Little Jimmy Brown
My dad took one look at the television and said, "Christ, she looks like a water buffalo." My mother had insisted on watching the Grand Ole Opry and my dad was trying to make her regret it. The performers on the screen were a trio called the Browns comprised of Bonnie, Maxine and Jim Ed Brown, singing their number one single "The Three Bells". I had heard the song on the radio but never seen it performed in front of an audience. I had always assumed the song was a parody of the shameless maudlin lyrics found in popular songs that passed for music in the mid 1950s such as "The little White Cloud that Cried" by Johnny Ray and Gogi Grant's "Suddenly, There's a Valley". It wasn't until the Browns were almost finished before I realized, "My God, they're serious."
It definitely caused some confusion for me in the development of my understanding of humor. I had begun to "get" jokes in the 2nd grade, the first of which were probably "Why did the chicken cross the road?"; and, "Why do firemen wear red suspenders?" I felt as though I had advanced a level in the 4th grade when I "got" a joke the writers had buried in an episode of Crusader Rabbit which was a TV cartoon series for kids.
Image from tvacres.com
Crusader Rabbit and his side kick Rags the tiger had traveled back 1,000 years to King Arthur's Court and faced being burned at the stake unless they could hire on as court jesters. Challenged to demonstrate their comedic talents, Rags asked the court, "Why do firemen wear red suspenders?"; to which Arthur and all of his knights groaned in unison, "Oh that's an old one."A year or two latter, I sensed another milestone when reading the comic strip "Pogo" in The Los Angeles Times.
First frame: One character was complaining to a companion, "How is it I always play the straight man and you always get to deliver the punch line? Just once I want the punch line."
Second frame: "Sorry you feel that way. I'd be glad to help. Are you ready?"
Third frame: "Yes, hit me with a straight line."
Final Frame: "Why did the chicken wear red suspenders?"
Jokes were a big part of lunch and recess when I was in elementary school. Kids would display far more skill in memorizing and telling jokes to each other than they ever showed in mastering a list of Brazilian exports. I picked up a lot of my jokes in the early mornings listening to Haynes at the Reins on KLAC radio. Dick Haynes would spout one liners in between playing popular records and used a gravel-road voice to portray a character he called Gumdrop Gus who continually asked, "What time is it?"
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| Haynes pushing a AA fuel dragster to the Irwindale starting line. Photo from wediditforlove.com |
It was during one of these broadcasts that I first heard the Browns sing The Three Bells. From the very start there were several things associated with this song that my 9 year-old brain found puzzling. To begin with Jim Ed Brown, for no apparent reason, had two first names. How was it that one could have two first names; and if this was permitted, was there a limit? Also, if "Ed" was not his middle name and he had a middle name, could that middle name possibly be another first name causing his full name to read something even more ridiculous such as : "Jim Ed Al Brown"?
I wanted to know why was the trio called "The Browns". Were the three of them siblings? They certainly didn't look it and Jim Ed had way too little hair to share any DNA with either of the two women
I had a real problem with the song's title which I felt should rightly have been "Little Jimmy Brown" since it was all about Jimmy and not the quantity of bells. Nowhere did the lyrics say that there were three bells. The lyrics stated "all the chapel bells" until the end when just a "lonely bell" was ringing. There were three ringing of the bells (or bell) that commemorated three separate occasions in Jimmy's life and if that was where they were going with the title then it should have been "The Three Ringings of the Bells"; or "One Bell Rang Three Times and the Others Just Twice".
The beginning of the song made me think something weird was going to happen because it opens like the start of a Twiligh Zone episode - a "little village" with a "little congregation" and a "little Jimmy Brown".
The first verse describes the village as "among the pine trees half forlorn". I took this to mean that "half forlorn" referred to the trees and not the village. If it was in reference to the village, surely more information would be provided to divulge how this came to pass and would be essential to fully comprehend the significance that Jimmy's fate held for the community at large. Given that the phrase refers to trees, I seriously doubt trees can be "forlorn", but even if they could, by the use of what possible device does one determine that trees are "half forlorn"?
I originally thought the tone and the lyrics of the song were over-the-top sentimentality. Then it dawned on me that it had to be a parody of the garish saccharine tripe that I was used to hearing on Dick Haynes radio show. Although I did not have a very polished appreciation of satire, I was sure that my having realized that the song was mocking others was a sign that my understanding of humor had matured even more.
