Rita Connolly, "The Deer's Cry"
amci...@umiami.miami.edu
Grenada FIlms's "The Investigation," dealing with the Birmingham Six
bombing case.
The closing titles were accompanied by "The Deer's Cry," sung by
Rita Connolly. This appears to be two songs grafted together--or at
least I seem to remember the middle section as one of those ubiquitous
Irish Prayers seen on tea towels, with lyrics including " Christ before
me, Christ behind me, Christ on my right hand, etc."
Can someone comment [from a base of knowledge, perhaps, rather than
idle speculation] on the two parts of the song, on the version combining
the two, on the title, or on Rita Connolly herself, who sounds to the
last quaver like early Judy Collins, sometime between her Carnegie Hall
Concert album [1963 or so] and her In My Life period, circa 1967.
Is the prayer St Patrick or some other definite source, or from one
of the numerous Celtic anonymous collections?
Thanks in advance for any information.
alex
--
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
Alexander H. McIntire,Jr. | Internet/Bitnet: | Where there's |
Graduate School of | amci...@umiami.miami.edu | smoke, there |
International Studies | SPAN: ISPIR1::AMCINTIRE | may be just a |
U.of Miami-Box 8123 | | smoke-making |
Coral Gables FL 33124-3010 | Tel: 305-284-4303 [M-F,9-5] | machine! |
amci...@umiami.miami.edu
> I just saw a tape of the HBO presentation of
> Grenada FIlms's "The Investigation," dealing with the Birmingham Six
> bombing case.
> The closing titles were accompanied by "The Deer's Cry," sung by
> Rita Connolly. This appears to be two songs grafted together--or at
> least I seem to remember the middle section as one of those ubiquitous
> Irish Prayers seen on tea towels, with lyrics including " Christ before
> me, Christ behind me, Christ on my right hand, etc."
> Can someone comment [from a base of knowledge, perhaps, rather than
> idle speculation] on the two parts of the song, on the version combining
> the two, on the title, or on Rita Connolly herself, who sounds to the
> last quaver like early Judy Collins, sometime between her Carnegie Hall
> Concert album [1963 or so] and her In My Life period, circa 1967.
> Is the prayer St Patrick or some other definite source, or from one
> of the numerous Celtic anonymous collections?
> Thanks in advance for any information.
> alex
I got around to transcribing it, so I thought I might include my
[possibly slightly inaccurate--bad tape quality] transcription to
jog memories:
THE DEER'S CRY
[as sung by Rita Connolly on soundtrack of "The Investigation"--1990]
I arise today,
Through the strength of heaven.
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendour of light,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today,
Through God's stength to pilot me
God's eye to look before me.
God's wisdom to guide me.
God's way to ride before me.
God's shield to protect me
From all who shall wish me ill,
The far and the near,
And those amid the multitude;
Against every cruel merciless power
That may oppose my body and soul.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ to shield me,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
I arise today.
William Clark
The prayer I recognise under the name
"St. Patrick's Breastplate".
It can also be found in (strangely enough) C of E and C of I hymnbooks
also named St. Patrick's Breastplate. I think the opening verse goes:
"I bind unto myself today,
The strong name of the Trinity,
In invocation of the same.....
more than that I do not recall, but the segment quoted in the song forms
the chorus.
William Clark.
W Swan
>The prayer I recognise under the name >"St. Patrick's Breastplate".
>It can also be found in (strangely enough) C of E and C of I hymnbooks
>also named St. Patrick's Breastplate. I think the opening verse goes:
>"I bind unto myself today,
>The strong name of the Trinity,
Yes, and over here it may also be found in the 1940 Episcopal Hymnal.
Whether it survived to be included in the new one, I don't know (I am
told they threw out one other of my favourites - the words by Kipling
"God of our fathers, be with us yet / lest we forget, lest we forget"
because of the line "and lesser breeds without the Law", overlooking
the fact that it is a warning against such pride and boasting...).
