I was just putting some 50's rockabilly tunes on a CD and I heard Tonail Darlin' (or reference to toenails) in the lyrics. Elvis mentions Toenail Darlin' in Lawdy, Miss Clawdy and Carl Perkins makes reference to toenails too in one of his songs. That expression is new to me.

Any of you old-timers remember that expression from the 50's?

SHUSH don't call them that! They might get angry and start throwing canes and Bengay at you!

I have no idea...and I was old enough to remember...hope someone else knows...

The concensus seems to be that Tornell was a womans name, although I admit I have never known anyone called it!

Paul

Could this be it?

http://www.tv.com/janu-tornell/person/342733/summary.html

Nice try, Patsy!

The "official" lyrics list the "toenail darling" part as actually being "little darling." This has been a mystery for quite awhile and even produced the following at another website:

quote:

What the heck does he mean when he sings " Good bye toe nail darlin" instead of "Goodbye little Darlin"? Have been wondering this for years.


Thanks for the question. Elvis is actually saying, " Goodbye, Tornell Darling". Tornell is a woman's name. I know how you feel, BJ. When I was a kid I first heard "Hound Dog". When he sang..."You ain't never caught a rabbit"...I thought he was saying..."You ain't never quarter abbott". I was stumped by that for years! Lloyd Price wrote "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" and Elvis recorded it in 1956 and included it in his live shows during the 1970's. Thanks for the question and I hope I've helped. Take care.

I think Elvis' phrasing and pronunciation was one of his trademarks but it sometimes left his lyrics open for debate! For a long time, my wife thought it was "Return Lucinda" instead of "Return To Sender!" Elvis joked about this during the filming of "Elvis: That's The Way It Is" when he read a bogus telegram from RCA stating that they hoped to be able to understand the words to his songs.

I have no idea if he meant to say "toenail" or if he was messing around with his pronunciation of "little." I don't think it was meant as "Tornell!" I do love the song, though! Have you heard the alternate version on the 50's Masters boxed set?

Nugs the lyrics of the song are usually "Little Darling" and most lyrics sites simply copy of one another, that is why most sites show those lyrics. In the alternate version Elvis does its most definately not a different phrasing of "little". And if its toenail thats just weird lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLjt83qObhI

Hey maybe he dropped the bowling bowl on his foot and that's why he left his toenail behind!

Paul

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Hey maybe he dropped the bowling bowl on his foot and that's why he left his toenail behind!

Bowling ball?

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Originally posted by Nugs:

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Hey maybe he dropped the bowling bowl on his foot and that's why he left his toenail behind!

Bowling ball?

Nugs, I think they call them "bowling bowls" in the United Kingsdom...

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Originally posted by Nugs:

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Hey maybe he dropped the bowling bowl on his foot and that's why he left his toenail behind!

Bowling ball?

Just a joke Nugs. Apparently Miss Clawdy liked to bowl every morning till late at night .

Paul

Ahhhh. I see. She liked to "bowl" all right!

Seems pretty easy to misunderstand what is sometimes being sung. The words are not pronounced as they typically are when merely spoken. The street vernacular and slang of various regions can give the same word an all-new sound and/or meaning. They're still debating the lyrics to Louie Louie, even though it was shown years ago just what was being said. Of course at sixteen, I needed and wanted it to be what I thought I heard when playing it at 33 1/3. I think I'd have been truly letdown if I knew back then that all the uproar was because the band and lead singer were not in-sync with each other throughout the song, and they didn't know it. BTW "Louie Louie" was a woman bartender in the song and the song is about a sailor who is coming back to her.......Sure glad I didn't know that back then.

Madonna once sang a song dedicated to my toenails. That was back before she met Alex Rodriguez. Darn him!