Charleston Street Cries Pre-WW1
Anthony Wright (A. K. A. Tony the Peanut Man), the last famous street huckster with a patter in Charleston, died in 2016. Whether at Waterfront Park or at the River Dog games, his famous jingle “Peanut Tyme” carried over the crowd noise and drew children, tourists, and peanut lovers to his vicinity. There was a time when every city in the United States had its street cries and huckster songs. In the 18th century English antiquarians began to collect “The Cries of London.” Similar collections exist for other cities. Charleston was famous for its hucksters, from the ground nut ladies on the street corners of the city to the ambulatory shrimp and fish sellers. While compiling a profile of the most famous of these criers, Joe Cole “The Shrimp Fiend,” for Charleston Magazine, I gathered the lyrics for as many as I could from the heyday of street selling, pre World War I. Here is the profile of Cole: https://charlestonmag.com/features/song_of_the_shrimp_fiend . And here are the texts of the surviving hucksters cries pre-1919.
“Beetses”
Yer’s yer beetses gwin by, buyyers!”
“Foh de Wah” Negro Types,” Charleston Evening Post (February 5, 1901), 8.
“Big House”
Big House, look out of de window;
Now’s yer time to git snap-beans,
Okra, tomatoes, an ‘taters gwine by.
Don’t be foolish virgins;
Hab de dinner ready
When de master he comes home
Snap beans swine by.
L. E. B., “Life in Charleston,” The Independent (September 18, 1879), 31.
“Blackberry”
An-E Blackberry! An-E Blackberry!
“An-E Blackberry,” Charleston Daily News (May 9, 1867), 4.
“Buy fish!”
Buy fish! yeddem!
yeh dem fine fat porgee
gwin by byas!
“Palmetto Leaves,” Lippincott’s Magazine (July 1881), 55.
“Here comes the fish man!”
Here c . o . m . e . s the fi . sh man!
Better go get your dish pan!
Fi . sh man! Fi . sh man!
“The Fishman,” The State (July 30, 1910), 4.
[Additional Verse from Nelson,”Cries of Charleston” SPA MS K-1-14,15]
Peep out di windah,
Peep to de do’
Steep back to de dinin’ room,
Tell the missus I go Fish-e-o. [p3]
“Groun’ nut Cake”
Eny yer wan’ buy en’ny groun’nut cake?
Ee mighty good en fresh ter-day.
Kum yer, darlin’, en trow yer eye dis side.
Jes’ one cent fer one.
Ef yer buy six, yet git one trow in fer five cent.
“Foh de Wah” Negro Types,” Charleston Evening Post (February 5, 1901), 8.
“Any Oyster”
“A-a-ny yash-tah! A-a-ny yash-tuh!”
“Palmetto Leaves,” Lippincott’s Magazine (July 1881), 55.
“Panny-cake”
“A-a-n-y hot panny-ca-a-ke!”
“Palmetto Leaves,” Lippincott’s Magazine (July 1881), 55.
“Pawgee” [Joe Cole’s Refrain]
Pawgee walk en pawgee talk.
Pawgee eat wid de knife and fork.
Vanishing Visions,” Charleston News and Courier (October 31, 1891), 1.
“Porgy” [Joe Cole’s Verse]
Hambone am sweet,
Beats all de meat.
Possum an’ potatoes berry fine,
But you gimme, you gimme,
I rally wish you would,
All de porgy dat you catch upon de line.
“Glimpse into the Life of the Fisher Folk,” Charleston News & Courier (July 18, 1911), 8.
“Shark Steak,”
Shark Steak!
Shark Steak do’ need no graby,
Put ‘em een de fryn pan,
Tun ‘em wid de ladle;
Shark Steak,
Shark-e-e-e-e-e-.
Robert L. Nelson, “Street Cries of Charleston (WPA MS Ki --14,150
“She Crabs”
Sea Crab! Sea Crab!
“Crustacea,” Charleston Daily News (March 5, 1867), 4.
“”Sna’ Beans”
Sna’ Beans!
“Cries of the Street Vendors,” The State (Sept 18, 1908), 4.
“Strawberries”
Now’s yer chance! Now’s yer chance!
Dis de last time I’se gwine by yar to day.
Strawberries!
I’se willing to do widout deser yar strawberries.
Strawberries gwine by!
L. E. B., “Life in Charleston,” The Independent (September 18, 1879), 31.
“Raw Raw Sprawn”
Raw raw sprawn
wid shooger een he hawn.
“A Paean of Victory,” Charleston News and Courier ((August 16, 1888), 8.
“Raw Swimp!”
“Swimpy, swimpy raw—swimp.”
“A Song of “Raw Swimps,” Charleston News & Courier (July 22, 1894), 8.
“Swimmy Swimmy Swim”
Swimmy, swimmy, swim,
Raw, raw, swim.
I want you all to member
We’se got tell September.
So come and get yo raw, raw swim.
“A Paean of Victory,” Charleston News and Courier ((August 16, 1888), 8.
“Raw Sin”
Raw sin,
Raw, raw,
Yea, raw swimp,
Swimp, swimp, swimp
She-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-rimp,
Raw, raw swimmy.
Yee, yo rosin,
Yee, oh raw, raw, raw,
Ya, yo raw swim,
Yah your large leetle raw swimmy.
Yash irashi
Yea de raw, yeddem,
Yah raw sweep,
Eunee, raw, raw, raw,
Fine leetle, large, leetle raw raw swimp,
Laage rawsee
Swimpee, de raw swimps,
Yah, raw sheep,
Yealou, yealou, yealou,
Prawn,
Yea, raw, raw sprawn,
Sprawnee, sprawnee,
Spraw-aw-aw-aw-asn.
Prawn, prawn, shug een e hawn.
Yea, fine large raw prawn.
Big sweet sprawn.
Prinux Coxum, Charleston News and Courier (8-24-1884).
“Shrimp gone by, byas”
Shrimp gone by, byas
Here’s your big fat shrimp.
I’m trying to make an honest living now
An ef I can’t, I’ll go back to stealing.
Raw Shrimp gone by, byas. That’s me.
“Charleston Street Cries,” Detroit Advertiser and Tribune (September 11, 1883), 1.
“Taters, Irish Taters!”
Taters, Irish taters!
Squash, Irish Squash!
Squash, ‘Merican squash!
Protestant and Catholic
Taters and squashes!
L. E. B., “Life in Charleston,” The Independent (September 18, 1879), 31.
“Wegetable Bunch”
Kem yer, daarlin’,
en buy a nice fresh wegetable bunch fur mek soup.
“Foh de Wah” Negro Types,” Charleston Evening Post (February 5, 1901), 8.
“Yoisters!”
Yoisters, y-o-i-s-t-e-r-s, y-o-i-s-t-e-r-s!
fresh y-o-i-s-t-e-r-s, guing by,
ef you guing to hab company yoisters guing by,
better git some y-o-i-s-t-e-r-s fur dem,
y-o-i-s-t-e-r-s guing by.
Lillie E. Barr, “Gossip about Charleston, S. C.,” The Independent (May 17, 1883), 2.
(I have similar collections for Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Richmond.)