Looking for Songs re: Soldiers Coming Home
Daniel Herman
I'm looking for songs about soldiers returning home after war. I'm
thinking of songs such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Sam Stone (John
Prine) and Al Bowly's in Heaven (Richard Thompson).
I'm more interested in finding good songs to sing than coming up with a
"complete" songography. Any ideas?
Dan Herman
Katonah, NY
Jim Lawton
How about 'Johnny I hardly knew you?' as a trad one (in Digitrad)?
Cheers Jim.
John Fereira
In article <329995...@columbia.edu> Daniel Herman <db...@columbia.edu> writes:
>I'm looking for songs about soldiers returning home after war. I'm
>thinking of songs such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Sam Stone (John
>Prine) and Al Bowly's in Heaven (Richard Thompson).
>
>I'm more interested in finding good songs to sing than coming up with a
>"complete" songography. Any ideas?
something like "My Youngest Son Came Home Today" or something like
that. It's haunting.
Richard Shindell does this neat song about his great grandfather
that ran away from home to see the war in Gettysburgh and then
running back home.
--
John Fereira
fer...@isis.com
Isis Distributed Systems - Ithaca, NY
Gerry Myerson
In article <57d0m8$3...@transfer.stratus.com>, fer...@isis.com (John
Fereira) wrote:
->
-> Check out Mary Black's "Collected" album. The last song is entitled
-> something like "My Youngest Son Came Home Today" or something like
-> that. It's haunting.
Yes, written by Eric Bogle, who also wrote (and recorded) And the Band
Played Waltzing Matilda, which also fits the theme.
Gerry Myerson (ge...@mpce.mq.edu.au)
rsan...@aol.com
The Kingston Trio did a nice song called "2:10, 6:18" on one of their
later albums. It's about a fellow coming home from the war to not much of
any good!
Stephen L Suffet
On Mon, 25 Nov 1996, Daniel Herman wrote:
> I'm looking for songs about soldiers returning home after war. I'm
> thinking of songs such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Sam Stone (John
> Prine) and Al Bowly's in Heaven (Richard Thompson).
>
> I'm more interested in finding good songs to sing than coming up with a
> "complete" songography. Any ideas?
>
> Dan Herman
> Katonah, NY
>
>
Dear Dan---
Some nominees:
Tom Paxton's "My Son John"
Irish traditional: "Johnny I Hardly Knew You"
Patrick S. Gilmore's "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" (same
tune as "Johnny I Hardly Knew You," or a close variant thereof)
Woody Guthrie's "The Blinging of Isaac Woodard" and "Dirty
Overalls" (also called "Dirty Overhalls" or "Dirty Overhauls")
Irish traditional: "Mrs. McGrath"
Bob Dylan's "John Brown" (modern treatment of Mrs. McGrath story
with music close to Guthrie's "Dirty Overalls" -- a variant of "Reuben's
Train" melody)
Irish/Scotch-Irish traditional: "Danny Boy" -- actually about
going off to war, but with the woman's vision of her lover's return: "But
come ye back when summer's in the meadow, or when the valley's hushed and
white with snow, 'Tis I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow..."
Irish traditional: "Boys of the Old Brigade"
Peter LaFarge's "Ira Hayes" (or "The Ballad of Ira Hayes')
Ian Campbell's "The Old Man's Tale"
And, of course, Eric Bogle's "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"
I know several others, but I have to go to work now. This is going
to become very long list!
Kindest regards,
Steve Suffet
Chip Taylor
In article <Pine.SUN.3.95L.96112...@labdien.cc.columbia.edu>, Stephen L Suffet <sl...@columbia.edu> wrote:
***snip***
>
> Tom Paxton's "My Son John"
>
> Irish traditional: "Johnny I Hardly Knew You"
>
> Patrick S. Gilmore's "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" (same
>tune as "Johnny I Hardly Knew You," or a close variant thereof)
>
> Woody Guthrie's "The Blinging of Isaac Woodard" and "Dirty
>Overalls" (also called "Dirty Overhalls" or "Dirty Overhauls")
>
> Irish traditional: "Mrs. McGrath"
>
> Bob Dylan's "John Brown" (modern treatment of Mrs. McGrath story
>with music close to Guthrie's "Dirty Overalls" -- a variant of "Reuben's
>Train" melody)
>
> Irish/Scotch-Irish traditional: "Danny Boy" -- actually about
>going off to war, but with the woman's vision of her lover's return: "But
>come ye back when summer's in the meadow, or when the valley's hushed and
>white with snow, 'Tis I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow..."
