Ashokan Farewell vs. Waltzing Matilda
Gary Lee Phillips
Sure you could sing the words of Waltzing Matilda to Ashokan Farewell.
They're both waltzes with a 5,5,5,5 syllable pattern. Probably lots
of other tunes would work too.
I believe Ashokan Farewell does in fact have words, though they are
rarely sung. It was written to honor a dance and folk music camp
that was engulfed when the Ashokan Reservoir was formed. Only later
was it adopted as the theme music for that Civil War series. It's
actually a 20th century composed tune, by (I think) Jay Warren.
-- Gary Lee Phillips mailto:fuf...@ix.netcom.com
Personal home page http://www.netcom.com/~fuffle/
St. Clair Co. MI GenWeb http://users.rootsweb.com/~mistclai/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
}-> Mailing list subscriptions changes should be e-mailed to:
}-> majo...@hockeytape.com
}-> with one of the following messages in the body of the e-mail.
}-> It may be in individual message form or digest form.
}-> (un)subscribe squeezebox(-digest)
}-> (or, if your e-mail address does not match the address from which
}-> you are sending)
}-> (un)subscribe squeezebox(-digest) YOUR-REAL-EMAIL-ADDRESS
}-> remove or include parts in (parens) as appropriate.
DoN. Nichols
Gary Lee Phillips <fuf...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
>Sure you could sing the words of Waltzing Matilda to Ashokan Farewell.
>They're both waltzes with a 5,5,5,5 syllable pattern. Probably lots
>of other tunes would work too.
>
>I believe Ashokan Farewell does in fact have words, though they are
>rarely sung. It was written to honor a dance and folk music camp
>that was engulfed when the Ashokan Reservoir was formed. Only later
>was it adopted as the theme music for that Civil War series. It's
>actually a 20th century composed tune, by (I think) Jay Warren.
Hmm ... I thought that it was composed by Jay Ungar (who also played
it for the Civil War series). I know that he had it on a recording prior to
the Civil War series.
Squeeze On,
DoN.
--
NOTE: spamblocking on against servers which harbor spammers.
Email: <dnic...@d-and-d.com> | Donald Nichols (DoN.)|Voice (703) 938-4564
My Concertina web page: | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
Toni
On Tue, 10 Nov 1998, Gary Lee Phillips wrote:
> I believe Ashokan Farewell does in fact have words, though they are
> rarely sung. It was written to honor a dance and folk music camp
> that was engulfed when the Ashokan Reservoir was formed. Only later
> was it adopted as the theme music for that Civil War series. It's
> actually a 20th century composed tune, by (I think) Jay Warren.
That's Jay Ungar. Words are by Grian McGregor. On his web page (address
at end), Jay Ungar writes:
Ashokan is the name of a town, most of which is now under the Ashokan
Reservoir, a very beautiful and magical body of water that is across the
road from our home. According to our local historian, Alf Evers, Ashokan
first appears in print as a place name in 17th century Dutch records. He
thinks that it may be a corruption of a local Indian word.
I composed Ashokan Farewell in 1982 shortly after the summer programs had
come to an end. I was experiencing a great feeling of loss and longing for
the lifestyle and the community of people that had developed at Ashokan
that summer. The transition from living in the woods with a small group of
people who needed little excuse to celebrate the joy of living through
music and dancing, back to life as usual, with traffic, disturbing
newscasts, "important" telephone calls and impersonal relationships had
been difficult. I was in tears when I wrote Ashokan Farewell . I kept the
tune to myself for months, slightly embarrassed by the emotions that
welled up whenever I played it.
Ashokan Farewell is written in the style of a Scottish lament or Irish
Air. I sometimes introduce it as, "a Scottish lament written by a Jewish
guy from the Bronx." (I lived in the Bronx untiI the age of 16.)
(Words by Grian McGregor)
The sun is sinking low in the sky above Ashokan,
The pines and the willows know soon we will part.
There's a whisper in the wind of promises unspoken,
And a love that will always remain in my heart.
My thoughts will return to the sound of your laughter,
The magic of moving as one.
And a time we'll remember long ever after
The moonlight and music and dancing are done.
Will we climb the hills once more?
Will we walk the woods together?
Will I feel you holding me close once again?
Will every song we've sung stay with us forever?
Will you dance in my dreams or my arms until then?
Under the moon the mountains lie sleeping,
Over the lake the stars shine.
They wonder if you and I will be keeping,
The magic and music, or leave them behind.
If you're interested in sheet music or recordings, Jay Ungar and Molly
Mason have web pages at:
Gary Lee Phillips
Thanks, Toni, for correcting my flub of the composer's name, and
especially for sharing the words. I've never heard them sung, but
I knew they existed.
