Lyr/Chords ADD: The Month of January

Subject: month of january
From: GUEST,skippy
Date: 06 Mar 02 - 01:25 PM

guitar chords required for "month of january, Please

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MONTH OF JANUARY
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 Mar 02 - 02:21 PM

Didn't find any chords but here are the lyrics:


THE MONTH OF JANUARY

It was in the month of January, the hills were clad in snow
As over hills and valleys, my true love he did go
It was there he spied a pretty fair maid, with a salt tear in her eye
She had a baby in her arms, and bitter she did cry

"Oh, cruel was my father to bar the door on me
And cruel was my mother, this dreadful crime to see
Cruel was my own true love to change his mind for gold
Cruel was that winter's night that pierced my heart with cold"

Oh, the taller that the palm tree grows, the sweeter is the bark
And the fairer that a young man speaks, the falser is his heart
He will kiss you and embrace you, 'till he thinks he has you won
Then he'll go away and leave you all for some other one

So come all you pretty fair maids, a warning take by me
And never try to build your nest on top of any tree
For the roots, they will all wither, and the branches all decay
And the beauties of a false young man, must all soon fade away

(If it's here I didn't find it.)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 06 Mar 02 - 03:08 PM

That text is in the DT:  MONTH OF JANUARY,  in that case transcribed -apparantly- from a recording by June Tabor.  She appears to have recorded an arrangement of the traditional version that came from Sarah Makem, which appears -with two additional verses- in Peter Kennedy's Folksongs of Britain and Ireland.  Dunno about chords, mind.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: GUEST,skippy
Date: 06 Mar 02 - 03:43 PM

to Malcolm Douglas & Sorcha:- Thanks for taking the time & making the effort Regards Skippy

Anyone else out there who has the chords, yes please

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Roger in Sheffield
Date: 06 Mar 02 - 04:34 PM

The tune/melody I have, my flute don't have chords :)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Margaret V
Date: 06 Mar 02 - 11:01 PM

I don't know what melody June Tabor uses; I learned it from Dolores Keane, and I think I've screwed around with the words a bit. I like to play it with the low E tuned down to D. The chords I use are basically D, G, and C, except I keep my ring finger on the third fret of the B string the whole time in order to have a nice high ringing D note, and I play the high G with my pinky on the third fret of the high E string pretty often when playing the C chord (and of course when playing the G chord). So, awkwardly rendered, it's as follows:
(D)It was in (G)the (D)month of Janu- (G)ary, all (C)in the (G)frost and (D)snow; when (C)through (G)the (D)hills and (C)va- (G)all- (D)eys a-wandering I did (G)go; It was (C)there (G)I (D)spied a (C)pretty (G) fair (D)maid with a salt tear in her (G)eye; she (D)held (G)a (D)baby in her (G)arms and (C)bitterly (G)she did (D)cry.
Apologies for the primitive nature of the explanation, hope it is intelligible enough to be of some use. Margaret

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: IvanB
Date: 06 Mar 02 - 11:44 PM

Margaret, I learned the tune from Delores Keane as well, and use the same chord progression, but have never tended to play the passing G chords as you listed them nor tuned my bottom string down. Trying it your way, I noticed, adds interest to the tune (although I didn't tune down for my run through). One question: with the low E string tuned down, do you then use a D bass for the G chord or play the fifth fret G?

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: THE MONTH OF JANUARY
From: masato sakurai
Date: 07 Mar 02 - 06:05 AM

The Tommy Makem version is in The Irish Songbook (1971; Oak, 1979, pp. 98-99)

THE MONTH OF JANUARY
(Words and music by Sarah Makem)

It was [D]in the month of Janu-[Bm]ary, the [C]hills were [D]clad in [G]snow,
As [D7]over hills and moun-[G]tains my [D]true love [B7]she did [Em]go.
It was [D7]there I spied a pretty fair [G]maid with a [D]salt tear [B7]in her [Em]eye;
She [D]had a baby in her [Bm]arms and [C]bitter she did [G]cry.

"Oh, cruel was my father, who barred the door on me,
And cruel was my mother this dreadful crime to see;
Oh, cruel was my own true love to change his mind for gold;
And cruel was that winter's night that pierced my heart with cold."

Oh, the taller that the palm tree grows, the sweeter is the bark,
And the fairer that a young man speaks, the falser is his heart;
He will kiss you and embrace you 'til he thinks he has you won,
Then he'll go away and leave you all, all for some other one.

So come, all you pretty fair maids, a warning take by me,
And never try to build your nests on top of a high tree;
For the roots they will all wither and the branches all decay,
And the beauties of a false young man must all soon will fade away.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Margaret V
Date: 07 Mar 02 - 07:50 AM

Ivan, I just play the D for the bass. But in truth, I don't land on it very hard; instead I try to emphasize the B note on the second fret of the A string. I'm doing a little progression, emphasizing the C on the third fret of the A string when playing the C chord, then travelling one fret down to the B, then emphasizing the A string itself as the bass of the D chord. But I'm too sloppy a player not to also be hitting the low D at the same time, so it's there pretty much the whole way through, just a lot stronger when I'm playing the D chord, and also when I'm playing the G chord on the way up from the D. P.S. You know my voice well enough to suspect that I don't actually play this at D, G, and C... I have the capo on the fifth fret when I play it. Margaret

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 07 Mar 02 - 08:12 AM

So far as I remember, Dolores Keane also recorded an arrangement of the Sarah Makem set; there are only very minor deviations, as is also the case with June Tabor's recording, from the wording of the traditional source.  Mrs. Makem sometimes sang an additional two verses after the final verse quoted above and in the DT:

Oh hush, my little baby boy, and lay closer to my breast
How little does your father know this night we're in distress
He kissed me and embraced me till he had my favour gained
Then went away and left me, in sorrow, grief and shame.

