Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 07:28 PM

Husband and wife dialogue songs: MY GOOD OLD MAN (in digitrad)--recorded by Bradley Kincaid as The Best Old Man In The World; MON BON VIEUX MARI (same song, different language--lyrics embedded in a thread)--on the Harry Smith Anthology as Le Vieux Soulard Et Sa Femme; and Three (or Four or Five or Seven, depending on how patient your audience is) NIGHTS DRUNK (also in digitrad--search the words "nights drunk")--also on the Harry Smith Anthology.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Menolly
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 02:48 PM

THE COAL AND ALBERT BERRY

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Louie Roy
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 02:21 PM

Two of my favorites are
"ARE YOU MINE?" recorded by Red Sovine And Goldie Hill and
"Who's gonna take the garbage out (when I've packed my bags and gone)"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Splott Man
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 03:43 AM

Practically anything by...

Chris While & Julie Matthews
The Indigo Girls

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 03:17 PM

Midchuck mentions the Louvin Brothers, which is fine advice! Virtually any of the sacred or secular songs are worth learning. You might stay away from the ones that have been covered over and over but sometimes people really enjoy hearing those tunes such as 'If I could only win your love.' I recently mentioned 'SATAN'S JEWELED CROWN' in another thread and that's a very beautiful tune. Emmylou Harris was also mentioned and goodness, every one of her albums has at least 3 solid duets even if they aren't credited as such. Cheryl White and Fayssoux Starling back her up on lots of tunes and those that they sing on would be wonderful choices.

Oh how I wish I could find any Trad singer or band in Los Angeles who needed a harmony partner! I'm jealous of the fact that any of you even have singing partners. I don't mind singing lead, but I fall more naturally into the other role of matching someone else's phrasing. The few bands around here I have sat with are generally improvisational or bar bands given to rowdier fare. Of course, I haven't looked very hard.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From:
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 01:25 PM

For Irving Berlin's

Sisters

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: M.Ted
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 11:29 PM

Any song can be used for a duet--you simply have to arrange it as a duet.-There are a bunch of the duet tricks that you can use--stuff like alternating lines, which turns any song into a dialog--singing some lines or verses in unison, and the refrain in harmony--adding a countermelody to the refrain on the second or third repetition--(and there are five different species of counterpoint--so you never need to fall into a rut)--

Don't forget that there are also a number of ways of harmonizing, too--the harmonic line can follow the melody, or it can change only as the chords change--it can even not follow the chord changes, which would make it a drone. You can even have the harmony voice improvise against a fixed melody--

Really though, all you really need to create a duet is to have two people sing together--

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: GUEST,Jason from "Four Leaf Peat"
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 12:06 PM

Hey, My wife and I also sing in a Trad Irish band here in TN. One of our favorite songs is an old early American folk song called "KATY CRUEL". You can hear a really good version of if from the band "Boiled in Lead" though I can't remember the album.

Jason Herrera
www.fourleafpeat.com

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: open mike
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 03:04 PM

the ones I can think of are based on the fact
that I was imagining a male/female couple singing
and that brought to mind THE WATER IS WIDE and
Nanci Griffith's GULF COAST HIGHWAY.
perhaps anything for the album "oh Sister" would work.
HELLO STRANGER by Hazel and Alice comes to mind...
or other girl groups:
Hot Soup!
Four Bitchin' Babes
good luck let us know what you find!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From:
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:16 AM

In Call Me Madam, (the move), Donald O'Connor and Ethel Merman sing a song which is great. I think it's called YOU'RE JUST IN LOVE.

Also, since you are saying two women, what about the Sisters number from White Christmas, another Irving Berlin movie.

I'm not sure, but I think SISTERS is found in the Forum, if it isn't in the DT.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 10:49 AM

Listen to anything by the 'Silly Sisters'.

Sal

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Midchuck
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 08:06 AM

There is an absolutely brilliant duet album by Kate Brislin and Katy Moffat, called "Sleepless Nights." It's old country - a lot of Louvin Bros. songs. Think of the Everly Brothers as sisters, but with better voices and a smoother sound. It would be a good place to steal stuff, if you go for that sort of thing.

Produced by Jody Stecher, which says all you need to know right there. It's Rounder CD0374, if you can find it.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 04:32 AM

The "Bide Lady, Bide" version of "THE TWO MAGICIANS" works well with one person singing the Blacksmith's actions and the other the lady's.

Others which I can think of include:
THE KEYS OF CANTERBURY
NO, JOHN, NO
COME WRITE ME DOWN (THE WEDDING SONG)
THE FURZE FIELD

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Genie
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:39 AM

Irving Berlin's duet "Play A Simple Melody" ( with the "Musical demon sets your honey a-dreamin', won't you play me some rag" countermelody) would sound great and is a lot of fun to sing. You might even try the SCARBOROUGH FAIR/CANTICLE that Simon and Garfunkel did.

Many women record songs with harmony overdubbed -- Bette Midler on "THE ROSE," many of Kate Wolf's songs, Judy Collins singing "That's No Way To Say Goodbye," etc. Those songs/harmonies would make great duets. Or try some of the old Everly Brothers duets like "LET IT BE ME" and "Devoted To You."

There's a duet that's usually done with a male and female voice but which two female folkies might pull off. It's called "ONE MORE DANCE," and it was recorded by Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte.

Gordon Lightfoot's "IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND" also makes a great two-part harmony song. (Didn't he overdub the harmony on that, too?

