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The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925​-​1930)

by Li'l Andy

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Deluxe box-set, including two 180-gram vinyls, 130-page companion novel, digital downloads, and postcard.

    Limited to a special edition of 200 copies.

    Packaged in a 12.5” x 12.5” x 0.75” custom-made box with vintage-inspired paper sleeves made by G.F. Smith in Hull, England.

    180-gram black vinyls manufactured by Precision Pressing, Toronto, ON. Lacquers cut by GZ Media, Czech Republic.

    Novel printed by Imprimerie Gauvin, Gatineau, QC on 55lbs Enviro-naturel paper with matte finish.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925-1930) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    edition of 200 

      $80 CAD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 7 Li'l Andy releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925-1930), All The Love Songs Lied To Us, While the Engines Burn, ...Sings "The Shigawake Song", All Who Thirst Come to the Waters, Home in Landfill Acres, and Tombstones & Arcades. , and , .

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1.
(Spoken introductory patter by Al Buschenberg) Come one, come all to the doctor This here’s Hezzy Procter Just come right on in The show’s about to begin We got Daddy Stovepipe Pink Anderson too And nine Spanish dancing girls Dancing the scoodle-oo Old Brother Lance , if you give him a chance will shimmy like he’s shakin’ from the St. Vitus Dance And I say, “Hail, hail, step right up And get yourself a remedy!” (instrumental) And I say, “Hail, hail, step right up And get yourself a remedy!”  
2.
Went out last night to the crib-house down the street Went out last night to the crib-house down the street Went out last night to the crib-house down the street (O LORD!) And my good gal stung me with the sweetest stingaree Ran to the doctor, boy I ran down fast Ran to the doctor, boy I ran down fast (O LORD) He said: “There’s something wrong with your yas yas yas” Oh we sure did have a time How’d I know that gal o’ mine? She’s good-lookin’, but it is disease (?) Oh she done that little snake hip But then she gave me the drip Now the chills are overtakin’ me (instrumental) He took one look and I’ll tell you what he said He took one look and I’ll tell you what he said He took one look and I’ll tell you what he said (O LORD) He said “You got a hot tamale from sleeping in that woman’s bed” Now, some folks say that the crib-house drip ain’t bad Well, some folks say that the crib-house drip ain’t bad (O Lord) It must not have been the crib-house drip they had Oh we sure did have a time How’d I know that gal o’ mine? She’s good-lookin’, but she’s got disease Oh she done that little snake hip But then she gave me the drip Now the chills are overtakin’ me
3.
I had a gal, a little pal She was so sweet to start Then things got bad She’s always getting mad I knew someday we’d have to part Well, she blew her top today Because I came home with the wrong bouquet Gonna tell her that I’m gone Put it in a song And this is what I’m gonna say: I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you Who’s not so full o’ spite There was so much nastiness I had ignored Cuz that woman’s built just like a V-8 Ford I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right When we get to the preacher and he says, “Do you do?” I might just say, “I might!” And when I get her home after the honeymoon Neighbours start to bang the ceiling with a broom I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right She’s gonna do all the things you used to do When we put out the light Gonna greet her in the morning with a red, red rose Take her to the pictures and buy her clothes I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right (instrumental) I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right A cute li’l puppy just like you With less bark in her bite And you can get jealous of the gal I found Come around a-sniffin’ like a Bassett hound I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right I’m gonna find a big leg woman who Would rather dance than fight And when you see her steppin’ at the Lindy hop Boy, you know that woman’s rooster just don’t stop I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right And when you see us dancin’ at The Cotton Bale : “Boy that woman surely does a fine fishtail !” I’m gonna find a new sweetheart just like you But one that treats me right But one that treats me right
4.
I See Jesus Coming Down the Road Through this wide and wicked world, I’m bound to wander On the highway, only darkness can I see When I close my eyes to rest upon the journey I see Jesus coming down the road to me Everytime I close my eyes, I see the Saviour He will lift my heavy load Everytime I close my eyes, I see Jesus I see Jesus coming down the road She was all the light I’d known in this cold world And she left me on this road to die alone The crows call out my name beyond the shadows The stars in heaven are all turned to stone Everytime I close my eyes, I see the Saviour He will lift my heavy load Everytime I close my eyes, I see Jesus I see Jesus coming down the road  
5.
