 sj |
||
|
||
Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together
|
|
|
Subject: Lyr Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije From: GUEST,groyston Date: 25 Oct 16 - 12:35 PM I remember singing this song at school in 1958 and can remember the first verse, but alas no more. "O Kije was a hussar bold A hussar bold was he He fought so bravely for the Tsar The pride of the cavalry!" Are there more verses? and if so does anyone know what they are? My internet seach has proved to be futile! |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije From: keberoxu Date: 25 Oct 16 - 01:14 PM Probably not what you are after, but there is something called: "Kije! A musical fairy tale" out there. I fear it is too recent to be connected to your school tune. What do you recall about the tune of your song? The most famous name associated with Lieutenant Kije is that of Soviet/Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, whose film score for a Kije film was adapted into a suite for symphony orchestra. Prokofiev's Kije Suite is much recorded, a staple of the classical symphonic repertoire. No songs or lyrics, though. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije From: GUEST,keberoxu Date: 25 Oct 16 - 01:29 PM It seems your lyric was adapted to the tune, from the Lieutenant Kije suite, called "TROIKA." I found this here at dear old Mudcat, on a thread about BBC's "Singing Together." Um, you might want to change your spelling: Hussar, not "husar." Try Googling with a double s! Good luck. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije From: GUEST,Groyston Date: 25 Oct 16 - 03:40 PM Yes the tune was troika from the Prokofiev suite. It's the additional verses about which I am unsure. Thanks for your comments. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije From: maeve Date: 25 Oct 16 - 04:38 PM "O, Kije was a hussar bold A hussar bold was he No greater soldier served the tsar In the ranks of muscovy... " http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?p=34546815 Also here, with some explanation. "It was recorder music in our school. And a battered old radio with a metal honeycomb front and huge speakers - there was a children's classical music programme Miss Sloane used to put on for us - and one week it was Lieutenant Kije . This was preceded by a long introductory lesson on dashing Hussars and Cossacks and sleigh rides over vast snowy expanses! We had leather strap things with bells attached - they were our sleigh bells and we jingled them along to the radio music. Not one of us had ever heard classical music before. There was a song she taught us to the tune - used to thump it out on the piano" "'Oh, Kije was a Hussar bold A Hussar bold was he No greater soldier served the Tsar in the ranks of Muscovy!'" All accompanied by the wild jingling of our bells! " |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije From: GUEST,Joe G Date: 25 Oct 16 - 06:20 PM I remember singing that too. Always brings back memories when I hear the suite! Can't remember the other words though I'm afraid |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije From: GUEST,groyston Date: 26 Oct 16 - 09:23 AM I have done a little more research and found that the song is in BBC pamphlet "Singing Together" Spring 1958. Unfortunately I do not have a copy of this. Can anyone help? |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Joe Offer Date: 26 Oct 16 - 11:22 AM I added "Singing Together" to the thread title to see if that brings in one of our many Mudcatters who collect those booklets. I looked at our index of Singing Together, and I gather that song isn't at Jon Freeman's folkinfo.org, which is housed at my Website. Maybe Nigel can clarify that, because I'm not sure I understand his indexing system completely. -Joe- |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,Senoufou/Eliza Date: 26 Oct 16 - 02:47 PM I can't supply any other verses, but the story is quite odd. Apparently Lieutenant Kije was an 'invented person' who rose through the ranks in spite of not even existing. After hearing of his exploits, some Emperor or other (Paul the something) asked to meet this famous Hussar and had to be told it was all a hum! A satire on bureaucracy apparently. |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,Senoufou/Eliza Date: 26 Oct 16 - 02:54 PM It was Tsar Paul 1, and it seems his secretary erroneously wrote 'Kije' on a list, then had to make up more and more fantastic exploits about him to the Tsar. |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Harry Rivers Date: 27 Oct 16 - 01:00 AM I have partial memories of doing it at primary school in the late 60s ('67 or '68?) but with BBC Schools Television. I think the programme was called "Making Music". Prokofiev's Troika from Lt Kije was certainly the theme tune used to introduce the programme and I learned the "Kije" story from it. Also featured as part of the singing lessons was "Searching for Lambs" and I can credit that as the very beginning of my love of folk music. God bless the BBC! Harry |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 15 Nov 16 - 05:15 PM I'm on it! Give me half an hour. I'm just posting now to save anyone else typing it out. Cheers |