-- Gary Lee Phillips mailto:fuf...@ix.netcom.com
Personal home page http://www.netcom.com/~fuffle/
St. Clair Co. MI GenWeb http://users.rootsweb.com/~mistclai/
cbentz
>
> I believe Ashokan Farewell does in fact have words, though they are
> rarely sung. It was written to honor a dance and folk music camp
> that was engulfed when the Ashokan Reservoir was formed. Only later
> was it adopted as the theme music for that Civil War series. It's
> actually a 20th century composed tune, by (I think) Jay Warren.
As to the origin of Waltzing Matilda, I can not attest. However, I
believe the Aussies used this as a marching song during WWII.
Maybe Wayne Knights has some info on this, being from nearby NZ. Are you
watching Wayne?
Cliff Bentz
Eric Root
Matilda is do a DejaNews search. I know it was darn near flogged to
death on r.m.celtic not too long ago. As I remember, one of the more
interesting points was that there are two tunes for WM, and many Aussies
think the _other_ tune is better than the one the rest of us know.
Ashokan Farewell sounds like Waltzing Matilda?? I don't know, I just
dont hear it, but I shouldn't talk; after all, I think Ragtime Annie
sounds like the Clarinet Polka and the Musical Priest sounds like
Ornithology. Go figure.
-Eric Root
- Read more non-fiction?! I get enough _non-fiction_ in real life!
blues
> Matilda is do a DejaNews search. I know it was darn near flogged to
> death on r.m.celtic not too long ago. As I remember, one of the more
> interesting points was that there are two tunes for WM, and many Aussies
> think the _other_ tune is better than the one the rest of us know.
If memory serves, the lyrics for "Waltzing Matilda" are atributed to the
Aussie poet A. B. "Banjo" Patterson, who also wrote "The Man from Snowy
River" (upon which the movie of the same name was based). Anyone know
the origin of the tune, that is the tune familiar to most of us in the
US?
As to the "other" tune, the one that the Aussies seem to prefer, it's a
lighter, "happier" number and I don't know its origin either. Anyone?
Blues
--
The Blues Viking Online! (New Articles Added 2/23/98)
http://ic.net/~blues
Peter Thornton
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-sq...@hockeytape.com
> [mailto:owner-sq...@hockeytape.com]On Behalf Of gat...@d-and-d.com
> Sent: Thursday, 12 November, 1998 3:30
> To: squee...@hockeytape.com
> Subject: SML: Re: Ashokan Farewell vs. Waltzing Matilda
>
>
>
> > Well, let's see, the best hing to do about the origin of Waltzing
> > Matilda is do a DejaNews search. I know it was darn near flogged to
> > death on r.m.celtic not too long ago. As I remember, one of the more
> > interesting points was that there are two tunes for WM, and many Aussies
> > think the _other_ tune is better than the one the rest of us know.
>
> If memory serves, the lyrics for "Waltzing Matilda" are atributed to the
> Aussie poet A. B. "Banjo" Patterson, who also wrote "The Man from Snowy
> River" (upon which the movie of the same name was based). Anyone know
> the origin of the tune, that is the tune familiar to most of us in the
> US?
Here is my original post which seems to have been missed by some:-
"The 'girl from Aberdeen', Christina Macpherson was born at Pechelba Station
in Victoria. Her father Ewan Macpherson (from Aberdeen) migrated to Victoria
in 1854 and later purchased Dagworth Station in Queensland. It was there
that Christina played the tune to Banjo Paterson who composed the words of
WM to fit the tune.
Christina had heard the tune played by the local band at the Warrnambool
Races in Victoria in 1894."
>
> As to the "other" tune, the one that the Aussies seem to prefer, it's a
> lighter, "happier" number and I don't know its origin either. Anyone?
The "other tune", also known as the Queensland or Buderim Version is the one
more often sung by "folkies" here. It can also be traced to the Macpherson
family as it was known to be sung/played in the home of Josephine(Pene) and
Bob Macpherson, who was the brother of Christina.
The whole saga of the origin of Waltzing Matilda makes for a very
interesting and sometimes romantic story - about which there have been
several books written, probably the most notable of which is Richard
Magoffin's "Waltzing Matilda - The story behind the Legend", published by
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The book also contains the music
for Christina Macpherson's version (the original) and the arrangement of the
tune by Marie Cowan which is the one best known by everyone, but not the
"Queensland" version, although this can be easily obtained from many
folksong books.
Pete
Rocky River Bush Band & Rafferty's Rules
http://members.tripod.com/~rockyriverbushband/
South Coast Folk Club
http://www.Geocities.com/Athens/Troy/3624/index.html
S Miskoe
camps, held at the Ashokan Campus of SUNY. It does have some words, they are
rarely heard. The dance camp still happens, some of the sessions fill on
November 1, the first day of registration. Jay is a fantastic musician.
Cheers,
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord, NH