"The Auctioneer" (also known as "The Auctioneer's Song") is a

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

song by

Leroy Van Dyke Leroy Frank Van Dyke (born October 4, 1929) is an American country music and honky-tonk singer and guitarist, best known for his hits "The Auctioneer" (1956) and "Walk On By (Leroy Van Dyke song), Walk on By" (1961). Biography Van Dyke was bor ...

. It was co-written with Buddy Black. The song is notable for its interspersal of

auction chant Auction chant (also known as "bid calling", "the auction cry", "the cattle rattle", or simply "auctioneering") is a rhythmic repetition of numbers and "filler words" spoken by auctioneers when taking bids at an auction. Auction chanting is an al ...

Origin

Van Dyke was inspired to write the song from his own experiences as an

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

and those of his second cousin, Ray Sims. He wrote it while stationed in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and first performed it to troops on the same bill as

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. After finishing his service, Van Dyke entered the song in a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

talent contest. It gained him a

record contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with Dot Records. "The Auctioneer" subsequently topped the pop music chart, selling 2.5 million copies.

Storyline

The song talks of a young

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

boy who would skip school and visit a local auction barn. Becoming mesmerized by the auction chant, he decides he wants to be an auctioneer, regularly practising the chant behind the family barn. Though his parents are initially displeased with his career choice, they eventually relent, but (not wanting their family name to be tarnished because of poor auctioneering skills) they send him to

auction school An auction school is an institution or course of study that prepares an individual to become an auctioneer. Requirements Many U.S. states regulate the auction industry, and require that (among other things) an individual attend an approved auction ...

to properly learn the trade. He returns home a full-fledged auctioneer. Gradually, he becomes a top quality auctioneer, to a point where he ends up purchasing an airplane just to keep up with his sudden business demands. Van Dyke later stated that the story was largely true; the only artistic license he took with it was changing his cousin's home state from Missouri to Arkansas for scansion purposes: "nothing rhymed with Missouri."

Covers

"The Auctioneer" has been covered by numerous artists, most notably

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...

, and by

Steve Goodman Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song "City of New Orleans", which was recorded by Arlo Guthrie and many others including John Denver, ...

, who played it live while opening for Steve Martin. It was also included on Goodman's posthumous album, ''No Big Surprise'', in 1994. It was also done by

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

on his album ''

Dream Street Rose ''Dream Street Rose'' is Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's 14th original album released in 1980 on the Warner Brothers Records label (#3426). The album peaked at #58 on the country chart and at #60 on the pop chart. The album continues in the ...

'', in 1980.

Other versions

Czech singer and songwriter

Michal Tučný Michal Tučný (11 January 1947 – 10 March 1995) was a Czech singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most popular Czech country singers and he is regarded as a legend of the Czech country music (he was often referred to as the king ...

adapted the lyrics and translated it into the Czech language under the name ''Prodavač'' ("Shop assistant") some time between 1974 and 1980. He describes his childhood admiration of a shop assistant in a local store, followed by his own entry into this profession, from which he ultimately turned to music. Finally he concludes, that in the year 2000 there may be no

LP record The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

s or gramophones, but trade will flourish anyway, and he (half-jokingly) dreams about becoming a store manager.Lyrics of "Prodavač"
on karaoketexty.cz

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Auctioneer, The 1956 songs 1950s songs Leroy Van Dyke songs Country music songs Novelty songs