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12 Jan 99 - 03:56 PM (#53697) Subject: Bowdoin From: PeterT. This sort of got lost in another thread. I know there is a famous college in Maine by this name, and a "Song of the Bowdoin" has been mentioned. What or who is a Bowdoin? And more importantly, how do you pronounce it? Does it sound like "Bow down" or rhyme with "coin" or what? Yours, Peter T. |
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12 Jan 99 - 04:06 PM (#53701) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Barry Finn Bow as in bow & arrow & din as in Gunga Din. Don't know of any song but a buddy of mine just mentioned this school last weekend & said he wanted to teach there. They've got a school schooner called the Bowdoin & he just wants to sail in it. Peter be careful of my pronouncation, my accent is very thick Bostonian not at all like a Downeaster's, hell, we hardly even speak the same language & talk at very different speeds. Barry Click here |
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12 Jan 99 - 04:18 PM (#53704) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Joe Offer Click here for more than you're likely to want to know on the subject. I believe that schooner Bowdoin is now property of the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine. The wooden schooner was built in 1921 by Admiral Donald Baxter MacMillan (1874-1970), who made 29 voyages to the Arctic between 1908 and 1954 - 26 of these voyages were aboard the Bowdoin, which MacMillan named after his alma mater. I understand the hull is made of wood because it can withstand the crushing effect of ice better than a metal hull. Does somebody have the lyrics for Larry Kaplan's Song for the Bowdoin? -Joe Offer- |
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12 Jan 99 - 04:46 PM (#53713) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Joe Offer Click here for a Web page (under construction) on the schooner Bowdoin. -Joe Offer- |
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12 Jan 99 - 04:51 PM (#53714) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Barry Finn Joe, there's a good bit of debate on wood or steel for survival in ice. The Bowdin is planked with 2 3/4" of Oak & with an additional sheathing of 1 1/2" of Greenheart. She's steel reinforced on her spoon bow so she'll ride up & crush the ice. Wooden ships crush easier than steel, for ice pack 3/8" to 7/16" steel (1/2" might be considered by most to be overkill) is plenty as opposed to 4 1/4" of wood. But this is just an aside. Thought I'd seen in print a song about her, never heard one though, probably singing about wishing for a tropical isle & a sandy beach instead of the 6-12 months of frozen penguin piss on the rocks & warm polar bear blood pudding & the site of a hairy, stinking, salty, smelly, sharp toothed mate (we don't need no %&$#@ mate) just looking for a reason to bite off your ear. If I/we retire in a vessel it won't be to cruise the frozen regions of hell. Barry |
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12 Jan 99 - 09:40 PM (#53772) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Sandy Paton I'll post the text later, when my server isn't so clogged with all those others! Sandy |
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12 Jan 99 - 10:07 PM (#53776) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Barbara Shaw Bowdoin College is in Brunswick, Maine, the same town that hosts the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival every Labor Day weekend. Brunswick is next to Freeport, Maine, home of the famous L.L. Bean catalogue store. |
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12 Jan 99 - 10:48 PM (#53783) Subject: Lyr Add: SONG FOR THE BOWDOIN (Larry Kaplan From: Sandy Paton SONG FOR THE BOWDOIN By Larry Kaplan Copyright © 1977, Hannah Lane Music, BMI
Well, you sailed the cold waters of the great northern bays,
Chorus:
Well, you cleared out of Boothbay on a gentle south swell; Chorus
Greenland and Baffin, and the white Labrador, Chorus
So rest, lady, rest from the fog and the gales.
And we'll see your masts mingle with the spruces and pines, Chorus
NOTE: "I helped restore, then served for some time as crew aboard the Arctic exploration schooner The Bowdoin. This vessel, built in 1921 by Admiral Donald MacMillan, was designed to be graceful at sea, but at the same time able to withstand the ice and the weather of the Arctic. After retiring from twenty-six trips north, and after MacMillan's death, she fell on hard times until dedicated and talented people like Capt. John Nugent and Dr. Edward Morse, along with the Bowdoin Association, finished the restoration and turned her over to the Maine Maritime Academy. Today she serves as a sail training vessel, once again voyaging above the Arctic circle. I wrote this song during those hard times, when only a few people were sure this great vessel would ever sail again."