W Swan
}>[St. Patrick's Breastplate]
}Yes, and over here it may also be found in the 1940 Episcopal Hymnal.
}Whether it survived to be included in the new one, I don't know (I am
This started me thinking: It seems that Shape Note singing passed into
the folk realm (it's treated that way) after(?) it ceased to be used in
the context of worship. And it seems that a great number of the Welsh
singers in America (or at least the Seattle Welsh Choir) are also
interested in the music - not the message of worship and praise they are
singing...
Does this mean that if one were successful at keeping alive these old
Episcopal greats after their abandonment by the church, that they might
someday be considered "folk"? :-)
Jonathan Berger
>This started me thinking: It seems that Shape Note singing passed into
>the folk realm (it's treated that way) after(?) it ceased to be used in
>Does this mean that if one were successful at keeping alive these old
>Episcopal greats after their abandonment by the church, that they might
>someday be considered "folk"? :-)
As I understand it, shape note singing was never really done in
the context of worship, in the sense that a hymn is part of a formal
church service. Shape note "hymns" (and note that the books never
actually refer to themselves as hymnals) were, and are, sung as
social events. Historically, the people who engaged in these events
were deeply religious folks, so singing about religious matters
came naturally to them -- doesn't seem to be true any more, at
least not around here!
I can't think of too many examples of traffic between folk music
and church music (but I'll bet someone will be able to!). One that
comes to mind is on either a Battlefield Band record or a Brian
MacNeill solo album; it's the tune best known to folkies as "The
Blacksmith" (Steeleye Span recorded it, among others). Battlefield
does it as an instrumental and claims to have gotten it out of a
Presbyterian hymnal. I don't know which version came first.
Curiously enough, The "Blacksmith" words are about magical
shape-changing and have heavily pagan overtones (or let me just
say "pre-Christian overtones" to avoid flames from people who want
to define what "pagan" means).
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Jon Berger | "Ingres Corporation does not make me aware of |
| Ingres Corporation | its opinions in most matters, but it is quite |
| jo...@ingres.COM | likely that mine differ from them." |
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
amci...@umiami.miami.edu
Well, it wasn't cut out, it still appears in the current hymnal, even
though the translation and the tune are not what I was looking for.
The history is there, as well as a third name for the song beyond
"The Deer's Cry" and "Patrick's Breastplate" -- "The Lorica."
=======================================================
From THE HYMNAL 1940 COMPANION: [Episcopal Church of the U.S.]
I bind unto myself today," _Atomriug_Indiu_, is attributed by legend
to St. Patrick. Although there are much earlier allusions [see my note
# 3, below] it is first found in two eleventh century
manuscripts....The hymn is commonly known as the _Lorica_, or
_Breastplate_ of St. Patrick, and in Irish _Faeth Fiada_ (The Deer's
Cry)...many elements of a Druid incantation...not written in metre,
but evidently constructed with an eye to proportion; it is possible
that it was written in a particular shape, perhaps in imitation of a
breastplate.
From translation of the preface to the hymn in the [11th cent.]manuscript:
"Patrick made this hymn; in the time of Loegaire mac Neill, it was
made, and the cause of its composition was for the protection of
himself and his monks against the deadly enemies that lay in ambush
for the clerics. And it is a lorica of faith for the protection of
body and soul against demons and men and vices.... Patrick sang it
when the ambuscades were laid for him by Loegaire, in order that he
should not go to Tara to sow the faith, so that on that occasion they
were seen before those who were lying in ambush as if they were wild
deer having behind them a fawn [see my note #2 below]... and 'Deer's
Cry' is its name."
My notes:
# 1. The hymn form is not the same as the song I was tracing, but is a
metrical paraphase of part of the prayer, made for use on St.
Patrick's Day in 1889. It appeared in the Church of Ireland hymnal in
1916, and is in the Episcopal Hymnal [1940 edition and the present
edition--easier to read melody in the present hymnal].
# 2. The "fawn," according to Alice-Boyd Proudfoot's book _Patrick_,
was Patrick's young psalmist, Benen [or Benin].
