Geoff

I was hoping that someone would state conclusively the year in which the Seeger/Asch recording was issued or made because the difference in the 1940/1943 dates given above means that Pete Seeger or a brigader friend either had a few months or a few years to originate this version of the song if it had not been sung while the war was being fought.

I'm always reluctant to claim "conclusively". I have the Naxos reissue of the Almanac's "Sea, Soil & Struggle", and the notes say:

"Songs of the Lincoln Battalion was recorded by Moe Asch in 1942 at the request of veterans of the Spanish Civil War."

The track details for Viva la Quince Brigada give "Asch 330-1, mx BR 4". This may be a reference in the Syracuse University - Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive, who provided the original 78s for the Naxos CD. (Unfortunately, their library system is down for maintenance at present)

There's no credit for the words, so the general note applies "all songs are traditional or otherwise of unknown origin."

It's very difficult to pin down the date - the internal evidence is conflicting. Most, if not all, of the Almanacs recordings were in 1941 and 1942 (up to June).

The early recordings included Millard Lampell, one of the founder members, who does not appear on Songs of the Lincoln Battalion, so that might indicate a later date.

On the other hand, I haven't seen any reference to Asch's recordings of the Almanacs after mid-1941, other than the Naxos note.

In various discographies I've looked at, for the Almanacs and individual members, Songs of the Lincoln Battalion seems to be missing.

Perhaps we'll never know for sure.

Phil