SONG OF THE AMERICAN CONSOL
Sung by Max Parker
On LP Al Tocar Diana, At Dawn Break: Songs From A Franco Prison
Folkways Records Album No FH 5435, 1982
FOLKWAYS RECORDING DETAILS Click on the ► symbol 106 to hear a performance extract.
CHORUS
Honey, honey, honey, honey, etc.
Comrades we love you, honey
Comrades we love you, honey
Love you in the springtime and the fall.
Comrades we love you, honey
Comrades we love you, honey, love you best of all,
"Oh the border is closed. You better turn back."
Were the words of the American consol.
(Words of the American consol.)
But we all laughed , 'cause we all knew
He was only straining his tonsil.
Oh the border is closed, and the guards are there.
Oh pray what can we do? (Pray what can we do?)
As you can see, our task must be,
To climb the Pyrenees.
Oh I had a dream the other night that put me in good humor.
(Put me in good humor.)
When I awoke, I found that dream,
Was just a lousy rumor
March on to kill the Fascist beast.
"Forward to the front we say". (" Forward to the front we say".)
At six o'clock our sergeant says,
"Forward to do K.P."
Excerpts From The Album Notes pdf
'Manana Song and Song of the American Consol may, in part, be parodies of American pop songs of the day. Other songs sung in the prison included current songs like Stardust and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, and various camp, folk and union songs.'
'Attributed to the singing group, the Convulsionaries, most of whom died in Spain.The songs chorus welcomes arriving Lincoln recruits, brave young men of goodwill who are hence "loved best of all".'
Does anyone recognise a popular song of the thirties of which this song could be a parody? The line 'Love you in the Springtime and the Fall'
makes me think of the song 'Little Eyes, I Love You' which I recall singing in pubs forty years ago down in St Just, Cornwall. The whole pub would be crowded and singing. The chorus of 'American Consol'would fit the tune of the chorus for 'Little Eyes' but I don't recall the tune for the verse part.
Does anyone know anything more about the Convulsionaries?
Subject: RE: Songs in English about the Spanish Civil War From: GeoffLawes - PM
Date: 20 Apr 10 - 08:29 PM
I have done some Googling and found things which make me pretty sure that the American Consol is a parody of whichever song Little Eyes (or Little Lize) is itself based on.Here is a link to a site dealing with Cornish Folksongs which gives the Cornish lyrics and traces them back to a recording by THE DEEP RIVER BOYS issued in the 1950's but speculating that there was an earlier version.CORNISH LYRICS of LITTLE EYES
Here is a link to the singing of Little eyes in its Cornish version.
SINGING OF LITTLE EYES
If you compare the lyrics of American Consol and Little Eyes I am sure you will agree that there are too many similar phrases for these songs not to have a common source. Honey, honey, it convinces me.
Little Eyes
I dreamed a dream, the other night
The strangest dream of all
I dreamed I saw you kissing her
Behind the garden wall
Chorus:
And she said:
Little eyes I love you (honey!)
Little eyes I love you
I love you in the springtime and the fall (fall-fall-fall)
Little eyes I love you (honey!)
Little eyes I love you
I love you best of all.
I took my true love down the lane
Beneath the spreading pine
I put my arms around her waist
And pressed her lips to mine
And she said: (chorus)
I took her round to my back yard
To see my turtle dove
O tell me honey tell me true
Who is the one you love.
And she said: (chorus)
Does anyone recognise a common ancestor for these songs dating to the 1930's?
From: mikesamwild - PM
Date: 21 Apr 10 - 07:27 AM
just dredged up
I had a dream the other night
The funniest dream of a-a-all
I dreamed I saw a great big man
behind the garden wall
Oh, Elize ah loves yah
Elize ah oves yah
ah loves you in the springtime and the the fa-a-a-all
Elize ah loves yah, Elize ah loves yah
Ah loves you the best of all.
I took her round to my backdoor ( or sometmes ' she came around to my bedside')
to see my turtle d-o-o-ove
Now tell me honey come tell me true
who is the one you love?
dah dah dah ' Elize etc
Repeat chorus started slow and built up to quite a few repeat choruses.
From: GeoffLawes - PM
Date: 21 Apr 10 - 10:03 AM
I have found sheet music for HONEY/LITTLE 'LIZE dated 1898 HERE