# 3. several sources say 7th or 8th century--i.e., two or three centuries
after Patrick.
#4. Loegaire mac Niell is Leary son of the Niall[that is, son of the
high king], it turns out, and the logical [because pagan] opponent
of his approach to Tara
with his message of conversion.
=================================================
From THE HARPER BOOK OF CHRISTIAN POETRY:
[this is a much longer version than the "Deer's Cry" sung by Rita
Connolly, which I was trying to track down. The text of that song,
even matching the translation, is included here as approximately one-
quarter of the total. The rest is equally fascinating, but I will
include just one small part, which is quite intriguing. It comes
immediately after the line "Alone or in a multitude," the correct form
of the line I garbled slightly in my original transcription]
"I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul."
SPELLS OF WOMEN AND SMITHS AND WIZARDS??? I know Patrick and the lads
were shy of women, but why smiths? Any ideas?
Still no clue on Rita Connolly, but she certainly sounds exactly like
early Judy Collins.
A final gratuitous note: Digging around for this information reminded me
again how little patience I have for the legions of fans of "fantasy,"
who know all the warts on every goblin's giblet, but who have sloughed
off, or never learned, anything above the bare minimum about real
human history or culture. I'm not being Eurocentric about this--I would
be content if they knew the Mahabharata, or Sufi legends, or anything
remotely resembling the high culture of anywhere.
Two things sparked this rant, besides the serendipitous hearing of the
song over the closing credits of a film. I have been rereading Fitzgerald's
translation of the Iliad side-by-side with Chapman's, and sitting
goggle-eyed again at what a miracle such a work is. Also, I just read
an essay on Hagia Sophia and the fall of Constantinople, and shivered at
the implications of emperor Constantine Paleoelogus, praying at the
shrine of St. Theodosia. You can make a good case for modern times
starting the next morning, when Sultan Mehmet breached the walls and
bounced the emporer's head around at the foot of the statue of
Justinian.
You could make the case, but the greatest fraction of people in our society,
including us privileged ones here on the net, would have the slightest
idea what in hell you were talking about.
I'm not a classics scholar. I don't even teach history [I teach U.S.
foreign policy and strategic studies to graduate students]. I just
hate to see it all slip away. Sigh.
alex
--
David Kassover
...
>I can't think of too many examples of traffic between folk music
>and church music (but I'll bet someone will be able to!).
...
No real specific examples. On the other hand, many "protest"
songs were written to well known hymn music. Deliberately. When
unemployed protesters were hanging around singing, and the police
wandered by, they switched to the "church" lyrics. No cop is
going to bust anyone for singing hymns, now, is he?
Come to think of it, is not "We Shall Overcome" a hymn in some
liturgies?
Sorry, I lied. Here are some examples:
A set of lyrics known as "Uncle Fred and Auntie Mabel" can be
sung to a tune written by Felix Mendelssohn, most familiarly sung
as a Christmas Carol.
"O Cyclotron", which occasionally makes the rounds at RPI and
similar places, is sung to "O Tannenbaum".
"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"'s lyrics fits the tune of Camptown
Races.
The tune to "To Anacreon in Heaven" was commonly used during the
time of George II and George III (of England and Hanover) for
tavern and drinking songs. In 1814 or so, someone noticed that a
poem written by one F.S. Key could be sung to that tune. We call
it "The Star Spangled Banner", now.
--
David Kassover "Proper technique helps protect you against
kass...@ra.crd.ge.com sharp weapons and dull judges."
kass...@crd.ge.com F. Collins
Walter Underwood
Yes, and over here it may also be found in the 1940 Episcopal Hymnal.
"St. Patrick's Breastplate" is number 370 in Hymnal 1982. There is
SATB harmony for the chorale in the middle. It is a lovely hymn, but
you need to be on your toes, or you'll be left behind when the tune
changes.
wunder
Brent J. Buescher
Look up the descendants of Cain in Genesis- one of them,
Tubalcain, is a smith. Remember, people with an understanding of
technology have always appeared a bit sinister to the "uninitiated."
