Dixie Chicken [Archive] - Mandolin Cafe Forum

David M.

Jul-28-2005, 9:58am

I was messing w/this one yesterday. #Very fun to sing and play and do the slide guitar break using the mando.

I think I was doing it in A. #Is that the key yall do it in? #How many of yall do it?

Another great Little Feat one is "Willin'". #That's a great song.

mandobob

Jul-28-2005, 10:26am

Oh heck yeah. "A" for 'Chicken', and "G" for Willin'
Saw the guys a few years back and picked up a Barre/Tackett acoustic CD that Fred plays mandolin on for a tune or two.
They do both of these tunes on it.

berkeleymando

Jul-28-2005, 10:38am

E
I’ve seen the bright lights of Memphis
B
And the commodore hotel
B
And underneath a street lamp
E
I met a southern bell
A E
Well, she took me to the river
B
Where she cast her spell
B
And in that southern moonlight
E
She sang a song so well

E B
If you’ll be my Dixie chicken, I’ll be your Tennessee lamb
B E
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
A E
Down in Dixieland

Well, we made all the hot spots
My money flowed like wine
And that low-down Southern whiskey
It began to fog my mind
And I don’t remember church bells
Or the money I put down
On the white picket fence and boardwalk
On the house by the edge of town
Oh, but boy, do I remember
The strain of her refrain
And the nights we spent together
And the way she called my name

If you’ll be my Dixie chicken, I’ll be your Tennessee lamb
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland

It’s been a year since she ran away
Yes that guitar player sure could play
She always liked to sing along
She thought we’d end it with a song
Then one night in the lobby
Of the Commodore hotel
I chanced to meet a bartender
Who said he knew her well
And as he handed me a drink
He began to hum a song
And all the boys down at the bar
Began to sing along

WireBoy

Jul-28-2005, 11:13am

Waiting for Colombus - one of the best live albumns -- ever!

250sc

Jul-28-2005, 12:03pm

WireBoy,

I have to agree with you on that.

I originally had the album but replaced it with a cd. Unfortunately the album had a version of "Just can't stand the Rain" that isn't included on the CD. Oh well.

Being in my 50s I'm starting to relate to Old Folks Boogie.

Spruce

Jul-28-2005, 12:27pm

Here's some mandolin content for you on this one....

I've been listening lately to a cool recording of Little Feat 1/30/2004 from Negril, Jamaica, and Sam Bush sits it on the whole set....
Very entertaining, with 2 different versions of "Sailin Shoes" and the aforementioned "Dixie Chicken"....

Here's (http://featbase.net/print.asp?ID=1976) the setlist....
(And thanks to Dave Gumbart for the copy!)

I think you can download this one from Bluegrassbox.com

I saw LF quite a few times back in the day, but the one I remember the most was a Little Feat/Weather Report double bill at Winterland right around the "Waiting for Columbus" era...
Just an amazing evening....

ira

Jul-28-2005, 12:37pm

sounds incredible spruce.
i've been messing around with this one too lately!
Fatman In The Bathtub

(George)

Last Updated 07/27/96

General Rules On Chord Charts

G
D
G

G C
Spotcheck Billy got down on his hands and knees
G D G
He said "Hey momma, hey let me check your oil all right?"
C D G
She said "No, no honey, not tonight
G D G
Come back Monday, come back Tuesday, and then I might."

G D G
I said Juanita, my sweet Jaunita, what are you up to?
G
My Juanita
G D G
I said Jaunita, my sweet taquita, what are you up to?
G
My Juanita

C
Don't want nobody who won't die for dance
C
Don't want no speed cars 'cause I -- I might pass by
D
And throw me a line, throw me a dime
G D G
'Cause there's a fat man in the bathtub with the blues
G D G
I hear you moan, I hear you moan, I hear you moan -- moan

Billy he got so sad, dejected, put on his hat and start to run
Runnin' down the street yellin' at the top of his lungs (oh yeah)
All I want in this life and time is some good clean fun
All I want in this life and time is some hit and run

Said Juanita, my sweet Jaunita, what are you up to?
My Juanita
I said Jaunita, my sweet taquita, what are you up to?
My Juanita

Put my money in your meter baby so it won't run down
But you got me in a squeeze play on the cheesy side of town
Throw me a line, throw me a dime
'Cause there's a fat man in the bathtub with the blues
I hear you moan, I hear you moan, I hear you moan -- moan

David M.