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Bev and Jerry
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 05:08 PM

Here are a few we've done in a dialogue fashion:

FOOLISH QUESTIONS
BUFFALO BOY
THE BALLAD OF ERICA LEVINE
ARKANSAS TRAVELER (more of a story than a song)
BILLY BOY
CAPTAIN WEDDERBURN'S COURTSHIP
THE HOUSEWIFE'S LAMENT
ON ILKLA MOOR BAHT 'AT

Also, some old country songs have choruses with two parts that have different words such as "Where the Soul of Man Never Dies" [see TO CANAAN'S LAND I'M ON MY WAY] and "WHISPERING HOPE".

Finally, Larry Mohr and Odetta put together something they called "Just the Facts, Ma'am" in which one of them sang "I WAS BORN ALMOST TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO" and the other sang "THE BIGGEST THING THAT MAN HAS EVER DONE". They alternated verses and then, at the end, sang the last verses together. Even though they were singing two different songs, they blended perfectly. "Just the Facts, Ma'am" appeared in an ancient issue of Sing Out! and in "Reprints from Sing Out! Volume Four".

Bev and Jerry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: MAG
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 02:15 PM

The Ewan MacColl-Peggy Seeger anti-marriage song is a favorite of mine -- and I keep humming that one from Nic Jones Unearthed: Dark the night, and long till day; do not bid us further stray ... [See SINGER'S REQUEST]

Subject: Lyr Add: ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER
From: *daylia*
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 02:12 PM

I used to LOVE this duet when I heard it at music festivals as a kid. Found it in the digitrad - sorry I don't know how to link you there directly yet but here goes ...Not exactly folk, but what the heck:

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER
(Irving Berlin)

I'm superior, you're inferior
I'm the big attraction, you're the small.
I'm the major one, you're the minor one
I can beat you shootin', that's not all

Anything you can do, I can do better
I can do any thing better than you
No you can't. Yes I can. No you can't.
Yes I can. No you can't. Yes I can, yes I can.

Anything you can be I can be greater
Sooner or later, I'm greater than you
No, you're not. Yes I am. No you're not.
Yes I am. No you're not. Yes I am, yes I am.

I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge
I can get a sparrow with a bow and arrow
I can do most anything
Can you bake a pie? No. Neither can I.

Anything you can sing I can sing louder
I can sing anything louder than you
No you can't....

Anything you can buy, I can buy cheaper
I can buy anything cheaper than you
Fifty cents. Forty cents. Thirty cents.
Twenty cents. No you can't. Yes I can, yes I can

Anything you can dig, I can dig deeper
I can dig anything deeper than you
Thirty feet. Forty feet. Fifty feet.
Sixty feet. No you can't. Yes I can, yes I can

I can drink my liquor faster than a flicker
I can do it quicker and get even sicker
I can live on bread and cheese
And only on that? Yes. So can a rat.

Anything you can reach, I can go higher
I can sing anything higher than you
No you can't....

Anyone you can lick, I can lick faster
I can lick anyone faster than you
With your fist? With my feet. With your feet?
With an axe. No you can't. Yes I can, yes I can

Any school where you went, I could be master
I could be master much faster than you
Can you spell. No I can't. Can you add.
No I can't. Can you teach. Yes I can, yes I can

I could be a racer, quite a steeple chaser
I can jump a hurdle even with my girdle
I can open any safe.
With out being caught? Yes. That's what I thought, you crook

Any note you can hold I can hold longer.
I can hold any note longer than you.
No you can't. Yes I ca-a-a-a-an. Yes you ca-a-an

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: Sophie
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 01:56 PM

If you're into anti-war songs, the Leon Rosselson song 'ACROSS THE HILLS' is a good one as it's a dialogue between two voices.

The traditional "WHISTLE, DAUGHTER, WHISTLE" can be done as a dialogue, with one voice as the mother and one as the daughter.

There's the old chestnut " SCARBOROUGH FAIR" as well - the Simon & Garfunkel version with the canticle part.

These are just three suggestions that I can think of off the top of my head, but I know there are a lot more - I just haven't trawled through the books yet! There are loads of non-dialogue songs that work well in two- or three-part harmony as well - I'm one-third of an all-female band myself and most of our repertoire is a capella arrangements of traditional folk songs, so I know there are lots that work that way!

Sophie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: MAG
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 01:24 PM

Speaking of Iris Dement, sis she and Greg Brown really get married? Will they be performing together?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: GUEST,MC Fat
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 11:31 AM

Try listening to Steve Earle and Iris Dement doing 'Still in love with you' or the John Prine album 'IN SPITE OF OURSELVES' which is full of duets

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: beadie
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 11:24 AM

I'm thinking of an entire album's worth of songs sung by multiple female voices . . . . . Trio. This is a great CD with Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton in various combinations and harmonic arrangements. Granted a trio is not always easily transposed into a duet, but it might give you some ideas.

Subject: Lyr Req: looking for a song to be sung by two
From: gudrun
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 11:11 AM

Hi there!
I'm singing in a band with two female singers (I'm one of them) and we're looking for some good songs that could be sung by two singers.
A good example is "THE DEVIL'S COURTSHIP" as it has been arranged by Battlefield Band, or some night visiting songs where most of the verses are question and answer. I'm looking for all sorts of songs that could work that way. It would be brilliant if anybody made any suggestions. Thank You!

Gudrun

[Many song titles in this thread have been converted to links by a Mudelf.]