-Brent Buescher
MCJOHN
> the folk realm (it's treated that way) after(?) it ceased to be used in
> the context of worship.
It's my understanding that the Sacred Harp (perhaps the most widely known
collection of shape-note music) is still used in worship services in
the South, particularly in rural areas.
> Does this mean that if one were successful at keeping alive these old
> Episcopal greats after their abandonment by the church, that they might
> someday be considered "folk"? :-)
Well, where do you think many hymn tunes came from in the first place?
(Here's a hint--two of my favorites are Hyfrdol and Columba.) Protestant
hymnody, especially in England, had (and has) as its specific goal to
provide hymns the populace could easily and cheerfully sing--folk music,
indeed. Sometimes that meant swiping existing tunes, sometimes writing
new ones in a popular style.
This two way traffic has been going on for a long time--in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries, sacred contrafacta were often made of secular
songs (the Franciscans especially liked to do this), and I've seen French
folk songs based on the hymn _Ave Maris Stella_ and the sequence _Dies Irae_.
Bill McJohn
amci...@umiami.miami.edu
> In article <7...@flash.UUCP> bi...@flash.UUCP (W Swan) writes:
>>This started me thinking: It seems that Shape Note singing passed into
>>the folk realm (it's treated that way) after(?) it ceased to be used in
>>the context of worship...
>>Does this mean that if one were successful at keeping alive these old
>>Episcopal greats after their abandonment by the church, that they might
>>someday be considered "folk"? :-)
>
> As I understand it, shape note singing was never really done in
> the context of worship, in the sense that a hymn is part of a formal
> church service. Shape note "hymns" (and note that the books never
> actually refer to themselves as hymnals) were, and are, sung as
> social events. Historically, the people who engaged in these events
> ...can't think of too many examples of traffic between folk music
> and church music (but I'll bet someone will be able to!).
> +------------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
> | Jon Berger | "Ingres Corporation does not make me aware of |
> | Ingres Corporation | its opinions in most matters, but it is quite |
> | jo...@ingres.COM | likely that mine differ from them." |
> +------------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
I have several very old shape-note books, and they came out of the context
of Southern Baptist church singing in a rural setting[my great-grandparents].
I believe that Smithsonian also put out a record of shape-note songs from
a Primitive Baptist congregation.
Surely the traffic between church and folk [and pop] has been broader than
a few examples. There are some immediate examples--the Shaker funeral hymn
than Alan Lomax introduced, and other similar songs--"Simple Gifts" seems
to have made the transition from forgotten religious song to revived folk
tune to high-Kultur Copeland to spawned new-church variations [Lord of the
Dance, etc.].
I can remember in my youth hearing rafts of church music from the likes
of Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson and others at the American Folk Festival
in Asheville [harmony with various other relatives, usually, and almost
always unaccompanied, in contrast to their other music--I wonder if that
was also a distinction in the performers' minds?].
In pop, songs like Cat Stevens' "Morning has broken" come from the church
tradition, and the recently released Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis
session has them singing gospel music [their common denominator] at one
point.
I have seen "youth" hymnals that are chock-a-block with everything from
All My Trials to El Condor Pasa. The traffic goes three ways simultaneously:
Songs like A Little Help from my Friends or Country Roads pass from pop
into the general culture and then get harder to place--certainly there is
already an artificial distinction in place even in this discussion group,
where the highest proportion of time and space is given to what might
best be called "folk-resembling" music or folk emulation.
Nothing wrong with it, of course; someday the Beatles "Yesterday" or
Ray Stevens "Everything is Beautiful" is going to be lovingly performed
by earnest young folk wearing the authentic three-piece suit, characteristic
dress of the mid-Twentieth century, playing carefully restored accordions.
alex. amci...@umiami.miami.edu
--
Tom Oster
> "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"'s lyrics fits the tune of Camptown
> Races.
