The Dutch name Donderbeck
is a pun, roughly translating as "Thunder Maw." The
butcher, apparently, is a loud belcher.
Joe Offer at the
Digital Tradition Folk Song Database forum found a reference
in Fuld's Book of World-Famous Music: "The words
appeared in Our Own Boys Songster (New York, NY, 1876),
p. 6, under the title "Dunderbeck's Machine," to the
"Air-Thomas's Machine." "Dunderbeck's Machine"
is there said to be "By Ed. Harrigan," but this might
also mean "sung by" Ed. Harrigan... The music and words
of "Dunderbeck" appear in Carmina Princetonia...copyrighted
May 16, 1894."
Another forum member says that Cray writes
in The Erotic Muse: "... the tune [Gambolier] appeared
in "Carmina Yalensis" in 1873, and "three years
later was borrowed by vaudevillian Ed Harrigan for a textually
unrelated comic stage song, 'Dunderbeck.'" Don't be surprised
by this source; the Ives' Gambolier was often adapted for use
in bawdy stage versions.
Many Scout songbooks suggest using "The
Laughing Policeman" (for which the Library
of Congress has sheet music from 1894), but from what I have
seen "Son of a Gambolier" by Charles Ives (1895) seems
to be the most often used. The Archive has a MIDI
recording that uses yet another tune. |
There was a strange old butcher, his name
was Dunderbeck.
He was very fond of sausage-meat, and sauerkraut and speck.
He had the finest butcher shop, the finest ever seen,
Until one day he invented his wonderful sausage machine...
Chorus:
Oh Dunderbeck, Oh Dunderbeck!
How could you be so mean?
I told you you'd be sorry for
inventing that machine.
For all the neighbor's dogs and cats
will never more be seen;
They'll all be ground to sausage meat
in Dunderbeck's machine!
One day a very little girl came walking in the store.
She ordered up some sausage meat and eggs, a half a score.
And while she stood a-waiting she whistled up a tune,
And the sausage meat it started up and danced around the room!
Oh, Dunderbeck, Oh, Dunderbeck! How could you be so mean?
I told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.
For all the neighbor's dogs and cats will never more be seen;
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine!
Once day when he was working the machine it would not go.
So Dunderbeck, he climbed inside to see what made it so.
His wife she had a night-mare and came walking in her sleep;
She gave the crank a heck of a yank, and Dunderbeck was meat!
Oh, Dunderbeck, Oh, Dunderbeck! How could you be so mean?
I told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.
For all the neighbor's dogs and cats will never more be seen;
They'll all be ground to sausage meat in Dunderbeck's machine! |