Whistle a Happy Tune
Although I’ve not volunteered the information to many people outside the blog, the news about my avowed July 11 quit date is getting around. Although this adds to the pressure, a couple of good things have happened as a result of the news. One: My friend, Debra, says she’ll quit with me on July 11. Two: My boss stopped by to chat and asked what the department could do to support me. I thought both of these gestures were awesome.
Weird Thoughts
Now that I’ve picked my quit date, I’ve been having weird thoughts:
- If I quit smoking will I ever be able to relax again?
- Will I be a different person if I quit smoking after all these years?
- If I quit smoking, will I ever be able to have fun again?
- If I quit smoking, will I gain so much weight that I’ll get diabetes and heart disease and croak?
Speaking of croaking, the following is an excerpt from Tobacco.org. (In this instance, “croaking” refers to my singing voice…of course.)
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.
- In a game of chance the other night
- Old dame fortune was good and right
- The kings and queens they kept on comin’ around
- Aw, I was hittin’ em good and bettin’ ‘em high
- But my bluff didn’t work on a certain guy
- He kept callin’ and layin’ his money down
- See, he’d raise me then I’d raise him
- and I’d say to him buddy ya gotta sink or swim
- Finally called me but didn’t raise the bet!
- –Hmmph! I said Aces Full Pal — I got you!
- He said, “I’ll pay up in a minute or two
- But right now, i just gotta have another cigarette.”
CHORUS
- Now the other night I had a date
- with the cutest little gal in any state
- A high-bred, uptown, fancy little dame
- She said she loved me and it seemd to me
- That things were sorta like they oughtta be
- So hand in hand we strolled down lovers lane
- She was a long way from a chunk of ice
- And our pettin’ party was goin’ real nice
- And I got an idea I might have been there yet
- So I give her a kiss and a little squeeze
- Then she said, “Travis, Excuse me Please
- But I just gotta have a cigarette.”