In my High School - Youth Fellowship days, we'd sing sing the lyrics to
Amazing Grace over the melody of House of the Rising Sun!
Tom Oster - Computing Resource Center
Baylor College of Medicine
tos...@watson.bcm.tmc.edu
Opinions expressed here are mine alone.
David Kassover
...
|
|Well, where do you think many hymn tunes came from in the first place?
|(Here's a hint--two of my favorites are Hyfrdol and Columba.) Protestant
|hymnody, especially in England, had (and has) as its specific goal to
|provide hymns the populace could easily and cheerfully sing--folk music,
|indeed. Sometimes that meant swiping existing tunes, sometimes writing
|new ones in a popular style.
My father-in-law is, among other things, the primary organist at
his parish Catholic church. When the priest wants the choir to
sing, almost anything will do. But if it is desired that the
congregation sing, God Bless America is required. Very occasionaly
Battle Hymn of the Republic has the desired result.
David Kassover
...
>Nothing wrong with it, of course; someday the Beatles "Yesterday" or
>Ray Stevens "Everything is Beautiful" is going to be lovingly performed
>by earnest young folk wearing the authentic three-piece suit, characteristic
>dress of the mid-Twentieth century, playing carefully restored accordions.
I may have the reference wrong, but if the aforementioned
"Everything is Beautiful" is the tune I think it is, it is
derived from religious music of one sort or another. I found it
in an old (late 1930's) US Navy songbook. The words varied
according to whether the singer was of the crew of a destroyer or
submarine.
"The Cruising boys of Subdiv 9"
bill
We never had a problem with that at St. Andrew's Episcopal (in Ben Lomond
CA, Fr. Kennedy, rector) on St. Patrick's Day (or Sunday nearest): I always
played the "Deirdre" on pipes - you *knew* when it was coming... :-)
amci...@umiami.miami.edu
> In article <6332.2...@umiami.miami.edu> amci...@umiami.miami.edu writes:
>>Nothing wrong with it, of course; someday the Beatles "Yesterday" or
>>Ray Stevens "Everything is Beautiful" is going to be lovingly performed
>>by earnest young folk wearing the authentic three-piece suit, characteristic
>>dress of the mid-Twentieth century, playing carefully restored accordions.
> I may have the reference wrong, but if the aforementioned
> "Everything is Beautiful" is the tune I think it is, it is
> derived from religious music of one sort or another. I found it
> in an old (late 1930's) US Navy songbook. The words varied
> according to whether the singer was of the crew of a destroyer or
> submarine.
>
> "The Cruising boys of Subdiv 9"
> --
> David Kassover "Proper technique helps protect you against
> kass...@ra.crd.ge.com sharp weapons and dull judges."
> kass...@crd.ge.com F. Collins
The one I am talking about is the one that starts off with "Jesus Loves
the Little Children," followed by
"Everything is beautiful, in its own way,
like a starry summer night
or a snow-covered winter's day...
C-Am7-D7
Gsus-G
Gsus-G-G-C (F-C)
Sung by Ray Stevens, wildly popular around the turn of the 70's, and
copyright by Ray Stevens, Ahab Music, Nashville.
It's already passed into the church-youth-group singalong books [I found
it in one from 1976]
alex amci...@umiami.miami.edu
David Kassover
...
|
|The one I am talking about is the one that starts off with "Jesus Loves
|the Little Children," followed by
|"Everything is beautiful, in its own way,
|like a starry summer night
|or a snow-covered winter's day...
|C-Am7-D7
|Gsus-G
|Gsus-G-G-C (F-C)
|
|Sung by Ray Stevens, wildly popular around the turn of the 70's, and
|copyright by Ray Stevens, Ahab Music, Nashville.
|It's already passed into the church-youth-group singalong books [I found
|it in one from 1976]
...
That's the one.
I am sorry to report that my copy of the USN songbook, if it exists
in my collection, is probably in the bottommost box in the stack
of boxes that contains my library.
