tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post1330105519919841531..comments2024-03-28T07:58:41.643-04:00Comments on pancocojams: "More Work For The Undertaker" Song (sound file, lyrics, & examples)Azizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-30036753451186215552022-11-30T17:19:48.720-05:002022-11-30T17:19:48.720-05:00Anonymous, thanks for sharing that demographic inf...Anonymous, thanks for sharing that demographic information about and the lyrics for that version of "More Work For The Undertaker".<br /><br />I appreciate it and I agree that it's remarkable what we remember from a long time ago. My position is that some people are "cultural remembers" and some aren't.<br /><br />Thanks for adding this version to the folkloric record for this song! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-47370782539849974022022-11-30T02:38:44.785-05:002022-11-30T02:38:44.785-05:00I was taught this song at school while in Australi...I was taught this song at school while in Australia. Probably 1964 or 1965. Certainly before decimalisation. I can still remember every word of it more than 50 years later!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-31363324366414879632022-11-30T02:36:22.683-05:002022-11-30T02:36:22.683-05:00Sambo was a naughty boy, for him there was no hope...Sambo was a naughty boy, for him there was no hope,<br />He went to scrub the railway line with a bar of rusty soap.<br />Along came a runaway engine, puffing down the track,<br />Sambo rolled his shirtsleeves up and tried to push it back.<br /><br />Bang, More work for the undertaker,<br />Another little job for the tombstone maker.<br />In the local cemetry, on a tombstone you will see.<br />"Sambo. R.I.P."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-48461520756764887882020-06-21T05:26:02.558-04:002020-06-21T05:26:02.558-04:00Unknown, thanks for sharing your memory of "M...Unknown, thanks for sharing your memory of "More Work For The Undertaker"<br /><br />I believe that lots of people have memories of singing and chanting songs and rhymes that include racist elements that they were unaware of. Hopefully, this is occuring less often now than in the past.<br /><br />My position is that these examples should be collected and studied but for folkloric and socio-cultural purposes, but not shared for entertainment purposes. Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-28339760419004974172020-06-20T21:56:59.922-04:002020-06-20T21:56:59.922-04:00We used to sing this song in the Girl Guides in th...We used to sing this song in the Girl Guides in the early '60's. It was called "Sambo pegged out".<br />1st verse<br />Sambo had an auntie, an auntie very rich, one day she said to Sambo, you have to dig a ditch. <br />Sambo didn't want to, he went upstairs to bed, he fell down off the banister and then he hit his head. BANG!<br />More work for the undertaker<br />Another little job for the tombstone maker<br />Off to the local cemetery, <br />On his tombstone you will see, <br />Sambo Pegged Out!<br /><br />As a child, I thought that Sambo was just another name for a kid, had no idea the racism behind it. <br /><br />There were more versions and it was always Sambo getting into trouble.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07151550068356106491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-91336916890032868972019-08-03T15:36:54.488-04:002019-08-03T15:36:54.488-04:00Greetings, Mike F.
Thanks for sharing that versio...Greetings, Mike F.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing that version of "More Work For The Undertaker".<br /><br />That's one that I hadn't read about before. Unlike you, I never heard that rhyme as a child. And I agree with you that "fat boy" meaning "one who oils and polish the railroad rails" is utter bunk, though it also was kinda creative for adults to tell children that's what it means.<br /><br />But I don't think that any children nowadays would believe that explanation.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-14144901997648837092019-08-03T13:20:16.619-04:002019-08-03T13:20:16.619-04:00FWIW, this is the song as I've always known i...FWIW, this is the song as I've always known it:<br /><br />Little Billy Speckleton the fat boy,<br />His work he was very clever at.<br />One day Billy was a-polishing the rails with a piece of moldy fat.<br />When along came a runaway engine.<br />Billy stood upon the track.<br />He held out his hand, for he thoroughly believed <br />He could hold the locomotive back.<br /><br />But ...<br /><br />More work for the undertaker.<br />Another little job for the tombstone maker.<br />At the local cemetery they are very, very busy with a brand new grave for Billy.<br />He snoofed it!<br /><br />We were led to believe that Billy was not fat per se but rather a "fat boy", or one employed by the railroad to oil and polish the rails. This sounds to my adult ears like utter bunk.Mike F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00065042158895611114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-49206812285606616702017-09-14T09:21:03.430-04:002017-09-14T09:21:03.430-04:00Greetings, Mike F.
Thanks for your comment. I app...Greetings, Mike F.<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. I appreciate the information about the substitution of the name "Sambo" with that of "Little Billie Speckleton. As I was curious about that name, I tried to find examples of it via google, but didn't find any hits.<br /><br />As you're probably aware, there's a close connection between minstrelsy in England and the English music hall However, from what little I've read, it appears that the music hall skits & songs were probably less racist than the minstrelsy skits and songs.<br /><br />Best wishes!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-5192835487627557082017-09-12T22:33:32.865-04:002017-09-12T22:33:32.865-04:00My family sang this song throughout my childhood, ...My family sang this song throughout my childhood, but there was no mention of a "Sambo" character. Rather, the unfortunate hero of the song was a young English boy named Little Billy Speckleton.<br /><br />I'm actually deeply disturbed by the song's association with minstrelsy. It had come to my family through English music hall.Mike F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00065042158895611114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-43502100980736139272016-11-01T17:08:23.498-04:002016-11-01T17:08:23.498-04:00Anonymous, thanks for sharing that verse for "...Anonymous, thanks for sharing that verse for "More Work for The Undertaker".<br /><br />And thanks to your comment, I realized that the sound file that I had embedded in this post was no longer available so I added another example.<br /><br />More work for the .....never mind :o)Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-42461165781576037092016-11-01T14:13:03.741-04:002016-11-01T14:13:03.741-04:00The missing verse.
Sambo went to work one day with...The missing verse.<br />Sambo went to work one day without his overcoat.<br />He tried to scrub the railway track with a bar of sunlight soap.<br />Along came the express train. Along that railway track.<br />And would you believe it, he rolled up his sleeves and pushed the damned thing back.<br />Crash, bangAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com