I still can't post tunes, folks. Sorry. But the song may be heard on Larry's Folk-Legacy CD Worth All the Telling (CD-122) and on Gordon Bok's Schooners -- also available from Folk-Legacy. If I screwed up the format of this text, maybe we can get Joe to fix it for us. |
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12 Jan 99 - 10:54 PM (#53784) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Sandy Paton Hey, Joe! I forgot the italics on BOWDOIN! Can you use your magic button to correct the omission wherever the name of the schooner appears? When it goes into the DT, I'd like to have it properly written. And while you're at it, please capitalize the L in Legacy down there in the crass commercial section at the bottom. Thanks, friend! Sandy Good job, Sandy. I made repairs as requested - but note that Dick does not have the database set up for italics, so the italics will be stripped when it hits the database. -Joe- |
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12 Jan 99 - 11:38 PM (#53798) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Sandy Paton Thanks, Joe, you're an angel. Now it looks proper to me. We'll have to talk with Dick about the italic problem, however. With all the sea-related stuff floating around the DT, italics become a must! Sandy - picky, but grateful. |
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13 Jan 99 - 01:43 PM (#53851) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Peter T. Gracious thanks of course, and fascinating like all Mudcattiana, but -- Who or what is a Bowdoin? (I mean before the ship or the college). Is it an Indian tribe? Yours, Peter T.
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14 Jan 99 - 03:18 AM (#53995) Subject: RE: Governor James Bowdoin From: Joe Offer Well, Peter, nothing too exciting to report. James bowdoin graduated from Harvard in 1745. With money from Bowdoin's bequest, Harvard established the Bowdoin Prizes in 1791 for essays in English, Latin, and Greek - so he must have died in 1791 or earlier. Apparently, he was famous (or infmaous) for being the Massachusetts Governor who quelled the Shays Rebellion. In the summer of 1786, Massachusetts farmers began to stop foreclosures by breaking up court sessions. The Massachusetts Assembly had denied their petition for tax relief, and, under the leadership of (unpaid) war veteran Daniel Shays, the farmers took the law into their own hands. After Shays and his armed supporters marched on Worcester and threatened to shut down the Supreme Court at Springfield, Governor James Bowdoin sent out 4,400 soldiers to stop Shays and his 1,200 men. The rebellious farmers were driven back and Shays later escaped into Vermont.On June 24, 1794, Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams signed an act to establish Bowdoin College, which was named after James Bowdoin. Maine separated from Massachusetts and became a state in its own right in 1820. Actually, Peter, I'm glad you brought this up. I've wondered myself. It certainly is a pretty campus, and an interesting little town. I spent a day near the campus in Brunswick a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it. Oh, and there's a great German restaurant downtown. -Joe Offer- |
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14 Jan 99 - 08:49 PM (#54124) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: jet The mandoline player in my band likes to tell people that he goes to Bowdion college but in reality he only works there. He teaches foriegn language. On his salery he could not offord to go there to learn. We played there last month.A benefit for the people of Hondorus |
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15 Jan 99 - 07:58 AM (#54193) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Peter T. Thanks Joe. It is nice to find an even more obsessive researcher than me. Though it does get a bit scary. It is a pity it wasn't an Indian tribe -- just an old governor! Yours, Peter |
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16 Jan 99 - 09:59 AM (#54386) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Philippa It was very interesting for me to see Kaplan's lyrics, because in Ireland the revival of Galway Hooker sailing craft has been accompanied by lots of songs naming individual boats and mariners. You can learn a bit about Hookers at the following website: www.galwayonline.ie/welcome/history/history2/hookers.htm |
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16 Jan 99 - 02:33 PM (#54434) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: lesblank Back in the mid 50's I attended a USO concert in Croix Chapeau, France that featured the men's glee club from Bowdoin College. They called themselves the "Metty Bempsters" based on a vowel exchange of a woman's name(I assume her name was Betty Mempster). That marked the first time I ever heard the song "Twas a cold winter's evening, the guests were all leaving, etc. Does anyone know if the group(obviously not the same personnel !!) is still active ?? |
