{"id":4095,"date":"2018-05-30T17:54:13","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T00:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/?p=4095"},"modified":"2018-10-16T14:40:51","modified_gmt":"2018-10-16T21:40:51","slug":"the-m-b-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/the-m-b-a\/","title":{"rendered":"Song Demo: “The MBA”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every songwriter should know the history of one of the most important tunes in American music. The melody was originally a sea shanty, published in 1865, called “The Ship that Never Returned,” by songwriter Henry Clay Work (who also wrote “My Grandfather’s Clock”). It’s first incarnation as a train song was as “The Wreck of the Old ’97,” when the lyrics were rewritten (as is common in folk music) about a 1903 train wreck which claimed the lives of nine people who never returned. Later, in 1924, when records were first becoming popular thanks to the development of radio and the electric phonograph, it was the first million-selling record in America and the subject of the first major copyright lawsuit over sound royalties on records. After years of delays, the writer of the new lyrics finally prevailed against the record company (RCA) and was awarded $65,000 (over $900,000 in today’s dollars) on sales of five million records ($.013 per unit), but he died before he could collect (songwriting is like that). In recent decades, it has been covered by performers such as Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, and Flatt and Scruggs.<\/p>\n

In 1948 it was rewritten as a humorous campaign song for a Boston mayoral race, and in 1959 the Kingston Trio turned that version into a\u00a0 hit, “The M.T.A. Song” (often known as “Charlie on the M.T.A.”), about a guy who boards a Boston M.T.A. subway car and never returns. The single reached #15 on the Billboard charts and the album reached #1 and stayed on the charts for two years. I was in sixth grade at the time and was a huge fan of the Kingston Trio, the most popular musical group of the late 1950s and the early 1960s (three of the top-ten albums of the 1960s were by the Kingston Trio).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“The MBA” 2018<\/h5>\n

The video version here<\/a> is part of my Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust songwriter demo series. In this song there really are only three chords. I have also updated a few of the verses for the Trump Age.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My audio version below (recorded in 1988) was written in response to the excesses of the Reagan-era and the “Decade of Greed.” It is still a train song, but the master tracks are lost and as a result I haven’t updated the vocals to keep up with the times, but if you are a performer all you need to do to turn this tried-and-true tune into a 21st century hit is to replace “soybean futures” with “subprime futures” and “in the Eighties” with “in the Trump age” and–presto!–it’s up-to-date.<\/p>\n

Recorded at Phil Hersh’s studio in Forestville, California. Phil played guitar, bass and banjo as well as having engineered the session.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/The-MBA.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beneath are my lyrics and links to other versions and articles on this famous song. This tried and true tune is just itching to become the first song to be a hit in three consecutive centuries!<\/p>\n

“The M.T.A.”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kingston Trio version<\/a><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

This joyful and fun tune was a staple of the folk music boom. I remember singing it at hootenannies\u00a0 in my high school gym, around 1960 or ’62. Anyone interested in details of the political history of the song and the “leftist” folkie movement should read this article on the political history of The M.T .A.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Wreck of the Old ’97”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Johnny Cash<\/strong> version<\/a><\/h3>\n

This is from Johnny Cash’s concert at San Quentin prison and is probably the most famous version in the modern era.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Wreck of the Old ’97”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vernon Dalhart version<\/a><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

This recording was officially the very first record to sell a million copies (eventually selling five million!) and was the centerpiece of the lawsuit. A short history of the song and the actual train wreck can be found here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The Ship That Never Returned”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jimmy Driftwood version<\/a><\/h3>\n

This version of the original song by Henry J. Work from 1865\u00a0 is the best one I’ve found on the internet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The M.B.A<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Scotty & the Skeptics<\/p>\n

Well let me tell you all a story about a man named Charlie
\nAnd the new American way.
\nHe went to the right college and on to business school
\nThen they put him on the MBA.<\/p>\n

What’s your rate of return? What’s your rate of return?
\nIs your equity position firm? (How’s your market?)
\nDid your bottom line show a short-term profit
\nDid your maximize your rate of return?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Charlie took a job in the caverns of Wall Street
\nFor a real good starting pay.
\nHe made a meteoric rise up the corporate ladder
\nHe could really play that game.<\/p>\n

But he never stopped to smell the roses
\nThe thorns got in his way.
\nHe kept his nose buried deep in the “Wall Street Journal”
\nHe was ridin’ The MBA.<\/p>\n

What’s your rate of return? What’s your rate of return?
\nWhat did your portfolio earn? (How’s your margin?)
\nDid your bottom line show a short term profit?
\nDid you maximize your rate of return?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well Charlie’s wife liked to shop at Bloomingdale’s
\nAnd his mistress at Tiffany’s.
\nWhat with the house in the country and the payments on the Mercedes
\nHe couldn’t quite make ends meet.<\/p>\n

So he made some personal investments using corporate finances
\nBut he rolled them over every day.
\nTill he took a flyer on some dot-com futures
\nAnd the market went the other way.<\/p>\n

What’s your rate of return? What’s your rate of return?
\nDid the market leave you burned? (Poor ol’ Charlie)
\nHe was ridin’ so high in that strong bull market
\nToo bad his checks were returned.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well Charlie neglected to cover his assets
\nAnd his company had to pay.
\nSo the board of directors called Charlie on the carpet
\nAnd they threw him off The MBA.<\/p>\n

Now Charlie’s hanging out I a banana republic
\nWhere a little money goes a long way.
\nThe statute of limitations gives him five more years
\nTill he can ride The MBA.<\/p>\n

What’s your rate of return? What’s your rate of return?
\nDid you spend more than you earned? (Poor ol’ Charlie!)
\nHe was ridin’ so high in that strong bull market
\nTill his negative rate of return.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well isn’t life much simpler living in the Trump Age
\nNow that we can safely say
\nthere can be universal peace and happiness for mankind
\nIf the world rode The MBA from Trump University<\/p>\n

What’s your rate of return? What’s your rate of return?
\nAre your dividends fully earned? (How’s your karma?)
\nDid your bottom line show a long term profit?
\nCan you justify your rate of return?
\nDid your bottom line show a long term profit?
\nCan you justify your rate of return?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every songwriter should know the history of one of the most important tunes in American music. The melody was originally a sea shanty, published in 1865, called “The Ship that Never Returned,” by songwriter Henry Clay Work (who also wrote “My Grandfather’s Clock”). It’s first incarnation as a train song was as “The Wreck of
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,50,37,38,17,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-scottadmin","post-4095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business-stuff","category-musical-comedy-satire-parody","category-history","category-music","category-political-songs","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4095"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4220,"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4095\/revisions\/4220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.castaliapub.com\/williamscottmorrison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}