°- What You Goin To Do When The Rent Comes Round (Rufus R-J-Brown) (1905)

[Instrumental prelude]

[Verse 1]
Who dat a knockin' at the door below, Who dat a shiv'rin' in the hail and snow,
I can hear you grumblin' Mister Rufus Brown, Just keep on a knockin' babe, I won't come down, I wants to tell you that you can't get in, Have you been a gamblin' Honey, did you win? what's that you tell me fool you lost your breath? I hopes you freezes to death.

[Chorus]
Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round, What you goin' to say, how you goin' to pay, You'll never have a bit of sense till judgement day; You know, I know, rent means dough, Landlord's goin' to put us out in the snow, Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round.
Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round, What you goin' to say, how you goin' to pay, You'll never have a bit of sense till judgement day; You know, I know, rent means dough, Landlord's goin' to put us out in the snow, Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round.

[Verse 2]
Keep on a bangin' on the old front door, In just a minute babe you'll hear me snore, If I goes to bed without a bite or sup, You will be an icicle when I wakes up, Where's all the money that you said you'd bring, Melted all away just like the snow last Spring, Rufus I loves you, but this serves you right, Guess that's sufficient, goodnight.

“What You Goin’ To Do When The Rent Comes ’Round—Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown—goes all the way back to 1905. A comic ragtime number about a couple who can’t make the rent, it came from the team of Harry von Tilzer and Andrew B. Sterling—two songwriters, friends since 1898, who, in their early days, were so broke they reportedly shared a single suit just to go out and pitch songs. That hard-luck story may sound familiar—the song’s tale of dodging so not to face the "landlord in the snow" likely drew straight from their own lives in New York.

And that was our freshly made cover of that 1905 hit, using the original lyrics, recomposed right here in one of the virtual studios of Public Domain Radio. Now, let’s head over to Studio 4 for another…”

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[Instrumental prelude] [Verse 1] Who dat a knockin' at the door below, Who dat a shiv'rin' in the hail and snow, I can hear you grumblin' Mister Rufus Brown, Just keep on a knockin' babe, I won't come down, I wants to tell you that you can't get in, Have you been a gamblin' Honey, did you win? what's that you tell me fool you lost your breath? I hopes you freezes to death. [Chorus] Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round, What you goin' to say, how you goin' to pay, You'll never have a bit of sense till judgement day; You know, I know, rent means dough, Landlord's goin' to put us out in the snow, Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round. Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round, What you goin' to say, how you goin' to pay, You'll never have a bit of sense till judgement day; You know, I know, rent means dough, Landlord's goin' to put us out in the snow, Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round. [Verse 2] Keep on a bangin' on the old front door, In just a minute babe you'll hear me snore, If I goes to bed without a bite or sup, You will be an icicle when I wakes up, Where's all the money that you said you'd bring, Melted all away just like the snow last Spring, Rufus I loves you, but this serves you right, Guess that's sufficient, goodnight. [Chorus] Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round, What you goin' to say, how you goin' to pay, You'll never have a bit of sense till judgement day; You know, I know, rent means dough, Landlord's goin' to put us out in the snow, Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round. Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round, What you goin' to say, how you goin' to pay, You'll never have a bit of sense till judgement day; You know, I know, rent means dough, Landlord's goin' to put us out in the snow, Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, what you goin' to do when the rent comes round. “What You Goin’ To Do When The Rent Comes ’Round—Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown—goes all the way back to 1905. A comic ragtime number about a couple who can’t make the rent, it came from the team of Harry von Tilzer and Andrew B. Sterling—two songwriters, friends since 1898, who, in their early days, were so broke they reportedly shared a single suit just to go out and pitch songs. That hard-luck story may sound familiar—the song’s tale of dodging so not to face the "landlord in the snow" likely drew straight from their own lives in New York. And that was our freshly made cover of that 1905 hit, using the original lyrics, recomposed right here in one of the virtual studios of Public Domain Radio. Now, let’s head over to Studio 4 for another…”

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