J-Walk - Posted - 03/05/2007:  13:45:08

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Yesterday I listened to "Nixon's Farewell" about 25 times -- and another 5-6 times already today. (I think this is what Wormpicker describes as learning a tune inside out.) I have four versions of the tune (three on Dan Levenson CDs), and I'm working it out on both the banjo and fiddle (ha-ha).

If you're not familiar with this tune, you can download Dan's solo fiddle track here (get the zip file; the individual MP3 links are broken):

http://www.melbay.com/festivaltunes_fiddle.asp

"Nixon's Farewell" was written by Curt Bouterse, but that's all I know about it. His web site lists some recordings of it by others, but I couldn't find anything that describes when/why he wrote it. He's also known for writing "Waiting For Nancy." Bouterse has recorded a fretless banjo CD, but neither of these songs is on it.

Does anyone have any background on this tune? Who was the first to record it?

yankee1 - Posted - 03/05/2007:  14:21:27

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Hey J-Walk

I've heard of this tune as well, and all the fiddlers that I talk to guess that it may be about President Nixon's resignation. I'm unsure of that assumption though...

Bryan

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 03/05/2007:  17:58:24

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Of course it is about Nixon's resignation. Historical tunes are a long tradition. I recently wrote a tune I call "Rummy's Farewell To The Troops". It's Paxton's "Last Thing On My Mind" played as a jig.
Everyone probably knows the song - it starts:
"It's a lesson too late for the learning
made of sand, made of sand."

The Whiskey Before Breakfast variations and a few tunes in "F" tuning are now available on the web at:
http://home.thegrid.net/~fjbrad/id20.html

KE - Posted - 03/05/2007:  18:01:22

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HOOT and HOLLER

I have got to have the lyrics -- could I beg you email them to me in a plain paper envelope to avoid the authorities?

wormpicker - Posted - 03/05/2007:  23:43:19

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quote:

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Originally posted by J-Walk

"Nixon's Farewell" was written by Curt Bouterse, but that's all I know about it. His web site lists some recordings of it by others, but I couldn't find anything that describes when/why he wrote it. He's also known for writing "Waiting For Nancy." Bouterse has recorded a fretless banjo CD, but neither of these songs is on it.

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Mr. Bouterse placed this picture on his web page listing all the "Nixon" recording, suggesting the tune does indeed commemorate Tricky Dick:


Catchy tune, BTW.

Paul

Obsession is a great substitute for talent. -Steve Martin

ndlxs - Posted - 03/06/2007:  09:54:54

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Not too many words, to my knowledge, but they go something like:
"Nixon's Gone, Nixon's Gone, Hah hah hah hah hah
Nixon's Gone, and I'm glad, Hah hah hah hah hah"

You can change the last line to
"Nixon's Gone but Bush is here, hah hah hah hah hah"

Ironically, Nixon was the kind of Republican much out of favor with the Bush-Cheney Republicans: a (believe it or not...) middle-of-the-road republican, comparatively speaking of course. Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act passed under Nixon.


Andy Alexis
Sacramento, California
"The Pearl of the Central Valley"
Buy my CDs:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/pineycreek
and
http://www.offtocalifornia.com

wormpicker - Posted - 03/06/2007:  11:17:06

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Uh oh. Politics Alert. Politics Alert.

Paul

Obsession is a great substitute for talent. -Steve Martin

ndlxs - Posted - 03/06/2007:  11:39:24

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I didn't come up with the words, my apologies. I will add that our greatest president was a Republican, Lincoln of course. And his successor, a Democrat, one of the worst, and most likely was actually drunk during Lincoln's second inauguration. (Can you tell I just finished that book?) Presidential misdeeds have no party affiliation as far as I can see.

But you can always substitute the target of your choice for Nixon:

Cromwell's Gone...
Clinton's Gone
Jerry Brown's Gone
Newt's Gone
etc.

