Lyr Add: Gentle Annie

Subject: Lyr Add: GENTLE ANNIE ^^^
From:
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:05 AM

GENTLE ANNIE
Now the harvest time is come, gentle Annie,
And the wild oats are all scattered O'er the field.
You'll be anxious to know, gentle Annie,
How your little crop of oats is going to yield.

And we're travelling down the road into Bonar
And we're following the feed of Billy Yates
When we arrive and we see the donor
She's a little girl we left at Tommy Waites

So we must meet again gentle Annie
As each year we travelling round you go
And we never will forget you gentle Annie
You're the little dark-eyed girl we do adore

Well your mutton's very sweet, gentle Annie,
And your wines they can't be beat in New South Wales,
But you'd better get a fence round your cabbage,
Or they'll all be eaten up by the snails.

And you'll take my advice, gentle Annie,
And you'd better watch old chaffie going away
With a packbag hung over his saddle,
For he stole some knives and forks the other day.

Yes we must meet again gentle Annie
Each year as we a-travelling round you go
And we never can forget you gentle Annie
You're the little dark-eyed girl that we adore

Well your little bit of oats are pressed dear Annie
And the bullocks they are yoked to go away
You'll be sorry when we're gone gentle Annie
For you'll want us then to stop and thresh the hay

But we must say farewell, gentle Annie,
For you know with you we cannot longer stay.
But we hope one and all gentle Annie
To be with you on another threshing day
^^^

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From: Susan of DT
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 08:48 AM

(dick greenhaus) Thank 'ee much, Jacko

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From: JedMarum
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 08:53 AM

what can you tell us about the song?

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From: Sorcha
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 10:08 AM

I find it odd that the original lyrics are not in the DT. Or are they and I just couldn't find them? There are two alike, both similar to the above. Do we need the original lyrics and the tune? I have both, and will post them if necessary.

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 01:18 PM

Mudcat synchronicity strikes again - I was playing that yesterday, and thinking I'd post it to the Mudcat, and it's on the CD player downstairs, with Gentle Annie being the next track up but one.

The CD in question is Martyn Myndham-Read's "Undiscovered Australia", which I bought off him a couple of weeks ago at Walton Folk Festival. A great set of songs, and he sings them perfectly.

The sleeve notes are A.L. Lloyd and Martyn. Here is what they say about this one:

Gentle Annie (Foster/Trad arr. Wyndham-Read) This song was originally an American one written by the venerable Stephen Foster in 1856. Subsequently it migrated to Austalia and, after suitable adaptation in true bush style, eventually made it to Martyn from David Lumsden of Melbourne, who had it from an old Victorian (State, not era) singer, Tom Newbound. The suggestion has been made that the line "your mutton's very sweet, Gentle Annie, and I'm sure it can't be packed in New South Wales" may be a reference to the time of the Land Act in the 1890s, which prevented the movement of meat from state to state. If so there maybe an implication of cattle rustling (called "duffing" in Australia).

The record is issued by Musica Pangaea - with the website giuven as http://www.rootsworld.com/pangaea/ - but that doesn't work. But it's worth hunting up if you can.

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 01:22 PM

I see that Martyn Wyndham-Read's version is a bit different - including that line about the mutton. (I strongly suspect a double entendre or two in that verse...)

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 03:37 PM

Hi - Jack's version is only slightly different from the lyrics of Gentle Annie 2 in the database. There are some interesting differences, so maybe Dick or Susan will add it to the database. My inclination is not to, but it is certainly wonderful to have this posted here.
The Stephen Foster lyrics, Gentle Annie, were added to the database in April 1999. There's no tune link for the Foster song - is the tune the same as the one for "Gentle Annie 2"?
You may find this thread interesting.
Are there other versions?
-Joe offer-

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From:
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:07 PM

My apolgies Dick

I should have added that my words were from the singing of Danny Spooner, a singing partner of MWR (hear "All Around Downunder" by the pair of them)

I spoke to Danny just a few weeks ago about the second verse but he couldn't recall any information about it

Subject: RE: ADD LYRICS; GENTLE ANNIE
From: Sorcha
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:08 PM

OK, the melody is basically the same for both Oz and Foster versions, but neither song in the DT has a clickie to play. Had to paste the abc in the other thread into ABC2Win to find that out. Also,

Liner notes from Green Linnet CSIF 1015, "Eugene O'Donnell, Slow Airs and Set Dances" say that it was originally an Irish melody called "Ni Fheicim Nios Mo Thu a Mhuirnin" (I Won't See You Anymore, My Dear)and that Foster "borrowed" the melody, and basically transliterated the words into English......... O'Donnell learned in in Derry as a child. (O'Donnell born 1932)