If it doesn't, then it's in the equivalent place in my father's
house.
But we bring up an interesting point. Words and music often
enjoy separate copyrights.
Michael McClennen
back perhaps to the early iron age, certainly to medieval Britain. Remember,
iron ore is just an orange rock to most people. It seemed quite "magical" that
a smith (having knowledge, talent, and quite a bit of luck) could apply fire,
water and force and come up with an implement that could cut RIGHT THROUGH the
old bronze ones. Is it any wonder that the "folk of the hills" were said to
fear cold iron?... Meanwhile, between their desired monopoly on knowledge and
technology, the smiths' monopoly on THIS knowledge and likelihood of belonging
to the old religion, and fear of the unknown, the Church very naturally
distrusted blacksmiths--although certainly not loth to use their work(<:
Rudyard Kipling, in Rewards and Fairies, I believe, or maybe Puck of Pook
Hill, has a nice story on Wayland Smith.
Cheers!Kami on Michael's account
Frank MALONEY
>In article <7...@flash.UUCP>, bi...@flash.UUCP (W Swan) writes:
>
>SPELLS OF WOMEN AND SMITHS AND WIZARDS??? I know Patrick and the lads
>were shy of women, but why smiths? Any ideas?
>
power because of the transformations they worked turning
"earth" in useful, deadly, and/or beautiful objects. Smith
worked not only with fire and hammer and muscle, but also
with words, incantations, secret languages, oral traditions,
and so forth that made them the possesors and wielders
of a specialized branch of magic, wizardry, whathaveyou.
Until very recent times, knowledge really did equal power
and persons that you and I would see as craftsmen, or
scholars, or scientists were indistinguishable most of their
contemporaries from priests, magicians, and wizards.
--
Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney
Disclaimer: Microsoft doesn't even know I have 3 middle names.
"I leave you now in radiant tranquility."
J H Shore
>> I may have the reference wrong, but if the aforementioned
>> "Everything is Beautiful" is the tune I think it is, it is
>> derived from religious music of one sort or another. I found it
>> in an old (late 1930's) US Navy songbook. The words varied
>> according to whether the singer was of the crew of a destroyer or
>> submarine.
>>
>> "The Cruising boys of Subdiv 9"
>> --
>> David Kassover "Proper technique helps protect you against
The version I know of "The Cruising Boys of Sub Division 9" doesn't
share either the lyrics or the melody I'm familiar with from Ray
Stevens' hit:
Deep, deep, deep the craft is diving,
straight for a case of native wine.
We'll get boosted to the skies,
we'll go down and never rise,
we're the steamin' boys of Sub Division 9!
[remaining lyrics vary, but they grow more
scurrilous with each successive verse!! ]
I'd love to see that '30s Navy songbook, though, if it wasn't
compiled by the chaplain's assistant. :-)
-- Jeff Shore
"You can take the sailor out of the Navy but you can't take the Navy out of
the sailor!!" and formerly of USS Archerfish (SSN 678), USS Pargo (SSN 650),
and USS Von Steuben (SSBN 632).
David Kassover
>
>The version I know of "The Cruising Boys of Sub Division 9" doesn't
>share either the lyrics or the melody I'm familiar with from Ray
>Stevens' hit:
>
> Deep, deep, deep the craft is diving,
> straight for a case of native wine.
> We'll get boosted to the skies,
> we'll go down and never rise,
> we're the steamin' boys of Sub Division 9!
>
> [remaining lyrics vary, but they grow more
> scurrilous with each successive verse!! ]
Perhaps I *am* confused, It was my recollection that the
Everything is Beautiful verse was preceded by some lyrics a la
Jesus loves the little children
All the little children of the world
Etc.
Regarding the Songbook:
You are more closely connected with the Navy than I. Perhaps, if
there's a reunion chairman or some such associated with your
service, he could suggest where to write to, to gain access to
the archives.
*If* I can find mine (my father's, actually) I am seriously
considering reproducing it for archival purposes; 30 years ago it
was already flimsy and coming apart.
