Carthage, Texas

First timer?  In this formerly once-a-day blog (and now more-or-less a twice a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48).  I call this “landing.”  I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near.  I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location.  To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

 Landing number 2066; A Landing A Day blog post number 493.

Dan –  Wow.  Four USers  in a row and on the verge of breaking back down into the 140s, thanks to this landing in . . . TX; 150/181; 4/10; 150.1.  Here’s my regional landing map:

 

My local landing map shows my proximity to (where else?), Carthage:

 

Here’s my streams-only map:

 

As is evident, I landed in the watershed of Irons Bayou, which flows to the Sabine R (17^th hit).  As you may or may not know, the Sabine spends quite a bit of its course as the boundary between TX & LA.  But, as you can see by checking out the following map, this happens a bit south of my landing:

 

Here’s my Google Earth (GE) shot, showing (as the Carthage website proudly proclaims) that Carthage is “nestled deep in the piney woods of East Texas.” 

 

Carthage also declares itself the “Gas Capital” of the United States.  See all of those little clearings in the woods?   Gas wells. . . .

 In fact, Carthage is home to the annual “East Texas Oil & Gas Blast,” which includes (to quote the Carthage website): “Live Music All Day. Door Prizes. Free Children’s Area. Arts & Crafts Vendors. Car Show. Baking Contest. Costume Contest. Lots of Fun!”

 But the big story in Carthage TX is country music.  In fact, Carthage is the home of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.  From Wiki:

 

The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, formerly the Tex Ritter Museum, honors those who have made outstanding contributions to country music and were born in the state of Texas. In the center of the exhibit area, a replica of a 1930s theater marquee reminds visitors of the role of country music in film. A juke box nearby allows visitors to select the country songs that they wish to hear played while touring the museum.

The marquee serves as the entrance to the Tex Ritter Museum. A native of Carthage, Ritter was one of the first singers inducted into the hall of fame when it was established in 1998. There is also a museum exhibit on Ritter’s son, John Ritter.

Just a quick word about John Ritter.  He was the star of TV’s “Three’s Company,” which I more-or-less regularly watched from 1977 – 1984.  He played Jack Ritter, who platonically shared an apartment with two gorgeous young women. 

 

He tragically died of heart problems at age 54 in 2003. 

 Before moving on to John’s dad Tex, it turns out that a second Country Music legend was born in Carthage:  Jim Reeves.  From Wiki:

 Jim Reeves (1923 – 1964) was acountry music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville sound (a mixture of older country-style music with elements of popular music). Known as “Gentleman Jim”, his songs continued to chart for years after his death. Reeves died in the crash of a private airplane that he was piloting. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.

I’ll be honest:  Jim’s a ballad crooner; a little too smooth (and corny) for my taste.  I spent some time on YouTube, looking for one of his songs that I actually liked, and came up with Billy Bayou:

 

 “Billy Bayou” has a grand total of 590 views on You Tube.  This compares with “Welcome to my World” (obviously a much more mainstream Jim Reeves song) with over two million views:

 

 Now, moving on to Tex Ritter.  From Wiki:

 Woodward Maurice Ritter (1905 – 1974), much better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s.

 

Tex is much more to my taste.  In fact, before my landing, I had heard of him, but knew nothing of him or his music.  Now, I’m a total Tex Ritter fan!!!

I’m going to start with a hilarious song about booze and drunkenness –  the kind of song that just wouldn’t make it today. 

 The words are below, so you can read along:

 

 Jack o’ Diamond, Jack o’ Diamond and I know you of old
You’ve-a robbed-a my poor pockets of silver and gold
It’s a whiskey, you villain, you’ve-a been my downfall
You’ve kicked me, you’ve cuffed me, but I love you for all

And it’s a whiskey, rye whiskey, whiskey I cry
If I don’t get rye whiskey, well, I think I will die

Oooh ah  ooooh, etc. etc.

It’s a-beefsteak when I’m hungry rye whiskey when I’m dry
Greenback when I’m hard up, heaven when I die
I’ll-a go to yonder holler, and I’ll build me a still
I’ll give you a gallon for a five dollar bill

Whiskey, rye whiskey, whiskey, I cry
If a tree don’t fall on me, I’ll live ‘til I die

Oooooh ah ooooh, etc. etc.

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck
I’d dive to the bottom and never come hup (I meant to say “up”)
Now the ocean ain’t whiskey, I ain’t a duck
I’ll play Jack o’ Diamond and trust to my luck

Whiskey, rye whiskey, whiskey I cry
If the whiskey don’t kill me, I’ll live ‘til I die

Ooooh, etc.

Here’s a funny clip (from the 1936 movie “Song of the Gringo”) featuring Rye Whiskey, which you can watch if you’ve a mind to . . .

Then I stumbled on “Froggy Went a Courtin” and just loved it.  I searched high and low for the lyrics, but couldn’t find the words that fit this You Tube version.  So I did the best I could  (all of the “fee fime oh” versus were all transcribed by me!)

 Anyway, here it comes . . . (said with an exaggerated hillbilly accent) . . the pee-ess  de ree-sis-tunce.

 

Froggy went a-courtin’ an-a he did ride, uh, huh
Froggy went a-courtin’ an-a he did ride, oh, hoh
Froggy went a-courtin’ an-a he did ride
Sword and a pistol by his side
Uh, huh . . . hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm

Well he went up to Miss-a Mousie’s door and a hoh and a hey and a hoh and a hey
Went up to Miss-a Mousie’s door, hoh
Went up-a to Miss-a Mousie’s door
She said get away you been here before,
Uh, huh . . . ohmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm

Fee Fime Oh in the land of fear of Pharaoh
Come a rattrap, pennywinkle, tom o’doodle, rattle bugger rattrap
Penny won’t you kime be, oh.

Took a-Missa Mousie on his knee, uh, huh
Took a-Missa Mousie on his knee, oh
Took a-Missa Mousie on his knee
Well he said Miss Mousie, ‘Will you marry me’
Uh, huh,  hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm.

Little piece of corn bread a-lyin’ on the shelf and a hoh and a hey and a hoh and a hey
Little piece of corn bread a-lyin’ on the shelf, uh, huh
Little piece of corn bread a-lyin’ on the shelf
If you want anymore you can sing it yourself
Uh, huh, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm

Fee Fime Oh in the land of fear of Pharaoh
Come a rattrap, pennywinkle, tom o’doodle, rattle bugger rattrap
Penny won’t you kime be, oh.

Kimbo kymbo hey-ho gee-roh
Hey come a rattrap, pollywinkle lolly bugger rattrap
Penny won’t you kime be, oh.

I LOVE THIS!   I’ve listened to it 20 times.  I made sure I got the lyrics just right. . .

 So this old froggy song is an old folk song, and I mean old.  Wiki (and other sources) have it as a Scottish folk song originating in 1548.

 The song usually has some verses about Miss Mousee getting permission from Uncle Rat, but Tex decided to have none of that.  The song has been covered by countless artists, including Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, the Brothers Four, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan.

 I’ll close with this Panoramio shot (by RGRiff3471) of the Sabine River, taken about 5 miles north of my landing:

 

That’ll do it.

 KS

 Greg

 

© 2013 A Landing A Day