Waltzing with Bears: songwriter, recordings?
Paul Mailman
about dear Uncle Walter who has a hobby of going out into the woods and
dancing with the bears, much to the distress of his family. I learned it
through a combination of hearing other people sing it, and a songbook from
the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston which, alas, did not attribute the song.
A friend who has heard me sing the song has asked where she could get a
recording of it. (She didn't ask to record one of my performances. <sniff,
pout>). Can any netters out there identify the songwriter and/or recordings of
the song? (I have heard two recorded versions, one male and one female.)
Lyrics/chords available on request. If I can find out who wrote it, I'll send
it in to the lyric server.
--
///////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
\\ Paul Mailman ====== Internet: ma...@atex.kodak.com //
// Atex, Inc. (A Kodak Company) ====== Voice: (508) 670-3173 \\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////////
he...@media-lab.media.mit.edu
writes:
Waltzing With Bears was written by the late the great the dead
Dr. Seuss.
It hasn't been recorded because of difficulties over the copyright.
Hope it is someday!
--lynn heinemann
Amy McNulty
> In article <59...@atexnet.Atex.Kodak.COM> mai...@Atex.Kodak.COM (Paul
Mailman)
> writes:
>
> Waltzing With Bears was written by the late the great the dead
> Dr. Seuss.
>
> It hasn't been recorded because of difficulties over the copyright.
>
> Hope it is someday!
> --lynn heinemann
I don't think this is the same song Paul was asking about.
_Waltzing With Bears_ was written a couple of years ago; I
don't remember the author's name (it was mentioned at a
concert around that time as being brand new), but it was
definitely a songwriter and not Dr. Seuss. I think Tommy
Makem first recorded it, and it's on a recent album of
his that was released around that time. I have also heard
a woman singing it on the radio -- someone very familiar
to me, but of course her name completely escapes me as I'm
writing this -- maybe Julie Gold, but I really couldn't say
for sure. (And now that I'm re-reading this, I can't
even remember if Tommy is the right first name for Mr.
Makem. Sigh, I think it's time to go home for the night!)
__________________________________________________
Amy McNulty -- Stratus Computer, Marlboro, MA
Angus Macintyre
According to Rise Up Singing, Dr. Seuss copyrighted a song (with
music by Eugene Poddany) called "Uncle Terwilliger Waltzes With
Bears", which was published by Random House in "The Cat In The
Hat Songbook". I have heard about a legal battle over the rights,
and that it delayed recording, but I don't know any details for
certain. Rise Up Singing lists two recordings:
Robbie Clemment on "Magic Place" and
Gordon Bok, Ann Mayo Muir, and Ed Trickett on "Minneapolis Concert".
I have recordings by Priscilla Herdman (Star Dreamer, Alacazam! 1001,
1988, distributed by Alcazar, PO Box 429, Waterbury, VT 05676) and
Gail Rundlett (Farther Along, Heartwood Records, HW 504, P.O. Box
23095, Seattle, WA 98102).
I've also heard Lui Collins sing the song, but I don't know if she has
recorded it.
Recordings date back to at least 1985 - I recall hearing one played on
WXPN in Philadelphia then. I've heard several other recordings as well,
but I don't remember whose.
Also, Herdman and Rundlett both attribute words and music to Dale
Marxsen rather than Dr. Seuss. Perhaps he was the other party in
the legal fight, having made changes from the original and having
recorded it without permission (???)
I've been trying for 4 years to figure out whose recording I heard so
many times on WXPN back in '85, so I'd appreciate it if people could
post other recordings they know of. (Or e-mail me, BUT NOT TO THE
ADDRESS IN THE HEADER.)
Gary Martin
G1Ma...@UMassD.edu
David Wald
>writes:
>>Some years ago I learned a song called "Waltzing with Bears,"
>
>Dr. Seuss.
>
>It hasn't been recorded because of difficulties over the copyright.
Not quite right, and wrong.
As I recall, the song was written "after" a Seuss poem, but was not
the same poem, and was composed by a different person.