I'll go down to yon lonely valley and upon my knees I'll fall
And there unto Almighty God for mercy I will call
She kissed her baby's cold white lips and laid him by her side
She raised her eyes to Heaven, then both laid down and died.

As recorded by Peter Kennedy and S. O'Boyle from Sarah Makem, Armagh, 1952, and printed in Kennedy's Folksongs of Britain and Ireland (1975), where it is titled The Forsaken Mother and Child.  Other versions have been noted in England and Canada.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: IvanB
Date: 07 Mar 02 - 11:29 AM

LOL, Margaret, actually it was some time ago that I heard you perform it, might have even been way back when we were using Hearme. But I must admit I was surprised at your key being the same as mine, since I usually find I have to transpose by a 4th or 5th from the key used by a soprano. And you answer about the bass note makes sense. I had also thought of using the B on the fifth string.

BTW, having heard your playing, 'sloppy' isn't a word I'd use to describe it. I've often wished I had the skill to make my accompaniments as interesting as yours.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Margaret V
Date: 07 Mar 02 - 07:20 PM

That is very kind of you, Ivan, thanks! Margaret

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Noreen
Date: 08 Mar 02 - 10:18 AM

(Words and music by Sarah Makem)...does either Sarah or Tommy claim that she wrote the song, Masato? I would have thought that the song was older than Sarah, and I didn't know she had a claim to writing songs, just singing them wonderfully.

Noreen

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: masato sakurai
Date: 08 Mar 02 - 10:40 AM

Noreen, I've copied the credit from the songbook. The full title of the book is The Irish Songbook: 75 Songs Collected, Adapted, Written, and Sung by The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, arranged for piano and guitar by Robert DeCormier, compiled by Joy Graeme, with a foreword by Pete Hamill. Tommy or Sara doesn't say anything about the song.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: month of january
From: Noreen
Date: 08 Mar 02 - 10:45 AM

Thanks, Masato. I've never seen it attributed to anyone but the ubiquitous 'Trad', and i've been singing the song for...30 years...(!)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Month of January
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Jan 12 - 10:29 AM

We are trying to translate the January Snow into Dutch. Does anybody know of any earlier attempts?
-Erik

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Month of January
From: Paul Burke
Date: 07 Jan 12 - 01:59 PM

No, but if you know Ken Ainsworth, ancient English folkie who lives near Leiden, he's a master of Dutch, so much so that once when I wa chatting to him, one of his friends complimented him on his English, not knowing he was born in Birmingham. He'll help you get the sense straight and the feeling right.

But why translate it, you all speak English better than we do!

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Month of January
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 10 Jan 13 - 04:03 PM

Can anyone tell what chord sequence Jon Boden's playing here?

In the month of January (A Folk Song A Day)

I think the tune must be a bit different from the ones referred to above. I've been trying to follow along on concertina and it's driving me mad. The changes sound straightforward, but every chord I try to plug in (after the first one) just sounds wrong. (I'm playing an English concertina, so there shouldn't be any notes I can't get.)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Month of January
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Jan 24 - 06:26 PM

Refresh, just because it's the middle of the Month of January.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: The Month of January
From: GUEST,patriot
Date: 16 Jan 24 - 05:02 AM

Why on earth do you want chords for this song?

Sarah Makem's wonderful version relied on the nuances and subtleties of her own voice and nothing else.

Some songs are just too demanding to be put in a straitjacket of chords & this is one- please listen to Sarah Makem rather than the copiers, none of whom can live with her version.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords ADD: The Month of January
From: MoorleyMan
Date: 16 Jan 24 - 04:26 PM

I'm still not clear where the sixth ("religious") verse originates, but it certainly doesn't appear in any of the Sarah Makem recorded versions. Peter Kennedy's book gives the text but doesn't specify the source or provenance, neither does it appear in the Purslow (Wanton Seed) collection. Can anyone enlighten me as to the actual origins of this curious verse and perhaps point to a recording?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords ADD: The Month of January
From: RTim
Date: 16 Jan 24 - 07:02 PM

Hi - When I recorded the song...I used Sarah Makem's version - but I added an extra verse that came from Peter Kennedy's book....eg O Hush my little baby boy..etc..

Tim Radford
-----------------------------------------------------

THE MONTH OF JANUARY.
(Sarah Makem and Folk Songs of Britain – Kennedy)

It was in the Month of January,
the hills were clad with snow,
And over hills & valleys I carelessly did go.
It was there I spied a fair pretty maid
with a salt tear in her eye,
She had a baby in her arms,
and bitter she did cry.

O cruel was my father who barred to door on me,
And cruel was my mother this dreadful crime to see,
But cruel was my own true love
to change his mind for gold,
And cruel was the bitter night
that pierced my heart with cold.

For the taller that the palm tree grows
the sweeter is the bark,
And the fairer that a young man speaks,
the falser is his heart,
He will kiss you & embrace you
‘til he thinks he has you won,
Then he’ll go away & leave you all for some other one.

O hush my little baby boy & lay closer to my breast,
How little does your father know
this night we’re in distress,
He kissed me & embraced
me till he had my favor gained,
Then he went away & left me in sorrow grief & shame.

So come all you pretty fair young maids
a warning take by me,
And never try to build your nest on top of a high tree,
For the leaves they will all wither
& the branches will decay,
And the beauties of a false young man
will all soon fade away.

(In Purslow Constant Lovers p33 - The Fatal Snowstorm
Kennedy - The Forsaken Maid)

https://soundcloud.com/tim-radford/the-month-of-january