Lyr Add: Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone (Carter)

Subject: Lyr Add: WILL YOU MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE (Beebe/McA
From: Stewie
Date: 01 Mar 00 - 08:32 PM

WILL YOU MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE (Rev G.Beebee /H.E. McAfee)

When death shall close these eyelids
And this heart shall cease to be
And they lay me down to rest
In some flowery, boundary tree

Will you miss me
Will you miss me
Will you miss me
Will you miss me when I'm gone

Perhaps you'll plant a flower
On my poor unworthy grave
Come and sit alone beside me
When the roses nod and wave

Will you miss me
Will you miss me
Will you miss me
Will you miss me when I'm gone

One sweet thought my soul shall cherish
When this fleeting life has flown
This thought will cheer when dyin'
Will you miss me when I'm gone

When these lips shall never more
Press a kiss upon thy brow
When I'm cold and still in my death
Will you love me then as now

Will you miss me
Will you miss me
Will you miss me
Will you miss me when I'm gone

Source: The Carter Family 'Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone' Recorded 10 May 1928 Vi 21638. Reissued on The Carter Family 'Complete Victor Recordings: Anchored in Love 1927-28' Rounder CD 1064 (1993).
PS.

The credit for the song is from Charles Wolfe's notes to the Rounder reissue. He noted that most songbooks give credit to the Reverend George Beebee and H.E. McAfee.

I notice also that the DT credits 'Fifty Miles of Elbow Room' to the black, singing preacher F.W. McGee. In his notes to the Rounder 'Complete Victor Recordings: Last Sessions', Wolfe points out that it was written by evangelist Herbert Buffram at an unknown date and popularised by McGee in the early 1930s.

--Stewie.

Subject: Lyr Add: WILL YOU MISS ME? (Woody Guthrie)
From: Wolfgang
Date: 03 Mar 00 - 09:44 AM

That song reminds me for obvious reasons the one I post below. I know it from the singing of Johnny McEvoy and the Young Tradition who attribute it to trad. The source where I copied it from says 'copyright Stormking Music 1962...from the singing of Woody Guthrie'.
I'd love to know whether the two tunes are identical. Do you know that, Stewie, or someone else?

Wolfgang

WILL YOU MISS ME?

When death'll close my eyelids
and my race on earth is run,
will you miss me, when I'm gone?

Chorus: Will you miss me, will you miss me, miss me,
will you miss me when I'm gone?
Will you miss me, when I'm gone.

Come and sit yourself beside me,
come and sit beside my bed,
lay your hand upon my brow,
while my aching heart grows dead.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Will you miss me ...
From: Fortunato
Date: 03 Mar 00 - 10:21 AM

I believe it wouldn't be the first time Woody borrowed a Carter family melody for a song he wrote.

If you compare the melody of Little Darling Pal of Mine to This Land is Your Land, you'll see what I mean, I think.

I'm glad he did.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Will you miss me ...
From: Stewie
Date: 03 Mar 00 - 05:21 PM

Hi Wolfgang.

The melody is the same as that on Royston and Heather Woods' 'No Relation' (with Bellamy joining in) except that they beef up the chorus a bit. They refer to it in the notes as 'an American traditional song'. When listening to the record to check for you, it went on to the medieval plainchant 'Gloria Laus' (Roysten and Heather as duet) - I'd forgotten how lovely that is too!

Regards, Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Will you miss me ...
From: Wolfgang
Date: 07 Mar 00 - 03:36 AM

Stewie,
o.k., same tune then, which somehow could be expected.

Wolfgang

Subject: Lyr Add: WILL YOU MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE? (Stecher,
From: lamarca
Date: 07 Mar 00 - 10:43 AM

Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin recorded a version of this on one of their albums with the verses in a different order and some additional lyrics. This is from my (imperfect) memory, and I may not have the words exactly right:

When these lips shall never more
Place a kiss upon thy brow
When life is stilled in death
Will you love me then as now?
Chorus:

Will you miss me
O-oh, will you miss me
Will you miss me
Will you miss me when I'm gone?

Perhaps you'll place some flowers
On my cold unworthy grave
Then come and sit alone beside me
And watch the roses nod and fade.

On a cold December morning
In a land so far away
A little boy from old Kentucky
Turned his head to softly say...

Does anyone know where their version came from? Did they write the last verse? Or is this the same as a version by The Blue Sky Boys?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Will you miss me ...
From: Stewie
Date: 07 Mar 00 - 07:48 PM

Stecher and Brislin say in the notes to 'A Song that will linger' that their arrangement 'owes more to the Stanley Brothers than the Carter Family who first popularised it'. Their version has only 3 verses, more or less as you posted them.

The Stanleys recorded it for Ray Davis' Wango records in the early 1960s and the recording was reissued on County 754 'Stanley Bros of Virginia vol 4' in 1976 (County reissued 4 Wango LPs). Their version has only 2 verses - the 'roses nod' one and a second where the 'little boy' is 'a little girl':

On a cold, dark Sunday morning
In a country far away
A little girl from old Kentucky
Lifted up her voice to sing

It seems that Stecher and Brislin used 2 Carter Family verses and one that was similar to the Stanleys' second verse. I do not have any recording of it by the Blue Sky Boys so I do not know what they sang.

--Stewie

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone (Carter)
From: GUEST
Date: 05 May 14 - 01:59 PM

When death shall close these eyelids
And this heart shall cease to beat
When they lay me down to my rest
In some flower bound retreat