Nixon works better for this kind of tune though, but it is clear that there is a tragic element to him as well, I'm not sure why. With our previous president it is clear that there was a big element of selfishness and ego in his misdeeds, but with Nixon it seemed like he was a bit on the batty side and unable to help himself.

Hey, he played Piano, he couldn't have been all bad. Like I said, Clean air and clean water, he opened up China, detente with USSR. Look at the bright side.

Andy Alexis
Sacramento, California
"The Pearl of the Central Valley"
Buy my CDs:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/pineycreek
and
http://www.offtocalifornia.com

wormpicker - Posted - 03/06/2007:  13:29:38

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I was just teasing, but you may still be treading on thin ice with the mods...

Paul

Obsession is a great substitute for talent. -Steve Martin

ndlxs - Posted - 03/06/2007:  14:58:38

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Just wait for my next CD: Presidential Clawhammer:
White House Blues
Garfield
Booth Shot Lincoln
When Roosevelt came to the land of the humming bird
President Kennedy Blues
Cleveland's March to the White House
Washington's March

Uhhh...there has to be others...maybe some aussie bushwhackers tunes...


Andy Alexis
Sacramento, California
"The Pearl of the Central Valley"
Buy my CDs:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/pineycreek
and
http://www.offtocalifornia.com

J-Walk - Posted - 03/06/2007:  15:16:08

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Don't forget "Garfield's Blackberry Blossom." And there's a tune done by Norman Blake and Peter Ostroushko called "President Richard Milhous Nixon's Hornpipe"

RWPark - Posted - 03/06/2007:  15:59:32

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And let us also not forget Norman and Nancy Blakes -"Don't Be Afraid of the Neocons"

Rich

I prefer to resonate internally.

fretless - Posted - 03/06/2007:  16:30:35

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Originally asked by J-Walk:

Does anyone have any background on this tune? Who was the first to record it?

------------------------------------------------------

Curt Bourtese lists all of the known recordings of Nixon and Nancy on his website at http://home.earthlink.net/~curt_bouterse/id5.html

Marianne

RWPark - Posted - 03/06/2007:  18:05:48

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The folk music indexhttp://www.ibiblio.org/folkindex/n03.htm#Nixfa lists the following:
Nixon's Farewell - Bouterse, Curt C.
Boiled Buzzards. Early Bird Special, Buzzard Buz 1004, CD (1994), trk# 12
Bouterse, Curtis C.. Bouterse, Curt / Nixon's Farewell, Bouterse, Bk (198?), tune 7
Garren, Alan. Songer, Susan; & Clyde Curley (eds.) / Portland Collection. Contra..., Portland Collection, Fol (1997), p14

Rich

I prefer to resonate internally.

ballbanjos - Posted - 03/06/2007:  19:39:05

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quote:

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Just wait for my next CD: Presidential Clawhammer:
White House Blues
Garfield
Booth Shot Lincoln
When Roosevelt came to the land of the humming bird
President Kennedy Blues
Cleveland's March to the White House
Washington's March

Uhhh...there has to be others...maybe some aussie bushwhackers tunes...

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There's a good old fiddle tune called "Charles Guiteau" that needs to go up there with the Garfield tunes....

Dave

dbrooks - Posted - 03/06/2007:  20:28:48

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Dan Levenson interviewed Curt Bouterse in a recent Banjo Newsletter, but I can't find the issue. There was some mention of "Nixon's Farewell," but I don't the interview addressed all of your questions.

Maybe someone else can find the article.

David

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Edited by - dbrooks on 03/06/2007 20:50:33

J-Walk - Posted - 03/06/2007:  20:44:01

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Yeah, I saw a reference to that BNL interview. I think it was in the issue right before I started subscribing.

