Austin, TX is one of the coolest towns on the planet – one of the places that I would consider living outside of Fort Collins, CO. The music scene there ROCKS! Where else can you go see Elana James and The Hot Club of Cowtown playing their Wednesday night gig at the Continental Club (for free),and THEN get to join them for fiddle tune a day after the show.
While I was listening to their awesome set, I put together a quick list of tunes that they had recorded that I hadn’t done on my fiddle tune a day project yet. At the end of the show, I got to join them backstage for an off-the-cuff (completely unrehearsed) version of Roly Poly.
It was a blast. And, if we had played it a second time, you can bet the harmonies would have been even tighter. 🙂
Roly Poly according to Wikipedia
“Roly Poly” is a humorous Western swing standard written by Fred Rose in 1946. In the song, Roly Poly is a very active boy who eats continuously to keep his strength up. Each verse ends with:
- Roly Poly, daddy’s little fatty,
- Bet he’s gonna be a man someday.
“Roly Poly” was first recorded by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in 1946, staying on the charts for 18 weeks and reaching #3.[1] It has been recorded by many Western swing bands since.
Chuck Berry’s “Roly Poly” is a different song.
Asleep at the Wheel featuring the Dixie Chicks covered the song in 2000. The version was not a single, but charted as an album cut peaking at #65.
The Little Willies covered the song on their 2006 self-titled album.
Roly Poly Lyrics
Recorded by Bob Wills
Vocal by Tommy Duncan
Written by Fred Rose
[G] ROLY POLY, [C] eatin’ corn n’ [G] ‘taters
Hungry ev’ry minute of the [D] day
[G] ROLY POLY, [C] gnawin’ on a [G] biscuit
Long as he can [D] chew it, it’s [G] OK.
[C] He can eat an apple pie
An’ [G] never even bat an eye
[A] He likes everything from [A7]soup to [D] hay
[G] ROLY POLY, [C] daddy’s little [G] fattie
Bet he’s gonna [D] be a man some-[G] day.
ROLY POLY, scrambled eggs for breakfast
Bread n’ jelly twenty times a day
ROLY POLY, eats a hardy dinner
It takes lots of strength to run and play.
Pulls up weeds and does the chores
And he runs both ways to all the stores
He works up an appetite that way
ROLY POLY, daddy’s little fattie
Bet he’s gonna be a man someday.
Awesome!
Wow!
One of your best posts so far. Thank you!
It’s quite an honor (and lots of fun) to get to jam with the Hot Club of Cowtown.
Excellent musical performance !
Thanks! Playing with the Hot Club of Cowtown was a joy. 🙂
Thanks, Mike. 🙂
Wonderful playing! Everyone was having such a great time!
Oh, my word! This was wonderful!!!! Saw the Hot Club of Cowtown many years ago when they came to Evansville one night at played at….. The Pub? (If I can recall, just off of the Lloyd Expressway) It was so much fun!!!!!! You, my friend, are a very lucky man to chime along with them!!!! Love it!