# A funny funny riddle.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 24, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029 "2006-08-24T12:52:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/21 "2006-08-24T16:22:21Z")
“Ain’t much an old country boy like me can’t hack”
Oh yes, people, if I’m gonna have this stuck in my head for the rest of the day, you _will_ sing the line correctly.
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### Author:  [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/22 "2006-08-24T16:32:13Z")
> [@dropzone](#):
>
> Yes.
Sorry.
No.
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/23 "2006-08-24T16:33:19Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> You may or may not know this, but at Orioles games, during the seventh inning stretch, after playing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, they play “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver.
I did know that.
> [@](#):
>
> Addendum:
> I was at a game once where John Denver was actually there. When they played Country Boy he got on the dugout and stomped and clapped. . .in time. This was before he died.
Me, too. I waved at you, but you ignored me.
😉
(I really was there at a game when John Denver sang on the dugout. He danced with the Oriole Bird. I think he was there a couple of times. I saw him for one of the ‘83 World Series games when we kicked the Phillies’ butts.)
Oh, and the reason they’re all clapping off-beat is because they’re all drunk on $7 Natty Bohs.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/24 "2006-08-24T16:35:17Z")
[QUOTE=TrunkI was at a game once where John Denver was actually there. When they played Country Boy he got on the dugout and stomped and clapped. . .in time. This was before he died.[/QUOTE]
What kind of scary-ass concerts do you go to?
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### Author:  [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/25 "2006-08-24T16:44:28Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> The thing is, more than in any other song I ever hear in public, people are clapping on the wrong beat.
Well, they’re not clapping on the “wrong” beat. They’re clapping on the [_back_ beat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_beat):
> [@](#):
>
> In music a back beat (or “the off-beat”, “the up-beat”)) is any of the even “beats” (eg, quarter beats 2 and 4) as opposed to the odd downbeats, (eg quarter beats 1 and 3), which are called downbeats because the conductor normally points his stick down.
And my recollection is that people are clapping on the backbeat in the live version of the song, too, but I might be mis-remembering.
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### Author:  [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/26 "2006-08-24T16:53:06Z")
Well, [here’s one sheet music sample](http://www.sheetmusicdigital.com/Soleroitem.asp?ID=SH00289281) for this song that’s done in 2/4 time.
And while the heavy accents are on the downbeats at the start of each measure (and the lighter accents on the 2 of each measure), I would say it’s not uncommon at all to clap on the upbeats (or the back beats). This would be on the “AND” beats of the measures. (1 & 2 & …)
Especially in a song like this, given the heavy vocal accents on the downbeats ( **LIFE** on a **FARM** is **KIND** -a laid **BACK** ). The vocals are already heavily stressing the downbeats so extra clapping on the downbeats doesn’t really serve to add much accent that’s not already there.
Musically, my initial instinct would be to clap on the upbeats, to serve as a rhythmic counterpoint to the already stressed downbeats. Especially given the rhythm of the song. Somebody else mentioned alternating stomping and clapping – the “feel” would seem to be stomp on the downbeats (1, 2), clap on the upbeats (the & beats). In fact, every once in a while, you could throw in a double-clap on an upbeat (if you break a measure into 16th note syllables 1-e-&-a-2-e-&-a, then you could clap twice on an “&-a”).
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### Author:  [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/27 "2006-08-24T16:56:08Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> If they’re playing this at D-Rays games, then they’re ripping off Baltimore. It’s somewhat known for it, and they’ve been doing it a while.
Longer, in fact, than MLB has been in Florida.
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### Author:  [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/28 "2006-08-24T16:58:20Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> I was at a game once where John Denver was actually there. When they played Country Boy he got on the dugout and stomped and clapped. . .in time. This was before he died.
BTW, do you remember what beats (or what vocals) his stomps and claps fell on? Were the stomps and claps alternating, or did he stomp and clap simultaneously?
I assume when you refer to the people clapping “wrong”, they were the ones clapping on the upbeat I described in the previous post? And they were in the minority?
I would submit that these folks were probably the more musically aware, but were “shouted down”, so to speak, by the majority – who were clapping along with the stressed vocals, the easiest accents to find.
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### Author:  [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/29 "2006-08-24T16:58:28Z")
Oh, and a lot of Appalachian fiddle tunes (and their Scottish ancestors) have heavy backbeats. [Cite:](http://www.portlandamerica.com/page40.html)
> [@](#):
>
> You might hear a Scottish fiddler play a jig and think “Irish”, or hear \*\*Shetlanders playing their traditional backbeat rhythm and think “Appalachia”, \*\* or listen to a fiddler from the northeast of Scotland and think “classical”, without realizing that these playing styles have been rooted for centuries in Scotland.
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” is in a hoedown fiddle style, which sprang from these roots.
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### Author:  [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/30 "2006-08-24T17:03:57Z")
**ivylass:**
> [@](#):
>
> What kind of scary-ass concerts do you go to?
Nice _Friends_ reference! 🙂
No, I’m not actually contributing to this thread. Why do you ask?
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### Author:  [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/31 "2006-08-24T17:11:48Z")
I was trying to think of another popular song where people might have heard the backbeat-heavy Appalachian sound. The only one I can come up with is “ **The Devil Went Down to Georgia** ,” in the part of the song that goes:
_Fire on the mountain. Run, boys, run.
The devil’s in the House of the Rising Sun.
Chicken in the bread pan pickin’ out dough.
