Lyr Req: Little Fay Pretty Fay (Bellamy/Barnett)

Subject: Lyr Req: Pretty fay, little fay, there is work t
From: Sanjay Sircar
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 08:45 PM

There is a song in a pre-War UK collection of "Soprano Songs" or "Contralto Songs". The first stanza is:

Pretty fay, little fay, there is work to be done
come hither, come hither to me
The banquet is ready but dew there is none
You much fetch it wherever it be (repeat)

Heed not the bumblebee, he never stings
Battle the butterfly, rumple its wings
Bee, beetle or butterfly...

I am looking for the sheetmusic for this song, by itself, or preferably in such a collection (which might turn out to be the lost one in which I first came across it). Can anybody give me a bibliographical reference, please?

Thank you,
Sanjay Sircar

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pretty fay, little fay, there is work to
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 11:17 PM

The British Library has the sheet music for:

LITTLE FAY, PRETTY FAY
Words by W. H. Bellamy, music by John Barnett
London: Addison & Hodson, [1844]

It is not viewable online.

I found this information at WorldCat.org.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pretty fay, little fay, there is work to
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 11:39 PM

A recording of LITTLE FAY, PRETTY FAY sung by Maria Ferrante, accompanied on piano by Lincoln Mayorga, appears on the album "Best Kept Secrets : A Treasury of Passionate American Song."

I can hear it on Spotify, but I would find it difficult to transcribe.

You could probably also download it from the usual sources.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pretty fay, little fay, there is work to
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Jan 13 - 11:43 PM

Here's a description of a book of songs which might be the one you remember:

Contralto Songs

I believe if you click on the arrow on that page, you can download a PDF of the whole book. (I haven't done that.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pretty fay, little fay, there is work to
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 08:29 AM

I did download it! The song is on pages 37-43 of vol2 (43-49 of the pdf)

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pretty fay, little fay, there is work to
From: Sanjay Sircar
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 08:47 AM

Dear Mr Dixon,

Thank you very much indeed. This is the kind of thing that makes me thankful for the worldwideweb, despite its military origins, and shows that swords can indeed be turned into ploughshares. I will remember to go to worldcat, and Vol. 2 of Contralto Songs (London: Boosey and Hawkes: n.. 1912) is very much the volume I remember. My volume was left with a lady of uncertain temperament to practice with, who, upon being asked for my music back, put it out on the postbox on the road for me to collect, refused to see me, did not give all of it back, and did not answer two letters I wrote asking for the remnant, including this.

And how delightful to hear it was recorded too, and this piece is indded a treasure, though certainly neither passionate nor probably American except by adoption, as far as I know. What is Spotify, please?

Sanjay Sircar

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Pretty fay, little fay, there is work to
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 09:19 AM

Spotify is a program you can download and install on your computer, which allows you to listen to thousands of songs for free. It also gives information about the albums those songs came from, and the artists. There are both paid and free versions; with the free version (which I have), you can listen but you can't download and keep a song, and the program plays advertisements after every 5th song or so.

Spotify pays some money to the artists but I've heard it's very small. Artists (or their representatives) can choose whether to allow Spotify to carry their songs or not.

I don't think Spotify is available in all countries, due to varying copyright laws, and methods of paying artists, etc.