Luyện nghe bài hát Story of Reuben Clamzo & His Strange...

by Guthrie

Wanna hear something? You know that Indians ate
clams. They didn't linguini! And so what happened
was clams was allowed to grow unmolested in the
coastal waters of for millions of years. And
they got big, and I ain't about clams in
general, I'm talking each clam! I mean each one
was a couple of million old or older. So imagine
they could got bigger than this whole room. And
when they get that big, God gives little feet so
that they walk around easier. And when they get
feet, they get dangerous. I'm talking about
dangerous. I ain't talking sitting under the
water waiting for you. I'm talking about after
you.

Imagine being on one of them boats coming to
America, like Columbus or something, standing
there at night on watch, everyone else is either
or asleep. And you're watching for and the
boat's going up and down. And you like it anyhow.
But you gotta stand there and watch, for what. he
knows, and he ain't watching. You hear the
against the side of the ship. The moon is
going behind the clouds. You the pitter patter of
little footprints on deck. IS YOU KIDS? IT AIN'T.
MY GOD. IT'S HUMUNGUS GIANT CLAM!

Imagine those little coming on deck. A clam twice
the size of the ship. Feet first. standing
shivering with fear, you grab one of these. This
is a belaying pin. They to have these stuck in
the holes all around the ship ..you didn't
know this is for; you probably had an idea, but
you wrong. They used to have these stuck in the
holes all the sides of the ship. Everywhere.
You wouldn't know this is for unless you was that
guy night.

I mean, you'd this out of the hole, run on over
there, BAM BAM on little feet! back into the
ocean would go a hurt, but not defeated,
giant clam. Ready to again when opportunity
was better.

You know not even the coastal villages was from
them big clams. You know big clams had an inland
range of 15 miles. Think of that. I mean our
early pioneers and the settlers built houses
all up and down the coast you know. A inland
and stuff like And they didn't have houses like
we got now, with bathrooms and stuff. They built
privies out back. And at night, maybe a kid would
to go, and he'd go stomping out there in the
moonlight. And all hear for miles around...
(loud clap/belch)....one kid for America. One more
smiling, smurking, giant clam.

So Americans built forts. forts. You know them
of them forts with the wooden points all
around. You probably thought points was for Indians.
But that's stupid! 'Cause Indians know doors. But
didn't. Even if a clam knew about a door, so what?
A clam couldn't fit in a door. I mean, he'd come
up to a at night, put them feet on them points, jump
back crying, tears out of them everywhere. But
Americans couldn't live in forts forever. You
build one big fort around America. How would you go
to the

So what they did was formed groups of people. I mean
they had of people all up and down the coast form
these little alliances. up North it was call the
Clamshell Alliance. And farther South is was called
the Catfish Alliance. They had Alliances all up and
down the coast defending themselves these
threatening monsters. These giant clams. And
go out there, if there was maybe fifteen of them,
they'd be singing songs in fifteen harmony. And when
one part disappeared, that's how they where the clam
be.

Which is why Americans only sing in four harmony to
this very day. That to be too dangerous. See, what
did was they'd be singing these songs called Clam
Chanties, and they'd these big spears called clampoons.
And they'd be up and down the beach and the method
eventually devised where they'd have this guy, the
most heavy duty true blue American, courageous
type dude they could find and they'd have him out
walking up and down the beach by with other chicken
dudes hiding behind the dunes somewhere.

He'd be the verses. They'd be singing the chorus.
And clams hear 'em. And clams hate music. So clams
would come out of the water and come after this one
guy. And all see pretty soon was flying all over,
the sand flying


FINALLYTHEMANWOULD over a big sand dune, roll over
the side, the clam would come the dune, fall in the
hole and fourteen guys would come out and stab the
shit out of him their clampoons.

That's the way it was. That was one way to with them.
The way was to weld two clams together. l don't
believe it. I'm it. Hey. What can you do. Another
shot to hell.

Hey, this was serious back then. This was serious.
I these songs now are just piddley folk songs. But
then these songs were controversial. These was
radical, almost revolutionary songs. Because was
different and was a threat to America. That's right.
So we want to sing this tonight about the one last...
You see what they did was was one man, he was one
of these men, his will always be remembered, his
name was Reuben Clamzo, and he was one of the great
clam men there was. He stuck the last clam stab,
the last clampoon into the last clam was ever seen
on continent.

Knowing he would be out of in an hour. He did it
anyway so that you and me could go to the in
relative safety. right. Made America safe for the
likes of you and me. And so we sing this in his
memory. He went whaling like most of them guys did.
And he got out of when he died. You know, clams was
more dangerous than whales. Clams can run in the
water, on the water or on the ground, and are so big
sometimes that they can and they can spread their
kinda shells and kinda almost fly one of them flying
squirrels.

You be standing there thinking that your perfectly
and all of a sudden WHOP....That's ' true...And so
this is the of this guy by the name of Reuben Clamzo,
and the song takes place right after he this clam
and the clam was, going through kinda death dance
over on the side somewhere. The song there and he
goes into whaling and takes you the I next...

I sing the of the guy on the beach by himself. I go
like this: "Poor old Clamzo" and you go "Clamzo Boys,
Clamzo". That's the of the fourteen chicken dudes over
on the other side. That's what used to sing. They'd be
these clams out of the water. Like taunting them,
making fun of them. Clams would get real mad and out.

Here we go. I you to sing it in case you ever have an
occasion to join an Alliance. You know some of these
are still around. Still defending America against
things like them clams. If you ever wants to one, now
you have some historic background. So you where these
guys are coming from. It's not some 60's movement or
something, these things go a long time.

the distinction you're going to have to make now
between the first and easy "Clamzo Clamzo" and the
more complicated "Clamzo Me Clamzo". Stay serious.
songs are serious. That's what Pete Seeger told me.
"Arlo I only want to tell you one thing...folk are
serious". I "right". Let's do it in C for Clam...
do it in B...for boy that's a big clam... Iet' s do
it in G for Gee, I hope that big clam see me. Let's
do it in F...for he sees me. do it back in A...for A
clam is coming. Better get song done quick. The Story
of Reuben Clamzo and His Daughter in the Key of A.

1. Oh poor old Reuben
(I) Clamzo boys
Oh poor old Reuben
(II) me boys Clamzo

2. Oh, was no sailor
(Clamzo Clamzo) (Refrain I)
So they shipped him on a
(Clamzo me Clamzo) (Refrain II)

3. Because he was no (Ref. I)
He not do his duty (Ref. II)

4. he was so dirty (Ref. I)
We him five and thirty (Ref. II)

5. Oh Clamzo's daughter (Ref. I)
She her dad for mercy (Ref. II)

6 She brang him wine and (Ref. I)
And a bit than she oughta (Ref. II)

7 he got his seaman's papers (Ref. I)
He's a terror to the (Ref. II)

8.And he sails where 'er the whalefish (Ref I)
As the bastard on the go (Ref. II)

9 Oh poor old Clamzo (Ref. I)
Oh poor old Reuben (Ref. II)