It's interesting to read the discussion about words on rolls.  I had an
entertaining experience when I recut "I'm No Angel" from an original
Paramount player roll.

I had the roll transcribed quite some time back, before I was actively
collecting lyrics to publish with the roll.  A CD I owned had Mae West's
recorded version of the  song, so I wrote down the lyrics figuring they
were the same as the roll.

Remembering what a rascal Mae was, I thought she might've altered the
lyrics on me.  To play it safe, I called the friend who loaned me the
roll and had them read the lyrics over the phone.  Fortunately, no one
walked in during the process and I made sure the speaker-phone was shut
off at my end.

Sure enough, Mae had spiced up things even more, kind of like adding more
chiles to an already five-alarm Chile con Carne!  It was fascinating to
compare her version with the words on the roll.  So, just to make things
more interesting, I issued the roll with both sets of lyrics: the roll
version and the Mae West version.

I agree with Joyce Brite when she says we're missing a piece of music
history when we don't have the lyrics.  If it wasn't for some rolls,
I wouldn't even know that there were expressions in the twenties like
"She Knows Her Onions".  Seeing these expressions and knowing what they
mean shows what things have changed and what things have stayed the same.

By the way, "I'm No Angel" was my biggest seller.  It's good to know some
traditions remain the same, that is:  "Sex still Sells!"

Paul Johnson¶
The Piano Roll Shop

 [ The "double entendre" song was a mainstay of small-town vaudeville
 [ and later was quite popular for "Party Records".  I especially enjoy
 [ the slick word-gags in the songs of Sophie Tucker: "Saturday night"
 [ humor written for her by the same talented composers and lyricists
 [ who wrote prim "Sunday afternoon" ballads.  -- Robbie