*THOSE WERE THE DAYS* Any folk origin?
Edward J Hines (Rowe ES)
A friend of mine claims that the old Mary Hopkins tune *THOSE WERE THE
DAYS* is actually a rip-off of an old Balkan tune....Huhhh??? I thought
it was written by Gene Raskin. Anybody care to comment?
William Wagman
the songs is pretty exactly the same tune. I'll try and remember to check
my record and send you all the information.
Edward J Hines (Rowe ES) (ehi...@k12.ucs.umass.edu) wrote:
: A friend of mine claims that the old Mary Hopkins tune *THOSE WERE THE
: ehi...@k12.oit.umass.edu
: --
: *
--
Bill Wagman
I.T. Campus Access Point
wjwa...@ucdavis.edu
(916) 752-1208
Alan Greenberg
drei...@oregon.uoregon.edu (Daniel R. Reitman) writes:
>>A friend of mine claims that the old Mary Hopkins tune *THOSE WERE THE
>>DAYS* is actually a rip-off of an old Balkan tune....Huhhh??? I thought
>>it was written by Gene Raskin. Anybody care to comment?
>
>Gypsy" song, dicovered by the Beatles and passed along to Hopkin. I don't know
>which story is correct.
My recollection (from work without benefit of reference material) is that
it is an old russian song (title something like Darolgoy Dalnayu - please
forgive the errors I must have made corrupting that name!). The English
translation that Hopkins popularized was done by Gene Raskin.
Alan Greenberg
Charles H. Baum
Edward J Hines Rowe ES) (ehi...@k12.ucs.umass.edu) writes:
> A friend of mine claims that the old Mary Hopkins tune *THOSE WERE THE
> DAYS* is actually a rip-off of an old Balkan tune....Huhhh??? I thought
> it was written by Gene Raskin. Anybody care to comment?
>
new English lyrics. The English is not a translation of the original Russian.
The tune, however, is accurately transcribed.
--
Charles Baum au...@freenet.carleton.ca
also cb...@capaccess.org
Alan Greenberg
AL...@VM1.McGill.CA (Alan Greenberg) writes:
> My r``ollection (from work without benefit of reference material) is that
> it is an old russian song (title something like Darolgoy Dalnayu - please
> forgive the errors I must have made corrupting that name!). The English
The correct name is Darogoy Dal'noyu - a Russian Gypsy song (according
to the Theodore Bikel songbook.
Alan Greenberg
Ana Liza Gracie
AL...@VM1.McGill.CA (Alan Greenberg) writes:
> My recollection (from work without benefit of reference material) is that
> it is an old russian song (title something like Darolgoy Dalnayu - please
> forgive the errors I must have made corrupting that name!). The English
> translation that Hopkins popularized was done by Gene Raskin.
VERY minor, nitpicky point: her name was actually "Mary Hopkin" (no S).
Ktrnka
>A friend of mine claims that the old Mary Hopkins tune *THOSE WERE THE
>DAYS* is actually a rip-off of an old Balkan tune....Huhhh??? I thought
>it was written by Gene Raskin. Anybody care to comment?
I've often wondered why it is acceptable, even commendable for classical
composers to use folk melodies in symphonic works, while borrowing of
these same pieces by rock musicians is a rip-off. Isn't it all part of
continuing and passing the music on to the next generation?
For instance, did Gene Raskin ever actually claim that the melody was
original? It seems likely to me that the main focus was actually the song
- the lyrics - and that a familiar-sounding tune was deliberately used to
underline those words.
I also think that some musicians get themselves in trouble by "claiming"
songs that were borrowed from the folk repertoire, perhaps even
subconsciously. Imho, they occasionally make the mistake of thinking a
song is traditional folk, and believe that adding new lyrics makes it a
"new" song, when in fact it was written by another musician, often a still
living musician.
They don't usually get called on it, unless the song becomes a hit.
Now, I can see where another musician who wrote a song has a legitimate
right to claim that song. But imho it's a stretch to call it a rip-off if
a folk melody is used with new words. Can't we just point out the origin
as an interesting bit of information without assigning pejoratives?
:-)
Ktrnka @{~~
@}~~ Ktrnka
Garry Gillard
>
> : A friend of mine claims that the old Mary Hopkins tune *THOSE WERE THE
> : DAYS* is actually a rip-off of an old Balkan tune....Huhhh??? I thought
> : it was written by Gene Raskin. Anybody care to comment?
Theodore Bikel describes it as a Russian Gypsy song in his Folksongs and
Footnotes, Amsco, New York, 1960; and transcribes the title as Darogoy
Dal'noyu. I could type out the words (in Russian) if anyone would like me
to.
--
gil...@murdoch.edu.au
http://humpc43.murdoch.edu.au