Lyr Req: Come Away Melinda (F Hellerman, F Minkoff

Subject: War protest songs
From: Leahone
Date: 23 Jun 97 - 11:35 PM

It was approximately 1960, I was listening to the radio in my Dad's car; I only heard the song once and I can still remember some of it; I never heard it again, but it went:

Mommy, mommy come and see Answer if you can Why can't it be just like it was before the war began

Come away Melinda, come in and close the door, the answer lies in yesterday before they had the war

Any ideas???

Subject: Lyr Add: COME AWAY, MELINDA^^
From: Gene
Date: 24 Jun 97 - 01:21 AM

Found this at: http://www.dejanews.com
Search for [ Melinda | mommy | war ] AGE/OLD

COME AWAY MELINDA
by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff

Mommy, mommy, come and look and see what I have found
A little way away from here while digging in the ground.
CHORUS: Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
It's nothing but a picture book they had before the war.

Mommy, mommy, come and see. Oh, mommy, come and look.
There's four or five Melinda girls inside this picture book.
CHORUS: Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
There were lots of little girls like you before they had the war.

Mommy, mommy, come and see. Oh, mommy, hurry, do.
There's someone grown up and tall who doesn't look like you.
CHORUS: Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
Your father was a man like that before they had the war.

Mommy, mommy, come and see. Such things I've never seen.
There's happy faces all around and all the ground is green.
CHORUS: Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
That's just the way it used to be before they had the door.

Mommy, mommy, come and see and tell me if you can,
Why can't it be the way it was before the war began?
CHORUS: Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
The answer lies in yesterday before they had the war.

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 02:19 AM

The version in the Digital Tradition is the same as what I found on page 150 of the songbook titled Travlin' On With the Weavers - but the DT has no tune, so I transcribed it.

---

Click to play

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: GUEST,albert
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 02:35 AM

I seem to remember this song ,or a very similar one,being sung by Tim Rose in the late 1960s.....and if i am correct it was on an album sampler called"The Rock Machine Turns You On".
Albert

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: cptsnapper
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 02:36 AM

Am I right in thinking that a group like the Limeliters or the Kingston Trio sang it?

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 02:43 AM

This song has been covered by a huge range of people - even "Uriah Heep" (remember them) and yes, as said above, Tim Rose - and, I think, Clannad.

However, the usual words as I recall (and I have some recordings have the little girl talkin to her father -

eg

Daddy Daddy, come and look, etc.

Actually, I still do it sometimes.

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 06:47 AM

Harry Belafonte did a heartbreakingly beautiful rendition of it on an album put out in the (?)60s called "Streets I Have Walked" which I still have somewhere.

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: oldhippie
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 07:49 AM

Tim Rose did indeed sing it, it's on the "Poppies" or "Universal Soldiers" box set from the UK on Dressed To Kill label. Peter, Paul & Mary recorded it.
I think Tom Paxton and a female folkie also recorded it, I'll check today.

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Silver Slug
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 08:23 AM

Well, this shows how little I know about music! I saw Uriah Heep perform this live at The Lyceum, when they opened on a bill which included Black Sabbath and Yes. It was the night before Pink Floyd headlined a free concert in Hyde Park. This one song stuck in my mind and I thought it had been penned by the band.

I have never heard it performed by anybody else, although I did hear the album track by UH on the radio a few months ago. I was very disappointed because it was nothing like as melodic as I had remembered it!

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Leadfingers
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 08:31 AM

I thought Tim Rose wrote it - The Daddy version anyway ! He gets writer credit on 'Rock Machine '.

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 08:34 AM

Belafonte sang it as "Daddy" - as every other male singer probably does too!

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 09:49 AM

I have an album from the early '70's by Alexandre Zelkine with this song.

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: danensis
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 10:28 AM

The Rock Machine Turns You On had some incredibly good songs on it. Its now very collectible. The CD doesn't have all the same songs, evidently for copyright reasons.

John

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 12:24 PM

Uriah Heap, Belafonte, Rose and all others credit Hellerman and Minkoff.
Some dates:
Bikel, Hellerman and The Big Three recorded it in 1964; the Weavers and Judy Collins in 1963; Rose in 1967, and Uriah Heap in 1970. These dates may not be firsts, I haven't checked but just noted dates of albums still listed. Others included UFO, Velvet Fogg, Bobby Gentry.
Hellerman included it on his protest album, "This Land is Your Land: Songs of Social Justice, UAW;" The Weavers in "Reunion at Carnegie Hall, 1963."

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Geordie-Peorgie
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 07:39 PM

If ye gan on (Good ol') YouTube and search Uriah Heep, there is a cracking live (in rehearsal) version of it.

Tim Rose ...... Ah now! There wez a voice, eh?

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: JJ
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 08:17 AM

Yet another appearance by the mysterious Fran Minkoff, about whom nothing seems to be known, except that she wrote some wonderful songs.

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Stringsinger
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 04:43 PM

Freddie sang that in concert with the Weavers.

Frank

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 05:47 PM

Frank, do you know anything about Fran Minkoff? I was wondering about her, too.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: TRUBRIT
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 11:20 PM

Don't know anything about Fran Minkoff but I srely do remember the sond --- I had it on some kind of compilation LP but I can't remember any more detail......will have to dig through the LPS and see what i find......

Subject: RE: War protest song-Come Away Melinda
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 11:27 PM

Googling found a few songs by her, or in collaboration with Hellerman, but no biographical data.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Come Away Melinda (F Hellerman, F Minkoff
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Feb 09 - 08:29 PM

http://www.readysteadygirls.eu/#/barrystjohn/4529385606

It was Barry St John in 1965 from Scotland

Lyrics

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/u/uriah+heep/come+away+melinda_20142504.html

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Come Away Melinda (F Hellerman, F Minkoff
From: GUEST,farroach
Date: 09 Oct 10 - 06:27 PM

happy to find out that the english version with the child's voice was done by Barry St John. Remember the song as it was played on the pirate stations. . . Bert

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Come Away Melinda (F Hellerman, F Minkoff
From: GUEST,Lanfranc on holiday and cookieless
Date: 09 Oct 10 - 07:32 PM

Judy Collins was another who recorded it in the early 60s - on "Judy Collins 3" or was it "4"?

Alan

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Come Away Melinda (F Hellerman, F Minkoff
From: Leadfingers
Date: 09 Oct 10 - 08:48 PM

A SCARY Good song from the Scare Days ! When we were all preparing for the Holocaust

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Come Away Melinda (F Hellerman, F Minkoff
From: GUEST,brianchido
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 10:35 AM

So does anyone know if the original lyrics were sung to Mommy or Daddy, as each version is slightly different.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Come Away Melinda (F Hellerman, F Minkoff
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 04:06 AM

good heavy rock version by UFO 1970.