Lyrics:
I Guess I'll Have To Telegraph My Baby [Version (a)]:
A coon, he left his happy home to go upon the stage
He joined a colored minstrel trouble, he thought he'd be the rage
He left the nicest little gal in Memphis Tennessee
And just because an actor man this coon desired to be
He thought he was a corker, that Williams and Walker
Would soon have to take off their hats and salaam!
In a town they landed, troupe disbanded, coons all stranded empty-handed
Big black actor said to him "What will you do now Sam?"
He signed and cried and then he replied
Well I guess I'll have to telegraph my baby
I need the money bad, indeed I do
For Lucy is a very generous lady
I can always touch her for a few
I find the Western Union a convenience
No matter where I roam
I'll telegraphy my baby
She'll send ten or twenty maybe
Then I won't have to walk back home
He telegraphed and waited for an answer all in vain
He didn't get no reply, at all, the coon near went insane
He tried to jump his hotel bill, the landlord had him clinched
The bellboy got the sheriff and they had this darkey pinched
In a cell, he was a-walkin', to himself, he was a-talkin'
Said he, "No more troupin', or travelin' in mine"
Before the judge, he had to trudge, he didn't budge
The landlord's grudge brought sentence of two years in jail or twenty dollars fine
He sighed and cried and then he replied
Well I guess I'll have to telegraph my baby
I need the money bad, indeed I do
For Lucy is a very generous lady
I can always touch her for a few
I find the Western Union a convenience
No matter where I roam
I'll telegraphy my baby
She'll send ten or twenty maybe
Then I won't have to walk back home
A coon, he left his happy home to go upon the stage
He joined a colored minstrel trouble, he thought he'd be the rage
He left the nicest little gal in Memphis Tennessee
And just because an actor man this coon desired to be
He thought he was a corker, that Williams and Walker
Would soon have to take off their hats and salaam!
In a town they landed, troupe disbanded, coons all stranded empty-handed
Big black actor said to him "What will you do now Sam?"
He signed and cried and then he replied
Well I guess I'll have to telegraph my baby
I need the money bad, indeed I do
For Lucy is a very generous lady
I can always touch her for a few
I find the Western Union a convenience
No matter where I roam
I'll telegraphy my baby
She'll send ten or twenty maybe
Then I won't have to walk back home
He telegraphed and waited for an answer all in vain
He didn't get no reply, at all, the coon near went insane
He tried to jump his hotel bill, the landlord had him clinched
The bellboy got the sheriff and they had this darkey pinched
In a cell, he was a-walkin', to himself, he was a-talkin'
Said he, "No more troupin', or travelin' in mine"
Before the judge, he had to trudge, he didn't budge
The landlord's grudge brought sentence of two years in jail or twenty dollars fine
He sighed and cried and then he replied
Well I guess I'll have to telegraph my baby
I need the money bad, indeed I do
For Lucy is a very generous lady
I can always touch her for a few
I find the Western Union a convenience
No matter where I roam
I'll telegraphy my baby
She'll send ten or twenty maybe
Then I won't have to walk back home
The Song:
In order for it to feel more authentic, Beck filled out his Song Reader book with fragments of songs and melodies, as well as fictional album collections and song titles. "I Guess I'll Have To Telegraph My Baby" can be found on the album, Hymns For Him.
While a lot of the song titles on Hymns are made-up jokes, some are references to older sheet music/songs. This one refers to a song from 1898, a racist "coon song," that also seems to be an advertisement for Western Union.
In order for it to feel more authentic, Beck filled out his Song Reader book with fragments of songs and melodies, as well as fictional album collections and song titles. "I Guess I'll Have To Telegraph My Baby" can be found on the album, Hymns For Him.
While a lot of the song titles on Hymns are made-up jokes, some are references to older sheet music/songs. This one refers to a song from 1898, a racist "coon song," that also seems to be an advertisement for Western Union.