The song appears on Bok, Muir & Trickett's "Minneapolis Concert"
album, available from fine record stores and Folk Legacy records.
-David
--
============================================================================
David Wald wa...@theory.lcs.mit.edu
"A monk, a clone and a ferengi decide to go bowling together..."
============================================================================
Jacob R. Deglopper
In a previous article, mai...@Atex.Kodak.COM (Paul Mailman) says:
>Some years ago I learned a song called "Waltzing with Bears," a cute song
>about dear Uncle Walter who has a hobby of going out into the woods and
>dancing with the bears, much to the distress of his family. I learned it
>through a combination of hearing other people sing it, and a songbook from
>the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston which, alas, did not attribute the
song.
>
>A friend who has heard me sing the song has asked where she could get a
>recording of it. (She didn't ask to record one of my performances. <sniff,
>pout>). Can any netters out there identify the songwriter and/or recordings of
>the song? (I have heard two recorded versions, one male and one female.)
>
Priscilla Herdman has a nice version on her _Stardreamer_ from Flying Fish.
_Sing Out!_ attributes it as follows "(C) 1967 Dr. Seuss & Eugene Poddany.
The original version of this song appeared in _The Cat in the Hat Songbook_.
Dale Marxen claims it is an original composition (C) 1986"
--
_/acob DeGlopper, EMT-A, Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad
jr...@po.cwru.edu -- Biomedical Engineering '95, Case Western Reserve
Opinions my own...
"Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit." -- Virgil
Sara Maxwell
>Dr. Seuss.
>
>It hasn't been recorded because of difficulties over the copyright.
I have a recording of a woman singing this (at least I think this--how
many songs can there be that go "Wa-wa-wa-waltzing, waltzing with
bears"?) from the Midnight Special in Chicago. It may have been from
find out if the announcer's bit is also on the tape.
I didn't know the words were by Dr. Suess! Neat. I wonder how many
musical versions there are of his works. I knew of a jazz band called
"Go, Dog, Go...."
sara
Jimmy Dalin
original derivation of the song (Was it Dr. Seuss? Wasn't it Dr. Seuss?)
and who the author is or isn't. I believe it's in "Rise Up Singing," but I
don't have the book in front of me. It's credited to Walter Pod???ny. I
have a recording of it by Gordon Bok and those other people, Anne Muir, etc.
on an otherwise pretty dull album.
--
Jim Dalin "No Salga Afuera"
AT&T N.Y.C.T.A.
ATTMail id: !jdalin
Compuserve: 72260,1573
Thomas Leathrum
Theodore S. Geisel, better known to those of us who have yet to grow up
as "Dr. Seuss". I forget who wrote the music, but it's in "Rise Up
Singing" somewhere, so if I remember I'll look it up for you. I first
heard it a few years ago at a festival where Priscilla Herdman performed it.
On the topic of funny tunes, there are two I've been trying to remember
recently: "They Paid Me Not To Yodel", and "Vegetable Killers". Can
anyone out there in net.land help me out?
Regards,
Tom Leathrum
Elizabeth Schwartz
>Some years ago I learned a song called "Waltzing with Bears," a cute song
>about dear Uncle Walter who has a hobby of going out into the woods and
also. Can't help on the author.
--
Betsy Schwartz Internet: bet...@cs.umb.edu
System Administrator BITNET:ESCHWARTZ%UMBSK...@NS.UMB.EDU
U-Mass Boston Computer Science Dept.
Harbor Campus Boston, MA 02125-3393
Jan Skurzynski
I THINK it is on one of her earlier recordings (say maybe 4-5 years ago).
I know she performs it frequently and she tours extensively throughout the
US so there are probably opportunities to hear it there as well.
Altogether a thoroughly engaging performer and a wonderful lady...
Jan Skurzynski
Karla Shapiro
The original song by Dr. Suess can be found in the _Cat in the Hat
Songbook_ and is called "My Uncle Terwilliger Waltzes With Bears."
When asked for permission to record it by a folk musician, Dr.