My brother and I took an evening walk By the banks where the Hiwassee flows; Where the water rolls over the rounded rocks And the wild trout lily grows. He said, “My dear brother, forsake me not— Redemption for me is too late. Not even the blood on the Saviour’s hands Can save me from my fate!” He said, “I must tell of my sweetheart— Her name is Jennie Blythe. The prettiest girl in all Hayesville town She said she’d one day be my bride. I rode on the train to Hayesville Point To ask for my sweet Jennie’s hand. There at the depot stood Jennie dear A-kissin’ another man. (instrumental) That night as we walked o’er the ‘Wasee bridge, We kissed in the soft moonlight. She cried, ‘Oh Willie, scorn me not: Make me an honest wife.’ I choked her with my trembling hands; My sweet Jennie fought for her breath. Then I threw her into the river To die a sinner’s death.” (instrumental) My brother knelt down on the ground, My tears begun to flow. He plucked a lily from the ground, And onto the bridge he did go. He said, “Tell poor Jennie’s father How sorry I am for him; And tell our aging mother I stumbled and could not swim.” He leapt into the river, The waters pulled him down. Through rocks and raging rapids, He did not make a sound. I cannot tell my family, How our dear brother died— He’s floating on the river With his darling Jennie Blythe.
6.
There’s a reckoning that’s coming There’ll be lightning in the sky When the thunder starts a-drummin’ And we’re headed to the by and by And on that Judgement morning Tell me where you stand? With the scabs and the police Or here beside your fellow man? When the fire comes down (when the fire comes down) When the fire comes down (when the fire comes down) It will wash my sins away (my sins away) When the fire comes down (when the fire comes down) When the fire comes down (when the fire comes down) And the (rich man’s made to pay) We’re in the mill a-workin’ Unpacking all the cotton bales To the sound of looms & spindles Weighin’ them upon the scales When Saint Michael comes in glory For the weighing of the souls Where the boss men hang in the balance Will weigh upon their souls  
7.
O my darling one, see the setting sun Close its eye upon the day Come down to the shore, I will row the oars As we glide upon our way A melancholy tune, is beaming from the moon O tonight could bring such bliss There always is a chance, for wooing and romance On a summer night like this Strum your mandolin, it is not a sin To accept a tender kiss There always is a chance for wooing and romance On a summer night like this  
8.
‘Twas on a Sunday morning, the sabbath prayers done 300 little children went to the Nickleodeon They thought they’d enjoy the frolics Of a movie matinee They could not know they all would die In the Palace Theater blaze ‘Twas 18-year-old Davey Hayes Who first did sense the heat. 300 children screamed aloud And jumped up to their feet 300 little children fell And tumbled in the scrape 300 little children ran To the only fire escape Who is the man who lit the match And watched the flames grow high? Who is the man responsible For the Palace Theater Fire? (instrumental) Who can tell the dreadful scene At the movie theatre door? Young ones fell, crushed underfoot And trampled on the floor They cry for dad and mother But their little lungs are choked And the movie flickers on the screen Behind the rising smoke ‘Twas Constable Al Arpin Who first came on the scene He heard a voice he recognized Amid the cries and screams He ran into the theater dark And found there at his feet The body of his youngest child— His daughter Emily Who is the man who lit the match And watched the flames grow high? Who is the man responsible For the Palace Theater Fire? (instrumental) Somewhere beyond this tragic scene Is a man who sees the flames That rise out from the theatre doors— And no one knows his name He watches as the firemen Bring buckets filled with sand And walks out through the gathering crowd A matchbook in his hand
9.
There’s a dandy book today where you write and send away For anything that you’ll find at the cottage store Be it a brand-new Meerschaum pipe Or acetylene headlights Or a readymade, gingham pinafore In the Roebuck Catalogue, in the Roebuck Catalogue Buy a dolly for baby and feed for the hog In the Roebuck Catalogue In the Roebuck Catalogue, in the Roebuck Catalogue Buy some phonograph records, a choke for the dog In the Roebuck Catalogue. (instrumental) If you need an atomizer, or a new meat tenderizer Or a dress that is not sewn from flour sacks (laughter) With the Neighbour Order Plan You can stock up on good brands And save yourself the freight & handling tax In the Roebuck Catalogue, in the Roebuck Catalogue Get a gold ear trumpet and feed for the hog In the Roebuck Catalogue In the Roebuck Catalogue, in the Roebuck Catalogue Get your brand of plug tobacco, a choke for the dog In the Roebuck Catalogue (instrumental) (Spoken, by Buschenberg): Now the leg of Uncle Norm was blown off in the German War We couldn’t find a peg that fit him right So we put an order in For an artificial limb And now he’ll dance a jig most every night! (Hurray!) In the Roebuck Catalogue, in the Roebuck Catalogue Get some desiccated coconut and feed for the hog In the Roebuck Catalogue In the Roebuck Catalogue, in the Roebuck Catalogue Get a Supertone banjo, a choke for the dog In the Roebuck Catalogue.  
10.
We was ballin’ the jack and we was having a time I was walking the track with a friend of mine When the 5:19 came a-rollin’ along I was eatin’ a bun and singing my song It went: “Ha, Oh I confess! Meet me Saturday night In a gingham dress In a gingham dress” [Get?] a weaning pig and shave off his brits Get a real good fire going in your spit Get some barbecue sauce and paint it on You’ll have some sucklin’ meat before too long I said, Ha, Lord I confess! Meet me Saturday night In a gingham dress In a gingham dress (instrumental) (repeat chorus) When the sun goes down and it’s a Saturday night We go dancin’ by the coal-oil lights We put the radio on, we [sweep?] off the porch We’ll have a cakewalk down at Brockman’s store I said, Ha, Lord I confess! Meet me Saturday night (Yeah!) In a gingham dress In a gingham dress  
11.
12.
