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The Old Man of the Mountain
Cab Calloway & His Orchestra Lyrics
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With his long white beard and his crooked step
He tramps along with the folks all left (?)
With a twinkle in his eye he passes them by
The old man of the mountain
He wears long hair but his feet are bare
His cares are none and he owes no one
The old man of the mountain
He talks with the birds when he's lonely
Sleeps with the stars for a tent
While the bees spread a feast when he's hungry
And God charges no rent
He'll live as long as an old oak tree
And laugh at fools like you and me
I often sigh and wish that I were
The old man of the mountain.
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The Old Man Of The Mountain
Music by Victor Young, Words by Billy Hill
With his long white beard and a crooked staff,
He tramps along while the folks all laugh;
With a twinkle in his eye, he passes them by;
The Old Man of the Mountain.
He wears long hair and his feet are bare;
They say he's mad as an old march hare
But his cares are none, he owes no one.
The Old Man of the Mountain.
He talks with the birds when he's lonely;
He sleeps with the stars for a tent
The bees spread a feast when he's hungry,
And God charges no rent.
He'll live as long as an old oak tree
And laugh at fools like you and me.
Oh, I often sigh and wish that I
Were the Old Man of the Mountain.
===========================
With a long, white beard and a crooked stare,
He tramps along with the folks all scared;
With a twinkle in his eye, he passes them by,
The Old Man of the Mountain!
Oh, he wears long hair and his feet are bare,
They say he's mad as a grizzly bear,
His cares are none and he fears no one,
The Old Man of the Mountain!
He talks with the bears when he's lonely,
He sleeps with the sky for a tent,
And he'll eat you up when he's hungry,
And it wouldn't cost him a red cent!
And he'll live as long as an old oak tree,
He'll eat up fools like you and me,
Oh, I often sigh and jump and cry
At the Old Man of the Mountain!
The lyrics of Cab Calloway's song The Old Man of the Mountain describe the titular character as a mythical figure who tramps along with the folks all left or scared, depending on the version of the lyrics. The old man is mad, but he wears long hair, has bare feet, and owes no one anything. He talks with birds when he's lonely and sleeps with the stars for a tent. He eats with the bees and God charges no rent. He laughs at fools like you and me and will live as long as an oak tree. The singer often sighs and wishes they were the old man of the mountain.
Line by Line Meaning
With a long, white beard and a crooked stare,
Describing the Old Man's appearance as having a long, white beard and a crooked staff used to tramp along.
He tramps along with the folks all scared;
The Old Man walks among the people and they all seem to be frightened of him.
With a twinkle in his eye, he passes them by,
Despite the people's fear, he moves on with a twinkle in his eye showing that he is not worried or affected by their fear.
The Old Man of the Mountain!
This phrase is a refrain to introduce the Old Man each time he is mentioned.
Oh, he wears long hair and his feet are bare,
The Old Man has long hair and goes barefoot.
They say he's mad as a grizzly bear,
There are rumors that the Old Man is crazy and unpredictable like a grizzly bear.
His cares are none and he fears no one,
He has no worries and has no fear of anyone else at all.
He talks with the bears when he's lonely,
The Old Man is said to talk to bears as if they were companions when he is feeling lonely.
He sleeps with the sky for a tent,
The Old Man sleeps outdoors under the stars without a shelter to make it feel like the whole sky is his tent.
And he'll eat you up when he's hungry,
He will consume whatever he needs when he needs it.
And it wouldn't cost him a red cent!
The Old Man takes whatever he wants without payment or reservations.
And he'll live as long as an old oak tree,
The Old Man will live for a long time much like the old oak tree that never dies.
He'll eat up fools like you and me,
The Old Man is above everyone else and enjoys observing the foolishness among others.
Oh, I often sigh and jump and cry
I often long and yearn to be like the Old Man of the Mountain.
At the Old Man of the Mountain!
This phrase is a refrain to end the song, repeating the same idea from earlier that praises the Old Man of the Mountain.
Contributed by Kaelyn T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Barry I. Grauman
Recorded on June 9, 1932.
Cab later performed this classic (at a more leisurely pace) in the 1933 Betty Boop cartoon of the same name.
Nefer0ne
Yes, this record and my recent upload of The Scat Song is kind of an homage to that classic Betty Boop cartoon. One of my favorites !
vali
I need to get my hands on this it's so good
Muffs 55mercury
Calloway records before 1934 are the best and luckily they aren't that hard to find in collector circles and most don't ask a mint for them.
mimi
Just saw Betty Boop and had to come here!!
Love this era's music!!!
McCraeTheMediaLover1999
So one song kinda inspired a actual cartoon that used the tune with the lines being re-recorded by an owl who warns Betty about the hermit of the mountain and the last line was sung by the old man himself when he first appears
Firecat productions
Its record/orchestrated by the same person who did this one. Cab Calloway
Thiago Felipe
Look out! Look out!
The old man of the mountain!!!
mark barret
Snapping my fingers
jorge lopez
With a long white beard and a crooked stare...