Jul-28-2005, 1:53pm

Yep, G for "Willin'", though I find it a tad more comfortable singin' in A or Bb on this one. #That is, as long as you have someone who can do that high harmony thing in the chorus.

I never saw them. #Didn't Craig Fuller (Pure Prairie League/writer of Amiee) join them for a bit?

Spruce

Jul-28-2005, 1:59pm

"I never saw them. Didn't Craig Fuller (Pure Prairie League/writer of Amiee) join them for a bit? "

Yep....
Saw them once in Tahoe, and he looked a bit normal in the midst of that bunch.... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

fatt-dad

Jul-28-2005, 2:43pm

Little Feat/Weather Report double bill at Winterland right around the "Waiting for Columbus" era...
I would have loved to see that - 'cause I just love Weather Report. My one time seeing Little Feat was with Bonnie Rait and Paul Butterfield at GW in 1972 (or thereabouts).

f-d

acousticphd

Jul-28-2005, 2:51pm

I can hear a lot of cool mandolin rhythm potential on "Two Trains" - one of my favorites from the Lowell George era.

mandobob

Jul-28-2005, 3:31pm

Roll Me Easy moght do well too with some mandolin.
Hmmm, you guys are right I think Chicken might be in E...

WireBoy

Jul-28-2005, 6:47pm

Amazon.com lists #waiting for Columbus (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000631ED/103-9762058-4956612?v=glance&s=music&vi=samples#disc_1)
as an expanded double CD. #lots of extra tracks.

mando bandage

Jul-28-2005, 8:54pm

I do Dixie Chicken in G, pulled it off a "Song of the Week" tab somewhere on the net. Great tune to throw the head back and wail on.

Roll 'em Easy works well in D for me. Two of my favorite lines of hobo poetry, one which foreshadows the other:

"Eloquent profanity, it rolls right off my tongue."

and, "Gotta hoist the flag and I'll beat your drum."

Little Feat is the only band I have ever lined up before dawn to buy tix for the day they went on sale. Late 70s, Music Hall in Cleveland, 10th row center. Never seen or heard anything like it, before or since. Years later, happened to catch the first show of the comeback tour with Craig Fuller. Great show, too. Not to take anything from Fuller, but Lowell George was truly unique.

Another Feat song that works is The Fan, starts with Bb, C and G, with an F thrown in later.

Oh yeah, and Brides of Jesus off the first album.

Excuse me, I've got to go play my mandolin. Think I'll try the Fat Man in the Bathtub from earlier in this thread.

R

David M.

Jul-29-2005, 8:34am

Hmmm, you guys are right I think Chicken might be in E...

I'll try to check what key that record has it in today at lunch when I go home. That is, if I can locate the disc. I'm poorly organized. I'm thinkin' E would be awful low to sing, but that could be where it is. I was playing it the other day from a lyric sheet I printed from the web. They had it in A, but the chord placement and chords looked right, including that C, C#, up to D part. I really enjoy playing that little slide part withe the "doodoo doodoo..." in it. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

David M.

Jul-29-2005, 8:37am

In fact, here's what I was playing it from. I googled and this was the first hit. Just noticed the chord letters don't fall in the right place when I cut/paste. please note this.

A E
I've seen the bright lights of Memphis, and the Commodore Hotel
A
and underneath the streetlamp, I met a southern belle

C C# D A E
Well she took me to the river, where she cast her spell
A
and in that southern moonlight, she sang a song so well

CHORUS
E A E
If you'll be my dixie chicken, I'll be your Tenessee lamb
A E A A E A
and we can walk together down in Dixieland, down in Dixieland

Well we made all the hotspots, my money flowed like wine
and then that low-down southern whiskey, began to fog my mind

and I don't remember church bells, or the money I put down
on the white picket fence and boardwalk, of the house at the edge of town

oh but boy do I remember, the strain of her refrain
and the nights we spent together, and the way she'd call my name

CHORUS

Well it's been a year since you ran away,
yes that guitar player should could play
she always liked to sing along,
she's always handy with a song

and then one night in the lobby, yeah, of the Commodore Hotel
I chanced to meet a bartender, who said he knew her well

and as he handed me a drink, he began to hum a song
and all the boys there at the bar, began to sing along

CHORUS

mandobob

Jul-29-2005, 9:04am

I shoulda styed with my first answer!

