Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: Art Thieme Date: 26 Jun 00 - 05:27 PM On the river we used to say, "Barges, we don't need no stinkin' barges!" Art |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: Ebbie Date: 26 Jun 00 - 06:10 PM hahahhahahahahEbbie |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: rangeroger Date: 27 Jun 00 - 12:29 AM As a Park Ranger in San Diego County, there came the day when we were issued badges to wear on our uniforms. The inevitable comment came up about when werewe going to be issued guns. My reply, of course, was "Guns? We don't need no stinking guns. We got badges". rr |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: GUEST,lmnierse@wish.net Date: 21 Nov 00 - 09:01 AM The song "She Never Spoke Spanish To Me" is written by West-Texas singer/songwriter Butch Hancock. His friend Joe Ely was the first one to record the song in 1979 (I believe). Both used to be members of the Texan band The ]Flatlanders. Leo Nierse, Breda, Netherlands |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: GUEST,offbway@aol.com Date: 10 Dec 00 - 11:42 AM Are you talknig about Spanish is "a" loving tongue? Emmylou Harris sings it on her just re released "Cimmeron" and Ian and Sylvia sing it on "For Strong Winds" also Richard Dyer-Bennett recorded it. |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: GUEST Date: 01 Dec 03 - 02:33 PM Yes. That's the song. There is a lyric I can't get from either version. It's the last line. "Lost my heart and ????" Can you help? Steve Z |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: Amos Date: 01 Dec 03 - 02:35 PM Spanish is a loving tongue Soft as music light as spray Was a girl he learned it from Living down Sonora way He don't look much like a lover But he says her love words over Mostly when he's all alone Mi amor mi corazon On the nights that he would ride She would listen for his spurs Throw those big doors open wide Raise them laughing eyes of hers How those hours would get to flyin' All too soon he'd hear her sighing In her little sorry tone Mi amor mi corazon He ain't seen her since that night He can't cross the line you know They want him for a gambling flight Like as not it's better so Yet he's always sort of missed her Since that last sad night he kissed her Lost his heart left her own Adios mi corazon Lost his heart left her own Adios mi corazon |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: Fortunato Date: 01 Dec 03 - 02:42 PM I think I heard Cisco Houston sing "Lost my heart and left to roam", in any case that's the way I've sung it. |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: Cluin Date: 01 Dec 03 - 03:08 PM I LOVE this song. My favourite for years was the Ian & Sylvia version on their Four Strong Winds album. Now, my favourite is the one by James Keelaghan and Oscar Lopez on their Compadres CD... James' clear vocals and Oscar's tasty guitar leads & fills. Done in the 1st person, they also use the original lyric "She was Mex and I was white" (instead of "They want him for a gambling flight"). And they sing "Won her heart; lost my own" |
Subject: RE: SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE From: Amos Date: 01 Dec 03 - 06:42 PM This song has been around (in the first person) since the first quarter of the 20th century, at least. It was in the Fireside Book of American Song, I believe. A |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Dec 03 - 07:55 PM Written in the first person by Badger Clark, in Pacific Monthly, 1907, and again in 1915 in "Sun and Saddle Leather," as noted far, far above. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: fogie Date: 02 Dec 03 - 05:00 AM Amos version is near enough the Judy Collins version, seen from the womans point of view, there is another verse , which I think I noticed earlier that goes Moonlight on the Patio, Old senora nodding near, Me and Juan are talking low, So the madre does not hear, How the hours would go a flying, And too soon we would be sighing, As the moonlight sofly shon, Mi amor mi corazon And where the verse says- Throw those big doors open wide, Lift me to the saddle in his arms Ther are lots of J.C's songs that make me very emotional and this is one. Glad you like it, I didn't know the history. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: GUEST,Jaze Date: 02 Dec 03 - 09:37 AM I've heard many versions of this great song, but I like Michael Martin Murphy's the best.It does bring teears to the eyes. |
