Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's

Subject: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Alice
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 04:55 PM

I've been asked to sing at a "Victorian" ball in Virginia City, Montana, and was searching to find the repertoire of Jenny Lind, when I came across a link to this interesting page in the net.
The Ethnographic Experience: Sidney Robertson Cowell in Northern California
click here

By the way, if anyone has a list of songs that would have been performed by Jenny Lind on her tour of America, I am still looking.

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Alice
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 05:02 PM

BTW, the Levy collection has some Jenny Lind sheet music. If anyone knows of other sources, please let me know. thanks

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 05:25 PM

Hi, Alicc - if you search the forum for Gold you'll actually find some. I have two books of Gold Rush songs, but they're both about California gold miners. The better one is Songs of the Gold Rush by Lingenfelter and Dwyer, and I'd be happy to transcribe any song you like. The other is a smaller collection from the Sacramento Bee newspaper, and I think most of the songs are in the Lingenfelter-Dwyer collection. Another good source is Irwin Silber's Songs of the Great American West which is availabe as a Dover paperback reprint. Let me know if you want any songs transcribed from either collection.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Alice
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 06:53 PM

thanks, Joe. Now they want me to come up with some kind of stage name for the advertising... the other singer is "the wild Irish rose". I'm really stumped. Any suggestions? Guess this is hard to ask since 'catters don't *really* know each other all that well! I've been mulling over words in the moniker like songbird, sweetheart, colleen,... don't like anything I've come up with so far.

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 07:07 PM

Alice - how about 'the Montana nightingale'? - Susanne

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Les B
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 07:13 PM

Alice, when are you singing there ? Our group has a day gig there sometime in August (and we're looking for tunes of that era as well). Maybe we could finally meet ? Les

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Alice
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 07:15 PM

Les, the "Victorian Ball" is July 24, if all goes well, but the August event I am aware of. They do "heritage days" in August. I might make it over there, I don't know. It's an incentive to go if you will be playing there. -alice

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Les B
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 08:41 PM

Alice, we're also doing Bannack Days July 17 & 18.

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Alice
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 09:04 PM

thanks, Les, will you be outside, or in one of the old buildings?

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Barry Finn
Date: 26 Jun 99 - 10:26 PM

Check out the other Gold Mining song's thread, can't do the blue clicky thing so I brought it back again. Barry

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Les B
Date: 27 Jun 99 - 04:18 PM

Alice - at Bannack, outside the Graeter House and the Hotel Meade (I think), mid afternoon, both days. At Virginia City, the train station(?) 2 to 4, or 3 to 5 (inside?) -- our group's "social secretary" has the details at the moment. I'll learn all at our next rehearsal.

Are you aware of any songs written about Jack Slade who was hanged by the vigilantes there in Virginia City ? His wife was reportedly a handsome woman who rode a big black horse "hell-bent-for-leather" over the hill to beg for his life, but arrived too late. As you're probably aware, she refused to bury him in the area but pickled him in whiskey in a tin tub over the winter and had him hauled to Salt Lake City the next spring. I've also read that several months later she and one of the vigilante officers were the couple that lead out the dancers at a fancy ball later that year. (And she knew who she was dancing with !) It seems someone would have written a song about this. Les.

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Alice
Date: 27 Jun 99 - 07:31 PM

Great story, Les. One of my childhood memories is the jar in the Virginia City museum with Plumber's foot in it, a bit of sock still hanging on. eeeewwwww

When I was growing up in Helena, I took piano lessons at Sherman Music, after school. I would walk down from the Cathedral (St.Helena grade school) and along Jackson(?), parallel to Last Chance Gulch, in order to go in the back door to the music teacher's room. I had to walk past (twice) the back windows of the old photography store. For many years they had photos on display in the window of hangings done by the vigilantes, with crowds of men standing around their vicitims lynched bodies, posing for the camera. Nightmares from that.

I hope I can meet you at either Bannack or Virginia City. I'll try.

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Les B
Date: 28 Jun 99 - 12:37 AM

Alice - hope to see you there.

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 28 Jun 99 - 11:51 AM

There's a Music Hall song re-collected by Cyril Tawney, which is probably British, set in Australia:

A long time ago in the wilds of Australia,
Out in the goldfields there once stood a camp.
The miners were made up of all kinds of classes,
With many's the scapegrace and many's the scamp.
Into their midst came a young man from England
And with him he brought a young thrush in a cage;
When the bird sang, how those rugh fellows listened -
In fact, the young thrush soon became all the rage.

Chorus
There fell a deep hush as the song of the thrush
Was heard by that motley crew;
Many a rough fellow's eyes grew dim
As the notes rang out strong and true.
Eyes ligthed up with a deep yearning look
As the bird trilled its wonderful lay,
For it brought to their minds dear old England and home,
Thousands of miles away.

There's another verse which I've completely forgotten; somebody will know it?

Steve

Subject: RE: Songs in Gold Camps of 1800's
From: Alice
Date: 28 Jun 99 - 01:03 PM

BTW, my name for the ball will probably be "The Emerald Belle" ... do I hear groans?