David M.

Jul-31-2005, 1:21pm

I found the studio version and they do it in the Key of A like the tab above has. #So, the internet tab was correct for a change.

Couldn't locate my Waiting for Columbus record.

Don't matter what key it's done in, it's still a cool song.

mad dawg

Aug-01-2005, 2:04pm

Not to take anything from Fuller, but Lowell George was truly unique.
Agreed -- he was one of my early guitar heros due to his great slide style. (Come to think of it, most of my early guitar heroes played slide: Joe Walsh, Tommy Bolin, Johnny Winter, Bonny Rait...)

Eric F.

Aug-03-2005, 11:55am

Lowell was a great guitarist, great songwriter and great singer IMHO. Little Feat was THE band in the D.C. area in the mid-'70s, and I saw them every time I could. I saw his ex-Little Feat band in D.C. the night he died. I still remember the shock the next day. It seemed as if half the city was dazed by it. There's a good Jackson Browne song about it, though I can't remember the name. "They're walking slow in Austin, speechless in D.C.," is one of the lines.

Karen Kay

Aug-07-2005, 7:00pm

OK, a little trivia:
Who did Lowell George and Roy Estrada play with before Little Feat?
Bonus question:
Who played mandolin on a later album with that band?

Spruce

Aug-07-2005, 7:57pm

Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention...

And maybe Dick Fegy?

Just a guess on the second one....

"I saw his ex-Little Feat band in D.C. the night he died."

Wow...
I've heard rumors of recordings of this tragic night. #Would you happen to know anything about this?
What was the venue?
Thanks in advance...

Karen Kay

Aug-07-2005, 8:49pm

Correct on both accounts
You win a Laurel and Hardy handshake!

Eric F.

Aug-11-2005, 11:21am

Bruce, I don't know anything about recordings of that show, but I'd love to have one if it's out there. I remember thinking it was a really good band - Fred Tackett was on guitar and Lowell had a singer named Maxine (Dixon?) who could really wail. The stuff from "Thanks, I'll Eat It Here" was much better live, I thought.

The show was at George Washington University. Lisner Hall or something like that. (It's been a long time since I left D.C. and my memory ain't what it used to be.) I remember seeing Little Feat at the place a few times.

I remember WHFS the next day playing all these Little Feat songs, and the DJ saying they were in honor of "the late Lowell George" and just being stunned. My girlfriend had decided not to go since she had a new job wairessing and didn't want to ask for a night off already. I remember telling here, "Don't worry, you'll get a lot more chances to see him." Who knew?

Eric F.

Aug-11-2005, 11:22am

Hey Karen Kay, do I get a bonus prize for telling you that the album Lowell played on was "Weasels Rip My Flesh"?

Spruce

Aug-11-2005, 11:26am

Thanks for sharing that, Eric...

Yep, it was Lisner Auditorium...
I have a nice recording of Little Feat recorded in that hall.
Here tis:

Little Feat
Date: 8/8/1977# # # Location: Lisner Auditorium - Washington, DC

Setlist:

Walkin' All Night, Fat Man In The Bathtub, Red Streamliner, Oh Atlanta, Day At The Races, All That You Dream, Skin It Back*, On Your Way Down*, Time Loves A Hero > Day Or Night*, Old Folks Boogie*, Rock and Roll Doctor, Cold Cold Cold* > Dixie Chicken* > Tripe Face Boogie

Comments:
* w/ Tower Of Power Horns

Eric F.

Aug-11-2005, 11:37am

Bruce, you're welcome. I seem to recall the horns being with him that night, too, though I could be confusing it in my memory with any number of Feat shows.

