Tune Req: Don't Let the Rain Come Down

Subject: There was a crooked man
From: BDenz
Date: 07 Jan 00 - 11:06 PM

This Mother Goose poem has been put to music at least once [Serendipity Singers, I think -- called "Don't let the Rain Come Down"]. I have that version. Has anyone heard this put to music? If so, I'd like to get chords and melody.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: emily rain
Date: 08 Jan 00 - 12:50 PM

haven't, love, but i'm interested too.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: kendall
Date: 08 Jan 00 - 01:10 PM

I'm not sure I understand what you want.. I know a song of that name from childhood that goes...There was..there was a crooked man..who walked who walked a crooked mile etc. I dont understand all that "midi" stuff but if you have hearme I can give you the tune.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Bruce O.
Date: 08 Jan 00 - 01:58 PM

It was fashionable to set nursery rhymes to music in the 1790s. One set of single sheet versions (of which I've seen only "Who killed poor Robin", "Heigh diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle", "Pussy cat, pussey cat, where have you been", and "Cock-a-doodle do.. My dame has lost here shoe") of at least 29, were said to be available from Samuel Arnold (the composer) as 'Juvenile Amusements'. In J. Hook's 'The Christmans Box' are his tunes for "Goosey, Goosey Gander", "Hot Cross Buns", "See saw Margery Daw", Three children sliding on the ice", "Little Jack Horner", "How dow my ladies garden grow", "Make a cake, make a cake bakers man", "Hushaby baby" and others. J. Dale issued "Tell tale tit", "Husaby Baby", "Little Jack Horner", "Goosey, Goosey Gander", and probably others I haven't seen. Somewhere buried in my old notes is the author and composer of "This is the house that Jack built", c 1800.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: BDenz
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 04:04 PM

Hey, Em. We'll find something for us or we'll write our own. You and me, kid. Then we'll let David arrange it all.

Kendall -- uh ... hearing you is tough, but I think I've heard that, now that you mention it.

Bruce -- I don't see Crooked Mile among those mentioned, tho I'll search. I'm sort of hoping I don't find one already done so our group can do our own -- it's the group's name.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Bruce O.
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 04:59 PM

I don't have crocked mile. My point is that there have been tunes around for many nursery rhymes for a long time, and it wasn't below the dignity of some well known composers to make such.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Bruce O.
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 05:05 PM

The Opie's in ODNR note "Crooked Man" first from Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes, 1842. Halliwell wasn't one to bother with tunes if there was one.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 05:14 PM

I remember a tune for it from "Listen With Mother" on the radio in the 1950s, and could post a midi to the midi site if you would like. I have no idea what its origins are, but I do know that the programme used old tunes for many of the nursery rhymes it broadcast. You may find it a little disappointing, though!

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: BDenz
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 06:30 PM

Malcolm, cool! That would be wonderful. Don't care if it's disappointing. My husband can make silk arrangements out of sow songs .

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 07:33 PM

BDenz,

If you want to do it yourself, just do it! It is so "folk process" to make up your own tune to a classic children's poem. No copyright problems there. So what if someone has already done it. You've already deselected the Serendipity Singers version. Just go for it!

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 07:56 PM

Malcolm, if you'd like, click on my name below and e-mail the MIDI to me, and I'll post it on Mudcat Midis. I found one tune I can transcribe later tonight, and I can post both at the same time if they're different from each other - but right now I have to head for choir practice or I'll be in bigger trouble with the choir director than I'm already in. Wish me luck.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 08:00 PM

Joe

Good luck! Midi follows.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: BDenz
Date: 10 Jan 00 - 09:29 PM

Roger -- probably will, but that's not my strength. It's a lot easier for me to either use an old melody [also SOP for folk songs] or get my husband to arrange on a melody [which we then, probably, change]. It's a process. We all grow this way.

Malcolm and Joe -- THANKS!!!

Barb

Subject: Tune Add: THERE WAS A CROOKED MAN
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Jan 00 - 08:50 PM

OK, here are the MIDIs malcolm and I came up with. Malcolm, I will bow to you and allow you go go first:

MIDI file: CROOKED.MID

Timebase: 120

TimeSig: 4/4 24 8
Key: C
Tempo: 100 (600000 microsec/crotchet)
Start
0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 77 100 0120 0 77 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 79 100 0060 0 79 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0180 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0120 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 77 100 0180 0 77 000 0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 77 100 0120 0 77 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 77 100 0060 0 77 000 0000 1 79 100 0060 0 79 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0120 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 76 100 0120 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 72 100 0060 0 72 000 0000 1 74 100 0060 0 74 000 0000 1 76 100 0060 0 76 000 0000 1 77 100 0180 0 77 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:
M:4/4
Q:1/4=100
K:C
ccffff2e|fgdddd3|deeeee2e|dccdef3|ccffff2e|
fgdddd2d|de2eeeee|dccdef3||

Malcolm's is the version I remember from my childhood. I found the following tune in a book called Complete Nursery Song Book (1947, Inez Bertail). Illustrations are by Walt Kelly, so it ain't your ordinary sweet nursery rhyme book. It's kind of like "Pogo Does Mother Goose."

