Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jul 10 - 07:47 PM

I have a dear friend in Canada who never heard the word "Quadroon".
To change a word that makes no sense is ok by me.
Oscar Brand's dirty sea song a4re full of words he made up because he has never been to sea and the terms they used made no sense to him, so his words make no sense to anyone!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: Amos
Date: 16 Jul 10 - 10:56 PM

LOL, Skipper. OK.

Anyway I directed the good folks at the Newfoundland site to this thread and to the Max Hunter collection link, which is also a transcription from an old audio field recording, but much clearer.


A

Subject: Tune Add: My Pretty Quadroon (Mary Dodge)
From: Artful Codger
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 12:05 AM

Q sent me scans of the 1863 Mary Dodge sheet music for "Pretty Quadroon", from which I've prepared an ABC and a couple MIDIs. In my melody-only MIDI, I suppressed the fermatas, but if you generate a MIDI or score from the ABC below, the fermatas should be expressed properly. You'll also hear them in the full MIDI.

  X:1
  T:My Pretty Quadroon
  C:Words and melody by Mrs. Mary Dodge
  S:Sheet music published by H.M. Higgins, Chicago, registered 1863.
  Z:Artful Codger
  %%MIDI program 1 42   % cello
  M:6/8
  L:1/8
  Q:3/8=52
  K:G
  D | B> A G A> G F | G3-G2 F/ E/ | D> D D D c B | A3-A2 G/ A/ |
  w: O who was so hap-py as I,_ When those lips like the blos-som-ing pea,_ And the
  B> A G A> G F | G3-G2 E | D D D D HB A | G3-HG2 B |
  w: light of that vi-o-let eye_ Ne'er shone on a dar-kee but me._  That
  B> B B B c d | e3-e2 e | d> c B B A B | c3-c2 c/ c/ |
  w: form was most 'ceed-ing-ly fair,_ Those cheeks like the wild rose of June;_ And a
  B> A G A G F | G3-G2 E/ E/ | D> D D D HB A | G3-G2 z ||
  w: wave-let of dark gloss-y hair_ Were the curls of my pret-ty Quad-roon._
  %
  %   Chorus - melody in the tenor line
  |: "^Chorus.  ad lib:" e2 e ^d B d | e3-e2 e | =d> c B B A G | A3-A2 c |
  w: Oh! my pret-ty Quad-roon,_ My flow-er that fad-ed so soon,_  Dis
  B> A G A G F | G E2-E2 E | D> D D D HB A | G3-G2 z :|
  w: heart like de strings of my Ban-jo,_ Am broke for my pret-ty Quad-roon._
  

---

Click to play (lead)

Click to play (full)

To play or display ABC tunes, try concertina.net

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 02:30 PM

MIDI files added - sheet music provided by Q, transcribed by Artful Codger.
Thanks to both of you.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 04:56 PM

Nice work on the midis and ABC!

A few little differences from the melody in Pretty Quadroon, words and music by Fred Howard and Nat Vincent, sheet music 1930; most versions follow them.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: GUEST,inch_worm
Date: 30 Aug 10 - 12:50 PM

I have been looking for over a decade for information on this song. I became entranced with it from repeated viewings of Jezebel. "My flower that faded too soon" A few years ago, only searching the few lyrics I finally found SactoGranny youtube with 2 versions of this song. Today, I heard it again in another movie on TCM, 1930 High C's sung by Charlie Chase playing the banjo, which would predate Jezebel. When I caught the name Cora , I was astonished as that was my mothers original given name . So back to searching again, I finally have found all the answers on this wonderful blog..Like written before, a decades search and who knew so many others were on the same search?! Amazing to have all finally gotten many lyric versions and history to pick from!, but I still like to hear SactoGranny sing it from the heart of his childhood. I can't help but wonder if my mother was named after this song that was definitely playing as my grammy waited for her birth. But then she became Pretty Polly, which is another song story..

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: Lighter
Date: 04 Dec 18 - 09:50 PM

Mary Mapes Dodge lived in Newark, N.J., but the song was published by a   music publisher in Chicago.

It isn't impossible that Mary Mapes Dodge was the author of the song, but the Chicago connection and the fact that song's author is called simply "Mrs. Mary Dodge" make the attribution to MMD a guess only.

MMD published volumes of verse in 1874, 1879. and 1904 - and "My Pretty Quadroon" isn't included.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Dec 18 - 07:52 PM

Beadle’s Dime Song Book, No. 16, 1865, mentioned several times above, is viewable now in Google Books. See here. The words seem to be identical to those posted by Frank Staplin above on 15 Jul 10 - 04:26 PM.

The only credit given there is: “Copied by permission of H. M. Higgins, Music Publisher, 117 Randolph St., Chicago, owner of the copyright.” No songwriter is mentioned.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: My Pretty Quadroon
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Dec 18 - 08:08 PM

Sheet music to PRETTY QUADROON, by Fred Howard and Nat Vincent, from 1930, can be seen at the website of Temple University.

Subject: RE: My Pretty Quadroon Goose Gander 19 Oct 06
From: GUEST,Lawrence Sabine
Date: 14 Aug 21 - 02:48 PM

I have the Romeo record of the Carson Robison trio doing My Pretty Quadroon. There are audibly slight differences from Jim's lyric, for example:
"shone on no darky like me" ("other" left out)
"comes the sound of the hue and the drum"
"she had lips like the blossoming peach"
"farewell to the little corral [sp?}"
"and my heart will find rest in the tomb"
"but my spirit will fly to the spot"
"O God, can it be the glad day"

There is another version apparently by Robison and Billings with the same wording but different verse structure. It seems they must have run down the street to ARC the day after doing this one.

These are obviously minor differences.