Origin: 'Beans in our ears' tune?

Subject: RE: Origin: 'Beans in our ears' tune?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 12:59 PM

... which was originally The Old Grey Mare, she aint what she used to be, aint what she used to be, aint what she used to be...

Subject: RE: Origin: 'Beans in our ears' tune?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 12:32 PM

It never sounded like Buffalo Gals to me and it still doesn't. The melody is different but the rhythm is similar, as any song would where the end of the first line is repeated twice, as in: Here we sit like like birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness.....

Subject: RE: Origin: 'Beans in our ears' tune?
From: Mark Ross
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 10:48 AM

The tune is basically BUFFALO GALS, but in waltz time. Len sings it on Pete Seeger's RAINBOW QUEST TV show;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE9cepZuTkA&feature=PlayList&p=3B9D257D493E5E97&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=38


Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Origin: 'Beans in our ears' tune?
From: greg stephens
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 09:04 AM

Like all the best songs, this was also recorded by Lonnie Donegan.

Subject: RE: Origin: 'Beans in our ears' tune?
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 08:48 AM

I don't hear it myself Jack.

Here's Snuffy's transcription of Beans In Our Ears from Lyr Req: Beans in my Ears (Len Chandler). (Though this isn't how I'd remembered the tune anyway; I always thought it was like "I danced with a girl with a hole in her stocking..."; is that the Buffalo Gals tune?). Tune attributed to Len Chandler, btw.

Mick

---

X: 239
T:Beans In My Ears
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/8=180
C:Len Chandler
S:from memory of Serendipity Singers recording
N:296 BEANEARS
K:G
D|G2 B G|D2 G B|e2 d d|d3 z|
w:My mom-my said not to put beans in my ears!
d2 c c|c3   z|e2 d d|d3
w:Beans in my ears! Beans in my ears!
D|G2 B G|D2 G B|e2 d d|d3 z|
w:My mom-my said not to put beans in my ears!
d4    |c2 A2 |G3 ||
w:BEANS in my ears!

Subject: Origin: 'Beans in our ears' tune?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 28 Aug 09 - 08:01 AM

This tune was more familiar than I expected to be:

  X:0
  T:Ne maram Gorjanca
  S:Zbrala Dusica Kunaver, Slovenian Customs and Songs, 2003
  M:3/4
  L:1/4
  Q:3/4=60
  K:EPhr
  G|E F G|E F G|B B>A|F2
  G|B B>A|F2  G|A A G|E2
  G|E F G|E F G|B B>A|F2
  G|B B A|G A F|E2  |]

It's almost the same as the tune for the Serendipity Singers' 1960s song "Beans in our ears", which I think was written by Pete Seeger.

Where did Seeger get it from?