Subject: ADD Version: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Dec 03 - 03:21 PM The tune and lyrics in the Digital Tradition are from Songs of the Great American West, by Silber and Robinson. I checked the tune and lyrics with the book, and found it's a pretty accurate transcription. The lyrics are almost exactly the same in Katie Lee's Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle, and in Folksinger's Wordbook (Silber & Silber). I found the song in one other book, Cowboy and Western Songs (Austin and Alta Fife). the Fife book has the same lyrics that are in the DT, but it also has this alternate version. The Fifes identify this second text as Hendren 131 (I don't know what that means), which they say was encountered in Idaho. SPANISH IS THE LOVING TONGUE I learned Spanish from a girl Who lived down Sonora way, Sparkling eyes as black as jet, Hair as fine as softest spray. I don't claim to be a lover Conquering hearts the whole world over, There's but one whose heart I won, Mi amor, mi corazon. 'Neath the mellow yellow moon We would meet and part too soon, We'd converse in tones so low So the madre wouldn't know. Oft I kissed her lips so tender, Little stars blinked on in wonder, While the gentle breeze would moan, "Mi amor, mi corazon." While señora nodded near We would meet where none could hear, Whispering love as we sat there While the moonbeams kissed her hair. Tender were her words of greeting, How my heart would start stampeding, I still hear her tender tone, "Adios, mi corazon." 'Twas a foolish gambling fight That took place that starry night, Had to say a swift goodbye, So we parted, she and I. On the breeze her words were ringing, I still feel her arms a-clinging, I still hear her pleading tone, Adios, mi corazon. Oft I long to go back where I can touch her violet hair, Kiss her lips as soft as down, Tell her that my love lives on. If I dared to cross the border, They'd hang me in just short order, Never more we'll be alone, Adios, mi corazon. Q and I have found a variety of tunes for this song. As I said before, the tune in the Digital Tradition is from Silber & Robinson, Songs of the Great American West: Click to play (Silber/Robinson)Q sent me a scan of the tune from John White's book Git Along Little Dogies (Songs and songmakers of the American West): Click to play (White)The Fife book has a tune that is completely different, very similar to the one we all learned from the Ian and Sylvia recording: Click to play (Fife)The Katie Lee book has yet another tune, derived from the tune I found in Fife: Click to play (Lee)Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue (A Border Affair)DESCRIPTION: The singer tells of his love for (and language lessons from) a Mexican girl. "But one time I had to fly For a foolish gambling fight." Though the affair may have been a mistake, he still misses her and her farewell, "Adios, mi corazon."AUTHOR: Words: Charles Badger Clark EARLIEST DATE: 1920 KEYWORDS: love separation abandonment gambling fight foreigner FOUND IN: US(Ro,SW) REFERENCES (4 citations): Fife-Cowboy/West 52, "Border Affair" (2 texts, 1 tune) Darling-NAS, pp. 278-279, "Spanish Is a Loving Tongue" (1 text) Silber-FSWB, p. 141, "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" (1 text) DT, SPANLOVE* Roud #11085 RECORDINGS: Pete Seeger, "Spanish is the Loving Tongue" (on PeteSeeger30) File: FCW052 Go to the Ballad Search form The Ballad Index Copyright 2003 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.
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Subject: ADD: Sequel to the Border Affair From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Dec 03 - 05:25 PM Hey, I can't leave this out, even though it's really sappy. The goddam Katie Lee book has a sequel, if you can believe that. -Joe Offer- SEQUEL TO THE BORDER AFFAIR Many moons have come and gone Never more to pass our way. Each dim sunset, each gray dawn Means another lonely day. Still there is no other lover Takes the place of one I've known. Oft in dreams I'm saying over. Mi Amor! Mi Corazon! Dawn awakens in the patio. Sunbeams kiss the fountain spray. Cast reflections in my window Drive those torturing dreams away. Then I hear a welcome noise 'Tis Juanita, nina mine. Up so early with her toys. Laughing gayly so Divine. Silent foot steps drawing near, Nina's madre bending o'er Whispers words to me so dear "Buenos Dias, Mi Arnor!" Eyes that speak and lips that linger Two small arms that hold me tight. Matters not if she is Mex. There's no other soul so white. And God knows how much I love her, Juana Mia — Mine alone Sworn by all the Stars above her Mi Amor — Mi Corazon! Poem by Frank Wilburn March 13, 1933 |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 03 Dec 03 - 05:45 PM Thanks, Joe, for all the variations on the tune. All are basically the same, with "personal" touches. The one already in the DT, Silber and Robinson, perhaps puts it the simplest but the one from Fife may be the most authentic, since the Fifes indicate that it is as "sung by Billy Simon," who set the Badger Clark poem to music in 1925 (White). In a recent thread (64902), Cruiser pointed to a cd, Cowboy Ceilidh, by David Wilkie and Cowboy Celtic, which yoked titles for "A Border Affair" (Spanish is a Loving Tongue) and "Nil Sé Ina Lá," an Irish drinking song (Versions in threads 4295, 6728, 