Suess (Theodore Geisel) refused to grant the necessary legalities.
It has since been "reworked" (the folk process in action) to avoid
any messy legal stuff and is now "Waltzing With Bears" and has been
recorded by Priscilla Herdman and a couple of other folk performers.
The lyrics are published in _Rise Up Singing_ (A Sing Out! Publication)
and the extra verse (not published there) that I have learnt along
the way is:
Last night as the moon rose, we crept down the stairs
He took me to dance where the bears have their lairs
We danced in a bear hug with nary a care
And there is no denying
It all feels like flying
And now *my* pajamas are covered with hair.
I know there is another extra verse. If any one knows it, I would
like to learn it. This was the original "lullaby" I sang to my
son when he was born and at 2, it's still one of his favorite songs
(although Jelly Man Kelly by James Taylor & Itsy Bitsy Spider are
up there as well. :) ) With #2 on the way, it seems to be a good
one to stick with.
karla
my opinions... don't go blaming others for them.
Paul Mailman
>
>I know there is another extra verse. If any one knows it, I would
> like to learn it.
"Extra" depends upon what you learned to begin with, I suppose, but I picked
up off the radio what to me was an extra verse because it wasn't among those
that I learned originally. The original, as I learned it, began with "I
went to his room in the middle of the night", which always seemed like a
rather abrupt plunge. The new first verse that I learned seems to provide a
better introduction:
My Uncle Walter goes waltzing with bears.
It's a most unbearable state of affairs.
He goes out every night and sneaks down the back stairs
So he can go waltzing, waltzing with bears.
Karla, your verse seems like a tack on to the end, no?
This _is_ a fine example of the folk tradition in action. I can't imaging a
bunch of classical musicians discussing a Mozart concerto, saying, "When I
heard Horowitz play this, he added an additional coda...", "I'm not sure who
wrote these two measures, but I like them..." What we are doing here is
sitting around a high-tech campfire (electronic sheep bleating in the
background?) sharing and swapping the songs we learned at the last campfire.
John Bartlett
|> Last night as the moon rose, we crept down the stairs
|> He took me to dance where the bears have their lairs
|> We danced in a bear hug with nary a care
|> And there is no denying
|> It all feels like flying
|> And now *my* pajamas are covered with hair.
|>
Thanks for passing this along. Lui Collins has recently been adding another verse of her own, in which Aunt Matilda (Uncle Walter's wife) is a bit peeved that Uncle Walter goes dancing with out her. She then dons a bear-skin coat and slips out with the crowd. The verse slips for a short interval into 'Waltzing Matilda', and then reverts to the usual.
I can't reproduce the lyrics here, but may be able to in a week or so.
J.B.
Leslie Hechtel
>In article <1991Oct21....@news.media.mit.edu> he...@media-lab.media.mit.edu writes:
>>Waltzing With Bears was written by the late the great the dead
>>Dr. Seuss.
>>
>>It hasn't been recorded because of difficulties over the copyright.
>
>I have a recording of a woman singing this (at least I think this--how
>many songs can there be that go "Wa-wa-wa-waltzing, waltzing with
>bears"?) from the Midnight Special in Chicago. It may have been from
>find out if the announcer's bit is also on the tape.
>
Interesting. I heard Tom Clancy sing this at the Milwaukee Irish Fest in
August. I'd never heard it (or him) before, although the rest of the
crowd seemed to know the song.
Leslie
--
Leslie M. Hechtel
Dept. of Meteorology
1225 W. Dayton St.
Madison WI 53706 Internet:hec...@meteor.wisc.edu
Leslie Hechtel
>Interesting. I heard Tom Clancy sing this at the Milwaukee Irish Fest in
Ack! I meant Tom Makem! (is it time to go home yet?)
Elton Wildermuth
>about dear Uncle Walter who has a hobby of going out into the woods and
>dancing with the bears, much to the distress of his family.
Okay: to this original request and the several responses that have
followed it ...
