“The Hound Dog Song”
Description
"Ev'ry time I come to town, The boys keep kickin' my dog around, Makes no diff'rence if he is a hound, They gotta quit kickin' my dog around." The details of the tussle between dog and people is described, ending when the dog's owners counterattack
Notes
This was the campaign song of Champ Clark, [representative] from Missouri, during his campaign for President of the United States. He lost. -PJS
As a matter of fact, James Beauchamp "Champ" Clark was never even nominated for the Presidency, though he came very close. As Congressman from Missouri, he had been a leader in the fight to strip the Speaker of the House of his dictatorial powers in that chamber. This made him an obvious candidate for the Presidency in 1912. But the Democratic Party required that candidates receive two-thirds of the votes of the nominating convention delegates, and Clark -- though he was the clear favorite among the candidates -- never did gain that many votes (this was in the days when most delegates were chosen by caucus). Eventually his support started to fail, and a series of deals made Woodrow Wilson the Democratic nominee.
With the Republican Party split between the factions of Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee's election was assured. Thus Clark was only a rule change away from being elected President -- but not a single person ever voted for him in a national election.
Randolph heard a story which based this on a pre-Civil-War incident in Forsyth, Missouri. Proof is, of course, lacking, and if the attribution to Oungst and Pekins is correct (which I don't quite believe), it seems unlikely to be true. - RBW
Recordings
- American Quartet & Byron G. Harlan, "They Gotta Quit Kicking My Dog" (Victor 17065, 1912)
- Byron G. Harlan, "Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dawg Aroun'" (Columbia A-1150, 1912) (Edison Amberol 1023, 1912)
- Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, "Ya Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Aroun'" (Columbia 15084-D, 1926)
- Cy Stebbins, "They Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dawg Aroun'" (Vocalion 14378, 1922)
References
- Randolph 512, "The Hound Dog Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Randolph/Cohen, pp. 357-360, "The Hound Dog Song" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 512)
- Lomax-FSNA, "The Hound Dawg Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Darling-NAS, pp. 253-254, "The Hound Dog Song" (1 text)
- DT, KICKDAWG*
- ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 196-198, "The Ozark Dog Song" (1 fragment plus extensive folklore about whether the song is from Missouri or Arkansas)
- Roud #6690
- BI, R512