Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out

Subject: Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: GUEST,JG
Date: 21 Jul 04 - 10:04 PM

Folks,

A demo version of Soon May the Kerryman Come is on the web at http://www.villagepub.com/kerryman/

The song has its origins in the pub sessions of Olympia, Washington where political issues are discussed and live music is played, usually over a pint of good beer. When the song was introduced, audiences spontaneously joined in on the chorus and gave a resounding "NO" to four more years for the Bush administration. The response has been the same every time the song is performed.

In 1966, Arlo Guthrie asked,

    "..can you imagine fifty people a day...walking in, singing a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends, they may think its a movement...

So in that same spirit, give the Kerryman website a look and listen. Let your friends, neighbors, and relatives know about the song. Get together with them, walk in, and sing a few bars. It will be a movement and you can help convince voters that its time for a change. Most importantly, get out to vote in November, support the Kerry/Edwards ticket, and set Wee Georgie and his crew out on the run.

Subject: ADD: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Jul 04 - 11:03 PM

Hmmmm. I think these lyrics deserve to be posted.


SOON MAY THE KERRYMAN COME
A song about Regime Change, based on a traditional New Zealand folk song.
Copyright © James Goche' 2004

F C
(Chorus) Soon may the Kerryman come
Dm Am
And set Wee Georgie out, on the run
F C
One day when the voting is done,
E E7 Am
He'll take his leave and go
Am
A ship of state, it put to sea
F C E7
And the name of the ship was the Wee Georgie
Am
The chads hung up, the boat sailed free
E E7 Am
Oh, blow my bully boys, blow

He had not been three weeks from shore
When down on him the Right Wing bore
To cut corporate tax and start a war
And take the world in tow

Dick Cheney said Saddam must leave
Al Quaida links and WMD
For he subscribed to the Halliburton creed
That freely oil must flow

John Ashcroft said the Bill of Rights
Is dangerous, when right it might
Our personal affairs need oversight
Our freedoms they must go

So for four long years, it seems like more
Republicans, they ran the store
Wee Georgie says he wants four more
----May the voters tell him …… "NO"

First introduced at the Fish Brew Pub in Olympia, Washington on June 16, 2004 with the house energetically joining in on the chorus.

Are there any Mudcatters guilty of participating in the production of this recording?
I like it.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: GUEST,Seamus O
Date: 21 Jul 04 - 11:42 PM

Joe,

Yep,a group of musicians in Washington State, with at least one Mudcat included, put the recording together. A bit of the story is listed on the Website which went up just today, July 20, where people can listen to the tune and pick up a copy of the words and chords, as you did.

The hope is that, if people check out the song and think it is worth while, they will try singing it themselves and will also send it around to their friends. If we can get people around the country singing a few bars, maybe it will help get the current administration out of the White House in November.

Don't know if this will work but it seemed worth a try. Any suggestions?

Seamus

Subject: RE: Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: GUEST,Wicklow
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 10:28 AM

Cool song, timely lyrics.

Subject: RE: Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 10:03 PM

The original, which is on one of my favorite albums, the Bok-Muir-Trickett
album And So Will We Yet, is a fine song. The parody is quite good, but if
anyone really thinks singing it is going to "help get the current administration
out of the White House in November," then I leave you with the words of
Tom Lehrer: Remember the war against Franco/That's the kind where each
of us belongs/He may have won all the battles/But we had all the good songs.

Then again, I suppose Franco is still dead.

Subject: RE: Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Jul 04 - 10:17 AM

Gerry, Some say that if a picture is worth a thousand words, a song is worth a thousand pictures. Its amazing how people can be numb to what's happening around them until some sort of catalyst clears their sight and prompts them to pay attention.

Who knows if Kerryman will do this, but some folksongs have. Take MTA for example. Most folks remember the song as getting Charlie off the MTA, but the song was originally a political piece about George OBrien's candidacy in Boston. I don't know if he won but if he did, the song must have helped.

Wee Georgie should be set out on the run in November. Here's hoping Kerryman helps a little.

Seamus O

PS. Speaking of political pieces which have worked their way into common usage, look up the origin of one of the most widely used word in the world--"OK"

Subject: RE: Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: GUEST,Jamie
Date: 31 May 07 - 03:10 AM

As a direct descendant of the Weller line who were the first White settlers to come to New Zealand, I take this song as a personal affront. As I am also a Celtic musician with an active band, I can appreciate the "artistic license" which I often do to songs...but not in a slanderous nature. I am sure that no harm was meant. For me, however, it's tantamount to desecrating my family gravestones...Hope you can understand that.

Subject: RE: Review: Soon May the Kerryman Come- check it out
From: Gurney
Date: 31 May 07 - 03:35 AM

I can understand that you may be slightly miffed, Jamie, but my opinion is that you are overreacting. This is a political song using the format and some of the words of the 'Wellerman,' but that does not make it insulting, any more than the original song was praising the family, in that it was just a song about waiting for a supply ship. The fact that it was your ancestors ship is purely incidental.

There is a long folk tradition of using well-known tunes for other songs. It's unlikely that this number will last as long as the original song, so you will have the last laugh, anyway.

Subject: RE: Help: Soon May the Wellerman Come
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 May 07 - 09:25 AM

Guest Jamie-

Please clarify what you are concerned about. Are you saying that the original song is "slanderous" to your family or has been altered by the folk process to be "slanderous"?

Charley Noble