Tune Origin: When I Needed a Neighbour (S. Carter)

Subject: Tune Origin: When I Needed a Neighbour
From: GUEST,Dave Rado - 19 Feb 2015
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 02:36 PM

I know that the tunes of most of Sydney Carter's songs were taken from traditional folk melodies, but I can't find any information about the tune of "When I Needed a Neighbour" - does anyone know its origin?

Subject: RE: Tune Origin: When I Needed a Neighbour
From: GUEST,Jack Campin 20 Feb 2015
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 02:37 PM

The Church Hymnary seems to think Carter wrote it himself.

It sounds to me more like a collage of tiny phrases than a real tune anyway.

Subject: RE: Tune Origin: When I Needed a Neighbour (S. Carter)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 05:45 PM

(Personal opinion only)
It seems too short to be a 'collage' (Unless we're discussing a collage of individual notes, or of 3 note phrases, which would describe nearly all music)
I can't identify anything that it would seem to be derived from.
If the Church Hymnary attributes it to Carter, that should stand, unless someone give convincing evidence to the contrary.

As I said, just my opinion.

Cheers
Nigel

Subject: ADD: When I Needed a Neighbour (S. Carter)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Jun 17 - 11:54 PM

WHEN I NEEDED A NEIGHBOR
(Sydney Carter)

When I needed a neighbour,
Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

I was hungry and thirsty,
Were you there, were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

I was cold, I was naked,
Were you there, were you there?
I was cold, I was naked, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

When I needed a shelter
Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a shelter were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

When I needed a healer,
Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a healer, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

Wherever you travel,
I'll be there, I'll be there.
Wherever you travel, I'll be there.
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
I'll be there.

Source: http://www.worshipworkshop.org.uk/songs-and-hymns/hymns/when-i-needed-a-neighbour/

Performance by Wells Cathedral Choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHrljTTp3Jw

Romsey Abbey Choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fExR7eOhJO0

Karl Berger & Katie Kirk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifFC5LK051M

Jancis Harvey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqM3MWzkSGo

Subject: RE: Tune Origin: When I Needed a Neighbour (S. Carter)
From: David Carter (UK)
Date: 04 Jun 17 - 03:22 AM

This was written for Christian Aid week in 1965, and Sydney Carter (no relation, despite my attempts to discover otherwise) described it as a song, not a hymn. According to Hymnary.org, it is sung as a hymn to no other tune, and the tune is used for no other hymn. It is very simple, unlike, for instance, The Crow on the Cradle (which may be something of a collage), or Lord of the Dance which is an adaptation of Elder Joseph Brockett's tune for Simple Gifts. More like One More Step. Sydney was a poet primarily, I think the tunes he did write were mostly pretty simple. These two songs, together with Lord of the Dance, and amongst the most used in Primary School assemblies in the UK.

Subject: RE: Tune Origin: When I Needed a Neighbour (S. Carter)
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 04 Jun 17 - 05:51 AM

The first 2 lines appear to me like a minor development of 'Simple Gifts' and then the rest developed from that. Very effective and brilliantly done whatever its inspiration. It also has affinity with one of the tunes to 'The Lowlands of Holland' with slightly different phrasing.