>
> Irish traditional: "Boys of the Old Brigade"
>
> Peter LaFarge's "Ira Hayes" (or "The Ballad of Ira Hayes')
>
> Ian Campbell's "The Old Man's Tale"
>
> And, of course, Eric Bogle's "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"
>
Of course, Scottish traditional "Loch Lomond".
Jim Elbrecht
Daniel,
I was in a rowdy, boisterous bar in East Durham, NY about twenty
years ago. The band was just background music until they asked that we
all be quiet while they told a story.
I don't know if the story they told along with 'And the Band
Played Waltzing Matilda' was the true story of the song's origin, but
it was plausible. The band leader would speak for a few minutes, then
they would sing a verse.
There were no dry eyes in the house when they finished. There was
about a 60 second total silence, then one person started clapping,
then another........
I've never been moved so by a song. A purist would probably say
that a song can stand on it's own, without narration. I'd heard that
song a thousand times before, and liked it because it had a catchy
tune. Now I get goose bumps whenever I think of it.
jim
MIKE REGENSTREIF
In article <329995...@columbia.edu>, Daniel Herman <db...@columbia.edu> writes:
>I'm looking for songs about soldiers returning home after war. I'm
>thinking of songs such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Sam Stone (John
>Prine) and Al Bowly's in Heaven (Richard Thompson).
Arlo Guthrie- When A Soldier Makes It Home; there's a studio version on
MYSTIC JOURNEY (Rising Son) and a live version with intro on MORE TOGETHER
AGAIN (Rising Son).
Mike Regenstreif
"Folk Roots/Folk Branches" on CKUT in Montreal
mre...@vax2.concordia.ca
Stephen L Suffet
Greetings---
Please note that the first Woody Guthrie song listed below should be
"The Blinding of Isaac Woodard" -- not "The Blinging..." Sorry for failing
to proofread posting this morning. Anyway, this ballad -- one of Guthrie's
more obscure songs -- -- was about a black GI who was beaten senseless
by a policeman in South Carolina after using a whites-only men's room. The
incident took place in 1946, and the soldier fully lost his eyesight as a
result. The man's name was probably Woodward, but it appears as Woodard in
the printed versions I have seen.
Also, here's one more addition to the list:
John Prine's "Take the Star of of the Window"
Regards again,
Steve
jaldridge
"Luang Prabang" is by Dave Van Ronk, recorded by Patrick Sky on "Songs
That Made America Famous", 1973.
> Another one with a similar theme (damn, I wish I had the author
> or the song) is called something like "Luang Prabang." The
> opening verse is,
>
> "When I got back from Luang Prabang,
> There was nothing but air where my balls used to hang,
> But they gave me a medal and a big harangue,
> And now I'm a fucking he-e-ro."
Mike Copeland
> >I'm looking for songs about soldiers returning home after war. I'm
> >thinking of songs such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Sam Stone (John
> >Prine) and Al Bowly's in Heaven (Richard Thompson).
>
> Arlo Guthrie- When A Soldier Makes It Home; there's a studio version on
> MYSTIC JOURNEY (Rising Son) and a live version with intro on MORE TOGETHER
> AGAIN (Rising Son).
I recall a (popular) song of 30+ years ago: "Two Brothers", sung by
Kay Starr (I think). It should "qualify" for this thread...
Dan Sullivan
Stephen L Suffet <sl...@columbia.edu> wrote:
>On Mon, 25 Nov 1996, Daniel Herman wrote:
> Irish traditional: "Johnny I Hardly Knew You"
> Patrick S. Gilmore's "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" (same
>tune as "Johnny I Hardly Knew You," or a close variant thereof)
This is a mother's song to her war-decimated son. The words, as I
recall, begin,
"With your guns and drums and you drums and guns haroo, haroo."
