IN THE SHADE OF THE OLD APPLE TREE
(Harry Williams / Egbert Van Alstyne)
Henry Burr - 1905
Albert Campbell - 1905
The Haydn Quartet - 1905
Columbia Quartet - 1905
Arthur Pryor's Band - 1905
Duke Ellington - 1933
Louis Armstrong & The Mills Brothers - 1937
Midge Williams & Her Jazz Jesters - 1937
Pete Fountain & New Orleans All Stars - 1962
Hylo Brown - 1963
Moms & Dads - 1990
New Orleans Hot Shots - 2003
Also recorded by:
Alma Cogan; Jan & Kjeld; Benny Goodman; Milton Brown;
Aces of Syncopation; Jim Robinson's New Orleans Band;
The Empire Quartette; The Ink Spots; Miguelito Valdés;
G. W. Kennedy; Jim Robinson: ............. and others.
The oriole with joy was sweetly singing
The little brook was babbling it's tune
The village bells at noon were gaily ringing
The world seem'd brighter than a harvest moon
For there within my arms I gently pressed you
And blushing red, you slowly turned away
I can't forget the way I once caressed you
I only pray we'll meet another day
I've really come a long way from the city
And though my heart's breaking I'll be brave
I've brought this bunch of flowr's, I think they're pretty
To place upon a freshly moulded grave
If you will show me, Father, where she's lying
Or if it's far, just point it out to me
Said he, "She told us all when she was dying
To bury her beneath the apple tree"
In the shade of the old apple tree
Where the love in your eyes I could see
When the voice that I heard, like the song of the bird
Seem'd to whisper sweet music to me
I could hear the dull buzz of the bee
In the blossoms as you said to me
With a heart that is true, I'll be waiting for you
In the shade of the old apple tree
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PARODY No.1:
Part of the lyric as recorded by BILLY MURRAY c.1906
So I climbed up the old apple tree
For a pie was a real thing to me
She stood down below
With her apron spread "so"
To catch all the apples, you see
It looked like a picnic for me
But just then the limb broke; holy gee!
And I broke seven bones
And half-killed Maggie Jones
In the shade of the old apple tree
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PARODY No.2:
Now you know my daddy he was quite a fighter
My mother she was quite a fighter too
Especially while fighting with poor father
When she used to beat him black and blue
Paw would find a soft place in the woodshed
Just to sleep his little cares away
There is one good thing about my dear old parents
In the house thry's never fight as I can say
They'd go out 'neath the old apple tree
Where there was lots more room don't you see
Then maw would start in with a big rolling pin
And beat father 'til he couldn't see
In the fight they upset the bee hive
And they found that them bees were alive
They didn't sting Paw, those bees they stung Maw
In the shade of the old apple tree
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PARODY No.3:
Hey I thought I'd take a bath in the water
Fer a bath I hadn't had in a month or so
Fer the bath I didn't want to spend a quarter
So I went down to the creek where it was low
And I laid my clothes beside an apple tree, there
And then I got in to an awful fix
For and old maid came and sat right down beside me
And right there she stayed from one o'clock till six
In the shade of that old apple tree
In water just up to my knees
And I had to sit down, while she was around
Till only my face she did see
The mosquitoes were bitin' my nose
And the turtles were bitin' my toes
But there I did stay, till she went away
From the shade of that old apple tree
*****************
PARODY No.4:
'Neath the crust of the old apple pie
There is something for you and for I
It may be a pin that the cook has left in
Or it may be a wee little fly
Oh, it may be an old rusty nail
Or a piece of the puppy dog's tail
But whate'er it may be, it's for you and for me
'Neath the crust of the old apple pie
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