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16 Jan 99 - 03:00 PM (#54436) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: johnm (inactive) Bowdoin's most famous son may be Joshua Chamberlain, a professor of languages,who commanded 20th Maine at Little Round Top at Gettysburg. Hero of the novel "Killer Angels" and the move "Gettysburg" based on the book. Late a general, president of Bowdoin, and several times governor of Maine,..H Commdore Perry's house is either on the Bowdoin grounds or immediately next to it. Bowdoin faculty sometimes rent it, and a friend once lived there. It was decorated with whale bone carving Eskimos made for Perry's daughter. |
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16 Jan 99 - 03:14 PM (#54440) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Peter T. Joshua Chamberlain is, in fact, how I heard about Bowdoin. There is a good biography of this incredible man called "Soul of a Lion" Yours, Peter T. |
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21 Jan 99 - 11:31 AM (#55051) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Philippa My first trial at making a URL clickable; I used a somewhat unorthodox procedure, but will see if it works: http://www.galwayonline.ie/welcome/history/history2/hookers.htm Link fixed by Joe Offer according to specifications set by Philippa, who wants to see the URL and not Click me, Baby in links. |
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21 Jan 99 - 11:34 AM (#55052) Subject: Linking - retrial From: Philippa just as well it didn't; I mistyped 'see' www.galwayonline.ie/welcome/history/history2/hookers.htm |
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24 Jul 03 - 10:14 AM (#989517) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Peterr After what seems like years I've found the origin of this song I first heard on a Tom Topping band tape. Now I've got to try for other on the same recording. I wonder why previous attempts at searching the Forum came up with nothing. |
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24 Jul 03 - 06:24 PM (#989984) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Celtaddict Larry Kaplan is a pediatrician in Connecticut; by day he arranges programs for children with medical problems, and by night he writes wonderful songs that people like Gordon Bok record. Talk about someone who is blest in his work. He also wrote "Song for Gale" about Gale Huntington (sea music collector/preserver) and the song Bob Webb says has the most singable chorus in America, "Old Zeb" about coasterman Zebulon Northrup Tilton. G. Bok recorded those two also, and both are in the DT. Bravo to both Sandy and Gordon for encouraging songwriters like Larry. Larry no longer tries to track Old Zeb who has entered the folk tradition well and truly. I was in Co. Galway last year and heard it sung, "I'd be the poorest coasterman this side of Kinsale town." |
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04 Aug 03 - 08:58 PM (#996770) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: GUEST,Larry Kaplan I turned left at this website and wouldn't you know it, a topic I actually know something about! Well, truth be told, Sch. Bowdoin is an old friend and a part of the story is tied up in Song For Gale, Zeb, Belle Is There Music Tonight, Selling the Isabel, and others I've written. I worked on the Bowdoin, and knew about her as a student at Bowdoin College--yes in Maine, yes the one Peary and MacMillan and Joshua Chamberlain went to (theres a great Artic museum there called the Peary-MacMillan Artic Museum) I spent many hours hanging out in when I should have been studying. I worked on the Bowdoin a number of years after MacMillan died just after she was brought from Mystic Seaport to Maine for partial restoration and a stint in the schooner passenger trade. I wrote the song a number of years later, around the time she was changing from one temporary owner to the next, and on the day she broke off a mooring, and ran aground. The song traveled around for some time too, Gordon Bok actually recorded it before I did, but over the years I've heared of it being used in soundtracks, at funerals, even after soccer games that were lost. And I did intend it to be a song about renewal, which is what finally happened when Mrs. Miriam MacMillan and Dr. Ed Morse spearheaded an effort to develop an Association, and began fundraising efforts to finish the restoration. Owe that masterful work to a great shipwright,a great man, and loving father, John Nugent who single-handedly restored the vessel like he started (out of love, and for hardly any pay. Anyway, National Geographic had me record the song for its parallel effort to