Clawdan - Posted - 03/06/2007:  22:01:52

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October 06. Curtis is a fascinating fellow. And yes, the Boiled Buzzards (my old band) did record several of his tunes as noted above. Actually, Nixon's Farewell ended up recorded twice (once with double fiddles) on Eat At Joe's due to an odd twist of the digital technical age. Great tune. It is also as noted, on Early Bird Special as is Waiting for Nancy. (full discography of mine is at http://www.folknet.org/dan/recordings.htm)

It was a real treat when I finally got to meet Curtis and even more so to be able to interview him.

Play nice,
Dan "Ain't no bum-diddy" Levenson
Old Time Music and Dance
www.ClawhammerBanjo.us
Author of Clawhammer Banjo From Scratch, A guide for the claw-less - a MelBay Publication
and Old Time Festival Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (MelBay 20313) - 117 tunes tabbed for clawhammer banjo with standard notation and suggested chords.
Tune list at http://www.folknet.org/dan/FestTunesBJBook.htm

fictioneer - Posted - 03/07/2007:  03:32:15

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quote:

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Originally posted by ndlxs

Just wait for my next CD: Presidential Clawhammer:
White House Blues
Garfield
Booth Shot Lincoln
When Roosevelt came to the land of the humming bird
President Kennedy Blues
Cleveland's March to the White House
Washington's March

Uhhh...there has to be others...maybe some aussie bushwhackers tunes...


Andy Alexis
Sacramento, California
"The Pearl of the Central Valley"
Buy my CDs:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/pineycreek
and
http://www.offtocalifornia.com

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"Old Abe," from Frank Proffitt's Folkways LP; it's "John Brown's Body" with satirical lyrics about Lincoln.

"Woodrow for President" from Kilby Snow's Folkways LP, though it would have to be rearranged from autoharp to banjo.

Didn't win, but there's UDM's "Governor Al Smith" -- not to mention the remake from a few years later by Blind Willie McTell, "Hillbilly Willie's Blues," which oughta go back from 12-string to banjo with no problem, since that's where it came from. (Did McTell compose this himself, or is he covering a remake that Uncle Dave performed but never recorded? I suspect the latter, with no evidence except that the song sounds 'way more like Macon than McTell and it's directly derivative of "Gov Al Smith.") There was another Al Smith song, set to "White House Blues."

Both "Enforcement Blues" (Allen Bros) and "Bay Rum Blues" (Ashley & Foster) make some sardonic Hoover references re: the 1932 election; don't know how they would adapt to clawhammer.

Going 'way back, there's "Jefferson and Liberty," which I believe was a fiddle tune to begin with. Ditto for "8th of January," for an Andrew Jackson song.

banjopogo - Posted - 03/07/2007:  18:46:49

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I was part of the Los Angeles Old Time scene between
1972 and 1976. Every year we would go down to the San Diego
Folk Festival in May. Curt Bouterse was and still is, I believe,
a San Diegan, and was always an important part of that festival.
I seem to remember "Nixon's Farewell" as being the hit jamming tune
at the San Diego Folk Festival in '74 or '75.
I know we were still playing it in L.A. in the winter of '75-'76.

A possible additional inspiration for the tune may have been
that Nixon's home was San Clemente, halfway between
San Diego and Los Angeles. So he lived right in Curt's backyard,
and ours as well.

Michael

mp3 page: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1088/
hifi radio: http://ezfolk.com/audio/play.php?mode=radio&id=481
lofi radio: http://ezfolk.com/audio/play.php?mode=radio&id=522

"We have met the Enemy, and he is us!"- Walt Kelly's "Pogo"

dbrooks - Posted - 03/08/2007:  12:20:50

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J-Walk,

I found my BNL with the interview with Curt Bourtese. Dan ahs a review of Curt's CD, "Down the Road I'll Go" and a very brief interview. Good information about Curt's past and ideas about music, but there's not much specific about his two best-known tunes: "Nixon's Farewell" and "Waiting for Nancy." Guess that's why Dan didn't mention the tunes.