Introductory comedic sketch. Spoken between Hezekiah and Jeremiah Procter. (Imitation car noises, engines, etc.) Hezekiah: “Hey there Jeremiah, what’s that comin’ into my yard, scarin’ off all of my hogs, then?” Jeremiah: “Why I’m glad you asked, Hezekiah, this is my gasoline-burning automobile!” Get out your Studebaker, Model T Anywhere you wanna be Get out on the road, oh, the highway is your oyster If you wanna buy a lean machine Really burns the gasoline Keep your engine nice & clean Get yourself a Wolverine Or better yet, a big old Lexington Roadster If you got a little plan Get yourself a Cole sedan There’s alotta folks today [That] really like a Chevrolet But if it rolls, then it’s the car for me. Get behind the wheel (Wheel wheel wheel…) Of an automobile (beal, beal, beal…) I’ve got a feel (feel, feel, feel?...) For the automobile Well, my old folks live sorta far We take a ride in my motor car What a deal! In the automobile (instrumental) Pack up your Palomino pony rides Get on up and climb inside Put yourself in gear and We will roll the top back (roll it on back!) Wanna trade your Model A For a shiny Ford coupé Take ‘er for a drive today Come and listen what I say She’ll beat the lot at any county racetrack You can drive a country mile In the very latest style There’s alotta folks today That really like a Chevrolet But if it rolls, then it’s the car for me Get behind the wheel (Wheel wheel wheel…) Of an automobile (beal, beal, beal…) I’ve got a feel (feel, feel, feel...) For the automobile My old folks live sorta far We take a ride in my motor car What a deal! In the automobile (Get back there, Mack!)
13.
It was on a Sunday evening, The clock was striking nine, The crowd round the counter in Kendall’s barroom Was low-down and feelin’ fine. When in walked a handsome stranger— He stood a good six feet pat— He brushed the snow from the lapels of his swallow-tail coat And he doffed his Derby hat. And he sat by a yellow-haired lady, He looks into the mirror and winks, He says, “Someone in this bar might be killed tonight!” Then he paid for a round of drinks. He says, “My name? My name is Rudy Baron. I used to ride the Queen & Crescent And that A&V line. Last night, I wined the Governor’s wife in a first-class dining car But tomorrow morning, that’s when I ride the blinds.” He said he’d gambled in old Monte Carlo. He’d spent most of his life on the lam, Since the night he stuck his pearl-handled razoo On a bailiff in Birmingham So he ran rum down in Havana, Says, “Those boys ain’t caught up with me yet! Why, if I hadn’t cut that cop I’d never made the front page Of the National Police Gazette.” And he says, “It’s not my way to preach, boys. But let me give you a bit of advice: If you got a sweetheart, don’t leave her to the wolves And take to the rambling life!” He says, “My name? My name is Rudy Baron. I’m the man who robbed the Southern Trust— I never lost a bet. But now there’s nothing in this world I own But a dusty old suit of clothes And now I come home to make good on a debt.” He chewed on his plug o’ tobacky, Says, “Boys, let me bid you farewell.” And when he hit the brass spittoon on the barhouse floor, It rang out like a mission bell. Rudy walked slow to the doorway when a single shot cracked through the air. Then he fell to his knees and he uttered a curse On the gal with the yellow hair. In her hand was an Owl’s Head pistol— She shivered and started to weep, As the life from the body or Rudy Baron Poured out onto Waterfront Street.  
14.
There’s a day that is coming when Saint Michael spreads his wing(s) And the angels sound their trumpets and the hallelujahs ring On that resurrection morning, we’ll meet our savior there When all God’s children meet Him in the middle of the air O joy of joys, O joy of joys, O joy of joy of joys O joy of joys, O joy of joys, O joy of joy of joys And when we meet our savior we shall make a joyful noise O joy of joys, O joy of joys, O joy of joy of joys (instrumental) There the rich man cannot enter with all his earthly store Lest he trade all of his riches for the blessings of the poor The men who own the factories will know it is too late When they see the poor and injured pass inside the pearly gate O joy of joys, O joy of joys, O joy of joy of joys O joy of joys, O joy of joys, O joy of joy of joys And when we meet our savior we shall make a joyful noise O joy of joys, O joy of joys, O joy of joy of joys
15.
16.
That which you do (do, do, do, do, doooo) to the least of these, my brothers You do unto me (unto me) That which you do (do, do, do, do, doooo) to the least of these, my brothers You do unto me On the road to Jericho (co, co, co, co, oooo), a certain man did travel And fell among thieves (among thieves) A stranger took him in (in, in, in, in, ooooo) and ministered unto him He was passed by the Levite and the priest That which you do (do, do, do, do, doooo) to the least of these, my brothers You do unto me (unto me) That which you do (do, do, do, do, oooo) to the least of these, my brothers You do unto me (instrumental) In this hard and heavy world (world, world, world, world, world, ooooo) Many are the fallen who lie at our feet (at our feet) Ask of yourself (self, self, self, self, self, ooooo) who may be your neighbor He may be lying in the street That which you do (do, do, do, do, doooo) to the least of these, my brothers You do unto me (unto me) That which you do (do, do, do, do, oooo) to the least of these, my brothers You do unto me  
17.
And when those days are come to pass The dead shall walk again And tombs relieved of all their store Shall echo in His name (instrumental) “I am not come to bring you peace, But come to bring a sword” So spoke our loving Jesus Christ, Our meek and mild Lord
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about

