Part 1 — XLV. THE OLD LADY AND THE JAR.
Reading edition
A old lady have two son, one name Dory Dunn an' one name Tumpa Toe, an' Tumpa Toe an' Dory Dunn is a hunter-man.
Well, they give them mumma enough things an' say:—"Mumma, I am going a wood, don' interfere with that Jar in my room."
When them gone old lady say:—"I wonder what my son have in that Jar say me no fe touch."
Old lady go an' shub him hand inside in the Jar.
The Jar hold old lady.
Old Lady say:—
[Listen] [XML]
Tumpa Toe, Lord! Dory Dunn oh, Lord!
An' the Jar say:—
[Listen] [XML]
Mumma longubelo, tum tullalullalum tum.
An' the Jar fire him from the room to the hall.
An' when him reach to the hall him say:—
"Tumpa Toe, Lord! Dory Dunn oh, Lord!"
Jar say:—
"Mumma longubelo, tum tullalullalum tum."
An' all this time the Jar holding him by the hand an' can't let him go.
An' the Jar t'row him outside a door.
When him get out a door old lady say:—
"Tumpa Toe, Lord! Dory Dunn oh, Lord!"
Jar say:—
"Mumma longubelo, tum tullalullalum tum."
Jar hold him 'till.
Jar fire him to seaside now.
An' he got one daughter a seaside.
The daughter say:—
[Listen] [XML]
Do my Jar, Do my Jar, will you save, will you save my mother life!
Jar say:—
[Listen] [XML]
Old lady touch me, old lady touch me, you never will see him no more.
The daughter say:—
[Listen] [XML]
Do my Jar, Do my Jar! I will give you some silver fe save my mother life.
Jar say:—
[Listen] [XML]
No, my gal, No, my gal, I got silver already; You never will see him no more.
The Jar fire him in a sea.
Jack Mantora me no choose none.
NOTES.
Tumpa, stump. A man who has lost his arm is called a tumpa-hand man.
enough things, plenty of things to eat.
In these curiously simple tunes, if tunes they can be called, it is most important to mark the time and to pay great attention to the lengths of the notes. To hear them sing, or rather say, "Lord!" is the most laughable thing. The first one begins on a note rather below the C of Toe, and slides downwards ending with an expiring grunt on a very low note of the voice. The second one is done in the same way, but is, all the way through, a little lower than the first. The point is to let the breath go with the sliding note instead of holding it as in singing.
longubelo. The first syllable is pronounced as in English, and the rest of the vowels are Italian, the e being rather more narrowed, but never quite reaching to the sound of bale.
tum tullalullalum tum. Strong accent on the tull and clean neatly cut syllables. Italian vowels.
mumma. The u between Italian u and Italian o.
fire him, throws her. Yet not quite "throws," for the Jar never lets her hand go. Fire 'tone is the usual expression for throwing stones. The Jar fires her first from the bedroom to the living-room (hall), next from the hall to the yard, then from the yard to the seaside, and all the time it holds her by the hand.