trad
“This song comes from a broadside sheet found in the Rider Collection. It was printed circa 1840. Although flat, griddle-fried cornmeal cakes are traditional fare along the Atlantic Coast, they have historically enjoyed unparalleled devotion in the Ocean State. And yet, the recipe for a true Rhode Island Johnny Cake has been a topic of great contention and controversy for centuries. There may be as many variations in the preparation and specific ingredients of Johnny-cakes as there are Rhode Islanders, but two primary types stand out: the thin and crisp Newport County cakes made with cold milk, and the thicker South County variety made with hot water. Past attempts to settle this age-old culinary dispute have only lead to bickering, bad mouthing, and at least one case of fisticuffs. Even on a box of the state’s most popular johnny-cake mix, Kenyon’s Johnny Cake Corn Meal, you will find the following wise disclaimer: ‘Though we suggest a recipe which dates back to 1886, as all Rhode Islanders will agree, there is only one correct recipe-and that is their own!’ New melody by B. Gagliardi, partially inspired by a sea chantey called ‘Liverpool Judies’.”
The Vox Hunters: https://thevoxhunters.bandcamp.com/track/fresh-from-the-board
https://thevoxhunters.bandcamp.com/track/fresh-from-the-board
Let the bards from the North, from the South, East, and West All sing in the theme that suits them the best Let them sing of baked beans, of pudding and pies, Their hot apple dumplings, and doughnuts, likewise The bard of Rhode Island no theme can afford But to sing of hot Johnny-Cake fresh from the board. Fresh from the board, fresh from the board But to sing of hot Johnny-Cake fresh from the board. Our neighboring farmers may plow, sow, and reap And raise crops of barley, of rye and buckwheat But the soil of Rhode Island our farmers adorn With potatoes in plenty and abundance of corn With butter and cheese their cellars are stored To relish hot Johnny-Cake fresh from the board. The Rhode Island farmers are healthy and strong Their sons and their daughters are fresh as the morn They weave and they spin, make butter and cheese They work when they like to, and play when they please For all these enjoyments they’d think them absurd Deprived of hot Johnny-Cake fresh from the board. The good Roger Williams, that pious old chief First crossed the Atlantic for conscience’s relief Bade adieu to oppression, to seek and to find A spot more congenial that suited his mind He came to Rhode Island, and there praised the Lord, Content with hot Johnny-Cake fresh from the board. The Rhode Island farmers raise horses and cows Bulls, calves and heifers, pigs, barrows, and sows Their oxen and sheep make old Brighton to stare For Brighton nor Brooklyn can’t with them compare Each farmer’s a nabob, he lives like a lord And smiles at hot Johnny-Cake fresh from the board. An ancient old author, of somewhat renown He seemed to take pleasure in bearing us down He said we’d no preachers, no teachers nor schools Our rulers were stupid, like asses and mules Such invectives as these this wise author have poured On the land where the Johnny-Cake smokes from the board Rhode Island can boast of a Perry and Greene Not practical farmers, and yet it would seem Perry plowed up Lake Erie, Greene threshed on the land And they reaped a rich harvest, we all understand They fought for their country, when peace was restored They sheathed in the scabbard the bright gleaming sword Returned to the land from their boyhood adored Where the Rhode Island Johnny-Cake smokes from the board. Rhode Island an boast of a Burrill and Bourne Who councils and senates effulgent have shone In our grand constellation each shoe like a star And illumined with justice the Rhode Island bar They returned from rich banquets, for they always preferred The land where hot Johnny-Cake baked from the board. The state of Rhode Island’s a fine little State The farmers are wealthy, their resources great They boast of their orchards and fertilized lands While their waters produce them both fresh fish and clams They are upright and honest, and true to their word And they prize the hot Johnny-Cake baked from the board. The State of Rhode ISland affords every dish That the stomachs of gluttons or epicures wish The best Christmas turkey, fine chickens and lambs Old-fashioned hog puddings, and nice baconed hams Besides the hot Johnny-Cake fresh from the board Which they swear to defend with the point of the sword.