"The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925 - 1930)" is an experimental recording project and novel by acclaimed Montreal songwriter Li'l Andy.

Each song was recorded simultaneously by two separate recording machines: a Webster-Chicago wire recorder, made in 1937, and a Tascam 38 half-inch tape machine.

The wire recorder renders the performances in the same fidelity that you might find on 78rpm records from the 1920s and 30s--the sound associated with early jazz, old-time, blues and country recordings.

The analog tape machine renders the performances with the greater clarity associated with modern studio production.

The album is a compilation box-set of the complete recordings of an entirely fictional singer from the 1920s: Hezekiah Procter — the kind of untrained, hell-raising and tempestuous personality that enlivened country music in its early days, like Jimmie Rodgers, Charlie Poole or Clayton McMichen.

The companion novel to this album, which chronicles the "life story" of Hezekiah Procter" is available from Blue Leaf Press and available in the merch section of this Bandcamp page.

credits

released March 17, 2022

All songs written by Li'l Andy*

Wire recorder engineering by Ben Caissie
Tape engineering by Ben Caissie and Joe Grass
Tape transfers by Zac DeCamp
Mastering by Ryan Morey
Tintype portraits by Paul Elter
Lettering and illustration by Julia Narveson
Book and album design by Trevor Browne


*except “Dr Kerr’s Ballyhoo” music by George L. Cobb (“Alabama Jubilee”), lyrics by Andrew McClelland, published by Warner Music Inc.; “(I’ve Got Those) Lovesick Blues” by Cliff Friend and Irving Mills, published by Mills Music Inc.; “God of My Life” music by Timothy Swan, lyrics by Isaac Watts, with additional lyrics by Andrew McClelland

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Li'l Andy Montréal, Québec

"This is roots-based Americana that actually deserves to be made."—The Village Voice

"Montreal's greatest country songwriter today."--Pop Montreal

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