|
Subject: Lyr ADD: SONG OF LIEUTENANT KIJE From: Nigel Parsons Date: 15 Nov 16 - 05:47 PM SONG OF LIEUTENANT KIJE (words by Gladys Whitred) Tune: Prokofiev's Troika O Kijé was a Hussar bold, A Hussar bold was he; He fought so bravely for the Tsar, The pride of the cavalry. O Kijé was a Captain fine, A Captain fine was he; So fearless in the cannon's roar He led his company. O Kijé was a Colonel fierce, A Colonel fierce was he; His soldiers never paused for rest Till they'd routed the enemy. O Kijé was a General Brave, A General brave was he; His army always led the van To gain the victory. O Kijé won a hero's fame, A hero's fame won he; No greater soldier served the Tsar In the ranks of Muscovy Now Kijé never lived at all, A Tsar's mistake was he; But since the Tsar could do no wrong A myth he had to be. X: 1 T: Kijé M: 4/4 L: 1/4 C: Russian Tune Z: NP 15/11/2016 K: D A | (d/c/) (B/c/) d B | ABFA | (B/A/) G d (c/d/) | A3 (G/F/) | EBAG | (A/G/) (F/G/) A (d/B/) | G F/G/ AA | d3|| w: O Ki-*jé *was a Huss-ar bold, a Huss-*ar bold was *he; He *fought so brave-ly for *the *Tsar, the *pride of the Ca-val-ry. Sourced from "Singing Together" & "Rhythm & Melody" from BBC Radio broadcasts for schools Spring 1958. Being the last song in the booklet, this would have been part of the "Rhythm & Melody" series of broadcasts. The BBC booklet gives the song as "by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Ltd." So presumably there is an earlier publication somewhere. NP |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 15 Nov 16 - 05:52 PM Feeling smug! I almost did it in the half hour I said. And that includes the ABC & checking it through at mandolintab.net ABC converter. Cheers Nigel Just hope Groyston checks back in at some time. |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 15 Nov 16 - 06:20 PM Just noticed the last line of the first verse is missing a word: The pride of the cavalry. Could some kind Mud-elf do the correction please? |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Joe Offer Date: 15 Nov 16 - 09:54 PM Nigel to the rescue! Good show, Nigel. -Joe- P.S. I fixed what needed fixed. |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST Date: 06 Dec 16 - 03:48 PM Thanks for all the comments and to Nigel for the words. Good to be reminded of what presumably I once knew! |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 06 Dec 16 - 03:54 PM Guest: The tune is in there as well. Starting with "X:1", highlight & copy until "ca-val-ry." Then paste it in to an ABC program such as the one at MandolinTab It will allow you to view & print the music, or hear it. Cheers |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Tattie Bogle Date: 06 Dec 16 - 07:11 PM Looking forward to playing this tune in various forthcoming Christmas gigs,tho' doubt if we'll be trying to sing it! |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST, DTM Date: 06 Dec 16 - 08:56 PM I remember Kiji being on either Singing Together or Rhythm & Melody (circa 1957-59) however, IIRC the words we learned were "Oh Kiji was a warrior and a warrior bold was he." I don't remember it being "Hussar". Mind you, my memory could be playing tricks on me again. :-) |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 07 Dec 16 - 03:15 AM Guest DTM: As shown above, I transcribed this directly from the Spring 1958 "Singing Together". I have a fairly comprehensive set. Cheers Nigel |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,threelegsoman Date: 07 Dec 16 - 03:21 AM Thanks to Nigel, I had not been aware of this but now am and have uploaded my own version on YouTube: Song of Lieutenant Kijé (Including lyrics and chords) (It is not easy playing both guitar and harmonica together) |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: robomatic Date: 07 Dec 16 - 02:01 PM And the story behind the song and music and film |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 08 Dec 16 - 04:30 AM Could this thread possible be re-labelled as "Lyr ADD:" please? Cheers Nigel |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST, DTM Date: 08 Dec 16 - 05:01 AM Thanks, Nigel. It seems it's my memory that's distorted and that doesn't surprise me. At least I got the time frame right which gives me hope. The brain has now been reprogrammed with "Hussar* replacing "Warrior". :-) |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,LadyJ Date: 20 Dec 16 - 03:54 AM I loved this programme and am delighted not to be the only person to remember it. I would love to see the animation but can only seem to find more recent films. There was an incidential line too. "You'll never see me but this tune tells you I am here" |
