Wait a second...I know that's what the lyric is supposed to be, but is that really what she says?
Sigh...when I was young, people did their own internet searches.
When I was young, wholesome singers like Ethel Merman clearly enunciated when they sang. And Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.
Bathtub! I'm pretty sure she says bathtub.
Could just be the ludes.
Thanks. My searchin' finger is broke.
This won't work, because Unicode never works as well as it ought, but here goes. My IPA's a bit rusty, but I think it's something like [t???.ð?s.bæ?l.????.d?.?].
There's some nasalisation on the final vowel of the elongated diphthong in 'down' but no actual /n/ that I could hear. The /s/ of 'house' is barely audible, while the /h/ is pharyngealised.
The hypothesis that it should be interpreted as 'tear this barrelhouse down' seems credible.
[t???.ð?s.bæ?l.????.d?.?].
Yeah, that's pretty much what it sounds like to me.
Wow, that sure didn't work. I declare fatwa on the Unicode consortium, and/or anyone else whose fault it is.
But you know, Anthony, the "barely audible" "s" was the clue I needed: she does say "barrelhouse." I'm glad we got ten comment out of it, because a definitive answer in the first comment might as well be prefaced by, "Ogged, you idiot...."
Gillian Welch, another "rootsy" type of singer, has a song about tearing a stillhouse down.
Apparently there's a longstanding tradition among folk-type artists whereby alcohol-related production facilities are targetted for demolition.
The tradition needs updating.
Gonna tear that brewpub down, or at least take away its license to serve spiritous beverages.
Apparently there's a longstanding tradition among folk-type artists whereby alcohol-related production facilities are targetted for demolition.
But it's not as longstanding as the tradition of crooning about what a bummer it is that you murdered your girlfriend or lover. Strange folk, them mountain people.
The Old '97s have a great song in that tradition, too.
This old nightclub stole my youth
This old nightclub stole my true love
Follows me around from town to town
But I just might get drunk tonight
And burn the nightclub down