Well, I’m working late on accounts culling, which means I’m sending accounts deletion notices to users who in theory have left Caltech and who are no longer entitled to their email accounts.
I’m listening to The Weavers, singing heartily… So long, it’s been good to know you…
The Weavers were a wonderful group back in the 1940s and 1950s until three of the four were blacklisted and driven off the popular scene… Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman and Ronnie Gilbert are awesome to listen to and made beautiful music.
So Long (It’s Been Good To Know Yuh) — Originally by Woody Guthrie, this version of the lyrics modified by Guthrie and The Weavers in 1951
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
and I’ve got to be drifting along
I’ve sung this song, but I’ll sing it again
Of the people I’ve met, and the places I’ve been
Some of the troubles that bothered my mind
And a lot of good people that I’ve left behind, singin’
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
And I’ve got to be drifting along
The sweethearts they sat in the dark and they sparked
They hugged and they kissed in that dusty old dark
They sighed and they cried and they hugged and they kissed
But instead of marriage, they call it like this
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
And I’ve got to be drifting along
I went to your family, I asked them for you
They all said take her, oh, take her please do
She can’t cook or sew and she won’t scrub your floor
So I put on my coat, tiptoed out the door, singin’
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
And I’ve got to be drifting along
I walked down the street to the grocery store,
It was crowded with people, both rich and both poor
I asked the man how his butter was sold
He said one pound of butter for two pounds of gold. I said
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
And I’ve got to be drifting along
My telephone rang, and it jumped off the wall
That was the preacher a’ making a call
He said we’re waitin’ to tie the knot
You’re gettin’ married, believe it or not
Well the church it was jammed, the church it was packed
The pews were from crowded from the front to the back
A thousand friends waited to kiss my new bride
But I was so anxious, I rushed her outside, told ‘em
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
And I’ve got to be drifting along
For more information about Woody Guthrie (who once put a sticker on his guitar saying “this weapon kills fascists”), The Weavers, and Lead Belly, see:
Look ‘em up on Amazon or your favorite used CD supplier, folks. They’re great, and their struggle to perform their music has lessons for all of us, now and forever.