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
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.
Refrain:
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.
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.