David

J-Walk - Posted - 03/08/2007:  12:55:06

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I just sent an email to Curt, asking about this tune. If he replies, I'll post it here. Or, maybe he'll respond directly.

cbcarlisle - Posted - 03/17/2007:  13:08:11

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First of all, Howdy to all from a newcomer to the list. It takes a while for news to filter out to the left coast ever since the Pony Express went bust. Besides, I've always been laid back - even before I was laid off.
I wrote about the origins of Nixon's Farewell years ago in my little book and elsewhere but didn't realize people still cared. Right after the resignation in 1974 I figured something that monumental ought to be noted in music. My initial reaction was the situation resembled the old "Somebody on the Gallows" or "What'shisname's Farewell," and I played around with various Lonesome and Lone melodies without success. Then I imagined a song with the refrain, "And you won't have Old Dick Nixon to kick around anymore." [Those too young to get the reference will have to ask their elders.] Eventually I came up with this tune - and occasionally sang the "jig words": "Nixon's gone, Nixon's gone," to the ascending run: 1.3.5...6.7.8... and a high "whoo" on the next phrase. Then, "I'm so glad/sad that Nixon's gone," to the 8.1.3.5.6.7.8. phrase, with the last phrase wordless. I considered words for the A strain: "I'm not a crook, no I'm not a crook, that's just what the liberals say; But I got caught with my hand in the pot, so I better be gettin' away," but decided against it, so it's just a tune. It was played so much in the late 1970s some tired of it and I was afraid it might better be called Nixon's Revenge.
By the way, the envelope (with the 1996 Nixon stamp on it) was created by an artist from Santa Cruz. I got some made up as First Day Covers! There are other FDCs available from the Nixon Library website (not those: no sense of humor), some commemorating "the eternal optimism of America's 37th President." (A sense of irony?)
The booklet I published, "Nixon's Farewell," (with Waiting for Nancy and other tunes in it) had a blank back cover. I sent a preview copy to the Western White House in San Clemente in 1975, hoping to get even a form letter back which I could print on the reverse, in the style of Don Novello's Laszlo Toth letters (q.v.). Nary a response. I'm not sure whether they lost it, someone took it home, they filed it under C for Crackpot, or they burned it. Perhaps, someday, it will surface in the archives of the Nixon Library.
I'll close with my favorite line from the Library's website (so many choices, so little time): "For your next special event, choose the Nixon Library."
The mind boggles...
Curt Bouterse

dbrooks - Posted - 03/17/2007:  13:50:12

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Curt,

Welcome to the Hangout and thank you for that delightful background to Nixon's Farewell. (Thanks to J-Walk for taking the obvious step -- contacting Mr. Bouterse directly -- that the rest of us missed.) Your attempted correspondence with the Nixon Library is a hoot. Do you think we could schedule an oldtime jam there? "For your next special event, choose the Nixon Library."

Is your 1975 booklet still available? There might very well be a targeted audience here in the Oldtime forum.

By the way, I still have the photo of our old Sony with Nixon's visage grimly announcing his resignation.

Thanks again for joining the discussion. I hope you offer some more of your insights as you see fit.

David

cbcarlisle - Posted - 03/17/2007:  14:23:43

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Thanks. For events my first thought was a Plumbers' Union meeting [ask yr elders] but a marathon concert of political songs would be good, too. [For my booklet, see my website. I still have some "left." http://curt.bouterse.com - see under Commercial (I think).]

J-Walk - Posted - 03/17/2007:  14:39:04

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Thanks for the info, Curt, and welcome to the BHO.

With any luck, you'll have another tune-writing opportunity sometime in the next few years. The sooner the better.

rendesvous1840 - Posted - 03/17/2007:  16:33:40

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Andy, here's another one for your list "The Democratic Donkey(Is In His Stall Again)" from The Hobo's Last Ride" by Norman and Nancy Blake. You may have to wait untill next election, though. Paul

rendesvous1840

"As I see it, every newborn should be issued a banjo." .....Linus