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homestead - Re: [Homestead] Dr. Heidegger's Experiment - was Put Big Tobacco out of business

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  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Dr. Heidegger's Experiment - was Put Big Tobacco out of business
  • Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 07:23:24 -0700


It was also quite well known and agreed that tobacco was
addictive as is reflected in the lyrics to Tex Williams song in 1947:

I heard this song many times on Wisconsin radio and had remembered it as being sung by Phil Harris. His gravelly singing voice convinced many that he was a heavy smoker. I did a quick search to check my memory and found this:

1947: 'SMOKE! SMOKE! SMOKE! (THAT CIGARETTE)'

Written by Merle Travis for Tex Williams; the release not only saved Tex Williams' waning career, but also became Capitol Records' first million-seller. Travis later released his own version. These two are the most commonly heard versions, although Phil Harris also had a hit with the song.
From the New York Times, Oct. 13, 1985
:
Country-western songwriter and entertainer Sollie "Tex" Williams, a heavy smoker best known for his tune, "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette," died after a year-long battle with cancer, his daughter said. . . . her father, who was diagnosed a year ago as having cancer, smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, dropping to about a pack a day before he died. "He tried to quit, but he couldn't," she said.
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!(That Cigarette)
Now I'm a fellow with a heart of gold
And the ways of a gentleman I've been told
Kind-of-a-guy that wouldn't even harm a flea
But if me and a certain character met
The guy that invented that cigarette
I'd murder that son-of-a gun in the first degree
It ain't cuz I don't smoke 'em myself
and i don't reckon that it'll hinder your health
I smoked 'em all my life and I ain't dead yet
But nicotine slaves are all the same
at a pettin' party or a poker game
Everything gotta stop while they have a cigarette
CHORUS
Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette
Puff, puff, puff until you smoke yourself to death.
Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait,
But you just gotta have another cigarette.





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