Happy Birthday To You-In Honor Of The 100th Anniversary Of The Founding of The Communist International-From The Archives- *The Nitty- Gritty Folk (Oops) Jazz Voice Of Dave Van Ronk- The Traditional Blues Tune “Cocaine Blues”

Happy Birthday To You-

By Lester Lannon

I am devoted to a local folk station WUMB which is run out of the campus of U/Mass-Boston over near Boston Harbor. At one time this station was an independent one based in Cambridge but went under when their significant demographic base deserted or just passed on once the remnant of the folk minute really did sink below the horizon.

So much for radio folk history except to say that the DJs on many of the programs go out of their ways to commemorate or celebrate the birthdays of many folk, rock, blues and related genre artists. So many and so often that I have had a hard time keeping up with noting those occurrences in this space which after all is dedicated to such happening along the historical continuum.

To “solve” this problem I have decided to send birthday to that grouping of musicians on an arbitrary basis as I come across their names in other contents or as someone here has written about them and we have them in the archives. This may not be the best way to acknowledge them, but it does do so in a respectful manner.   

Click on title to link to the late folk singer/historian Dave Van Ronk performing in his patented nitty-gritty manner the old World War I era “Cocaine Blues”. Dave insisted, right up until the end on both his last CD (…and the tin can bended, and the story ended) and DVD concert ("Dave Van Ronk At The Bottom Line In 2001”) that he was informed by jazz and considered himself a jazz vocalist. You be the judge, folk or jazz. This ain’t no opera singer though, right?

Cocaine Blues

Every time my baby and me we go uptown,
Police come in and knock me down.
Cocaine all around my brain.

Hey baby, better come here quick,
This old cocaine is ‘bout to make me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.

Yonder come my baby, she's dressed in red,
She's got a shot-gun,
Says she's gonna kill me dead.
Cocaine all around my brain.

Hey baby, better come here quick,
This old cocaine ‘bout to make me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.
(Instrumental Bridge #1)

You take Sally, an’ I’ll take Sue,
Ain't nah difference between the two.
Cocaine all around my brain.

Hey baby, you better come here quick,
This old cocaine ‘bout to make me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.
(Instrumental Bridge #2)


Cocaine's for horses and it's not for men,
Doctor said it kill you, but he didn’t say when.
Cocaine all around my brain.

Hey baby, you better come here quick,
This old cocaine ‘bout to make me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.

Hey baby, you better come here quick,
This old cocaine ‘bout to make me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.