Wendy wrote:
HELP!
As a young child my Italian grandmother used to sing me a song all the time. She used to sing it to me in English. Recently my father and I were trying to remember all the lyrics to it to sing it to my kids. I stumbled along your website and did not see it. Was wondering if you have ever heard of it and know the rest of the words.
This is what we can remember:
Long time ago
Johnny and Joe
Came from Italy to make a lot of dough
Oh what do you do John in the Dellalaqua One
Oh what do you do John
I push, I push the truck
Oh what do you do John in the Dellalaqua One, one, one, one.A name of this song or anything you could tell us would help.
Thanks, Wendy
If anyone can help Wendy with this song, please comment below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, English, Italy, Languages, Mama Lisa, Questions, Readers Questions, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
7 Responses to “Can Anyone Help with a Song that Starts “Long Time Ago, Johnny and Joe”?”
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October 23rd, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Wendy-
This is what my dad sang to me…
“Long time ago
Johnny and Joe
Came from Sunny Italy to make some’a dough
Johnny, he a stay and Joe he a go
and whenna they meet the other day
this what they had to say…ay!
Oh whataya do a John?
I’ya work at the Delaware Locawon
and whataya dowa John
I push, I push, I push
and whataya push a John
I pusha the truck around
and where do you pusha John?
at the Delaware locawan, at the Delaware locawan…”
There are a few more verses. It’s a Italian immigrant depression era song. One verse is about the WPA. (Works Project Administration)
another is something like…
“Whataya do a Jay…
I juiced, I juiced, I juiced
and whataya juiced a Jay
I juiced to collect my pay!”
all of the above is best sung with a heavy Italian accent.
-C
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:34 pm
I’d love to hear that song!
Mama Lisa
September 27th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
I love it my great grandma who is from italy would sing it to all of us and now i sing it to my kids…
February 12th, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Whataya do marie
oh i push i pust the buttons and wheredaya push the buttons
at the telephone company a nee a nee the telephone company
Some time ago john and joe came over from sunny italy
came over to maka the dough
Then one day john met joe and this is the way the conversation was intended to go
Oh where do you work a john
on the delaware lacawan
and whata ya do a john
oh i push i push i push
and whata ya push a john
i push i push the truck
and where do you push the truck
on the delaware lacawan awan the delaware lacawan
oWhataya do marie
oh i push i push the buttons and wheredaya push the buttons
at the telephone company a nee a nee the telephone company
May 18th, 2014 at 7:14 pm
My father used to sing that song for us as well. The song was known both as “Push-a Push-a Push” and “Delaware Lackawana”. It is a children’s song but I can remember hearing sung by Dean Martin and Perry Como, possibly on an old TV show. Youtube has the children’s version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFa4QvBU4n8
May 18th, 2014 at 7:28 pm
I found another version that came out in 1926 called “Where Do You Worka John” and is quite different than the children’s version and has more verses and is more conversational. I know that I have heard a version that has all of the previous mentioned verses but I have yet to find it. I like this following version much better than the children’s version, you just have to listen to the first 25 seconds or so of old music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Gzk9lZRZw
December 9th, 2016 at 12:26 am
Other verses
Where do you work a Marie, for the telephone company?
What do you do a Marie. I push a push a push
What do you push a Marie? I Push a pusha the plugs.
Where do you work a Marie; for the telephone company a nee the telephone company
Where do you work a Gus? For the city terminal bus
What do you do a Gus? I push, I push, I push.
What do you push a Gus? I pusha pusha the bus.
Where do you work a Gus? For the city terminal busa busa bus, the city terminal bus.