Transcription of Audio Clip “Taylor Jefferson (TJ) Box, Part 2”

Transcription of audio clip “Taylor Jefferson (T.J.) Box, Part 2” from the Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project Collection, 1979-1984 (dated July 11, 1979) Clip 1: Introduction Taylor Box: Alright, let me— Jay Orr: We’ve got to put that little tag on the front again. This is Jay Orr talking to Mr. T.J. Box outside of Lexington, Tennessee for the Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project. We’re into our fifth reel of this interview, and the date is July 11, 1979. TB: Neighbor, Mr. Orr is, he’s like these men at the radio station and the television station has to do these commercials and things, you know, see. But without seeing us, you wouldn’t understand it, see. Now I’ve got him down here now, see, standing on him, you know, (laughs) and try and go ahead and do this. But I used to, you know, on the radio, I used to (strumming a guitar) play and sing a little bit on the radio on an advertisement for used car lot. And the man who purchased the time on the radio would be over there watching us boys, you know. And he’d be holding up that there paper wanting me to tell them about them cars, and I’d be trying to tell them about where we was gonna play, you know, see. JO: (laughs) Clip 2: Recitation Taylor Box: Well, Mr. Orr, I wrote a, a, a poem recitation. I already have this copyrighted in Washington, D.C. A tribute to the local barbershops of our great nation here. I was ill a lots in my life, sick, knocked out a lots, and I loafed around the barbershops. And I’m known in quite a few states around at several different barbershops, sort of the barbershop lawyer. I learned all this in the barbershops as I would loaf around. When, after I had my first major operation, my folks would take me to the barbershop to get a haircut. I would look out the window and watch for them to come back in the car to get me and take me home, and I got to noticing what goes on, you know, what. Before that, I’d never taken time to loaf around a barbershop. I’d drive by, and if there was three people sitting there, I’d go on home and get my haircut later on. But I got to noticing you can get all the information you want and need about anything in your local barbershop. And you ladies can probably get the same thing in the local beauty shop. So, I wrote me a poem recitation about it, and this is the truth. This is American people just like we are. And you’ll have to admit that when you hear this. This is Uncle Jake’s tribute to the local barbershop, and it goes just like this. [begins reciting poem] As we journey on life’s pathway, we like to think of our failures as fate when most of the time it’s really our fault simply because we learn things too late. I spent my first thirty years just like running a race. I lived in seven different states, just going from place to place. And when I look back now, it’s real easy to see that most of my problems were caused by me. I was a big Tennessee hillbilly, and I never had much sense. I always thought the grass was greener on the other side of the fence until the year of our Lord 1953 when so many things happened that made a different man out of me. As I spent a long time recovering from a major operation, that’s when I learned some of the things that was wrong with our nation. And that’s when I started my rise toward the top, when I started loafing each day in the local barbershop. As the customers came in, they’d usually say I’m really in a hurry and I don’t have long to stay. But then they would get started talking and I learned right away that they could solve all of our problems each in his own way. I learned about politics and all kinds of sports, about hunting and fishing and ballgames of all sorts. I learned who was sick and who was well and who had died. I learned that most of these could have lived longer if they’d tried, but they wouldn’t stop drinking and smoking and running around, so they came to their resting place under the ground. I learned it was a paper bag instead of a paper poke. I bet I learned a thousand good barbershop jokes about the skinny, the fat, the short, and the tall. A good barber knows plenty of funny jokes about all. But I’m glad that our Creator’s really all wise, and he knows better than to have us all be the same size. Now, I know this is kind of boring, and you wish I’d stop, but I like to talk about the things happen in the local barbershop. And I appreciate you listening to this little recitation, and I like to think someday, some way, we might elect a barber as president of our nation. For he could solve all of our problems because he's heard so many thousands say how much better off all of the people would be if they would only listen to us and just do things our way. Thank you [end of poem]. Jay Orr: That’s a good one. TB: Uncle Jake’s tribute to local barbershops. You can hear that and learn it right there in your barbershop, you know, see. JO: Uh-huh [yes]. TB: People, every person that comes in, just about, it’s got a different political view there. There’d be a hundred different parties if they could all organize, you know, and could get each other to do it our way. We could solve all of our problems, you know, see. JO: Uh-huh [yes]. TB: So that’s, that’s the, what you hear in the barbershop. You hear who will, who won’t, who did, didn’t, who can, who can’t, who moved, who sold out, who come back, who visits, who, you learn it all by loafing around your barbershop. So, just spend a little more time loafing around your barbershops as you go along if you want to find out some things, see. Clip 3: Grapevine Swing Taylor Box: And now another one. Had you rather I play music as to talk this way? Jay Orr: No, no. TB: Huh [what]? Did, did you hear my “Grapevine Swing?” JO: I don’t remember that one. TB: Now— JO: Go ahead. TB: --Mr. Orr— JO: Go ahead. TB; Yeah, I, Mr. Orr, I, I, I entertained all this winter long, this past winter, started last fall, the retired people. There’s millions of them in Florida. And of course, I didn’t get to see them all, but I seen my part of them last winter. And at their recreation buildings in their camp areas where they camp, I would go and do my Uncle Jake program. So, I had to write me something to start off my program with, a, a recitation, something to do there to greet the people, you know, and to, to get them started and, and knowing where I was from and everything. So, I, I fixed this up to do at my Uncle Jake programs, that swinging on the grapevine swing. Now, if you was raised in the hills, and many of those people raised in the hills of other states, and they did too, they, they used grapevine swing to have their thrills on, back when they were young like I did. But anyhow, you can understand, now, most of these people were from up north, and that’s why that I started my program off like I did, the first part of it, especially. Goes just like this right here. [begins reciting poem] Hello. Greetings to each and every one from the North, the East, and the West. And to those who are from this other place, this is the greeting that we love the best. Howdy, y’all. A great big welcome to everyone. We just like for you to feel at home and hope that you have fun. And at this time, I would like for you to take a memory trip with me back to the years of long ago, to my childhood in the hills of Tennessee. In the community where I grew up, most everyone could play and sing. But one of the biggest thrills to the kids in the hills was swinging on the grapevine swing. Our dads would find a real tall tree that stood on a real steep hill. For kids back then were like kids are now, and we thought the higher the ride, the bigger the thrill. When we looked back to the building of our nation, we find the kids about the same in every generation. The bigger kids would just take over the swing. For the smaller kids they would show no concern until Dad and Mom called out to them, said now you big ‘uns will have to let the little ones take their turn. Most people in the hills were poor, but we did the best we could. Us kids had to chop and pick cotton and draw water and cut wood.

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