Karen Kay

Aug-11-2005, 5:03pm

Bonus points for anything Zappa related! #The one and only mando song we can come up with is the cut from the Man From Utopia album "We are not alone" #with Dick Fegy playing a very simple riff but it goes to show Zappa wasn't afraid to try everything in the name of music. #Feat realeted: #my husband has every album/cd and has seen them 5-6 times in all their iterations. #Some were better than others but all were great! #Lowell George was forever restless and wrote some of the darnd'est stuff. #Teenage Nervous Breakdown has great lyrics and a kicka** beat and as we all know is "usually permanent when it takes place". # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

mando bandage

Aug-12-2005, 6:57am

Bonus points for anything Zappa related!

BTW, Camarillo Brillo makes a real nice chop chord workout, at least 4 or five shapes. Now if I can only get my bandmates to play it.

R

Eric F.

Aug-12-2005, 11:55am

Hey, there was someone named Essra Mohawk selling a bowlback on eBay forever who wanted about a zillion dollars for it cuz it supposedly had been used on a Zappa recording.

Ben Cooper

Nov-02-2013, 9:10am

this is a great thread! giving me some wonderful ideas!

Bigtuna

Nov-02-2013, 10:35am

Roll Me Easy moght do well too with some mandolin.
Hmmm, you guys are right I think Chicken might be in E...

I do Roll Me Easy in D. It works quite well. As for Two Trains I do it in Bb.

Steve Ostrander

Nov-07-2013, 12:04pm

I saw Little Feat twice back in the 70s. Awesome band. Bill Payne is the greatest R&R keyboardist ever, IMHO.

Mandotarian

Nov-07-2013, 9:17pm

Timbofood

Nov-07-2013, 9:28pm

Waiting for a haircut the other day and "Tiny Dancer" came on the radio, I hear mixed banjo roll and cross picked mandolin.... Might be fun but, shoot that tenor would be "Duffeyesque"! Might have to bring that one to the band. Hmmmm.
Sorry, no "Little Feat" content but, it just came into my head...just passin' through.

terzinator

Nov-07-2013, 10:10pm

wow. thanks for dredging this old thread up!

We do Willin' in G (sometimes we'll throw in Don't Bogart), and we're working on Dixie Chicken in A. Hope to have it ready by next gig.

Sailin' Shoes would be fun to do, too.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/10735630355_df891bb200_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/93974744@N08/10735630355/)

Michael Bridges

Nov-08-2013, 6:04am

My second night in Atlanta (1974), I got introduced to a club called "Richards", in the Ansley Park area, as I remember. It was the HOT place for touring artists to hang out in town. My first ATL show was Mother's Finest (one of the best live acts I ever saw), and Little Feat. Wasn't familiar with them at the time, but I went out and bought "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" the next day! GREAT show.

tmsweeney

Nov-08-2013, 11:18am

I always thought "skin it back" would be a good mando tune "its so easy to slip" as well

but you can go tell em anything you want to, I just don't want to talk, I just don't want talk, I just don't want to talk to him now

you were a sweet girl, when you were a cheer leader, but I think your much better now

say it ain't true it ain't true it ain't true, say it ain't true, Linda Lou!

called me up my special, friend was gone, the TV set was busted so she went along

Charlie Ayers

Nov-16-2013, 12:05am

Does anyone have a chord chart for Sam Bush's version of "Sailin' Shoes"?

mtm

Jan-06-2014, 5:42pm

Unfortunately, I was relatively young in the late 70s and had a chance to see LF in college and .... I didn't go because I had "an exam" ! I have no idea what the subject was now, but I know I blew my only chance to see Lowell.

I remember hearing an interview with the band soon after his death, and they were asked what Lowell would say to them if he had one last chance... in unison, they said he would say "#### off" and they laughed hysterically. Was Lowell cranky????

I saw a version of LF a few years later and it was terrible. They were 2hrs late and clearly quite drunk. I was so disappointed.

As a lesson in "see your favorites while you can", the Dead were closing out the '95 tour with two shows at Soldier Field, and my wife gave me grief for getting tickets to both shows ... "isn't one enough?". We went to both and of course, it was a good call. Jerry was really spotty at the end, but it still brings tears to my eyes to hear his final "So Many Roads". Sooo, whenever I mention going to a show these days, and I hear "can't we see them some other time", I just say "remember the Dead ?..."