Whatd'ya do if you're young and white and jewish?

January 22, 2018 7:21 PM

It's actually difficult to describe Shel Silverstein's 1962 album Inside Folk Songs. But if you're inclined to have a very odd half-hour or so, you might enjoy it. [YT playlist] (The humor is darker than you might think if you only know his poetry.) Side A: Bury Me In My Shades, Have Another Espresso, Bananas, Liz, You're Always Welcome At Our House, Civil War Song, Boa Constrictor, 25 Minutes To Go

Side B: Folk Singer's Blues, Beans Taste Fine, The Slitheree-Dee, It Does Not Pay To Be Hip, Blue Eyes, Standing On The Outside Of Your Shelter, Wreck Of The Old '49, Never Bite A Married Woman On The Thigh, The Unicorn

posted by hippybear (17 comments total)

Amazingly, the Muppets did a rendition of You’re Always Welcome At Our House!
posted by edheil at 7:34 PM on January 22, 2018 [3 favorites]

25 minutes to go, like A Boy Named Sue, was famously covered by Johnny Cash
posted by phack at 7:43 PM on January 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

The Smothers Brothers (Tommy anyway) covered the Slithery Dee.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 7:53 PM on January 22, 2018

Come to think of it, they also did Wreck of the old '49 and Civil War song.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 7:58 PM on January 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

My dad would sing The Unicorn as I grew up, I’m sure he’ll be surprised to hear it’s originally from Shel Silverstein. Thanks, this is delightful
posted by 95kegz at 9:56 PM on January 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Muppet version of You're Always Welcome at Our House

Wow, that's … that's really something, that is.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:07 PM on January 22, 2018 [9 favorites]

I'm unable to watch any of these videos. Are they region-locked or have they gone down for everyone else?
posted by Kattullus at 1:32 AM on January 23, 2018

Are they region-locked or have they gone down for everyone else?

Hippybear's links? No go for me either. But that's not the first time for links to the YT channel "Topic".
posted by Mister Bijou at 1:51 AM on January 23, 2018

The title of this post reminds me that for the longest time I thought Shel Silverstein was black.
posted by pxe2000 at 3:05 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

They work for me.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:06 AM on January 23, 2018

It's actually difficult to describe Shel Silverstein's 1962 album Inside Folk Songs. FTFY
posted by Melismata at 4:19 AM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

for the longest time I thought Shel Silverstein was black

Me too. It was something about the saturation in the author photos on his book jackets I think.
posted by aspersioncast at 4:52 AM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show: Live from Shel Silverstein's Houseboat:

Shel introduces the band
Sylvia's Mother (featuring Shel on harmonica)
Carry me, Carrie
Marie Laveau
High Flying Eagle
posted by rocket88 at 4:55 AM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

> (The humor is darker than you might think if you only know his poetry.)

Even relatively little of his poetry was for children. In his heyday he was better-known as a writer and cartoonist for Playboy magazine and for writing satirical plays and songs. You don't have to dig deep into his catalog to discover how explicit he was willing to go on behalf of sexual and scatological jokes.
posted by ardgedee at 5:36 AM on January 23, 2018 [7 favorites]

Also a big fan of his paean to the sixties: I Got Stoned and I Missed it
posted by aspersioncast at 7:32 AM on January 23, 2018

It's actually difficult to describe Shel Silverstein . . .

Yeah. I'll just drop The Smoke Off here for any of you who didn't have Dr. Demento growing up.
posted by The Bellman at 8:16 AM on January 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

I share with you all now, the most perfect Shel Silverstein song I've ever heard:

Fuck 'em
posted by XtinaS at 4:48 PM on January 23, 2018