Parody on Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On"

I heard it by Homer & Jethro Letty, but Hank could have cut it too.

Mornin', panz. Lord have mercy, Homer and Jethro are fantastic, and may have done a parody on Hank Snow, but I'm thinking of the one that went something like:

Old tom cat was feelin' mean til he backed in to the sewing machine,
He's movin on,
He'll soon be gone.
He split a stitch as he jumped the ditch,
He's movin' on.

I'm not certain if you're familiar with Jo Stafford, but H & J did a parody on "You Belong to Me" which is priceless.

I especially like the opening verse: "Send me paw paws in a paper poke.."

I learned to appreciate Hank Snow, the singing ranger, when I heard "I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere". They play that recording behind travel commercials. He had a really good voice.

What a sad life, though. Sorta like Hank Williams.

Hank Snow? Canajiun weren't he? How was his life sad?

Now gather 'round chillun..Aunt Letty's gonna tell us about The Singin' Ranger. This is a photo of Hank and his patron Ernest Tubb

panz, I just know that Hank had a troubled childhood. He was abused by his grandparents. Unlike Hank Williams, he had a good voice and was also a great writer. Hank's voice wasn't one that I particularly liked, but some of his songs were masterpieces, especially "I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry."

UhOh! That gather round comment reminded me of Johnny Mercer. Now I'm off to check out Hank Thompson.

Ain't you wondering how a 2 year old thread popped up all of a sudden?

Two years old? Good grief. Yes, I am wondering now.

Welll...1 and a half.

My word, panz. You were right. It was Homer and Jethro.

HOMER & JETHRO
I'M MOVIN' ON NO. 2
As recorded by Homer & Jethro
(To The Tune Of I'm Movin' On) Written by Hank Snow

The [D] old hound dog was feelin' fine
Till he fell in a barrel of [D7] turpentine
He's a-movin' [G] on, he's a-movin' [D] on
He [A] passed the gate, like an eighty-eight
He's a-movin' [D] on.

There was a smart guy from the city
And he picked up a stripe'd kitty
He's a-movin' on, he's a-movin' on
We held our nose, as we burried his clothes
We're a-movin' on.

I let a man work on my car
Then he grabbed a-hold of a spark plug wire
He's a-movin' on, he's a-movin' on
He turned it loose, when he felt the juice
He's a-movin' on.

The old Tom cat was a-feelin' mean
When he caught his tail in the sewin' machine
He's a-movin' on, he's a-movin' on
He ripped a stitch, when he hit the ditch
He's a-movin' on.

The old man's face got white as a sheet
When he slipped and fell in his cream of wheat
He's a-movin' on, he's a-movin' on
He flapped his ears, as he shifted gears
He's a-movin' on.

Uncle John got awful clean
When he fell into the washing machine
He's a-movin' on, he's a-movin' on
He couldn't straddle, that doggone paddle
He's a-movin' on.

We travel a lot to make our showin'
The way we sing we have to keep goin'
We're a-movin' on, we're a-movin' on
We've gotta go, here comes Hank Snow
We're a-movin' on.

"I cocked and eye at her
she cocked an eye at me
we sat there
cockeyed as can be"
nope I don't remember Homer and Jethro

Ahhh Letty Thanks for amusing me this morning. Better than morning radio. BTW Doc Watson introduced this version to me on his greatest album: Doc Watson Live!

I can't believe that dys doesn't know Jethro or Snow, but his substitute lyrics were "way to go"....


Panz, I'm delighted that you are delighted. Fun for me, too.

I DO remember the song! but I thought it went something like this:
The old tom cat was feelin' mean till he caught his tail in the sewin' machine
He's movin' on. He'll soon be gone.
He ripped a stitch when he hit the ditch, he's movin' on.

the old houn' dog was feelin' fine till fell in a barrel of turpentine,
He's movin' on; He's movin' on.
______________(don't remember the rest of this verse)

Someday, baby when you've had your play,
You're gonna want your daddy,
but your daddy will say, "Keep movin' on. Keep rollin' on.
"You got the laugh on me, so I've set you free, keep movin on."

That's it!!! Thanks!

welcome to a2k wilmad. Check out letty's radio station WA2K
http://able2know.org/topic/40045-1#post-1044282

I can't believe this popped up. I have a CD of Homer & Jehro and I'm looking for it now. My son found Tennessee Ernie Ford's "sixteen tons" in my CD Collection and I said he should hear Homer & Jethro's version. It always makes me laugh. I'll add the lyrics when I find them but I'm pretty sure it starts like this:

I was born one morning when the sun didn't shine,
I remember my momma was gone at the time

The rest will have to wait.

I can't wait gb
Letty and I used to have a lot of fun with musicology

I understand, I'll sort thru the CD's again. This particular CD is actually 2 LP's. I think the artists called it "America's song butchers". I should mention that the lyrics Dys mentioned are from "Don't let the stars get in your eyeball sockets". I think I remember the lyrics as:

Don't let the stars get in your eyes if you've got water on the brain,
Don't light the flame,
Er you'll be to blame,
The spark of love will take your breath.
The water starts to streaming,
Your ears will start to steaming,
And you'll percolate yourself to death.

Her teeth were like the stars above because they come out ever night,
Her hair so fair,
She laid on the chair,
I know I seen it laying thar
I cocked an eye at her,
She cocked an eye me,
And we sat thar cockeyed as can be

The mis spelled words are my clumsy attempt to approximate the singing style of Homer & Jethro. The were very accomplished musicians, but with a great sense of humor.

Here's a taste of their wacky style; a spoof of Roger Miller's "King Of The Road"..then a blazing version of "Take The A Train"



Jethro Burns was one of the greatest jazz mandolinists of all time.