21169, 27678 and possibly others). Notes indicate that in an Irish session, Wilkie was told that "A Border Affair" had the same melody. None of the versions that I can find of the Irish melody are similar to the slow, nostalgic tune set to Badger Clark's "A Border Affair," attributed to Bill Simon and set to sheet music by Dorothy Youmans. Philippa (4295, Dec. 3, 2003) says she knows of no version of the Irish song with a similar tune. Unless someone can come up with a definite link to an Irish source tune, the melody should remain credited to Billy Simon. The sheet music in Fife and Fife, 1969, "Cowboy and Western Songs," # 52, pp. 146-147, "Border Affair," is cited as "sung by Billy Simon." The story of the song is given in White, John I., 1975, "Git Along, Little Dogies," pp. 130-132, and in Lee, Katie, 1976, "Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle," pp. 226-227. Billy Simon did record the song on an LP in 1972 (in his 80s at the time). Cowboy Songs, 2 (AFF 33-2) Arizona Friends of Folklore at Northern Arizona University. An early recording worth noting is a 78 single, Victor P-84, by "Texas" Jim Robertson. Katie Lee says he sang it the way Billy Simon sang it. Other pre-1975 recordings by Richard Dyer-Bennett, George Gillespie, Todd Dylan, Milt Okum, Dorothy Olsen, Bob Ross, Glen Yarborough, Herb Strauss, Ian and Sylvia, and Katie Lee. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Stewie Date: 04 Dec 03 - 03:27 AM Q, Meade also references a recording by Tex Fletcher (vcl/gtr) on 16 November 1936 'The Border Affair [Mi Amor, Mi Corazon]' in NYC, issued as De 5300 in December 1936. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 23 Feb 04 - 09:13 PM The correct title is "A Border Affair," as published by Badger Clark in the several editions of "Sun and Saddle Leather" from 1915 on. The words in the DT are correct. I know some will disagree, but I think the correct title should be given first. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: dick greenhaus Date: 24 Feb 04 - 02:07 PM Q- Correct titles are fine and good, but not necessarily what people look for. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: dick greenhaus Date: 24 Feb 04 - 06:01 PM A serious question--does anyone know just how a cowboy might have pronounced "corazon"? I've heard it both with and without the Castillian lisp, and I've never been sure what to sing. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 24 Feb 04 - 06:25 PM In the American southwest and Mexico, there is no lisp in the speech of the general Spanish-speahing populace. 'S' is O. K. I was taught some Spanish by a Colombian university graduate (doctorate) and he said that the Castilian lisp was considered effiminate. However, the 'S' is short, not drawn out with a shhhh or whistle in the manner of many Americans (Try yourself on Adios- I often end up with Adiosssh- which immediately identifies me as a gringo). |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 24 Feb 04 - 06:27 PM that's effeminate! |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: dick greenhaus Date: 25 Feb 04 - 02:47 PM Thanx much. I prefer not to make a complete fool of myself while singing. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: GUEST,Athenian Date: 15 Feb 05 - 10:08 PM This "last verse" is really half a verse - the first half is done instrumentally I've dealt cards in so manu places, Heard such voices, such pretty phrases. Still to me there is only one, Adios mi Corazon. --- I've been driving myself crazy trying to find the original version I learned. I suspect it ws the Chad Mitchell Trio - I just need to buy the album and see if that was the version I liked. |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: GUEST Date: 25 Mar 05 - 11:54 AM Dylan Todd (a little known tenor, only 1 album?) sang this on Love Songs: Old and New. He omitted several verses (the one about the door, the one about the fight) but it was still lovely (he's a tenor.) Alison |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: GUEST Date: 25 Mar 05 - 11:55 AM PS - Todd sings the end as: "Left her heart, but lost my own, Adios, mi corazon." Alison |
Subject: RE: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 25 Mar 05 - 05:50 PM Post by Athenian- that half verse is not in the original. Whose version? |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Genie Date: 14 Mar 07 - 06:05 PM I first heard Ian Tyson's version, under the title "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue." His lyrics deviate slightly from those posted above, and he ends with: "Lost my heart and left her own. Adios, mi corazon." |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Dave'sWife Date: 14 Mar 07 - 07:33 PM A lovely version of this song can be found on Emmylou harris' CD CIMARRON (Warner Bros.) 1981. it also shows up on some her compilation CDs such as Songs Of The West and her boxed set. Her light and feathery voice is a nice fit with the tender story. In fact, that whole album/CD CIMARRON is a nice set of songs. For years it wasn't available on CD but it's been issued with some extra cuts. If you only know the Ronnie Gilbert version, you'd do well to give this version a listen. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: pdq Date: 27 Dec 11 - 03:42 PM The late Bruce Olson mentions a record by Milt Okun in 1956, I assume released as "Border Affair". Glenn Yarbrough recorded it for Elektra in 1957. It's on "Here We Go, Baby" with the title "Spanish Is A Loving Tongue". He credits Badger Clark. Tex Ritter did a version in 1962 on a record of all Spanish themed material and called "Border Affair" with credit to Badger Clark Ian & Sylvia did it of "Four Strong Winds" in 1964, again as "Spanish is a Loving Tongue" but claimed to be traditional. Laura Weber included it in her guitar series on PBS in the mid 1960s. Also recorded by the Country Gentelmen in 1968. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: GUEST,Songbob Date: 27 Dec 11 - 05:02 PM It occurred to me that the song originally asked for here might be one of those "and then..." songs, involving the original "actors," and the one lyric above which tells of the child at her play seems to be the same. But the first "female" version can't be the original Juana, because this singer is a dealer in a gambling house, and the original Americano cowboy parts from Juana at her house, it would seem. Though, come to think of it, the place where they 'said one swift good-bye' isn't really specified, is it. Hmmmm... it looks like someone maybe has that same "so, what happens next?" itch I sometimes get. It can make for interesting songs. Perhaps this is one. But I don't think so -- the 'moonlight on the patio; old senora nodding near' verse puts the original Juana as too sheltered to be a dealer in a gambling hall. Sigh! Too bad. It could make an interesting coupling of songs. Bob |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Dec 11 - 06:00 PM dick - The word "corazon", if spoken by a Mexican or other Latin American is pronounced "cor-rah-SON", with the emphasis on the final syllable...and the "o" sound in "SON" is sort of like the "o" sound in the English word "stone" only it's shortened some...not drawn out so much as the "o" sound is in English. So it doesn't sound like "sewn". It sounds like something halfway between the English words "son" and "sewn". An American cowboy might speak it with the correct Mexican accent...or he might not...depends on the cowboy in question. *** Regarding Juana and the gambling hall...the gambling hall was most certainly not located at Juana's house, which seems to have been a rather upper class hacienda, probably out in the country. The fight at the gambling hall would have occurred at another location somewhere in town, resulting in the cowboy having to flee the area and get back across the American border, thus leaving his Mexican love behind. This totally makes sense, therefore the lyric about the gambling fight is no problem. *** As for Ian Tyson's version, which is excellent, I believe he sings in the final lines "Lost my heart and left to roam. Adios, my corazon..." Which again makes perfect sense. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Dec 11 - 06:18 PM Here's how I do it: Spanish is the loving tongue Soft as music, light as spray; Was a girl I learned it from Living down Sonora way. I don't look much like a lover, Still I say her love words over. Mostly when I'm all alone "Mi amor, mi corazon" On the nights when I would ride She would listen for my spurs, Throw the big door open wide, Raise those laughing eyes of hers. Late at night when fires are dying In my dreams I hear her sighing, Whispered soft for me alone --- "Mi amor, mi corazon" Moonlight on the patio, Old senora nodding near, Me and Juana talking low So the Madre would not hear. How those hours would get to flying! All too soon I'd hear her sighing In her sad and sorry tone --- "Adios, mi corazon." I've not seen her since that night, I can't cross the line, you know. They want me for a gambling fight Like as not, it's better so. Still sometimes I've sorely missed her Since that last sad night I kissed her Lost my heart and left to roam Adios, mi corazon! |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: dick greenhaus Date: 27 Dec 11 - 07:16 PM AS far as I can tell (and Katie Lee supports my thesis) the most popular tune was Dyer-Bennett's, who wrote the melody for the second part of each verse. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Dec 11 - 11:32 PM Sounds plausible to me. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 28 Dec 11 - 04:41 PM I'll tell the tune's story, as excerpted from Katie Lee, "Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle." Gail Gardner and Katie were visiting Billy and Betty Simon at their Horse Camp. They discuss Dolores, no trace of which seems to remain, which inSpanish Archives in Santa Fe is listed as both Real de Dolores (1827) and "Old Placers" Billy Simon plays "A Border Affair" on his guitar. Asked about "the right version," Billy says, "Right? I dunno it's right, it's the way I sing it." Katie Lee writes, "A simple three-chord melody, no fancy minors, no bridge after the first four lines (where all the others versions change melodic line), only the same melody repeated again, all through the song. Any cowboy could sing it, hum it, play it and pass it on in one night's hearing. It is Billy's tune all right- before the non-cowboys got wind of it." She goes on to discuss it as an "art song" used by Jan Peerce, Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett, often labeled "folk song." She continues, "... In all likelihood one of those "arranged by's" is where the complicated part sprouted, Richard Dyer-Bennett's version is like that. I wrote several times asking if he'd written it but never got an answer. Simon was asked where he got the tune. He was working for the Hays cattle Company and found Badger Clark's Sun and Saddle Leather. "I fooled around until I got me one that suited me pretty good; the words seemed to git married with the music." (He never took out copyright). Katie Lee says "Texas" Jim Robertson sang the song as Billy Simon sings it. Victor P. 84. Credited to "Miller and Suede." (Miller stole a number of songs and put his name to them). Fife and Fife credit Simon with the music. "Border Affair," "sung by Billy Simon," pp. 146-147, Cowboy and Western Songs, Text 1 by Clark. Fife American Collection, Utah State Univ. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: David C. Carter Date: 29 Dec 11 - 05:49 AM Dylan did two versions of this song. One was on an album with a band behind him,the other was him solo,with just piano,possibly around the time of"New Morning". That,for me,is the best version. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Rex Date: 29 Dec 11 - 06:07 PM I recorded this on my latest CD and could have offered it as most know it. I must admit, I like the more complex and pretty melody. Yet I wanted to offer it as Billy Simon might have done for his sake. I kicked it up a step from how he sings it in Katie's film, The Last Wagon. Thinking as he was in his 80s, he would have sung it higher in his youth. I also stepped up the tempo a bit. It is my best guess as to how he intended it. Now and then I get a pang wishing I had recorded a pretty version of it but not for long. Better to play it as Billy did. Rex |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 29 Dec 11 - 06:42 PM As Billy did- and most cowboys would. Have to get your CD. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: pdq Date: 29 Dec 11 - 09:34 PM Well, Rex sorta looks like a hippie, but there is his CD: Rex Rideout's new CD Perhaps folks can also get a CD by Jed Marum, another loyal Mudcatter. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Amos Date: 29 Dec 11 - 11:00 PM Steve Cormier, the well-known cowboy singer, folklorist and historian, sings this song. He pronounces "corazon" in the Mexican way -- "korr-a-zone". And he sings it beautifully. I have a video clip of him doing it in a house concert here in San Diego this week, and will post it if he permits it. A |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: deepdoc1 Date: 29 Dec 11 - 11:30 PM Rex's Western music bonafides look good. Got to hunt down my headphones and have a listen. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Little Hawk Date: 30 Dec 11 - 01:03 PM Yeah, Amos, but the "z" in "corazon" is pronounced like an "s". |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 16 May 14 - 07:43 PM "A Border Affair" by Charles Badger Clark was first published in The Pacific Monthly,, June, 1907, p. 631. As noted previously, it was set to music in 1925 by cowboy singer Billy Simon, the music written out by Dorothy Youmans. Simons did not record the song until 1972; it was previously recorded by John I. White ("The Lonesome Cowboy") on the program "Death Valley Days." c. 1933. Tex Fletcher recorded the song in 1936, as "A Border Affair," omitting the "She was Mex..." line. Texas Jim Robertson recorded it as "The Border Affair," in 1941. Milt Okun and Ellen Siekert, 1956, were the first to record with the title "Spanish is a Loving Tongue." Yarborough and Dyer-Bennett also used this title. White's version was published in Git Along, Little Dogies,, Univ. Illinois Press, 1975. Extracted from: http://jopiepopie.blogspot.ca/2013/08/border-affair-1936-spanish-is-loving.html . |
Subject: RE: Origins: Spanish Is the Loving Tongue From: GUEST,Germany Date: 12 Nov 14 - 07:20 AM Have somebody a spanish lyrics for She never spoke spanish to me (Bonito es el Espanol)- The Texas Tornados- Thanks |
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