The final verse is the most haunting:
"You've not an arm, you've not a leg, haroo, haroo.
You've not an arm, you've not a leg, haroo, haroo.
You've not an arm, you've not a leg,
You're a mindless, sightless, chickenless egg
And you'll have to be put to the streets to beg,
Oh, Johnny I hardly knew you."
I think I have it somewhere in a Theodore Bikel collection of
folk songs.
Another one with a similar theme (damn, I wish I had the author
or the song) is called something like "Luang Prabang." The
opening verse is,
"When I got back from Luang Prabang,
There was nothing but air where my balls used to hang,
But they gave me a medal and a big harangue,
And now I'm a fucking he-e-ro."
By the way, did you want songs like these, or joyful, kinda
pro-war songs, like Bobby Vinton's "I'm Coming Home," whose
chorus is something like,
"I am a soldier, a coming-home soldier,
No purple heart do I wear on my vest.
I'm just a soldier, a coming-home soldier.
I know that I, I've done my best.
I'm coming home, I'm coming,
I'm coming home, I'm coming home."
> Woody Guthrie's "The Blinging of Isaac Woodard" and "Dirty
>Overalls" (also called "Dirty Overhalls" or "Dirty Overhauls")
> Irish traditional: "Mrs. McGrath"
> Bob Dylan's "John Brown" (modern treatment of Mrs. McGrath story
>with music close to Guthrie's "Dirty Overalls" -- a variant of "Reuben's
>Train" melody)
> Irish/Scotch-Irish traditional: "Danny Boy" -- actually about
>going off to war, but with the woman's vision of her lover's return: "But
>come ye back when summer's in the meadow, or when the valley's hushed and
>white with snow, 'Tis I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow..."
> Irish traditional: "Boys of the Old Brigade"
>
> Peter LaFarge's "Ira Hayes" (or "The Ballad of Ira Hayes')
> Ian Campbell's "The Old Man's Tale"
> And, of course, Eric Bogle's "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"
> I know several others, but I have to go to work now. This is going
>to become very long list!
> Kindest regards,
> Steve Suffet
Dan Sullivan
The only time my education was interrupted was when I was in school.
--George Bernard Shaw
Stephen L Suffet
On Tue, 26 Nov 1996, Stephen L Suffet wrote:
> Greetings---
>[snip]
Also, here's one more addition to the list:
>
> John Prine's "Take the Star of of the Window"
>
>
Yipes! There goes my lousy proofreading again. John Prine's song is "Take
the Star Out of the Window." I'm lucky I get my own name right most of
the time. :-)
---Steve
Daniel Herman
Mike Copeland wrote:
> I recall a (popular) song of 30+ years ago: "Two Brothers", sung by
> Kay Starr (I think). It should "qualify" for this thread...
I sort of remember it too. Civil war song I believe:
Two brothers on their way, two brothers on their way
One wore blue and one wore grey
Dan
Duff D Means
Daniel Herman wrote:
> >
> Two brothers on their way, two brothers on their way
> One wore blue and one wore grey
>
> Dan
Unfortunately, cannot contribute toward artist/label/etc. Definitely
a soldiers coming home song. One of the following verses goes something
like this:
Two (wives?) by the railroad track, ...
One wore blue, the other wore black.
--
Duff Means
The views expressed are not necessarily those of The Boeing Company,
its subsidiaries, programs, or employees.
dji...@aol.com
>On Mon, 25 Nov 1996, Daniel Herman wrote:
>
There's a snippet of a song (maybe it's the whole song) that I learned
from my father. This in itself is remarkable as my father was legally
done deaf. I think Someone told me about 8 years ago that it was sung in
the trenches during WW I by soldiers contemplating their return home. I
had always thought it was from WW II. My dad would have been 8 years old
at the end of WW I.