|
Subject: Lyr Add: SONG OF LIEUTENANT KIJE From: GUEST,M O Date: 06 Dec 17 - 03:49 PM If you go to YouTube :- treelegsofman there's a wonderful man singing this. Oh, Kije was a hussar bold, a hussar bold was he. The bravest soldier of the tsar, the pride of the Calvary. Oh, Kije was a captain fine, a captain fine was he. So fearless in the cannons roar, he led his company. Oh Kije was a Colonel fierce. A colonel fierce was he. His soldiers never paused for rest till they routed the enemy. Oh Kije was a general brave, a general brave was he. His army always lead the van to gain the victory. Oh, Kije won a hero's fame, a hero's fame won he. The bravest soldier to serve the Tzar in the ranks of Muscovy. Now Kije never lived at all the Tzar's mistake was he. But as the Tzar could do no wrong, a myth he had to be. Happy school BBC radio memories. |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Tattie Bogle Date: 08 Dec 17 - 06:10 PM The score (in D) that we use is vastly simplified from the orchestral version but does include the bridge passage which has a smattering of Bbs, and G and C arpeggios in it! Challenging, but fun to play! And thanks again for the lyrics which I have just pasted into a Word doc, ready for this season's Christmas sessions! |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,LizB Date: 21 Aug 18 - 04:59 AM I have been looking for the animation foe some years now,the puppets were so beautiful inmy memory.....and of course the music forvever a favourite..... Does anyone remember the story about the Ghost Ship?...who’s this,candy dandy,gentleman,Cockatoo, polished shoe lurgy leg,scrim shanker....clothes peg...CLOTHES PEG ! |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 07 Sep 18 - 08:17 AM Just had a look for the animation, that was BBC Television Broadcasts for Schools, the above words are from the Radio broadcasts, but there's more info (but no apparent link) on the British Film Institute site. |
|
Subject: RE: Req: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,Peter Date: 07 Sep 18 - 08:30 AM I remember the first couple of lines from primary school, as far as I recall it was from a radio broadcast. My memory says "soldier" rather than "warrior" or "hussar". Checking how my memory of things supposedly memorised in my school days over 50 years ago compares with the printed originals gives me a firm belief of the "folk process". |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,Judith Sawyer Date: 09 Jul 19 - 06:45 AM Hi, LizB, yes I remember Lieutenant Cockatoo clearly and managed to get the booklet on eBay a year or so ago! My e-mail address is judith underscore sawyer at yahoo dot co dot uk if you want to see a picture. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,Cg Date: 10 Jul 19 - 01:46 AM I learnt it at school from Singing Together and I'm sure the word wasn't 'hussar'. I think it was 'warrior'. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,threelegsoman Date: 10 Jul 19 - 02:53 AM I uploaded this one about three years ago and it can be found on my YouTube channel, "threelegsoman", in a playlist of Songs from Singing Together: Song Of Lieutenant Kijé (Including lyrics and chords) |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 10 Jul 19 - 10:36 AM Guest,Cg: Definitely "Hussar", my transcription above is taken directly from Singing Together Spring 1958, which appears to be the only appearance of this song in Singing Together. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 10 Oct 19 - 10:15 AM Guest: Lady J said a few years ago: I loved this programme and am delighted not to be the only person to remember it. I would love to see the animation but can only seem to find more recent films. There was an incidential line too. "You'll never see me but this tune tells you I am here" Just looking at a spare set for that scholastic year (Autumn 57, Spring 58 & Summer 58) and I see that when I transcribed the words & tune I overlooked the previous 2 pages (because there were no songs on them) but they show the themes/motifs for Kije, The Tsar, The girl, and Troika. So presumably the themes were highlighted during the programme. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 10 Oct 19 - 10:50 AM A picture of the above two pages can be seen (for 3 days) on Ebay Here Below main picture scroll across to final picture. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST Date: 23 Nov 20 - 11:40 AM Nigel posted: "Just looking at a spare set for that scholastic year (Autumn 57, Spring 58 & Summer 58) and I see that when I transcribed the words & tune I overlooked the previous 2 pages (because there were no songs on them) but they show the themes/motifs for Kije, The Tsar, The girl, and Troika." I would love to be able to see these pages if there is any way you could share scans of them? |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 24 Nov 20 - 05:22 AM Guest: (Hope you're checking back in) For scans of these pages just let me have your email address here. Or, if you don't wish to show your email address on the website, send a request to joe@mudcat.org stating the query and asking him to pass it to me. Cheers Nigel |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 24 Nov 20 - 06:49 AM Just remembered, these themes (and the song) were also included in "Rhythm and Melody" Spring 1962, which I currently have an imperfect copy on eBay. This does at least allow me to add scans of the necessary pages to that listing. So the Lieutenant Kije pages, and themes, can be found Here: eBay Cheers |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: clueless don Date: 24 Nov 20 - 07:05 AM At the risk of thread creep (risk?? thread creep is what I do!), I'm recalling John Fahey's guitar arrangement of the Troika movement. Don |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 27 Nov 20 - 04:53 AM Refresh (for a few days) in case Guest returns and can't see the thread. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,beryl Date: 28 Dec 20 - 01:09 PM So glad to find this page! I was in the school choir that sang this live on one of the schools programs hosted by Gladys Whitred. I had no idea until now that she had written the lyrics! Thank you for a bit of history! |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Jon Freeman Date: 30 Dec 20 - 01:28 AM I remember Kije and Cockatoo but not from Singing Together (although Kije clearly was on ST too). I think they both cropped up on a BBC TV series called Making Music. I think Petrushka (Stravinsky) was something else they adapted for that series Ah here we go for Cockatoo from https://www.phyllis-tate.com/music-for-schools-and-young-people.html In the mid-1960s BBC TV entered into the business of schools music. Several composers, including Phyllis Tate, were willingly pressed into service to compose pieces suitable for learning and performance by young amateurs. The originator and inspirer of this enterprise, John Hosier, recalls ‘visiting a little village school in Sussex of sixty children between five and eleven who had no other effective contact with music and seeing a lavish production that they had mounted of Phyllis Tate’s The Story of Lieutenant Cockatoo, which they had learned entirely through a sequence of eight twenty-minute programmes on television’. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Nigel Parsons Date: 15 Jan 21 - 06:59 AM Thanks Jon. Just to confirm (as I'm looking at the booklet), Lieutenant Kije was in the Making Music (BBC Television for schools) Autumn 1966. On this occasion it used only the first 4 verses of Gladys Whitred's words, so we don't discover that Kije was a clerk's invention. |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,paul011956 Date: 12 Dec 21 - 05:41 AM I always think of this when I hear Greg Lake, ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’ |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST Date: 26 Dec 21 - 01:22 PM Thanks I was talking about this yesterday I remember from music on the radio in the 1950s |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: GUEST,Jil Date: 01 Jan 22 - 12:24 AM I have been looking for the words to this tune for so many years thank you for printing them , I remember singing along with the radio in 1958 , with my pamphlet on my knee open to the last page! |
|
Subject: RE: Lyr: Song of Lieutenant Kije-from Singing Together From: Backwoodsman Date: 01 Jan 22 - 03:46 AM I clearly remember my class learning and singing ‘Lieutenant Kije’ during the ‘Singing Together’ BBC radio programme back in 1958 - my last year at Primary School before moving on to our local GS in Sept. ‘58. Mr. Highfield, the Head Teacher, used to take us for the ‘Singing Together’ sessions. Happy daze! |
| Share Thread: |