Flim-flammer's Daughter
Jeff Urs
"Flim-Flammer's Daughter"
ttto "Horse Tamer's Daughter"
My mother was librarian for a town near Ioway;
My father stayed and plied his trade a fortnight there one May,
He sold a boys' band with his gab (he had the gift, they say),
And then he went, leaving instruments that none had learned to play.
While Mother bore, amid her lore, her share of scorn and ire,
For men in sales and Father's trails, hot pitch waited on a fire.
To pay for lessons then was deemed good after bad to throw,
So laid on stands, not played in bands, the instruments must go.
Beneath the hall of books my mother tended they were set,
And had I not come to love that spot, I'm sure they'd be there yet.
But as I grew, I joined the crew that gave the brass its shine,
Until I dreamed of what we cleaned and stepping eight per line.
My mother spoke in wistful tones of the man whose face I wear,
Of how he talked, and how he walked, and how he combed his hair,
And how he, one day, came to tell of dreams he'd come to own
Of music taught with little aught but student thought alone.
And though those dreams were surely schemes, the proof I had to see,
But then, surprised, I recognized Bach's Minuet -- off key.
So I set out to teach that tune; I said "Hum it all the time,
Till its rhythm's deep within your bones, and its notes within your
mind";
Well, soon the kids came running, and they took the horns again,
And among the throng all had learned the song, except maybe one in
ten.
But how to play, I'd never say; that, each of them must try,
So off they went, bearing instruments they'd learn the same as I.
I never studied theory, I never got a degree;
But still I teach the way my dad had left to me,
And when I raise my hand and the band begins to play,
One, it's said, can match our show: River City, Ioway.
--
Jeff
Kip Williams
> So what *did* happen in the towns that Harold Hill swindled?
>
> "Flim-Flammer's Daughter"
> ttto "Horse Tamer's Daughter"
>
> My mother was librarian for a town near Ioway;
> My father stayed and plied his trade a fortnight there one May,
I don't know the tune, but I like the verses.. If I can pick one nit,
the last line seems too long (of course, it's possible that it's
elongated in the song you've based it on, and I wouldn't know that, so
use the right amount of salt). In my iggorance, I suggest:
"One, it's said, can match us: River City, Ioway."
Kip W
Jeff Urs
> I don't know the tune, but I like the verses.. If I can pick one nit,
> the last line seems too long (of course, it's possible that it's
> elongated in the song you've based it on, and I wouldn't know that, so
> use the right amount of salt). In my iggorance, I suggest:
>
> "One, it's said, can match us: River City, Ioway."
Thank you, sir; your analysis is without flaw.
The source line is
"When I send my silent call, wild horses come to me."
As set to music, though, "call" ("show" in mine) is four times as long
as the other syllables in the line, giving that line the feeling of
two and convincing me that I could be more specific than my original
"that band in Ioway".
--
Jeff
Harold Groot
While the first 4 parts were using the verse of the original the last
bit is the chorus.
The line in the original has a couple of quick pickup notes and goes
"When I SEND my SI-lent CALL-l-L <then held additional beats> (wild
horses come to me)"
That matches up pretty well with the new
"One, it's SAID, can MATCH our SHOW-oh-OH <then held the same
additional beats> (River City, Ioway)"
To be easier to sing, however, I might suggest
"Only ONE can MATCH our SHOW-oh-OH <then held those same additional
beats> (River City, Ioway)"
Jeff Urs
> To be easier to sing, however, I might suggest
> "Only ONE can MATCH our SHOW-oh-OH <then held those same additional
> beats> (River City, Ioway)"
I liked that, too, but I went with "it's said" because I felt it made
it clearer that she has no first-hand knowledge of River City, and so
doesn't know who runs things up there.
--
Jeff
Harold Groot
<Jeff...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Jeff
Well then, how about
"Only ONE, it's SAID, can MATCH our SHOW <then held...>"
It doesn't have the multi-note SHOW-oh-OH (so it's not held quite as
long as the original), but it's still a held note and the line as a
whole would still be easier to sing.
Joe Kesselman
>
> It doesn't have the multi-note SHOW-oh-OH (so it's not held quite as
> long as the original)
"Ma-atch our show" would fit the melody more precisely.
Jeff Urs
> Well then, how about
>
> "Only ONE, it's SAID, can MATCH our SHOW <then held...>"
>
I can go with that:
Now, I never studied theory, I never got a degree;
But still I teach that way of Dad's that came to me,
And when I raise my hand and the band begins to play,
Only one, they say, can match our show:
River City, Ioway.
Thanks.
--
Jeff
Mary
> So what *did* happen in the towns that Harold Hill swindled?
>
> "Flim-Flammer's Daughter"
> ttto "Horse Tamer's Daughter
>
> I never studied theory, I never got a degree;
> But still I teach the way my dad had left to me,
> And when I raise my hand and the band begins to play,
> One, it's said, can match our show: River City, Ioway.
> --
> Jeff
<applause> I DO know the tune, and I like this!
Mary