There's a long, long trail a-winding
Into the land of my dreams
Where the nightingale is singing
And the bright moon beams
Theres a long, long night awaiting
Until my dreams all come true
Till the day when I'll be going
Down that long, long trail with you
Jeri Corlew
ste...@aol.com
Try "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" on Joan Baez' latest CD "Ring
Them Bells."
There's also "Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye" on Joan's box set "Rare Live and
Classic."
bpor...@aol.com
Re: Songs re: soldiers coming home how about : Take the Star out of the
Window
by John Prine, or "For What Was Gained" by McKendree Spring. which
actually would be classified under Songs re: Soldiers Not Coming Home.
folk...@aol.com
I missed the beginning of this thread, but in case no one has
mentioned it yet, how about "Soldiers" from James Taylor's
"Mud Slide Slim" album?
just nine out of twenty was a-heading for home
with eleven sad stories to tell . . .
I remember quite clearly when I got out of bed,
I said, "oh, good morning, what a beautiful day"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
OTTO BOST Producer/Host of "Acoustic Eclectic"
Folk...@aol.com Mondays 7-9 PM
Palm, PA USA 88.1 & 93.9 WDIY-FM, Allentown, PA
=-=-=-=-=-=-< http://members.aol.com/folkdude/ >=-=-=-=-=-=
Alec Powell
C.D.),called *The Rambling Soldier* by Roy Harris issued back in 1979
although it was probably only issued in the U.K. It is one of my
favourites and may contain some useful material for you.It was published
as a companion to *The Rambling Soldier* written by Roy Palmer(Penguin
Books).Hope this may be of some help. Alec Powell
--
Alec Powell: Al...@prole.demon.co.uk
MIKE REGENSTREIF
In article <329BD5...@panam.edu>, jaldridge <jald...@panam.edu> writes:
>"Luang Prabang" is by Dave Van Ronk, recorded by Patrick Sky on "Songs
>That Made America Famous", 1973.
Dave Van Ronk's own version of "Luang Prabang" is on GOING BACK TO
BROOKLYN (Gazell).
Stephen L Suffet
Greetings---
And not let's forget one of the best songs about a soldier coming
home -- Tom Dooley! The song is about CSA veteran Thomas C. Dula, hanged
near Statesville, North Carolina, in 1868, for the gruesome murder of one
Laurie Foster. Seems young Tom came home from the war to resume his love
affair with Laurie, only to quickly come down with a dose of the clap.
That was a little more than Tommy-Boy could handle, especially the thought
of dear Miss Laurie boinking all those damned Yankees (or whomever else he
could conjure up in his imagination). What happened next is told in the
song: he met her on a mountain and stabbed her with a knife. That was in
1866. It took six weeks for the local folks to find Laurie's body.
But there's one extra dimension to the story which goes untold in
most versions of the song. It turns out that Tom Dula had a sweetie-on-
the-side named Ann Melton. The circumstantial evidence suggested that she
was Tom's accomplice in the murder, and she was arrested for the crime and
tried with him. Tom, however, confessed to murdering Laurie Foster by
himself, and swore that Ann had nothing to do with either planning the
crime or carrying it out. That was enough to spare the young woman's
life. The jury acquitted Ann Melton of the murder, but did convict her of
being an accessory after the fact. She served a small prison sentence,
while Tom --- well, you know what happened...!
Any other ex-soldier songs out there with such intricate stories
behind them? I'd surely like to know!
Happy Thanksgiving from New York City,
Steve Suffet
George Hawes
dji...@aol.com wrote:
>>On Mon, 25 Nov 1996, Daniel Herman wrote:
>>
>>> I'm looking for songs about soldiers returning home after war.
>There's a snippet of a song (maybe it's the whole song) that I learned
>from my father. This in itself is remarkable as my father was legally
>done deaf. I think Someone told me about 8 years ago that it was sung in
>the trenches during WW I by soldiers contemplating their return home. I
>had always thought it was from WW II. My dad would have been 8 years old
>at the end of WW I.
>There's a long, long trail a-winding
>Into the land of my dreams
>Where the nightingale is singing
>And the bright moon beams
<etc>
It's a music hall song from WW1. Not much sung in the trenches,
perhaps, but certainly sung at the Concert Parties held behind
the lines.