A few years after the Grand Ole Opry telecast I was sitting in Mrs Ament's French class listening to Edith Piaf belt out the original 1946 French version of "The Three Bells" called "Les Trois Cloches". Mrs Ament was harmless but for the 1950s just eccentric enough to be viewed as borderline scandalous by the rest of the school's staff. Two years with her made me realize that the French were more obsessed with their own culture than any other group of people except perhaps Texans. Mrs Ament was tres Francais and as such literally worshiped Edith Piaf. When she played Piaf's records for us, the blinds were drawn, the lights were off and Mrs Ament would sit in a corner dabbing at her tears with a tissue. She even did her eye brows the same as as Piaf - shaved them off completely and then drew them back on.
I felt vindicated when I discovered that in 1978 an English group called The Baron Knights released a parody of "The Three Bells". The title of their song was "The Chapel Lead is Missing". The last three lines read as follows:
I wanted to know why was the trio called "The Browns". Were the three of them siblings? They certainly didn't look it and Jim Ed had way too little hair to share any DNA with either of the two women
photo from flickr.com
I had a real problem with the song's title which I felt should rightly have been "Little Jimmy Brown" since it was all about Jimmy and not the quantity of bells. Nowhere did the lyrics say that there were three bells. The lyrics stated "all the chapel bells" until the end when just a "lonely bell" was ringing. There were three ringing of the bells (or bell) that commemorated three separate occasions in Jimmy's life and if that was where they were going with the title then it should have been "The Three Ringings of the Bells"; or "One Bell Rang Three Times and the Others Just Twice".
The beginning of the song made me think something weird was going to happen because it opens like the start of a Twiligh Zone episode - a "little village" with a "little congregation" and a "little Jimmy Brown".
The first verse describes the village as "among the pine trees half forlorn". I took this to mean that "half forlorn" referred to the trees and not the village. If it was in reference to the village, surely more information would be provided to divulge how this came to pass and would be essential to fully comprehend the significance that Jimmy's fate held for the community at large. Given that the phrase refers to trees, I seriously doubt trees can be "forlorn", but even if they could, by the use of what possible device does one determine that trees are "half forlorn"?
I originally thought the tone and the lyrics of the song were over-the-top sentimentality. Then it dawned on me that it had to be a parody of the garish saccharine tripe that I was used to hearing on Dick Haynes radio show. Although I did not have a very polished appreciation of satire, I was sure that my having realized that the song was mocking others was a sign that my understanding of humor had matured even more.
A few years after the Grand Ole Opry telecast I was sitting in Mrs Ament's French class listening to Edith Piaf belt out the original 1946 French version of "The Three Bells" called "Les Trois Cloches". Mrs Ament was harmless but for the 1950s just eccentric enough to be viewed as borderline scandalous by the rest of the school's staff. Two years with her made me realize that the French were more obsessed with their own culture than any other group of people except perhaps Texans. Mrs Ament was tres Francais and as such literally worshiped Edith Piaf. When she played Piaf's records for us, the blinds were drawn, the lights were off and Mrs Ament would sit in a corner dabbing at her tears with a tissue. She even did her eye brows the same as as Piaf - shaved them off completely and then drew them back on.
Photo from britanica.com
Piaf was abandoned at birth by her mother, cured of blindness at the age of 7 by way of a pilgrimage, grew up in her grandmother's brothel, at 14 performed as an acrobat in the streets with her father, neglected a 2 year-old daughter who died of meningitis, ran through countless liaisons and marriages including French legend Marcel Cerdan middleweight world boxing champ who perished in a plane crash on his way to meet Edith, all of which combined with her talent endeared her to all of France. She is considered one of, if not the, greatest performer of the 20th century. Although only 4 foot 8 inches tall and weighing 80-some pounds, she could wail in an astounding manner emoting more grief and distress than could be brought on by a plague. When she died in 1963, traffic on the streets of Paris came to a complete stop for the first time since the end of WWII, and over 100,000 people arrived at the cemetery for her burial. 
Photo from historytoday.com
Mrs Ament had her own collection of jokes that further expanded my exposure to humor. Sample: How do French women hold their liquor? (Answer) By the ears.I felt vindicated when I discovered that in 1978 an English group called The Baron Knights released a parody of "The Three Bells". The title of their song was "The Chapel Lead is Missing". The last three lines read as follows:
The collection box is missing and the vicar can't be found,
And the little congregation needs a lot of medication
For the church has fallen down.
And the little congregation needs a lot of medication
For the church has fallen down.