Ol’
Sud Bell---------------------------------------------------------
The Bob Zentz Songbook
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Ol’
Sud Bell
From Horizons
Music and lyrics © 1999, 2010 Bob Zentz
1.
Eastern Shore, Virginia, long time ago
Out
on Hog Island lived a man you should-a known
Always
wore suspenders, hip boots as well
A
voice like a barn door had Ol’ Sud Bell!
Ol’ Sud Bell, Ol’ Sud Bell
Sittin’ on the porch of the Wachapreague Hotel
Pickin’ on the banjo, he played it rather well
Gone but not forgotten, is Ol’ Sud Bell!
2.
The Bells lived in Wachapreague when prohibition came
A
still in the attic was their claim to fame
And
down in the kitchen, two faucets in a line
The
cold ran cold and the hot ran ‘shine (chorus)
3.
At the Red Onion, in Broadwater town
Sud
played the banjo while the people danced around
Charlie
Doughty bowed the fiddle for the square dance tunes
Then
they’d slip around the back for a little sip of moon-shine
(chorus)
4.
Along with Sud and Charlie, playin’ in the band
Was
Whistlin’ John Melvin, the “squeeze-box man”
Didn’t
read no music, knew ‘em all by heart!
Once,
he opened up the bellows and the damn thing fell apart!
(chorus)
5.
Rich folks from the cities would come to Wachapreague
For
fishin’ and for huntin’, perhaps to dance a jig
While
someone cleaned their flounder (‘cause they didn’t like the smell)
They
would frolic to the music of Ol’ Sud Bell
(chorus)
6.
Walter P. Chrysler said, “Sud, come go
Up
to New York City, you’ll put on a little show”
In
the middle of the show, Sud opened up his case ...
And
diamondback terrapins crawled all over the place!
(chorus)
7.
Up in Philadelphia, he did a concert there
For
the man-u-facturers of ladies’ underwear
They
sent his wife some samples he could carry home that day
So
underneath his clothes he wore the ladies’ lingerie …!
(chorus)
8.
Ol’ Sud Bell, I’ve heard tell
If
he isn’t up in heaven, then he’s pickin’ down in hell
Never
known to end a song, and his song never will!
Long
as folks keep tellin’ stories ‘bout Ol’ Sud Bell!
(chorus)
Ol’ Sud Bell, Ol’ Sud Bell
The songs he would sing and the stories he would tell
Gone like the spray on a cold Atlantic swell
The last Hog islander was Ol’ Sud Bell
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