The original poem was by Theodore Seuss Giesel (Dr. Seuss), recently
departed, with a chorus going something like "My uncle Terwilliger
waltzes with bears", etc.
That poem was filked by Holly Tannen, with the chorus now going,
Walter goes wa-wa-wa-waltzing with bears,
raggy bears, shaggy bears, baggy bears too;
there's nothing on earth uncle Walter won't do
so he can go waltzing,
wa-wa-wa-waltzing,
wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-waltzing with bears.
(my memory of the lyrics may have suffered by the
number of years since I last heard them.)
But before they would let her record it, Dr. Seuss's lawyers wanted
something like 110% of the money she would make off it as royalties,
so it never hit vinyl *that I know of*.
That is an important distinction: "that I know of". The last time I
talked to Holly, these long years ago, the discussions were still going
on between her and the lawyers. (She sat in my living room with her
dulcimer and played that & about a zillion other things ... ahh.)
However. I subsequently heard a rumor from a mutual friend that copyright
difficulties had been settled, and recording could go ahead. I don't know
the truth of this rumor, or whether it ever was recorded if permission was
granted. Still, Holly is the singer in question and her recordings are
the place to look.
I have started asking this question of folks who know her. If I get a
definitive answer, I'll let you know.
-- Elton
Jon Berger
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon Berger jo...@ingres.com {mtxinu,sun,amdahl,pyramid}!ingres!jonb
"Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that we're all drawings." -- B. Kliban
Phil Hayden
>In article <59...@atexnet.Atex.Kodak.COM> ma...@atex.kodak.com writes:
>>Some years ago I learned a song called "Waltzing with Bears," a cute song
>>about dear Uncle Walter who has a hobby of going out into the woods and
>>dancing with the bears, much to the distress of his family.
>
>
>But before they would let her record it, Dr. Seuss's lawyers wanted
>something like 110% of the money she would make off it as royalties,
>so it never hit vinyl *that I know of*.
>
>difficulties had been settled, and recording could go ahead. I don't know
>
I think Ann Muir (sp?) recorded this on a concert tape of a Gordon Bok, Ed
Tricket and Ann Muir concert in St. Paul several years ago.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Phil Hayden <hay...@oasys.dt.nav.mil> | They said, " You have a blue
David Taylor Research Center | Guitar -- You do not play
Office Automation Systems Branch | things as they are. "
Bethesda, Md. 20084-5000 |
| --Wallace Stevens--
(301)227-4901 |
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/
Karla Shapiro
Here are the ones I know:
I crept to his room in the middle of the night,
I tiptoed inside and turned on the light.
To my surprise, he was nowhere in sight!
I'm sure Uncle Walter is waltzing at night.
Chorus:
He goes wa-wa-wa-wa-wa waltzing with bears
Raggy bears, Baggy bears and Shaggy bears too.
There's nothing on earth Uncle Walter won't do
So he can go waltzing, wa-wa-wa waltzing,
So he can go waltzing, waltzing with bears.
Mom bought Uncle Walter a new coat (suit) to wear, (I've heard both)
but when he comes in it's all covered with hair
and lately we've noticed several new tears.
We think Uncle Walter's been waltzing with bears.
Chorus
I told Uncle Walter that he should be good
And to do all the things that I said that he should,
But I know that he'd rather be off in the wood
And I'm afraid that we'll loose Uncle Walter for good.
Chorus
We begged and we pleaded, "Oh please won't you stay?"
And managed to keep him at home for a day.
But the bears all broke in and they took him away.
Now he's waltzing with Pandas and we can't understand it,
But the bears all demand at least one waltz a day.
Chorus
We asked Uncle Walter just how it feels,
To be light on your feet and to kick up your heels
He answered, "We'll see tonight what the music reveals
When the bears teach us all how to polka and reel."
Chorus
Last night as the moon rose, we crept down the stairs,
He took me to dance where the bears have their lairs.
It all felt like flying, there is no denying
And now *my* pajamas are covered with hair.