raise funds and get the vessel on the list of National Landmarks. Now, last I checked, she is an official part of the fleet at Maine Maritime Academy. Nothing stays easy, and I know it wouldn't hurt for people to let the Academy know how important traditional sailing skills are to the legacy of the Merchant Marine. Gale Huntington was the husband of Zeb Tilton's great niece, Mildred, and I had written a song about Zeb, and wanted to be sure it was ok to Mil and Gale so headed over to Martha's Vinyard to play it for them. Gale, was already considered the Island's resident historian, a great fiddler, and collector of songs of whalemen, songs of William Litton, and many others. Gale said, "Good song, and accurate..." so that's how the friendship with Gale started. "Belle" "Get Her Into Shore", "The Wreck of the Bay Rupert" all come from endless conversations and a life-long friendship with Gale and Mil. All this stuff is also recorded on my only CD thusfar,"Worth All the Telling" (Folk Legacy), but I'm working on the 150 or so other songs. There's also a song "The Perfect Fields of Fredericksburg on that CD about a Civil War battle, I'm convinced I wouldn't have written had I not also been hanging around Chamberlain's collected writings back at Bowdoin. Its a very....very....small world. Thank you for letting me know that the folk process has continued in Ireland. I am very glad to learn that others still sing my music. That, as you might guess, is the only real reason one should ever really write folk songs. LK |
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04 Aug 03 - 11:12 PM (#996830) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: annamill Now this is the Mudcat I know and love! What good reading! Thank you, Annamill |
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05 Aug 03 - 11:13 PM (#997623) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Nancy King Hear, hear, annamill! Larry, thanks for giving us the real story. And thanks for dropping by -- hope you'll come back soon. Cheers, Nancy |
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16 Mar 07 - 05:07 PM (#1999000) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Charley Noble Refresh! Great thread! And a slight correction on the name of a Bowdoin College singing group. They call themselves The Meddiebempsters, named in honor of the township of Meddybemps in Downeast Washington County. There's probably more to this story, and several alternative stories, and no doubt the current nine members of the group have come up with their own unique interpretation. But the map never lies. Well, it does if you spread it out correctly on a flat surface and weight or pin the corners down. Cheerily, Charley Noble, geographer at large |
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17 Mar 07 - 08:13 AM (#1999412) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Ref Bowdoin is a well-regarded small liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It is considered an excellent alternative for those unable to meet the admissions requirements of Colby and Bates. |
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17 Mar 07 - 09:15 AM (#1999436) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Charley Noble LOL When I was there back in the early 1960's, we could drink either Bates or Colby students under the table in three rounds flat. Charley Noble |
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17 Mar 07 - 12:57 PM (#1999533) Subject: Lyr Add: MAY TRAINING ODE (BOWDOIN) From: Q (Frank Staplin) Charley, no Bowdoin songs in Mudcat. Here is an old one, maybe you can explain it. Lyr. Add: MAY TRAINING ODE (Bowdoin) Anon., 1837; Air- "There's Nae Luck." In Brunswick town was heard a cry, A voice came through the air, And students, tho' they knew not why, Must now to train prepare. Chorus For 'tis look, look, turn, turn, dig, dig away And not a bit of fun they have upon a training day! 2. The voice rang loud in Bowdoin's hall, Then rose her martial star, Her students early heard the call, And hoisted flags of war. Abd 'twas shout, shout, clap, clap, gaze, gaze away, A caution was the sport we had upon that training day. 3. The cannon roared, ere close of night, In tones each sleeper heard; A pennon crowned the steeple's height, And "Bellum" was the word. O, 'twas fire, fire, roar, roar, bang, bang away, And this is how we'll rouse 'em up every training day. 4. At noon they gathered in a row, From ev'ry earthly tribe; 'Twould baffle all the powers below This army to describe. 'Twas black, white, red, blue, tawny, green and gray, In arms old Nick ne'er saw before, joined on that training day. 5. The banners they were stranger still, For waving o'er the "Band," The "De'il cam' fiddling" down the hill, And took the foremost stand. And 'twas saw, saw, squeak, squeak, twang, trang away, O sure it was the De'il we played upon that training day. pp. 111, with music, H. R. Waite, ed., 1868, "Carmina Collegensia: A Complete Collection of the Songs of the American Colleges, with piano-forte Accompaniment." Published by Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston. (Note: Songs of Colby and Bates are not among those of the 21 elite schools whose songs are included). |
