req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer

Subject: RE: Songbooks: Singing Together books on Web Site
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Jul 08 - 03:27 AM

Can anyone tell me the full lyrics of the song about a village blacksmith, which we used to sing in the 1950's with " Singing Together" at school ,PLEASE? Here is what I can remember:

" That's George that I hear.
He swings his big hammer.
The clang and the clamour keep time with his swinging.
The bells are a -ringing through valley and square....."

.....apologies if not quite right.....it WAS 50 years ago!!!...Val

---

I moved these messages from the Singing Together thread. Can anybody come up with full lyrics? Was it in one of the "Singing Together" songbooks?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Songbooks: Singing Together books on Web Site
From: GUEST,Angela
Date: 25 Dec 11 - 05:40 PM

Yes - I remember it being like this - That's George that I hear
HE SWINGS THE BIG HAMMER
THE CLANG AND THE CLAMOUR
THE BELLOWS THEY ROAR OUT
THE FLAMES FLASH AND POUR OUT
AND .....?

IT WAS MY FAVOURITE SONG IN THE BOOK.

This was 1958/9 while at Out Lane County Primary School, Woolton Liverpool.

Subject: RE: Songbooks: Singing Together books on Web Site
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Aug 12 - 08:08 AM

My attempt as remembered from c 1975:

That's George that I hear
He swings the big hammer
The clang and the clamour
Keep time with his swinging
As bells were a-ringing
Through alley and square

He stands by the forge
As I pass the smithy
Blank
Blank
The flames flash and pour out
And flicker round George

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Feb 13 - 01:27 AM

I got an e-mail request for this song today. Can anybody supply the rest of the lyrics?
-Joe-

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST,SD
Date: 25 Feb 13 - 03:36 AM

It is indeed The Village Blacksmith
I think it starts:

'Tis George that I hear,
he swings his big hammer,
the clang and the clamour
. . .
through alley and square.

We sang it at school, in Edinburgh, nearly 60 years ago!

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 25 Feb 13 - 03:57 AM

If my memory serves me well it was a translation from a German song though I can't remember the details of that either. Something like
"Ich höre mein Schatz....."

Subject: ADD: Der Schmied (Ludwig Uhland)
From: gnomad
Date: 25 Feb 13 - 06:24 AM

Google offers the following

Ludwig Uhland, 1809 - Der Schmied

DER SCHMIED
(Ludwig Uhland, 1809)

Ich hör' meinen Schatz,
Den Hammer er schwinget,
Das rauschet, das klinget,
Das dringt in die Weite,
Wie Glockengeläute,
Durch Gassen und Platz.

Am schwarzen Kamin,
Da sitzet mein Lieber,
Doch geh' ich vorüber,
Die Bälge dann sausen,
Die Flammen aufbrausen
Und lodern um ihn.

Johannes Brahms apparently gave it a tune in 1859

Looks to be just the two verses. I remember the first verses as above, and about as much of the second as we have so far. I'll give it a bit of thought, but it's been half a century and I recently realised I can barely recall something from only 4 years ago, so no promises.

Subject: The Blacksmith
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Feb 13 - 01:29 PM

That's terrific, gnomad. this page says the melody was by Robert Schumann, Der Schmied, Op 145 No 1. [YouTube Recording]

I found the German text with a side-by-side translation at about.com:

Der Schmied	The Smith
von Ludwig Uhland	Translation by Hyde Flippo
Ich hör' meinen Schatz,	I hear my sweetheart,
Den Hammer er schwinget,	The hammer he swings,
Das rauschet, das klinget,	That whistles, that clangs,
Das dringt in die Weite	That penetrates into the distance
Wie Glockengeläute	Like the peal of bells
Durch Gassen und Platz.	Through streets and square.
Am schwarzen Kamin,	At the black furnace,
Da sitzet mein Lieber,	There sits my love,
Doch geh' ich vorüber,	But if I pass by,
Die Bälge dann sausen,	The bellows then groan,
Die Flammen aufbrausen	The flames roar up
Und lodern um ihn.	And blaze all around him.

Now, can anybody find the complete English text from Singing Together? If somebody can send me a MIDI, I'll post that, too.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: gnomad
Date: 26 Feb 13 - 02:45 AM

No speaka-da-midi, sorry Joe, will leave that to the competent.

I was intrigued by the question of who wrote the tune, though.

A list of Brahms's works certainly mentions it (item 19/4) but the other items listed show him to have been at times a re-interpreter of the works of other composers, including Schumann, so maybe it is another of those? I am glad not to be adjudicating on copyright here.

We now need a singable version of v2, that literal translation epitomises the problems of translating verse or song: scansion, rhyme pattern and actual meaning can seldom all be maintained.

No luck with the memory yet, an old Singing Together seems the most likely source. Another magazine-format series of songbooks from that era, also in use at my school, was Time and Tune, it is possible we may be looking for the wrong source.