Chorus
The last 2 verses are "extra" verses that have been added over the past
couple of years and there is apparently one more about Aunt Matilida
complaining about not getting enough attention and wearing a fur coat
that I am trying to track down.
thedutc...@gmail.com
Tom
news:6ca71498-5648-4875...@googlegroups.com:
real fine version.
Joe Fineman
Terwilliger, is in a Dr Seuss book; the later one, with Uncle Walter, is
by David Marxsen. For discussion, texts, and references, see
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=14422
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: Most people wish to serve God, but only in an advisory :||
||: capacity. :||
cooki...@gmail.com
bma...@gmail.com
Well my Aunt Matilda was mad as could be.
She said "Walter, that rat!, never waltzes with me!"
So she took her fur coat and remodeled it so.
Now she can go waltzing, and Walter won't know!
She goes wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-waltzing with bears.
Raggy bears, shaggy bears, baggy bears too.
And there' nothing on earth Aunt Matilde won't do
so she can go waltzing, wa-wa-wa-waltzing
she can go waltzing go
Waltzing Matilde, waltzing Matilde
She can go waltzing, go waltzing with bears!
:0)
edi...@gmail.com
steven...@gmail.com
> Some years ago I learned a song called "Waltzing with Bears," a cute song
> about dear Uncle Walter who has a hobby of going out into the woods and
> dancing with the bears, much to the distress of his family. I learned it
> through a combination of hearing other people sing it, and a songbook from
> the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston which, alas, did not attribute the song.
>
> A friend who has heard me sing the song has asked where she could get a
> recording of it. (She didn't ask to record one of my performances. <sniff,
> pout>). Can any netters out there identify the songwriter and/or recordings of
> the song? (I have heard two recorded versions, one male and one female.)
>
> Lyrics/chords available on request. If I can find out who wrote it, I'll send
> it in to the lyric server.
> --
> ///////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
> \\ Paul Mailman ====== Internet: ma...@atex.kodak.com //
> // Atex, Inc. (A Kodak Company) ====== Voice: (508) 670-3173 \\
> \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////////
hub...@ccanoemail.ca
wrote:
http://www.luicollins.com/music/detail/lyrics/Mars/WaltzingWithBears.html
https://play.riffstation.com/chords-tabs/waltzing-with-bears-priscilla-herdman-lyrics/_OCYIK95KXE
ps: gotta be a record for old post - 1991 - good find. :-)
John T.
Tom
news:5m43bdpiiv8lqh5pl...@4ax.com:
The First 15 Years, Vol. 2
davidl...@gmail.com
Joseph C. Fineman
version), recordings include
Robbie Clement, _Magic Place_
Bok, Muir, & Trickett, _Minneapolis Concert_
Priscilla Herdman, _Stardreamer_
According to another informant, it may also be found on
Gordon Bok, _The Mountain Concerts_
Bok, Muir, & Trickett, _The First Fifteen Years, Vol. II_
This song has a complicated history. It started out as a Dr. Seuss
song, but the best-known version was written by Dale Marxsen & seems
to be legally an independent song. It has since accreted numerous
stanzas by other hands.
||: The secret to originality is knowing how to hide your :||
||: sources. :||
willyni...@gmail.com
> Some years ago I learned a song called "Waltzing with Bears," a cute song
> about dear Uncle Walter who has a hobby of going out into the woods and
> dancing with the bears, much to the distress of his family. I learned it
> through a combination of hearing other people sing it, and a songbook from
> the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston which, alas, did not attribute the song.
>
> A friend who has heard me sing the song has asked where she could get a
> recording of it. (She didn't ask to record one of my performances. <sniff,
> pout>). Can any netters out there identify the songwriter and/or recordings of
> the song? (I have heard two recorded versions, one male and one female.)
>
> Lyrics/chords available on request. If I can find out who wrote it, I'll send
> it in to the lyric server.
> --
> ///////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
> \\ Paul Mailman ====== Internet: ma...@atex.kodak.com //
> // Atex, Inc. (A Kodak Company) ====== Voice: (508) 670-3173 \\
> \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////////