Family Songs
Songs and musical traditions passed through generations
A Citizen of Chenequa
Adapted from Dartmouth College’s drinking song “A Son of a Gun,” “A Citizen of Chenequa” was sung by members of our family, George “IV” included, who lived on or visited Pine Lake in the Village of Chenequa. Newer generations may have less reason to shout anything at the residents of Merton, or even know where Merton is, but the song is too much fun to let it slip out of our family’s memory.
sugar, three hundred pounds;
I’d pour it in the Village Bell
and stir it ’round and ’round,
Like ev’ry honest fellow,
I like my whiskey clear,
For I’m a citizen of Chenequa
and a son of a gun for beer.
(Chorus)
A son of a, son
of a, son of a, son of a,
son of a gun for beer.
I’m a son of a, son of a,
son of a, son of a, son of a gun for beer.
Like ev’ry honest fellow I
like my whiskey clear,
For I’m a citizen of Chenequa
and a son of a gun for beer.
(Chorus)
And if I had a daughter, sir,
I’d dress her up in brown,
and put her on the island,
to lure the sailors on.
And if I had a son, sir, I’ll
tell you what he’d do.
He would yell “to Hell with Merton”
like his daddy used to do.
Hoch sollen Sie leben!
“Hoch sollen Sie leben!” means roughly “Long may you live!” Capitalized Sie addresses one or more people formally; other versions use er for “he,” sie for “she,” or sollen sie for “they.” The song is a traditional German drinking toast, documented in songbooks by the late 1800s and included in the 1900 collection Deutsche Weisen as “Deutscher Trinkspruch” (“German drinking toast”). It’s a family standard sung at all manner of celebrations.
Hoch sollen Sie leben!
Hoch sollen Sie leben!
Dreimal hoch!
Sie leben hoch!
Sie leben hoch!
Sie leben hoch!
Sie leben hoch!
Jawohl!
Jawohl!
Sie leben hoch!
Eins, zwei, drei, g’suffa!