Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)

Subject: Lyr Req: Under The Willows
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 01:25 AM

Anyone Know where I can find the lyrics to "Under The Willows"
by Bob Franke"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under The Willows
From: Peace
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 01:48 AM

www.myspace.com/bobfrankespace

Try asking at that site, Warsaw Ed. I could not locate lyrics on the web.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Aug 08 - 10:22 PM

Here's what I was able to transcribe from a sound sample at AllMusic.com:

UNDER THE WILLOWS (excerpt)
Bob Franke

...Horses and bunnies and camels and chicks
Whose riders hang on to their peppermint sticks.
And it's under the willows come walk with me, love,
The sea at our feet and the sky up above.
The children at play know they're nothing to fear.
In the sweet Salem(?) breezes, come walk with me, dear....

[From Bob Franke's album "Brief Histories," Flying Fish CD FF-70495, 1992.]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Aug 08 - 11:10 PM

I've got it somewhere, Ed. Don't let me forget to post it.
-Joe-

Subject: ADD: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 12:34 AM

UNDER THE WILLOWS
(Bob Franke)

There's a spun-sugar smell in the penny arcade,
The old carousel is an endless parade
Of horses and bunnies and camels and chicks
Whose riders hang on to their peppermint sticks.

CHORUS
And it's under the willows come walk with me, love,
The sea at our feet and the sky up above.
The children at play know there's nothing to fear.
In the sweet Salem breezes, come walk with me, dear.


See the bathers, so bold as their noses turn blue,
The young and the old build a castle or two;
Though the tide may bring tears when those castles depart,
There's a hope and a memory in each summer heart.
CHORUS

Now, the rich merchant families look haughty and high,
But the big clipper packets have all passed us by;
And the captains of legend have all sailed away,
But they left us the sea and this fine summer day.
CHORUS

Now, the storm clouds may roll on the wind far away,
But what's that to us on a day like today?
For the corn, it grows high; and the mill wheels still roll,
And the Lemon Gibraltar is good for the soul.
CHORUS (twice)



[transcribed by ear from Bob Franke's album "Brief Histories," Flying Fish CD FF-70495, 1992.]

Notes: Salem Willows, early 20th century. Once a smallpox sanitarium, then a fashionable resort, now a modest amusement park, still my favorite place in Salem.

Patty Larkin and Sally Rogers sing on this track.

The album is mostly about Salem, Massachusetts. I came across the CD shortly after I made a Halloween trip to Salem, and I've always liked both the city and the CD. There's one terrific song about the witch trials, "I But a Little Girl," that runs a chill down my spine. In "Willows," Franke shows a sweeter part of Salem - the seaside and the history of the clipper ships.
-Joe-

---

So, what's a "Lemon Gibraltar"?

Subject: Tune Add: UNDER THE WILLOWS (Bob Franke)
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 28 Aug 08 - 02:28 AM

Please excuse the delay in recognizing the efforts of Peace, Jim Dixon and especially Joe Offer.   I think this thread deserves a tune and I have been brushing up on my ABCs.   Thanks Joe for the lyrics transcription and the background information.
There is one slight correction to the lyrics. In the second stanza the word "hope" should replace "home".   "There's a hope and a memory in each summer heart."
Here's the ABC Notation:

X: 1
T: Under The Willows
C: Bob Franke
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: E
G A B e3/2 d e g3/2|e f3/2 e c B3/2 z/2||
B B3/2 e g b3/2 a g | g3/2 f e f z/2 ||
B a |a3/2 a g3/2 f e3/2 f3/2 | e c d3/2 ||
d c B | e g3/2 b3/2 e g f e | d e4 z2 z||
"Chorus"
G A B e3/2 d e g3/2|e f3/2 e c B3/2 z/2||
B B3/2 e g b3/2 a g | g3/2 f e f z/2 ||
B a |a3/2 a g3/2 f e3/2 f3/2 | e c d3/2 ||
d c B | e g3/2 b3/2 e g f e | d e4 z2 z||

The cadence is not quite a true copy.   Maybe someone could suggest editing the lengths of the notes?

Thanks again Joe Offer. It's always a pleasure when the "Pro" gets involved in a thread.    Take care, Ed

---

To play or display ABC tunes, try concertina.net

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Aug 08 - 02:45 AM

Thanks for the correction, Ed. I changed it on my lyrics post so people won't get confused. It's a wonderful song, isn't it? It helped me remember what a nice town Salem is - and it's so close to Cape Ann, which is one of my favorite places.
Yeah, I gotta say the tune needs some work on tempo. I'm not very good at transcribing by ear, so I won't volunteer to try to fix it. One thing will make a big difference, though - if I hear it correctly, the song is in 3/4 time. Paste it into concertina.net and change it to 3/4, and you'll see a big difference.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 28 Aug 08 - 07:32 AM

For future ref, Bob is happy to share info with folks if emailed.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 29 Aug 08 - 02:46 AM