I've posted this information before (but I think it bears
repeating): there's a CD produced by Flemmish Radio called "We
Died In Hell - They Called It Paschendaele" (which, despite its
title, remarks upon war from the First World War to date; it's
an edited recording of a live concert commemorting some
aniversary of Paschendaele).
The most powerful track on it, at least to an english-speaker,
is June Tabor interspersing an account by a VAD (Voluntary Aid
Detachment, I think; i.e. volunteer nurse, probably with a
fairly upper-class background) with the singing of "Long, long
Trail". The VAD, Dorothy Nicol, is giving an account of a
Concert Party; from the venue she can look out of one window and
see fresh troops going up to the line, and look out of the
opposite window and see the Ambulance trains coming back. In the
account, the song being performed is "Long, long trail".
The account is genuine - collected by Lynn MacDonald (?) in her
fine book "Angels of No Man's Land".
June's performance then goes into Bill Caddick's 'The Reaper'.
All in all, it's the most powerful performance of ANYTHING I
have on record.
I have previously posted an edited version of the account and
the intercutting of the song; I might be able to find that if
anyone's interested.
Regards
George
George Hawes
ste...@aol.com wrote:
>Try "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" on Joan Baez' latest CD "Ring
>Them Bells."
But doesn't come close to the June Tabor recording of the same
song . . . Written by Eric Bogle, of course.
Regards
George
Jim Elbrecht
Please share it, if you can find it. Could you take a guess on the
date it was recorded? I'm going to try to find the recording in the
US.
George...@i-cubed.co.uk (George Hawes) wrote:
-snip-
> The most powerful track on it, at least to an english-speaker,
> is June Tabor interspersing an account by a VAD (Voluntary Aid
> Detachment, I think; i.e. volunteer nurse, probably with a
> fairly upper-class background) with the singing of "Long, long
> Trail". The VAD, Dorothy Nicol, is giving an account of a
> Concert Party; from the venue she can look out of one window and
> see fresh troops going up to the line, and look out of the
> opposite window and see the Ambulance trains coming back. In the
> account, the song being performed is "Long, long trail".
-snip-
> I have previously posted an edited version of the account and
> the intercutting of the song; I might be able to find that if
> anyone's interested.
I'm interested. If no-one else is, you can email it to me.
jim
rick doersch
The song quoted below was recorded by the Brothers Four. I think it might
be called Bright Golden Buttons. For sure the refrain ends with : and
bright golden buttons will all turn to rust.
M. O'Malley
Chris Atkinson
In article <329CBE...@boeing.com>, Duff D Means
<Duff.D...@boeing.com> writes
>Daniel Herman wrote:
>> >
>> Two brothers on their way, two brothers on their way
>> One wore blue and one wore grey
One wore blue and one wore grey
As they marched along their way
A fife and drum began to play
Fair on a beautiful morning.
One was gentle one was kind
One was gentle one was kind
One came back one stayed behind
A cannonball don't pay no mind.
and there's more, if anyone wants it ...
A great song, but , please, does anyone have the guitar chords? I'd be
most grateful.
TIA
Chris A.
--
Chris Atkinson. ch...@cgautc.demon.co.uk UTC Computer Services.
"I ain't lost. I'm ... directionally challenged." Esme Weatherwax
"Oooks?"
John H.
Chris Atkinson wrote:
>
> In article <329CBE...@boeing.com>, Duff D Means
> <Duff.D...@boeing.com> writes
> >Daniel Herman wrote:
> >> >
> >> Two brothers on their way, two brothers on their way
> Two brothers on their way
> >> One wore blue and one wore grey
>
> One wore blue and one wore grey
> As they marched along their way
> A fife and drum began to play
> Fair on a beautiful morning.
>
> One was gentle one was kind
> One was gentle one was kind
> One came back one stayed behind
> A cannonball don't pay no mind.
>
> and there's more, if anyone wants it ...
