This week on Double Americana, we’re taking a pass at "Buffalo Gals," which you probably know from school or from “It’s A Wonderful Life.” In Scott’s case, it was decidedly not school and definitely “It’s A Wonderful Life,” which he watched over and over again when he was 7, home sick with the chicken pox. It took him years to appreciate the movie and not to itch whenever he heard the song. Mallory thinks she learned the song from a cartoon frog who is always a little bit drunk, or maybe a mouse who is a little drunk, maybe on Looney Tunes, who comes to life and sings this song with the hiccups the whole way through. If anyone else has this same memory or knows how to do a quick google search, please let us know. This song was performed by minstrel troupes for a long time and it was commonplace for them to change the lyrics every night depending on what town they were performing in. The version we’re performing today borrows heavily from the Woody Guthrie version, which doesn’t actually feature the chorus we’ve all known since childhood, but sheds some light on why the frog was drunk. Or mouse.
It’s been a crazy month or so out here in Rough and Tumble Land, basically starting in South Dakota, playing our way down to Nashville, North Carolina and Alabama and then hauling ass-tronauts back back up to Michigan in a day and playing two shows before getting our truck worked on and hauling more ass-tronaut back over to Minnesota. All four of us are a little eager to have more time for hikes and coffee and a little less time in the truck each day. But we’re happy and excited about the weather changing and our westward meandering. If you haven’t seen our tour dates recently, we’re playing some places we only get to every few years, like Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington and California. If you’re in that part of the world, we’d love to see you.
Well, that’s about it for us. Enjoy our take on Buffalo Gals, be good to each other and stay in touch. Okay?
