When you do a google search for the lyrics of "Penny's Farm" all the top hits say "Natalie Merchant" on them. I'm going to spend the next week trying not to imagine what that sounds like--anyone who is thinking of playing that version of the song at me can pre-emptively consider themselves a former friend.
[UPDATE: Worse yet, none of the sites has the lyrics the way the Bently Boys sing it, including the verse that ends "He'll work you all the summer and rob you in the fall"--which is the one I can't figure out. Anyone?]
(I suppose I should be grateful for her good taste, though since nobody knows who the Bently Boys were there's no chance they got royalties.)
Anyhoo, here's the last two stanzas:
George Penny's renters, they come into town, With their hands in their pockets, and their heads hanging down, Go in the store and the merchant will say: "Your mortgage is due And I'm looking for my pay."Goes down in his pocket with a trembling hand --
"Can't pay you all but I'll pay you what I can."
Then to the telephone the merchant makes a call,
"They'll put you on the chain gang
If you don't pay it all."
[PS--Is there any rhyme or reason governing when Movable Type respects carriage returns inside block quotes?]
Posted by Matt Weiner at September 20, 2004 01:50 PMAll is not despair. If you search on "Pennys Farm" (no apostrophe), the Bently Boys' Folkways album comes up at top. Google searches obviously will usually be biased by presentism.
Posted by: matt's mom at September 20, 2004 02:16 PM