Hello Chris,
Sorry I can't help you with the guitar chords, but I'd like to know
the rest of the song if you wouldn't mind posting it. Thanks,
--
John H. ((((((((((/\))))))))))
/ \
/87.9\
/ FM \
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/6702
Your Name
There's a great song by James Gardner of Tamarack, recorded on the "On
the Grand" album. It's called the "Virginia Brand" (a horrific eye
wound). It deals with his meeting with a rural Ontario woman & the life
they make together. Beverlie
ps a lovely album for anyone who love real folk.
gear...@gnn.com
Somewhere in my basement I have two old Tennessee Ernie Ford LPs,
Civil War Songs Of The South and Civil War Songs Of The North. I'm
sure there were at least a couple coming home type songs on them.
Sorry, not at home at the moment to check song titles. Also, Joni
Mitchell has an anti-war one called Johnny Got His Gun or something
similar. (Then there's Kate Bush's Army Dreamer, but the poor kid
never makes it home in that one.)
Lani Herrmann
I seem to remember that Shel Silverstein is (one of?) the
author(s?) of this song. -- Aloha, Lani
<||> Lani Herrmann * graduate * School of Library and Information Studies
<||> la...@info.sims.Berkeley.edu * Univ. of California, Berkeley 94720-4600
<||> home: 5621 Sierra Avenue, Richmond, CA 94805-1905 * (510) 237-7360
Al Grierson
Daniel Herman <db...@columbia.edu> wrote:
>
> I'm looking for songs about soldiers returning home after war. I'm
> thinking of songs such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Sam Stone (John
> Prine) and Al Bowly's in Heaven (Richard Thompson).
>
> "complete" songography. Any ideas?
>
> Dan Herman
> Katonah, NY
You could try "A Soldier and His Own True Love" on my CD, "Things That
Never Added Up To Me", It;s about a young Confederate Soldier coming
home to his sweetheart in a non-corporeal form. It's also a broken-
token ballad so you may think of it as something like "John Riley
meets Aura Lee as She Moved Through the Fair."
For the roses,
Al Grierson
kamm...@aol.com
WE have one on our first album... 'When You Came Home', Game of Dances,
FR101....
Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald
kam...@netshel.net kamm...@aol.com
neo impressionist folk music
Freewheel Records
M. Garvey
The best one I know of about the Vietnam war is by Johnny Cash...Drive
on..it don't mean nothing....drive on....
it is very very realistic.
Robert Burns has a nice one..when wild war's deadly blast was blawn and
gentle peace returning...
The gallant forty-twa...then I heard the music of the pibroch from
afar...the tramp tramp tramp of weary men returning from the war....
My mother used to sing one...maybe a round...from WWII...
run to the station jump on the train..march on the double down lover's
lane..there in the paths where the roses entwine...lay down your arms..lay
down your arms...lay down your arms and surrender to mine...
Joe/Dave//? Somebody King has one called "Come home..come home..you who
are weary come home...home to a country in need of a healing...waiting for
you to come home..
There is a tape they sell at the Wall with lots of songs...my favorite..
well, I guess they didn't come home...
everyone's a father or a husband or a son or a brother or a daughter or a
cousin to someone...
And one of the best...Sorry Moreil (?Sp) from South African...
My sorry Moreil is the heart of my heart???.......
.....since first I went on this campagin...oh bring me back to the old
Transvaal...that's where I long to be...or dear...maybe he is not home
yet...but it's a great song..
One that De Dannan sings about the troop trains coming home with the
wounded from Spain...
mg
Bruce Madole
M. Garvey wrote:
> And one of the best...Sorry Moreil (?Sp) from South African...
> My sorry Moreil is the heart of my heart???.......
> .....since first I went on this campagin...oh bring me back to the old
> Transvaal...that's where I long to be...or dear...maybe he is not home
> yet...but it's a great song..
>
> One that De Dannan sings about the troop trains coming home with the
> wounded from Spain...
>
> mg
>
> On 6 Dec 1996 kamm...@aol.com wrote:
>
> > WE have one on our first album... 'When You Came Home', Game of Dances,
> > FR101....