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, no._
That part of the song has a strong backbeat, which lends itself to offbeat clapping in the same manner as “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”
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### Author:  [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/32 "2006-08-24T17:26:05Z")
> [@Monstre](#):
>
> BTW, do you remember what beats (or what vocals) his stomps and claps fell on? Were the stomps and claps alternating, or did he stomp and clap simultaneously?
>
> I assume when you refer to the people clapping “wrong”, they were the ones clapping on the upbeat I described in the previous post? And they were in the minority?
>
> I would submit that these folks were probably the more musically aware, but were “shouted down”, so to speak, by the majority – who were clapping along with the stressed vocals, the easiest accents to find.
**monstre**. Two good posts. We’re getting somewhere. I think that the problem is how much the vocals on the downbeat are stressed.
I actually think that the majority of people are doing it right.
The “wrong” people, I THINK, clap like **minklowat** was describing. . .on the “LIFE” and “FARM”. They clap along with the vocal stresses.
I think the RIGHT people clap on the upbeat, which is what I was trying to describe in post #12. (I bolded where the claps go. a final clap comes after the word “back” in the first line, kind of simultaneously with the “ain’t” that starts the second line.)
BTW, I don’t remember how John Denver was doing it himself.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/33 "2006-08-24T17:35:06Z")
> [@Gadarene](#):
>
> **ivylass:**
> Nice _Friends_ reference! 🙂
I was wondering if anyone would pick that up. 😃
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/34 "2006-08-24T18:08:10Z")
> [@The Swan](#):
>
> Sorry.
>
> No.
Until you and **don’t ask** provide examples of “funny funny riddles” I will stand by my statement. And you will note the duplication of “funny,” which implies they are rip-roaring knee slappers.
By the way, merely “seem(ing) at least amusing” will not count. I’m not looking to titter; I want to guffaw.
I never realized some people took their riddles so seriously. Knock-knock jokes are funnier for most adults. :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/35 "2006-08-24T18:10:03Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> I think the RIGHT people clap on the upbeat, which is what I was trying to describe in post #12. (I bolded where the claps go. a final clap comes after the word “back” in the first line, kind of simultaneously with the “ain’t” that starts the second line.)
Thanks for clarifying – I was under the inpression that what you described in post #12 was how the minority in the stadium was doing it, but I wasn’t quite sure. Because while your OP talked about the “right” way and the “wrong” way, you didn’t specify which was which! 😉
But I’d say that clapping on the backbeat feels more appropriate to the song. (And at the same time, I’d be stomping my foot on the downbeats – that is, if I were really getting into the spirit of it). Sort of like hitting the heavier bass drum beat on the downbeat, and tapping the snare drum on the backbeat.
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### Author:  [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/36 "2006-08-24T18:16:44Z")
> [@dropzone](#):
>
> Until you and **don’t ask** provide examples of “funny funny riddles” I will stand by my statement.
What a strange hill you’ve chosen to defend. Are you sure you’re not just being obstinate?
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### Author:  [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/37 "2006-08-24T18:24:20Z")
> [@spoke-](#):
>
> What a strange hill you’ve chosen to defend. Are you sure you’re not just being obstinate?
Shhhhhh. If you quit talking, maybe it will fall asleep.
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### Author:  [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/38 "2006-08-24T18:34:17Z")
I was an O’s season ticket holder from 1992 until 1998 (or longer than I actually lived in Baltimore). I don’t recall them always playing this – did it go away for a while when they moved from Memorial to Camden Yards?
Is there any possibility we can get them to play the Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” one time and see how the crowd does on this?
Also, I have been to a couple of Devil Rays games now that I am “back home”, and it seems they played this song during the seventh inning stretch of one game and not the other.
I could be totally mistaken and repressing the memories of this horrible song during the games. I know that at one point I considered cancelling my season tickets because of it.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/39 "2006-08-24T18:39:12Z")
From [here](http://johnsommers.com/bio.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Mark Belanger, shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles whose wife, Dee, was a John Denver fan, pushed to have “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” played over the P.A. at Orioles games at Memorial Stadium. From the mid-‘70s through today, the song has been played at most every Orioles home game; whenever the practice has been interrupted, fans have made enough of a clamor to have the ritual reinstated. The song has helped make Baltimore a John Denver hotbed. In the Babe Ruth Museum, near Baltimore’s Camden Yards ballpark, there is a “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” display, complete with Sommers’ original handwritten notes for the song, scratched out on paper
I believe once after playing it the O’s had some amazing late inning comeback, which helped cement it as good luck/tradition.
Not sure if it stopped for a while at Camden, but I remeber it always during 7th innning stretch at Memorial.
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### Author:  [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-funny-riddle/370029/40 "2006-08-24T18:44:24Z")
> [@dropzone](#):
>
> Until you and **don’t ask** provide examples of “funny funny riddles” I will stand by my statement. And you will note the duplication of “funny,” which implies they are rip-roaring knee slappers.
>
> By the way, merely “seem(ing) at least amusing” will not count. I’m not looking to titter; I want to guffaw.
I think the problem here is that you don’t realize what people are disputing.
“A Funny Funny Riddle” just isn’t an oxymoron.
For something to be an oxymoron, the two parts of the phrase have to be opposites.
“Jumbo Shrimp” is an oxymoron.
“Deafening Silence” is an oxymoron.
Joking oxyomorons, like “Military Intelligence,” aren’t really oxymorons, but they’re closer than “Funny Riddle” in that they actually imply _contradiction_.
Riddle: What’s black and blue and red all over?
Answer: A sunburned panda.
Not very funny, but not the **opposite** of funny, either.
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