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17 Mar 07 - 01:46 PM (#1999573) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Ref Charlie: I don't doubt that, since Bowdoin students take a lot longer to graduate and therefore have a lot more experience at drunkenness. Curious qualification for an academic institution, though. |
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17 Mar 07 - 01:59 PM (#1999583) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: ranger1 I'd like to point out that Bowdoin is every bit as exacting as Bates and Colby in terms of admissions. |
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17 Mar 07 - 03:43 PM (#1999630) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Charley Noble Q- That song's a gem but a little before my time! "Training day" I suspect was a routine left over from the Civil War. Maybe the veterans who returned to Bowdoin after the War felt a need to demonstrate their drilling techniques, to amuse themselves while terrifying the adjacent "townies." The songs we were supposed to learn such as "Rise Sons of Bowdoin" and "Bowdoin Beata" were less than stirring. Ref- I agree with you that our drinking prowess was a curious talent to take pride in, and we did so without shame. It was not a formal qualification for admitance to Bowdoin College, just a useful survival practice once one was in residence. Ranger1- Thanks for your support. Unfortunately while I was there BowdoinCollege was still an all male institution. It's co-educational now, and has been so for years. One wonders if they now drink less or more than we did. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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18 Mar 07 - 02:28 PM (#2000367) Subject: RE: Bowdoin From: Ref Ranger: HUMOR! Charlie: I've been around there a bit in the last few years. Students at all three can put it away pretty well! |
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20 Feb 11 - 01:03 PM (#3099155) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song for The Bowdoin (Larry Kaplan) From: GUEST,Larry Kaplan That's right---The "Meddies.." is the local name for this a capella group. My old classmate, Andy Mirchel sang with the group which then, had all the trappings of the old "blazer and pipe" college choruses, which then grew so well with the times and different popular music generes. The Meddibempster Alumni and their families still assemble each year for a group sing/concert which is a great history lesson--you get to hear all those styles. Am sure its the same in every venue. Have never heared them sing "Song For the Bowdoin" however--tried to convince The Dartmouth Chords once to try traditional folk music, but I wonder what "Bowdoin" would sound like with vocal percussion and bass lines. So....one asks again....isn't there a bit of the folk process in all music? Keep being what you are, Mudcat...thanks. LK |
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20 Feb 11 - 07:57 PM (#3099424) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song for The Bowdoin (Larry Kaplan) From: Charley Noble Thanks for posting, Larry. It's a fine song and it's also great that the "Bowdoin" is still a working schooner. Charley Noble |
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21 Feb 11 - 11:01 AM (#3099744) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song for The Bowdoin (Larry Kaplan) From: EBarnacle Side note on Joe's post above: When I was a large [for Maine] cow college rather North of Bowdoin, we celebrate Maine's 150th birthday party. It was explained to me that the creation of Maine was part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. |
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27 May 13 - 01:53 PM (#3519716) Subject: Origins: 'Song For The Bowdoin' by Larry Kaplan From: Larry Kaplan Hi, Am happy to share this singing of 'Song For The Bowdoin' which I recently posted on YouTube. Thanks. Larry Kaplan 'Song For The Bowdoin' by Larry Kaplan |
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27 May 13 - 04:01 PM (#3519764) Subject: RE: Origins: Song for The Bowdoin (Larry Kaplan) From: Joe Offer Hi, Larry - note that I moved your post over to an existing thread on the song. Any corrections to the lyrics Sandy posted? -Joe Offer- |
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27 May 13 - 05:16 PM (#3519797) Subject: RE: Song for The Bowdoin (Larry Kaplan) From: Charley Noble Thanks, Larry. Charley Noble |