> >
> > Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald
> > kam...@netshel.net kamm...@aol.com
> > neo impressionist folk music
> > Freewheel Records
> >
> >
> >
There's a great one called something like "The Band Played Waltzing
Matilda". Just a breathtaking song.Sorry, can't remember the author.
Someone out there is sure to know.
Bruce Madole
shake...@aol.com
"John Brown" by Bob Dylan is one of my favorites. I has been on a few
bootleg albums over the years but finally made it on to a commercial
release on the "Unplugged" CD.
Scott Hakes
alanb...@aol.com
The original of "When Johnny Comes Marchin' Home" was called
"Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye". The line from ther title was used a lot by
journalists after the JFK assassination. I believe it's available in the
Digitrad website.
Stephen L Suffet
Dear Scott---
Bob Dylan's "John Brown" -- a modern treatment of the "Mrs.
McGrath" theme set to the tune of "Reuben's Train" -- is one of my
favorites as well. You should note that the original recording was NOT a
bootleg. It was made by Bob Dylan for Sis Cunningham's Broadside Records
in 1964. As Bob Dylan was under an iron-clad contract to Columbia at the
time, he recorded the song under the name Blind Boy Grunt.
You can hear "John Brown" along with two other Dylan/Grunt takes
("Only a Hobo" and "Talkin' Devil") on Broadside #B-301. As Broadside
Records were manufactured and distributed by Moe Asch's Folkways Records,
I believe they are currently available from the Smithsonian/Folkways
catalogue.
Regards from New York City,
Steve Suffet
Bruce Hayden
> > >
>
> There's a great one called something like "The Band Played Waltzing
> Matilda". Just a breathtaking song.Sorry, can't remember the author.
> Someone out there is sure to know.
>
> Bruce Madole
This is an Eric Bogle song, it can be found on Flying Fish release
"Scraps of Paper"
George Hawes
Bruce Madole <bma...@istar.ca> wrote:
>M. Garvey wrote:
<background snipped>
>There's a great one called something like "The Band Played Waltzing
>Matilda". Just a breathtaking song.Sorry, can't remember the author.
>Someone out there is sure to know.
Indeed. By Eric Bogle. Recorded by June Tabor plus lots of
inferior versions ;-) Feature in at least three threads a month
on this newsgroup. And well worth every mention, IMHO!
Cheers
George
Gerry Myerson
In article <58gt75$r...@shiny.i-cubed.co.uk>, George...@i-cubed.co.uk
(George Hawes) wrote:
->
-> Bruce Madole <bma...@istar.ca> wrote:
->
-> >...."The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"....
->
-> Indeed. By Eric Bogle. Recorded by June Tabor plus lots of
-> inferior versions ;-)
Whilst I was playing one of the inferior versions on the radio one day,
I asked my engineer, of all the recorded versions, which one was
the best. After thinking a while, he replied, "Eric Bogle's." And, on
reflection, I think I agree.
Gerry Myerson (ge...@mpce.mq.edu.au)
Magnus Paterson
Readjustment Blues. Sung by John Denver (written by?)
Patriot's Dream by Gordon Lightfoot
--
Cheers,
Magnus
Nick Smith
"The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is by Eric Bogle. It's a great World
War I song about coming home.
Bruce Madole (bma...@istar.ca) wrote:
: M. Garvey wrote:
: > And one of the best...Sorry Moreil (?Sp) from South African...
: > My sorry Moreil is the heart of my heart???.......
: > .....since first I went on this campagin...oh bring me back to the old
: > Transvaal...that's where I long to be...or dear...maybe he is not home
: > yet...but it's a great song..
: >
: > One that De Dannan sings about the troop trains coming home with the
: > wounded from Spain...
: >
: > mg
: >
: > On 6 Dec 1996 kamm...@aol.com wrote:
: >
: > > WE have one on our first album... 'When You Came Home', Game of Dances,
: > > FR101....
: > >
: > > Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald
: > > kam...@netshel.net kamm...@aol.com
: > > neo impressionist folk music
: > > Freewheel Records
: > >
: > >
: > >
: There's a great one called something like "The Band Played Waltzing
: Matilda". Just a breathtaking song.Sorry, can't remember the author.
