Lyrics for "Goodbye Porkpie Hat"?

Cafe Society
1

I have a recording of Charles Mingus’ tribute to his late friend Lester Young; I also have a cover of it on Jeff Beck’s Wired CD. Both of these are instrumentals. Were any words ever written to this wonderful blues song?

2

I did a Google search on this and found out that originally the tune did not have lyrics. Joni Mitchell wrote some lyrics that she sings with this tune but she did so in the late 1970’s.

Haj

3

As hajario said, the original was an instrumental. It was originally recorded on Mingus Ah Um in 1959 and Mingus didn’t really sing fully developed lyrics until 1961’s Oh Yeah (another excellent album, IMHO). Apparently Roland Kirk, who contributed to Oh Yeah, also wrote some lyrics to Goodbye Porkpie Hat but I can’t compare them to Joni Mitchell’s as I’ve not heard them.

4

A few things, in decreasing order of pertinence.

  1. I have never heard either Roland Kirk or Joni Mitchell’s versions of “Goodbye Porkpie Hat”. However, Kirk’s lyrics are sung on Kevin Mahogany’s Another Time Another Place (Warner, 1997), a very fine album–the tenor part on the track by the way is by Joe Lovano.

  2. The reason why there are no “fully developed lyrics” on Mingus Ah Um isn’t because they didn’t exist but because of Columbia’s censorship, though this concerns a different track: “Fables of Faubus” was supposed to have some pungent political satire in it, but Columbia refused to let Mingus to record the lyrics. The vocal version of it was instead recorded in 1960 for Candid (Charles Mingus Present Charles Mingus).

  3. However, Mingus was writing lyrics long before then. His very early composition “Weird Nightmare” for instance has lyrics–I haven’t heard the earliest recording (from 1946), however, to check whether it was a vocal or instrumental.

  4. Those interested in hearing Mingus with lyrics should check out Weird Nightmare, a Hal Willner-produced tribute which uses a strange mix of Mingus’s music, a bunch of crack New York musicians like Don Byron & Bill Frisell, the invented instruments of cult composer Harry Partch, & a bunch of guest vocalists–Keith Richards, Dr John, Hubert Selby Jr, Leonard Cohen… “Weird Nightmare” is sung by Elvis Costello (very effectively). However, “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” isn’t present, if I remember rightly.

5

:smack:
I stand corrected. I’d been used to hearing vocal blues riffs and shout-outs on Mingus albums but not entire songs. Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus is officially on my shopping list. As for Weird Nightmare, I’ve never seen any of his pre-1950 work available. Is any of it even in print? Perhaps in box sets or compilations? I’ll definitely check out the Weird Nightmare tribute CD, though. That’s a very eclectic and intriguing set of artists.

Back to Joni Mitchell’s lyrics:
I should note that her lyrics might be considered “official” as she collaborated on them with Mingus himself in preparing her album Mingus.

6

who replied for the wealth of information you have given me, especially the ract that Joni Mitchell collaborated with Charles Mingus on her lyrics.

          Gratefully,
                  flowers
7

Hodge: Hm, I’ve no idea if the 1946 “Weird Nightmare” is available on CD. It was originally on a small label–Excelsior. – I’m just looking at the page for “Weird Nightmare” in Charles Mingus: More Than a Fake Book (an essential book, by the way, even if you’re not a musician) & it says it was originally sung by Claude Trenier & then Lorraine Cusson–the latter version must be on disc because an interview quote from her has her noting that she flubbed the lyrics (“Bring me a heart with a love of gold” for the original “Bring me a love with a heart of gold”) on the released version. – The earliest (instrumental) version I know is on a Miles Davis album from 1953 on which Mingus plays piano–it’s retitled “Smooch” there. I’ve also encountered it as “Vassarlean”.

Incidentally CM: More Than a Fake Book mentions the Joni Mitchell version of “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” & also versions by Kirk, John McLaughlin, Pentangle & Jeff Beck.

8

If you like music and sincere emotion, please do not be ignorant of Rahsaan Roland Kirk & his album The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man (1976) where you will find his version of the tune with his words. IMO Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s lyric is far better than Joni Mitchell’s, perhaps surprisingly.