Lemon Gibraltar is apparently a soft drink manufactured by a foreign company.   see http://www.sacconeandspeedgibraltar.gi/softdrinks.html
[I can't figure out how to make the blue clicky!! That's tomorrow's project]
The best line in the lyrics is "See the bathers so bold, as their noses turn blue"
Still working on the cadence for the tune.   Take care, Ed

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: maeve
Date: 29 Aug 08 - 11:03 PM

Warsaw Ed's link

Lemon Gibraltar link

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Aug 08 - 01:41 AM

Well, Saccone and Speed are bottlers of soft drinks in Gibraltar, but I don't see a product of theirs called a "Lemon Gibraltar." I think we'd have to go to Salem to find out for sure - I'll betcha it's a local drink, maybe made only at that amusement park. We used to have some very local drinks and confections in Detroit.
From this page I gather that the park claims that the ice cream cone was either invented or first sold at Salem Willows.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Sep 08 - 01:35 PM

It is widely known in St. Louis (where I grew up) that the ice-cream cone was invented at the World's Fair (a.k.a. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition) in St Louis in 1904. I'm glad to see that Wikipedia supports this, although it points out that several different vendors at that fair claimed to have been the first.

Subject: Tune Add: UNDER THE WILLOWS (Bob Franke)
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 08:31 PM

I obtained the score from Bob Franke.   Here is a revised ABC Notation
X: 2
T: Under The Willows
C: Bob Franke
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: E
Z4 G,A,|B,2 E2 D2 | E2 G 3E | F2 E2 C2 | B,4 B, B, |B,2 E2 G2 | B2 G3 F | E2 F2 G2 ||
F2 z2 B,B,|A2 A2 A2 | G2 G2 G2 | F2 E3 C | D4 E D | C2 D2 E2 | B,2 E G2 | F2 E2 D2 | E2 G,2 A,2 ||
Z6|
B,2 E3 D | E2 G2 E2 | F2 E2 C2 | B,2 z2 z | B,2 E2 G2 | B2 G2 F2 | E2 F2 G2 | F2 z2 z B, | G2 G2 G2 ||
G2 F2 E2 | F E4 C | D4 E D | C2 D2 E2 | B,2 E2 G2 | F2 E2 D2 | E2 z4 ||

His score also contained the Tabs which I'll post in a few minutes.

Subject: Chords Add: UNDER THE WILLOWS (Bob Franke)
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 09:04 PM

And here are the tabs: Note - I had to put the tab at the beginning of each bar because somehow the tabs above do not accurately paste.

UNDER THE WILLOWS                [Key of "E"    3/4 Time]
(Bob Franke)   

There's a |"E" spun-sugar |smell in the |"A" penny ar|"E" cade,
The|old carou|"C#m" sel is an |"F#7" endless pa|"B" rade
Of |"Am" horses and |"C#m" bunnies and |"A" camels and |"G#7" chicks
Whose |"A" riders hang |"E" on to their |"E7" peppermint |"E" sticks.

CHORUS
And it's |under the |willows come |"A" walk with me, |"E" love,
The |sea at our |"C#m" feet and the |"F#7" sky up a |"B" bove.
The |"Am" children at |"C#m" play know there's |"A" nothing to |"G#7" fear.
In the |"A" sweet Salem |"E" breezes, come |"B" walk with me, |"E" dear.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 09:39 PM

Refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 10:08 PM

Thanks, Ed. Did you find out anything about Lemon Gibraltar?
I'll betcha it's some sort of local frozen lemon concoction, like our Merlino's Orange Freeze in Sacramento - that we believe can't be beat by any other beverage under the sun.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 09 Nov 08 - 04:41 PM

You're a patient Man, Joe Offer! I E-Mailed Bob Franke and got the following response and I quote:
"Gibralters were an early 19th century local rock candy, coming in two flavors, lemon and peppermint."
He didn't say why they were good for the soul! [and I didn't ask]
Take care, Ed

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Nov 08 - 07:01 PM

Thanks, Ed. That solved the mystery. I would have thought it was a drink, but local candy would be good, too. Maybe I'll try it next time I'm in Salem. Now that I have digital cameras, I'm thinking of making my Atlantic Coast Lighthouse Tour again, re-taking all the pictures I took ten years ago. Salem/Cape Ann was one of my favorite stops on the tour.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Nov 08 - 08:01 PM

Funny thing: when you Google for "peppermint Gibraltar" you get lots of hits. That led me to this:

  The Gibraltar, on the other hand, is a
white and delicate candy, flavored with
lemon or peppermint, soft as cream at one
stage of its existence, but capable of hardening
into a consistency so stony and so
unutterably flinty-hearted that it is almost
a libel upon the rock whose name it bears.
The Gibraltar is the aristocrat of Salem
confectionery. It gazes upon chocolate
and sherbet and says:—
  "Before you were, I was. After you are
not, I shall be."

[The discussion goes on for several more paragraphs.]

From
Putnam, Eleanor. Old Salem. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1889.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Under the Willows (Bob Franke)
From: Warsaw Ed
Date: 16 Nov 08 - 11:25 PM

Thanks Jim. Those paragraphs partially explain why Lemon Gibraltar is good for the soul!