What/where is "Tatsee" in this Ramblin' Jack Elliott song
June 30, 2020 5:34 PM Subscribe
Ramblin' Jack Elliott's 1968 version of "Goodnight Little Arlo" has this verse:
In Tatsee we cruise the Belt Parkway /
Drive all up and down the road /
Past Brighton and Coney and old Sheep's Head bay /
Find a puddle and drive on home.
There's some obvious references to Brooklyn but I've never heard Brooklyn or any neighborhood within called "Tatsee." What does Tatsee refer to?
Best answer: it sounds to me like tatsee isnt a neighborhood but a vehicle. Maybe a car named Totsy?
Yeah it looks like Totsy was Woody Guthries 1950 Plymouth
posted by jeb at 5:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
Yeah it looks like Totsy was Woody Guthries 1950 Plymouth
posted by jeb at 5:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
Guthrie had at least three cars he named Totsy, apparently after his daughter Cathy's stroller. Cathy died in an accidental fire in 1947, aged 4.
Totsy II was a two door Ford purchased in 1947 with the royalties from Oklahoma Hills, Totsy III was the 1950 Plymouth Marjorie bought in 1951 with the advance royalties from The Weavers' version of So Long, It's Been Good To Know Yuh. If Elliott is around, it's likely Totsy III.
posted by zamboni at 8:22 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Totsy II was a two door Ford purchased in 1947 with the royalties from Oklahoma Hills, Totsy III was the 1950 Plymouth Marjorie bought in 1951 with the advance royalties from The Weavers' version of So Long, It's Been Good To Know Yuh. If Elliott is around, it's likely Totsy III.
posted by zamboni at 8:22 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
There are a few instances of them traveling the Belt Parkway in Totsy, from Ramblin' Jack Elliott: The Never-Ending Highway, by Hank Reineke. Page 36 has them loading kids into the car for a drive.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:41 AM on July 1, 2020
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:41 AM on July 1, 2020
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posted by macadamiaranch at 5:50 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]