More generally, much folk music has found it's way into and out
of the Military. Can anyone suggest avenues of research for this stuff?
--
David Kassover "Proper technique helps protect you against
Hal Broome
>> This started me thinking: It seems that Shape Note singing passed into
>> the context of worship.
>It's my understanding that the Sacred Harp (perhaps the most widely known
>collection of shape-note music) is still used in worship services in
>the South, particularly in rural areas.
My grandfather, who died of an accident recently at the age of 93, could
only read music if it was printed as shape-note; I could show him a shape,
he would hum it, and sure enough, a plunk on the proper key on the piano
verified what he was humming. I would not go overboard and say that it
is still common in the South however; my grandad outlived most of his
contemporaries (in Mississippi, where he was born and raised). I never
heard him sing a folk song, but I do know that he played the mandolin
before arthritis put a stop to it; what he played, I have no idea.
One popular way of passing time there was "sings," where popular hymns
were chosen, and great fun was had by choosing from the audience four
people to sing the harmony. The audience would then experiment with
different groupings, and if one worked well, a quartet was born which
would be in great demand at the next "sing."
hal
Samuel C. Adams
>I seem to recall some traditional reverence/superstition about smiths dating
>back perhaps to the early iron age, certainly to medieval Britain.
>technology, the smiths' monopoly on THIS knowledge and likelihood of belonging
>to the old religion, and fear of the unknown, the Church very naturally
>distrusted blacksmiths--although certainly not loth to use their work(<:
> Rudyard Kipling, in Rewards and Fairies, I believe, or maybe Puck of Pook
>Hill, has a nice story on Wayland Smith.
Who is an Anglo-Saxon deity, not a Celtic one. You're right on with the rest
of your thinking, though. I wonder if Brighid would be the more natural
adversary in this case, as she was the Irish Goddess of both poetry and the
smith's craft. Of course Brighid was eventually euhemerized and became SAINT
Brighid (Bride) - but I wonder if the verse does not reflect an early conflict
between the Old and New Faiths, at a stage before its unique resolution of
Pagan deities' taking Saints' roles.
> Cheers!Kami on Michael's account
- Sam Adams
St. Olaf, a good Lutheran school, doesn't know what my opinions are and would
certainly never agree with them. ****************** ad...@thor.acc.stolaf.edu
Jonathan Berger
>More generally, much folk music has found it's way into and out
>of the Military. Can anyone suggest avenues of research for this stuff?
Oscar Brand made a series of records in the 50s of songs from the different
military branches. The Navy one is called "Every Inch a Sailor", and it's
got a lot of great songs, many to traditional tunes, collected from
Navy personnel. I have the Navy and Army ones, and I'd love to find
the Air Force and Marine ones; I really enjoy Oscar Brand. My favorite
on the Navy one is called "Life on a Destroyer", and it's about, well,
seasickness, in particular the main symptom of seasickness.
+------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Jon Berger | "Ingres Corporation does not make me aware of |
| Ingres Corporation | its opinions in most matters, but it is vir- |
| jo...@ingres.COM | tually certain that mine differ from them." |
+------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
Steve Goldfield
#>In article <77...@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> kass...@jupiter.crd.ge.com (David Kassover) writes:
#>>More generally, much folk music has found it's way into and out
#>>of the Military. Can anyone suggest avenues of research for this stuff?
#>
#>Oscar Brand made a series of records in the 50s of songs from the different
#>military branches. The Navy one is called "Every Inch a Sailor", and it's
#>got a lot of great songs, many to traditional tunes, collected from
#>Navy personnel. I have the Navy and Army ones, and I'd love to find
#>the Air Force and Marine ones; I really enjoy Oscar Brand. My favorite
#>on the Navy one is called "Life on a Destroyer", and it's about, well,
#>seasickness, in particular the main symptom of seasickness.
#>| Jon Berger | "Ingres Corporation does not make me aware of |
I used to listen to Oscar Brand's weekly show on public station
WNYC in the 50s and 60s. He was very big on historical songs.