: Someone out there is sure to know.
: Bruce Madole
M. Garvey
Fare thee well Eniskillen fare thee well for a while
And all around the borders of Erin's green Isle
And when the war is over we'll return in full bloom
And they'll all welcome home the Eniskillen dragoons..
we fought for Ireland's glory then and many a man did fall
From musket and from bayonet and powder and cannonball
And many a foeman we laid low amid the battle throng
........
and often in the alehouse you could hear the rafters ring..
when every sailor?? in the house would lift his glass and sing
they put us on a pension boys of .... every day...
TA
Jimmy Newman, by Tom Paxton (about a soldier that didn't quite make it
home).
ta
Alec Powell
In article <Pine.A41.3.95b.96121...@dante18.u.washingt
on.edu>, "M. Garvey" <mga...@u.washington.edu> writes
>Fare thee well Eniskillen fare thee well for a while
>
If I might be so bold as to give you the full version(s) of this song:
ENNISKILLEN DRAGOONS
A beautiful damsel of fame and renown
A gentleman's daughter from Monaghan town
As she went through the barracks this beautiful maid
Stood up in her coach to see dragoons on parade
Fare ye well, Enniskillen, I must leave you for a while
And all thy fair waters and Erin's green isle
And when the wars are over, I'll return in full bloom
And they'll all welcome home their Enniskillen dragoons
They were all dressed up the like of gentleman's sons
With their bright shining rapiers and carabine guns
Their bayonets fornemst them, oh she saw them full soon
Just because that she loved an Enniskillen dragoon
She looked to the bright sons of Mars on the right
Their armor outshining the stars of the night
"Oh Willie, dearest Willie, you have 'listed full soon
In the royal, loyal Enniskillen dragoons"
"Oh Flora, dearest Flora, your pardon I crave
Both now and forever, you know I am your slave
But your parents they have slighted me, morning, night, and noon
Just because that you loved your Enniskillen dragoon"
"Oh Willie, dearest Willie, head not what they say
For children their parents must always obey
And when you've left Ireland, they'll soon change their tune
Sayin' 'The good Lord be wi' ye, Enniskillen dragoon'"
FARE THEE WELL ENNISKILLEN
Our troop was made ready at the dawn of the day
From lovely Enniskillen they were marching us away.
They put us then on board a ship to cross the raging main,
To fight in bloody battle in the sunny land of Spain.
Chorus:
Fare thee well Enniskillen, fare thee well for a while
And all around the borders of Erin's green isle;
And when the war is over we'll return in full bloom
And you'll all welcome home the Enniskillen Dragoons.
Oh Spain it is a gallant land where wine and ale flow free
There's lots of lovely women there to dandle on your knee
And often in a tavern there we'd make the rafters ring
When every soldier in the house would raise his glass and sing
Chorus.
Well we fought for Ireland's glory there and many a man did fall
From musket and from bayonet and from thundering cannon ball
And many a foeman we laid low, amid the battle throng
And as we prepared for action you would often hear this song
Chorus.
Well now the fighting's over and for home we have set sail,
Our flag above this lofty ship is fluttering in the gale:
They've given us a pension boys of fourpence each a day
And when we reach Enniskillen never more we'll have to say.
Chorus.
Cheers,Alec
--
from the "Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada", by Friar Antonio Agapida
commenting on Lord River's English contingent taking part in the last
crusade to rid Spain of the Moors:
"Tho' from a remote, and somewhat barbarous island, they yet believed
themselves the most perfect men upon earth"
GPOConnor
This is good thread -- you guys are reminding me of some great songs, like
"Fare Thee Well Enniskillen." As for "The Band Played The Waltzing
Matilda," for my money the version by Liam Clancy is the best of all.
Here's one I haven't seen mentioned: "Sam Stone," by John Prine. This
is a song about a guy that comes home from Vietnam, aka "the conflict
overseas," and just never quite gets it back together. Very sad and very
beautiful song.