Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era

Subject: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Les B
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 04:17 PM

Starting next summer our area (Montana) is beginning the push to the Lewis & Clark bi-centennial in 2004. Our group has already been asked to prepare some songs from the era -- 1804 -- and place, the American frontier. Does anyone have any idea of what would be appropriate ? On the trip itself the Corps of Discovery had two fiddlers and a "sounden" horn (tin boat horn) We have plenty of fiddle tune ideas, but little in the way of songs.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: MMario
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 04:32 PM

levy sheet music has 125 items older then 1810. on the first page of ten 3 were songs. should be able to get a few there.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From:
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 06:28 PM

i am a reinactor doing songs mostly of the rev. war era here is a very shot list of stuff i perform for such evevts the "gypsy rover"- or "the gypsy laddie" (circa 1740) "the Queen's 4 Marries"...or other Child's ballads would be a good place to start anything by Robert Burns such as "Auld Lang Syne" "John Hielandman" All his stuff would have the possibility of being heard then "all the pretty little horses" a lullaby circa rev.war and if you want a hymn "Wayfaring Stranger" came fom the Ky. backwoods during the Rev. war hope this helps.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: charcloth
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 06:34 PM

songs circa French and Indian war or ealier

Babara allen the Fox greensleves shadygrove

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Art Thieme
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 08:43 PM

Songs of the Sioux, Blackfeet, Crow-----Tillamook---any tribes along the route.

Art

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Alice
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 09:41 PM

Les, will you be performing in Helena? Is there a schedule that you can provide for Mudcat members to read? Maybe some people would like to plan their vacations next year to include something happening on the route of the Corps of Discovery.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Les B
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 10:46 PM

Alice - there's no set gig, yet. We've just had some general interest since we do 1860's and onward songs. Thanks, charcloth for the suggestions. Amazing Grace is also from that period. Art - I'm not sure I'm brave enough to do native American songs ! (oops, didn't notice the pun) I don't try songs in gaelic or French either. I just feel I can't do them justice.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Jim Krause
Date: 06 Oct 99 - 04:42 PM

Oh boy, am I glad I found this thread. I've been working on this area of research for quite awhile. Here are some of the titles I've found: "In Good Old Colony Days" ca. 1770 "The Miller's Will" pre 1800 "Henry, My Son" a variant of Lord Randall "A Canadian Boat Song" 1803, lyrics by Thomas Moore, music traditional French/Canadian "Dans Mon Chemin" "Over the Hills and Far Away" from "The Beggar's Opera" 1728 "Cabbage Head" a version of the Scots ballad "Our Goodman" slightly bawdy "Jack Monroe" pre-1800 "The Fox" older than dirt. This song has been collected in many versions all over Europe. In fact, all the ballads collected by Francis James Child are good. Forgive the crass commercialism, but I have released a CD on the Old Sod Shanty lable titled "Going Up the Missouri: Songs & Dance Tunes from Old Fort Osage" that is an anthology of songs from before 1820. Most of them are from before 1800. I have included historical notes. E-mail me for ordering information, or visit this URL http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/Opry/1963/records.html

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From:
Date: 06 Oct 99 - 09:11 PM

hey soddy i tried the web address but it wasn't there i have been doing the same type "research" maybe we could compair noets- no pun intended.email me if you are interested thanks

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Lesley N.
Date: 06 Oct 99 - 10:00 PM

Would you mind counting me in if you have some info??? Part of my folk music site is Popular Songs in American History (http://www.contemplator.com/america.html). Sometimes I just take a "best guess" as to what era a tune fits. Child ballads, for instance, I almost always put earlier than the verified printed dates because they have a long oral tradition...

Although I have a lot of sources for British folk, my American sources are pretty meagre. While we're at it, any suggestions?

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Les B
Date: 07 Oct 99 - 12:06 AM

One that I'm intending to learn is "Jefferson & Liberty" since Thomas J. is the one who sent the Corps off to discover. Its from 1800.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Pete Peterson
Date: 07 Oct 99 - 11:20 AM

Burl Ives wasn't exactly a scholar but I still have a very battered copy of the Burl Ives Song Book (red cover, Ballantine Books, 35 cents back from when the coins were silver) which has a lot of pre-1800 songs including many already mentioned. Alan Lomax's Folk Songs of North America (still in print I hope!) has a lot of good songs & information. How old is Pretty Polly? Banks of the Ohio seems somewhat newer to me and John Hardy is definitely 1894 cause somebody looked up the trial records. There are cheerful songs, too!

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Jon W.
Date: 07 Oct 99 - 01:07 PM

A month or two ago I read the historical novel "From Sea to Shining Sea" which narrates the history of the Clark family - George Rogers Clark of Revolutionary War and Kentucky fame and William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expidition being perhaps the most prominent members of that generation. In one episode George tells William, as the latter is preparing for the Expidition, the secret of keeping the men loyal to the leadership. Among the advice was to always have a joke, a song, or a dance to cheer them up. There are several snippets of song lyrics in the book also.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Charlie Baum
Date: 07 Oct 99 - 02:11 PM

Have you looked through their journals, which are widely available, to see if songs are quoted, excerpted from, alluded to, or otherwise mentioned? The Journals of Lewis and Clark are an excellent "read", even if you're not into history. There's a wonderful one-volume abridgement edited by Bernard DeVoto, and a 3-volume paperback edition. Of course, an unabridged, more scholarly edition would be more suited to your song search.

--Charlie Baum

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: Les B
Date: 07 Oct 99 - 02:47 PM

I started through DeVoto's work many years ago and never got finished. I did read Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" and marked most passages referencing music. There were numerous fiddle references, but no mention of songs by title, or snippets of verse. There is a scholar here in Montana who does a presentation called "Medicine Songs" on Lewis & Clark's stop with a tribe on the return leg of the trip. They (the Corps of Discovery) were asked to share their "medicine songs," with the tribe and the scholar (whose name escapes me at the moment) theorizes what they might have sung, and in what vocal style, but cannot conclusively state exactly what those songs were. They simply were not recorded in the diaries. Maddening. Probably the first multi-cultural song cirlce west of the Rockies, and no record of wthe tunes ! I do appreciate all your suggestions. Keep them coming.

Subject: RE: Help: Songs of Lewis & Clark era
From: charcloth
Date: 07 Oct 99 - 08:56 PM

hey Lesley, I just want to complement you on your site it is outstanding and quite usefull for myself & my partner