Once he played political campaign songs for an hour, mostly from the
19th century. I've never forgotten, "Tyler and Tippecanoe," which
was set to the tune of "Acres of Clams." I also remember an Oscar
Brand album that my brother had with a title something like
"Songs of Dalliance and Ribaldry" or some such, which was full
of old folk songs with suggestive lyrics, such as "Bell-Bottomed
Trousers, Coats of Navy Blue, Let him climb the riggings like
his daddy used to do." I note that a disproportionate number of
these sings had a seagoing or navy background.
Steve Goldfield
Peter S. Shenkin
> .....I also remember an Oscar
>Brand album that my brother had with a title something like
Perhaps, "Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads"?
> ....which was full
>of old folk songs with suggestive lyrics, such as "Bell-Bottomed
>Trousers, Coats of Navy Blue, Let him climb the riggings like
>his daddy used to do." I note that a disproportionate number of
>these sings had a seagoing or navy background.
These were basically bowdlerized versions of bona-fide dirty songs of the
sort that I learned the real lyrics to in Boy Scouts. For example,
Brand sings, "No hips at all, no hips at all, she married a man who had
no hips at all," whereas the official Boy Scout words were "No balls at all...."
Seeing this discussion makes me remember that at one time I had quite a
repertoire of songs of this nature..... Some titles: "Christopher Columbus"
("He swung his balls around-o, they almost hit the ground-o, that
masturbating, navigating son of a bitch, Columbo...."), "Barnacle Bill the
Sailor," "The Bastard King of England" (I was once told that his authorship
of this song was the reason Kipling was never knighted -- probably a lie,
but a damn good story!), etc., etc. I guess these songs belong to the
authentic folk culture of 12-year-old boys.
Sorry if the above language has offended, but, hey, that's anthropology!
-P.
************************f*u*cn*rd*ths*u*cn*gt*a*gd*jb**************************
Peter S. Shenkin, Department of Chemistry, Barnard College, New York, NY 10027
(212)854-1418 she...@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu(Internet) shenkin@cunixc(Bitnet)
***"In scenic New York... where the third world is only a subway ride away."***
Jonathan Berger
>> .....I also remember an Oscar
>>Brand album that my brother had with a title something like
>>"Songs of Dalliance and Ribaldry" or some such,....
>
>Perhaps, "Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads"?
>sort that I learned the real lyrics to in Boy Scouts. For example,
>Brand sings, "No hips at all, no hips at all, she married a man who had
>no hips at all," whereas the official Boy Scout words were "No balls at all...."
Yup, I've got that one too. I always thought the bowlderization was
deliberately done badly so (a) he could get the record distributed in
the 50s and (b) everyone would be able to figure out what the lyrics
were supposed to be anyway. My favorite example was his version of the
chorus of "The Good Ship Venus", which was:
Aboard the Good Ship Venus,
My God, you should have seen us,
With a figurehead of a whore in bed
and a mast of a phallic genus.
I guess "whore" was deemed acceptable, but that other word that rhymes
with "seen us" wasn't. The 50s were an interesting time.
+------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Jon Berger | "Ingres Corporation does not make me aware of |
Wilson Heydt
>> .....I also remember an Oscar
>>Brand album that my brother had with a title something like
>>"Songs of Dalliance and Ribaldry" or some such,....
>
>Perhaps, "Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads"?
>
>sort that I learned the real lyrics to in Boy Scouts. For example,
Brand finally got tired of bowdlerizing his songs and put out an album
called "X" that came in a plain brown wrapper. I hate to think of what
kind of labeling it would have to have now . . . It had unexpurgated
versions of several classics--including "The Bastard King of England".
Some of the songs do not benefit from authenticity.
--Hal
=======================================================================
Hal Heydt | An earthquake is Mother Nature's
Analyst, Pacific*Bell | "silent" pager going off . . .
415-823-5447 |
w...@pbhya.PacBell.COM |