MIDI file: CROOKED2.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: There Was a Crooked man
Text: By (traditional)
TimeSig: 4/4 24 8
Start
0672 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0128 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0128 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0128 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 74 110 0094 0 74 000 0002 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 60 110 0160 0 60 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:There Was a Crooked man
M:4/4
Q:1/4=120
K:C
G8|cBcAG2EG|cBcAG3G|FGAFE2GE|DEDCG3G|GABGA3A|
BcdBc2GG|c2BAGAFD|CEGGC7/4||

Oh, and the lyrics:

There was a crook-ed man and he walked a crook-ed mile,
He found a crook-ed six-pence up-on a crook-ed stile.
He bought a crook-ed cat, which caught a crook-ed mouse
And they all lived to-geth-er in a crook-ed lit-tle house.

For those of you who are allergic to MIDITEXT, you will soon find the tunes at Mudcat MIDIs, or Midcat Mudis, or whatever..... Look under "there."

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: MAG
Date: 11 Jan 00 - 08:57 PM

fa - do - fa - do - fa do

fa - re fa - re - fa - re

fa - la la la la la - sol

fa - do -fa - do - fa do

(repeat first 2 lines)

fa fa la la la la sol fa re re mi mi do

I leaveyou to fill in the beats. -- MA

Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T LET THE RAIN COME DOWN
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Mar 00 - 06:47 PM

DON'T LET THE RAIN COME DOWN (Crooked Little Man)
(Ersel Hickey & Ed E. Miller)
Recorded by The Serendipity Singers, 1964

CHORUS
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
My roof's got a hole in it and I might drown
Oh, yes, my roof's got a hole in it and I might drown
There was a crooked man and he had a crooked smile
Had a crooked sixpence and he walked a crooked mile
Had a crooked cat and he had a crooked mouse
They all lived together in a crooked little house

CHORUS

Well, this crooked little man and his crooked little smile
Took his crooked sixpence and he walked a crooked mile
Bought some crooked nails and a crooked little bat
Tried to fix his roof with a rat-tat-tat-tat-tat

CHORUS

Now this crooked little man and his crooked cat and mouse
They all live together in a crooked little house
Has a crooked door with a crooked little latch
Has a crooked roof with a crooked little patch
CHORUS

CHORUS

(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don't let the rain come down
My roof's got a hole in it (my roof's got a hole in it)
My roof's got a hole in it and I might drown


I thought this should be posted here, for the sake of....whatever. Jon Freeman deserves the credit for finding these lyrics. I'm listening to a little Tom Petty now, to banish the overdose of syrup from my brain. Doesn't this song remind you of "It's a Small World"?
-Joe Offer, who admits he kinda likes this song-

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: BDenz
Date: 12 May 01 - 06:21 PM

Joe -- I just realized that I hadn't thanked you for these lyrics [found the thread as I was cleaning out traces].

And yeah, it's a bit syrupy as originally written. We don't intend to keep it that way.

Barb

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: SINSULL
Date: 12 May 01 - 07:32 PM

Ah Hell! Now it's stuck in my brain. Joe Offer, you will pay dearly for this..Ahha Oh no dee dum dee dum dee dum.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Charley Noble
Date: 12 May 01 - 08:03 PM

THE URBAN MOTHER GOOSE had a parody verse which ran:

There was a crooked man
And he did very well.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: GUEST,honeydhont
Date: 09 Nov 05 - 06:16 PM

As early as August 1960, Ersel Hickey & Ed Miller copyrighted a song called 'Crooked Little House', from which The Serendipity Singers in 1963/4 took their cue for their big US-hit 'DON'T LET THE RAIN COME DOWN (Crooked Little Man)'. This earlier version was recorded by Jimmy Rodgers on his album 'At Home With Jimmy Rodgers' on Roulette in 1960, as Hickey was temporarily out of a record deal. It would be very interesting if somebody could come up with this song's lyrics (or a sound sample) for comparison with the hitversion. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: GUEST, Topsie
Date: 10 Nov 05 - 05:50 AM

We used to sing:

There was a crooked man, who walked a crooked mile,
And found a crooked sixpence under a crooked stile ...

One day my small son said to me

'Mummy, sing me the one about the man who found a sixpence under a crocodile.'

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Paul Burke
Date: 10 Nov 05 - 05:56 AM

There was a crooked man, and he had a crooked cat.
He borrowed fifty quid off a crooked little rat.
He bought a crooked boat on the crooked River Nile,
But they both got bitten by a crooked crocodile.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 10 Nov 05 - 07:27 AM

There was a crooked man.... etc, etc.
..And he fell off his yacht.

Parody on a radio comedy show after a certain Mr Maxwell went missing.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: GUEST,honeydhont
Date: 10 Nov 05 - 03:49 PM

Thanks ... I see this was an old nursery rhyme in origin (with lots of variations/parodies), but what I'm really looking for is the lyrics of the 1960 rewrite 'Crooked Little House' by Jimmy Rodgers. Is there somebody familiar with that version? I'm just wondering how much it differs from the Serenpidity Singers' hitrecord.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Nov 05 - 08:48 PM

Hmmm. Looks like you can download the Jimmie Rodgers recording here (click) (not that I figured out how to get the recording to work). Anybody have time to figure it out and transcribe it?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Tune Req: There was a crooked man
From: GUEST,honeydhont
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 05:34 PM

After close listening, I can inform you the lyrics of both versions are identical, the Serendipity Singers however did change slightly the chorus' melody, which is an improvement in my opinion and makes it a more memorable song. But fact remains, at the time this was a big hit in 1964, the song was already nearly four years old, hidden on a rather unknown album ... thanks for your essential offering, mr Offer on behalf of all at www.originals.be where this song was recently discussed. Regards.