Part of this is that MJH's accent leaves the thing an open question... I don't hear, definitively, ON or ALL... more of an AHW' sound... the S sound is truncated too, and you can hear this in his other pieces as well....

It's hard to know when to "change" something and when not... We try not to "white" it up too much when we do his pieces in church. But I don't think our people would quite appreciate it if we did-- faithful to the recording-- "Nero My God to Thee," even if they do like Rex Stout novels and agree with Wolfe's self-estimation! *G*

So we are left to make these our own, each of us, in the way that makes the most sense for how they hit our hearts.

For instance, Gary Davis. I can't seem to learn them from his recordings... but Andy Cohen could, and did, and made one I can learn from now. I don't do it anything like Davis OR Cohen... and neither shall our parishioners go home humming exactly what I sang, either. Yet if they hear anyone's version, later, they will recognize it.

Sometimes we are connected into the continuum of the Folk Process like a kid with a stick fishing pole is connected to the Mississippi on a lazy day, and other times like a toddler sticking a hair clip into the electric socket in the wall. Never know what come outen either one. Our job jes' hook in.

~Susan