki* and you hold real tight" is apparently a reference to the song HOLD TIGHT (WANT SOME SEAFOOD, MAMA) made famous by the Andrews Sisters.]
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926
-snip-
*Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926 for the Mudcat thread on the children's rhyme "Oh my, I want a piece of pie" that Jim Dixon mentioned in the beginning of his comment.
Some examples of that children's rhyme contain the eephing vocalizations that are found in Fats Waller's "Eep, Ipe, Wanna Piece of Pie" song. I believe that the standard beginning verse for another widely known children's rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" also was heavily influenced by this Fat Waller song.
Visit these three pancocojams posts for examples of the above mentioned rhymes:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/abc-its-easy-as-1-2-3-playground-rhyme.html
"ABC It's Easy As 1, 2, 3" Playground Rhyme & Its R&B Record Source
**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/aunt-maria-jumped-in-fire-there-was-man.html (for information about the Fats Waller song and for other examples of "ABC It's Easy As One Two Three")
**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/song-sources-for-down-by-banks-of-hanky.html Song Sources For Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE VOCAL TECHNIQUE OF EEPHING
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=119521
Eephing (type of vocal technique or 'mouth music')
Subject: Eephing
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Mar 09 - 02:00 PM
"Eephing is an old-time country style of vocal percussion somewhat similar to the recent "beatboxing" performed by hip-hop artists.
It is sometimes spelled eaphing, eefing, or eafing, but it is not related to effing or F'ing, a euphemism for f**king.
I call it percussion only because it sounds like percussion—it is much more rhythmic than melodic. It doesn't literally involve hitting anything, but it is often accompanied by truly percussive techniques like hamboning....
**
Subject: RE: Eephing (type of vocal technique or 'mouth music')
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 08:12 AM
"From Dictionary of American Regional English by Frederic Gomes Cassidy and Joan Houston Hall (Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1985): https://books.google.com/books?id=vAr2T4Bh7nkC&pg=PA275
Eephing vbl n [Echoic] Cf hoodling, whoop B
Creating wordless vocal music made up of nonsense syllables and percussive sounds; also n eaf such music.
1971 in 1978 I'm on My Journey Home (Phonodisc) wTN, [My maternal uncle] called it hoodlin'; they call it eephin' now. He [=the uncle] got it from somebody at a dance up at Dyersburg, Tennessee. 1978 Wolfe I'm on My Journey Home 2/1, [Liner notes:] Eephing (or hoodling) is one of a number of vocal-percussive effects still found in the mid-South....[It can be]...created by tickling...[the] throat...altering...[the] mouth cavity...tapping the cheeks....It has been reported in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi....Eephing has also been found among Afro-Americans. It is customarily performed informally in relaxed social situations. 1978 Dance Shuckin' & Jivin' 323 VA [Black], Have you ever heard this thing called "The Eaf"? Ee-poop-se-de-da-pa-de-da....Well, Bill Robinson [1878-1949, also known as "Mr. Bojangles"] and I used to go around and say that thing [=a long rhyme]...And then we start singing, "Ee-doop, se-da-da-pa-de-da-pa-pop!""
****
ADDENDUM: KING COLEMAN - THE BOO BOO SONG
King Coleman The Boo Boo Song [1967]
nightimelady, Uploaded on Nov 2, 2009
Hang on to your wigs its dance time!
If you like this then buy the album, in fact buy everything this guy did, hes amazing! :D
this can be found on the "king Coleman - It's Dance Time" compilation on Norton Records.
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from a review of this record:
http://funky16corners.blogspot.com/2006/04/king-coleman-boo-boo-song-pt1.html King Coleman - The Boo Boo Song Pt1
April 28, 2006, by Larry Grogan
...."you reach into the box and pull out something called ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ by a cat calling himself King Coleman. Though you are unfamiliar with the artist, you decide to give it a spin anyway, knowing that despite the suspect title, anything is possible. You unsleeve the record, place it on the turntable and absentmindedly apply needle to wax. The next few second are a blur. All you can remember is that following seemingly innocent opening, female singers chanting;
A hunting we will go A hunting we will go We will catch that fox and put him in a box And will not let him go! You momentarily figure you have a childrens record on your hands. And then, something happens that causes you to spit out your coffee and jump from your chair like your pants were on fire. There, booming out of the speakers is something that sounds like a bug-eyed madman on a caffeine bender.
Boo bo boo bo boo boo boo bo bo bo bo Bay bay buh baybay bay buh buh bay bay Bo bo bo bo bo bo bo (etc etc...)*
...[In] the late 60’s, Carlton ‘King’ Coleman laid down some of the butt-shakingest, eye-rollingest, high-stepping soul and funk 45s to ever roll down the pike. Every last one of them** is a guaranteed party starter. ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ is possibly the finest of them all, because it manages to rope in (barely) his explosive vocalizing, pairing it with some booming drums, blaring horns and organ, all of which make it a storming slice of soul evangelism – guaran-freaking-teed to peel off the wallflowers and send those already dancing into a sweaty trance. If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest most vociferously that when you play this track, you loosen your tie, turn the volume way up and let it wail. I would also recommend that if you have any small kids around, you play it for them too. I played it for my two-year old son, and he thought it was a hoot. Thankfully, of you’re not the type to go digging for 45s, the always brilliant folks at Norton Records have assemble the King’s best into a single compilation (see link below).
* Yeah, I know that isn't an exact transcription, but if you think I'm going to spend a half an hour, restarting the song 50 times so I can accurately count all the BOBO's and BAYBAY's, you my friend have another think coming"...
-snip-
[additional lyrics for that song at 1:57* [transcribed by Azizi Powell from that recording]
Eee eye I wanna a piece of pie
[female singers echo each line]
Pie too sweet, I wanna a piece of meat
The meat too tough I wanna ride a bus
The bus too full I wanna ride a bull
The bull won’t play, he had this to say
He said “ooh ahh ahh ooh aah ahh ooh aah ahh ooh ooh ooh
Come on baby, come on baby, show your daddy what you can do"...
-snip-
Thanks to GUEST,Fine Wine (2012) for referring to this video in the Mudcat thread Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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