How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm Lyrics
Absolutely love this song. It's about a post WWII farm couple discussing whether or not their sons will be returning to life on the farm. Lots of funny lines, my favorite being "and who the deuce can parle-vous a cow?" excellent song.
Asdfaeou,
Whilst the spirit of your comment is correct, the facts are wrong. The song was actually written some 30+ years prior to WWII by Joe Young, Sam M. Louis and Walter Donaldson (music). It is actually commenting on post WWI troops returning home.
The original adaptations were jolly bandstand ensembles. Which is why Bird's interpretation and arrangement is so interesting.
http://www.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/sheetmusic/musictours/singingwar/farm.html
Notice Paris is spelled "Paree," which, I imagine is a sort of mocking.
"Absolutely love this song. It's about a post WWII farm couple discussing whether or not their sons will be returning to life on the farm. Lots of funny lines, my favorite being "and who the deuce can parle-vous a cow?" excellent song."
thank you nanomoz
thank you nanomoz
I think that the title is related to "The Big Lebowski", to the part when the Dude says: "Boy. How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm once they seen Karl Hungus."
I agree with Asdfaeou's assessment.
It's also worth noting that Andrew Bird is playing off the old children's rhyme:
Rubin, Rubin, I've been thinkin' What on earth have you been drinkin' Looks like water, tastes like wine Oh my gosh, it's turpentine
(Different variations of the rhyme exist, of course)
Errr, 20+ years, not 30 years. I'm not a stalwart of arithmetic.
I remember a slightly different song that was sung before WWII. Can anyone help me? It had a similar chorus.