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Feb 13 - 01:17 PM

So good, and so helpful, thank you!
I am sure there will have been several translations - and Schubert?Brahms?
Certainly the tune on that record is the right one.
Thank you. SD

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 26 Feb 13 - 01:51 PM

Uhland's poem appears to have been set many times; there's a list of some of them here: Der Schmied. (Brahms and Schumann amongst them).

Mick

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Feb 16 - 05:09 PM

GUEST on 31 Aug 12 - 08:08 AM had it almost right. I remember it clearly from Singing Together, about 1953. The Alzheimers hasn't fully set in yet. I was singing it and chose to Google it.

That's George that I hear
He swings the big hammer
The clang and the clamour
Keep time with his swinging
As bells were a-ringing
Through alley and square

There in the black forge
He stands by the stithy
As I pass the smithy
The bellows they roar out
The flames flash and pour out
And flicker round George

The first syllables of alley and flicker are spread over three notes in the song.

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST,Roger Dickinson
Date: 11 Dec 17 - 01:42 PM

As I recall the lyric spoke of Alleyn square which I always had difficulty pronouncing . Alleyn Square is in Dulwich South London .??????

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST,Ernest , this is what we sung in the late f
Date: 27 Jul 19 - 03:47 AM

The blacksmith I hear with clash and with clamour the sound of his hammer, his mighty arms swinging, his mighty strokes ringing like bells loud and clear.

At dudden hill. London

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST,Allan Stead
Date: 14 Apr 20 - 11:56 AM

The blacksmith I hear
He swings a big hammer
The clash and the clamour
Keep time with the swinging
And it goes on ringing
Through a-alley and square

Chislehurst Road Junior School, Orpington, 1955-1959

Any more verses, anyone?

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: cnd
Date: 14 Apr 20 - 04:15 PM

The German posting by gnomad and Joe looks to be all there is. I have found a few things though that I'll include here:

The Third Eye by Mollie Hunter mentioned the song on p. 103 but called the song "The Harmonious Blacksmith" but mentions no more than the first verse.

A person searching for the song in the June 9th, 1951 Saskatoon Star-Phoenix shared the song almost exactly as typed by GUEST of 16 Feb 16 but called it "The Blacksmith's Sweetheart"

An index to collected songs at Trent University p. 15 cites the song as follows: "DER SCHMIED, op. 19, no. 4; "Ich hör meinen schatz"; THE BLACKSMITH; "My true love is there" e, g 275; THE BLACKSMITH'S SWEETHEART; "That's George that I hear" e 199 words by L. Uhland

Obviously the translations will have slightly different words depending on the translator, but the original poem had only those two lines.

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: cnd
Date: 14 Apr 20 - 04:23 PM

Two songs titled "The Blacksmith - Brahms" appear in the Singing Together thread compiled by Nigel, one in Summer 1960 and one in Autumn 1952. Either of those could be the original source of the lyrics? Maybe whoever contributed those verses added some.

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Jun 20 - 10:44 AM

That's George that I hear
He swings the big hammer
The clang and the clamour
Keep time with his singing
As bells are a-ringing
Through a-alley and square.

There in the black forge
He stands by the stithy
When I pass the smithy
The bellows they roar out
The flames flash and pour out
And fli-icker round George.

This is all from memory. I can still sing it. I googled this song to find out if anyone knows of any recordings of it.

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 09:17 AM

I remember this song too from the BBC schools broadcast 'Singing together' in primary school in about 1960.

The words given above are indeed as I recall them.

A bit of searching on IMSLP confirms that the melody for the English version which I remember from 'Singing Together' is indeed by Brahms - Five Poems, Op. 19. No.4 Der Schmied (The Smith).

Hope this link works:
http://ks4.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/d1/IMSLP67460-PMLP20884-Brahms_Album_mittel_Peters_Op_19_No_4_600dpi.pdf

Brahms - 'Der Schmied'

Steve (Sheffield)

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST,jwitts
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 06:36 PM

We used to sing: My loved one I hear/ The sound of his hammer/ With clash and with clamour/ Could set my heart singing/ With echoes far ringing/ Of chimes loud and clear. I don't know if it was Brahms, but it was a strong, fine tune.

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Aug 20 - 02:13 AM

I remember some of this song from the sixties at primary school. I can add a little bit:

The blacksmith I hear, his hand high is swinging
His anvil is ringing
He sets my heart singing...

Cannot for the life of me remember any more of that verse!

I've been searching for the rest of the lyrics for years

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Feb 21 - 01:00 PM

The blacksmith I hear, the sound of his hammer, with clash and with clamour,doth set my heart singing ,the sparks high soaring , fly fast from his hammer.

Subject: RE: req: That's George I Hear-He swings his big hammer
From: GUEST,#
Date: 28 Feb 21 - 01:38 PM

The blacksmith I hear
With clash and with clamour
Resoundeth his hammer
His mighty arms swinging
His mighty strokes singing
Like bells loud and clear

That is from

https://books.google.ca/books?id=ispeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT88&lpg=PT88&dq=his+mighty+arms+swinging,+his+mighty+strokes+ringing+like+bell

Note the dating: 1935