back from rendezvous, plenty tunes

Subject: RE: back from rendesvous, plenty tunes
From: Rex
Date: 24 Aug 99 - 12:02 PM

Many thanks to Alice for the info on Mauri's Wedding. Sometimes those celtic tunes fool me. They seem like they've been around forever. These days I can't get to the computer as much as I would like. Probably a good thing! Just so you know why I don't reply right away. I was at the 1880's cowboy camp this weekend. We had some rain the first day but it was over in the evening. I got my tent and bedroll setup between showers and managed to keep a dry bed. I suppose there were about fifty folks that came around. Some of us played tunes and cowboy songs and God knows what else on banjos, guitars and fiddles. This was around the fire while stew and beans were cooking and sourdough biscuits were rising in dutch ovens. Someone wanted to know if the biscuits came out of a tube. Whoohaw! Fred is a master of sourdough cooking and is the current vessel of generations of sourdough alchemists from Maryland. The biscuits will cause the blind to see, cure the lame, raise the dead and cure just about any ailment. After a while the grub was ready and we ate plenty. Then went back to picking. It always seems that the best music happens after most folks go away or to bed. Fred is the best banjo playing I know around here but he put it away and got out a celtic harp. For those that play them, they know it helps to see where your fingers are going. I can't do a thing with them anywise. Well Fred had nothing but firelight and didn't seem to need anything more. Save for a dram o' Irish whiskey. I was joining in on the tin whistle and just humming when so moved and otherwise just eating it up.

Rex

P.S. (you can do that electronically can't ye?)

I will post my visit to the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp in a different post.

Subject: RE: back from rendesvous, plenty tunes
From: Alice
Date: 19 Aug 99 - 11:21 AM

Thanks, Rex. That is quite a list. One note, there was a thread recently that mentioned the history of Mairi's Wedding, with a link to a page with the gaelic lyrics. The song is from circa 1935.

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click here for lyrics & article The article was written by Stephen Houston who told about the song being written for Mary McNiven by her friend Johnny Bannerman in Gaelic and first played to her at the Old Highlanders Institute in Glasgow for the Mod of 1935.

Subject: RE: back from rendesvous, plenty tunes
From: Rex
Date: 19 Aug 99 - 08:53 AM

Alice prompted me to go look through my notes and scraps of paper on fur trade songs. So here is an incomplete list only because these are all I could think of for now. If one of yous finds that some of these came out too late for the early 1800s, keep it to yerself! No, I would like to know what you come up with.

Songs, ballads, etc.

Tobacco's but an Indian Weed, Rosen the Beau, Mr. Fox, Greensleeves, Cutty Wren, Hal an Tow, Rocking the Cradle (which later became Whoopy Ty Yi Yo), Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye, Shenandoah, The Water is Wide, One Morning In May, Little Beggerman, Soldier's Joy, Scotland the Brave, Old Zip Coon, Oh Susannah (a stretch, it's from 1848), Cluck Old Hen, Girl I left Behind Me, Barbary Allen, Yankee Doodle, Home Sweet Home, Annie Laurie, Such a Gittin' Upstairs, Escape of John Web, Crafty Maid's Policy (Horsethief), Three Rogues, Bonnie Dundee, Auld Orange Flute (later tune to Sweet Betsy from Pike), The Cuckoo's Nest, The Owl, Locke Hospital (later, Streets of Laredo), Farewell Tae Tarwathie, Skyeboat Song, MacPherson's Farewell, Mairi's Wedding, the Silkie, Wandering Angus, She's Like the Swallow, Nightengale, Irish Jaunting Car (later tune to Bonnie Blue Flag), the Blackbird, Connemara Cradle song, Old Maid in the Garrett.

Whew, many of the old Irish and Scottish songs work, Child ballads would be ancient but would do, the old British empire songs like Over the Hills and Far Away or British Grenadiers.

Pub songs: Three Drunken Maidens, The Barley Mow, Anacreontic Song (later tune to, well you know), Nottingham Ale (tune from Lilliberlero), All For Me Grog, Whiskey in the Jar, Rattlin' Bog, Finnegan's Wake, John Barleycorn, Parting Glass.

Shanties, Sea songs: Heart of Oak, Greenland Fisheries, the Mermaid, Boney, Reuben and Benbow, the Frog he would a-wooing go, Nelson's Blood, Away Rio, Blow Ye winds, Blood Red Roses, Paddy Doyle's Boots, Greenland Fisherie.

Then there are just tunes: Divers and Lazarus (later, Star of the County Down), Swallowtail Jig, The Butterfly, Irish Washerwoman, Donald MacGillavry, Innisheer, King of the Fairies, Road to Lisdoonvarna, Devil among the Tailors, Staten Island Hornpipe, Blackberry Blossom, Hail Columbia, Eighth of January, Sailor's (College) Hornpipe, St. Anne's Reel, Brian Boru's March, Beech Spring, Bonny at Morn, Flowers of Edinburgh, Haste to the Wedding, Wearin of the Green. (I know, many of these have words. I just play the tunes.)

Well you did ask. And there will be a quiz later. This was handy for me to review what tunes and songs I do use. I forget them.

To answer Katlaughing, the cowboy camp will be on a ranch. The public won't see it. While they were nice to invite me, I don't think I can invite my friends here to join me. Durn it.

Rex

Subject: RE: back from rendesvous, plenty tunes
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Aug 99 - 03:12 PM

Please, also, tell us where the Cowboy encampment is going to be. Thanks

Subject: RE: back from rendesvous, plenty tunes
From: Margo
Date: 17 Aug 99 - 12:10 PM

Rex, I can understand why you'd end up singing shantys. (They're my favorite)

Margarita

Subject: RE: back from rendesvous, plenty tunes
From: Alice
Date: 17 Aug 99 - 12:03 PM

Rex, can you give us a list of the songs that you and others sang from the 1820-30s period?

Subject: back from rendesvous, plenty tunes
From: Rex
Date: 17 Aug 99 - 10:45 AM

I am back from the Rocky Mountain College Rendesvous. We have a string of mountain man rendesvous in the Summer. This was the big one for the area. I suppose there were around 500 participants. At these events I usually pack pretty light as the mtn. man would. So I had just a fiddle and tin whistle and slept out under the stars. This was right in the middle of the Perseid meteor shower. Drifting off to sleep while seeing the light show is pretty keen. There was plenty of musicians. Seems that every camp had at least one. The events were topped off Saturday night by a council fire where we entertained. Afterward when the folks went back to their own camps we came back, stoked up the fire and went back to the tunes. I try to keep the tunes and ballads to the time period. (1820s-1830s) But as the evening advanced and the jugs passed around the time period fell apart and folks would play anything. At one point one guy is singing John Denver's "Calypso" which I like but being in a fur trade camp in Lost Park which is as landlocked as you can get and singing maritime songs seemed odd. But I joined in playing the flying flute part on my tin whistle. It went pretty well except that I was overcome now and then by fits of laughter. Then us purists would throw in another jig and one of the guitarists played Rocky Mtn. High. Well I had to admit that was a good choice. But folks wandered off and what was left was us old tune fanatics. We ended the night singing sea shanties. Still as landlocked as you can get. Next weekend is an 1870s cowboy encampment. Whooboy!

Rex