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switching lyrics and melodys
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Subject: switching lyrics and melodys From: RangerSteve Date: 04 Jul 01 - 11:12 PM I just spent this glorious 4th of July directing traffic for fourteen hours while the rest of you were having fun. I'm going to bed soon, and in the morning, I hope to be entertained by some responses to this thread. You folks haven't let me down before. You can sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame to the tune of Amazing Grace. (It doesn't work too well in reverse). You can also sing How Much is That Doggie in the Window to the tune of House of the Rising Sun - the melody that the Animals used. Does anyone have any others? |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: nutty Date: 05 Jul 01 - 12:59 AM I've always fancied singing GALWAY SHAWL to the tune of ROSEVILLE FAIR but have refrained as I fear my neck would be in danger. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Joan from Wigan Date: 05 Jul 01 - 01:16 AM I've sometimes sung "Black Velvet Band" to the tune of "Lakes of Ponchartrain" - it works quite well. Joan |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: wysiwyg Date: 05 Jul 01 - 01:39 AM Amazing Grace, Gilligan's Island, House of the Rising Sun, O Little Town of Bethlehem-- works in all directions. Don't get stuck there now. Offshoot-- today we were joking around about hymns that would never be sung, because they would expose, if written, the true (and mistaken) attitudes that can happen in churches, and if they became anthems they'd be so silly no one could sing for laughing. One was taken from the US TV series COPS, the theme of which is: "Bad boy bad boy, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you" or some such. We had been talking about the rigid and fear-based focus on staying sinless after salvation-- the idea that a "saved" person could still burn in hell due to boo boos-- and out popped (from Hardiman): Bad boy bad boy, whatcha gonna do, get up there in heaven Jesus say "F*** you!" Since the Jesus I know would never say that, it becomes obvious that the thinking behind it is all wrong. See? ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Crazy Eddie Date: 05 Jul 01 - 01:45 AM An Irish comedian calles Neill Toibin, used sing a verse of "The Holy Ground" to the air of "Jeruselm" and vice versa as part of a sketch. It is on an album caleed Neill Toibin Live & Kicking. It works very well. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: JudeL Date: 05 Jul 01 - 04:47 AM Artisan in their "Stuff the Turkey" tour spent about half an hour giving examples of the different tunes you can sing the carol "the holly and the ivy" to, such as house of the rising sun! - needless to say they had the audience in stitches. Well worth seeing/ hearing. They explained they had started seeing what strange tunes the words would fit to was a way of passing the time when travelling between gigs. Jude |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Wolfgang Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:00 AM You can (could) easily sing the West German hymn to the tune of the East German hymn and vice versa. Wolfgang |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: nutty Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:13 AM And the tunes that fit to the words of Wild Rover are so numerous that some Festivals have been known to have Wild Rover Workshops. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: IanC Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:24 AM Some 60s/70s songs set to "trad" tunes sound like quite good modern folk songs. I sing "Pinball Wizard" to "The White Cockade", which always goes down well ... good harmonies as well. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: sian, west wales Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:30 AM There's a well-known Welsh hymn, Calon Lan, which you can get very sick of, 'cause it's sung ad nauseum. To allieviate the boredom,we sometimes sing to Springtime in the Rockies, or Halls of Montezuma ... so presumably you can also sing either of those to ... um ... each other. sian |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Micca Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:40 AM We frequently, and have for many years sang "Clementine" to the tune of "Bread of Heaven" and I understand that " While sheperds watched their flocks by night" is a standard almost to the the tune of "Ilkley Moor a'ht T'hat" |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Les from Hull Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:43 AM Our favourite 'Wild Rovers' are - the Boxer, Supercalifragelisticexpealidocious, Laughing Policemen, Banana Boat Song. As the many and various tunes for While Shepherds watched their Flocks all fit as well - well it all gets very confusing really. The tune for Ilkley Moor was a tune for While Shepherds for Ilkley Moor was written. Les |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: IanC Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:44 AM Yes, but Micca, that is because "Ilkla Moor" was written to one of the traditional tunes for "While Shepherds Watched", not the other way round (here). |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Noreen Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:47 AM At Llanstock, Micca led the singing of Oh my Darling Clementine to the Welsh hymn tune Bread of Heaven. Works wonderfully, and all the harmonies too... |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Noreen Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:54 AM ...beat me to it... :0) OK then, you asked for it... Dave the Gnome sang Chantilly Lace (and a pretty face) to Parting Glass. Try it! |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Eluned Date: 05 Jul 01 - 05:58 AM This stuff is great! All _I_ ever knew (and I expect most of you savvy types already knew this one) is that you can sing almost ANYthing to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas". It can be quite amusing on a long trip - provided you don't get sick of the tune. Warning label; do NOT let your kids, or whose-ever kids you travel with, try this, or you WILL get sick of the tune! *gryn* Eluned |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Les from Hull Date: 05 Jul 01 - 06:13 AM O no - the Yellow Rose of Texas! When we had to learn poetry at school we used to sing it as songs are much easier to remember. So much of our school poetry went to that tune. I can still remember some of it - Pipes of the misty moorlands, voice of the glens and hills, The groaning of the torrents, the treble of the rills, Not the braes that bloom with heather nor the moutains dark with rain, Nor maiden bower, nor border tower have heard you sweetest strain. See - it still works, after 40 years! |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: RangerSteve Date: 05 Jul 01 - 09:17 AM I was tired when I started this thread, so I forgot a really important one. You can sing the entire Rubaiyat (sp?) of Omar Khayyam to the tune of Arkansas Traveler. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Micca Date: 05 Jul 01 - 09:36 AM RangerSteve, I heard Omar Khyyam done to the tune of Hernandos Hideaway, and snorted coffee allover my newspaper, |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Pseudolus Date: 05 Jul 01 - 09:38 AM I have heard a friend of mine use the the words to "The Wild Colonial boy" with the tune of Pinball Wizard.... Frank |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: MMario Date: 05 Jul 01 - 09:50 AM Seamus does a great "Salute to the Armed Services" - with the Marines Hymn to about a dozen different tunes. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: RangerSteve Date: 05 Jul 01 - 12:45 PM I made a mistake, it should have been Omar Khayyam to the tune of Turkey in the Straw, but after thinking about it, I realized that Arkansas Traveler also works. If I were giving out prizes, WYSIWYG's recommendation of Gilligan's Island/Amazing Grace, MMario's Marines' Hymn to anything, and Micca's Omar Khayyam/Hernando's Hideaway would be the winners so far. Micca- I started laughing when I read your entry without even trying it out first. If I was drinking coffee I would have snorted it all over, too. I still can't keep a straight face. I'm leaving for work soon and I hope I can forget about it for the next 8 hours. (Sir, the reason I pulled you over is because you ran a red light at (snicker) 90 miles an hour (grin) as you passed a stopped school bus and nearly hit 3 children (SNORT) - oh, yeah, I'll look real professional today - thanks). |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: MMario Date: 05 Jul 01 - 12:52 PM Amazing Grace is also great when sung to "House of the Rising Sun" |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: GUEST,Celtic Soul Date: 05 Jul 01 - 12:59 PM You can sing "Amazing Grace' to nearly anything :D Try it with "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "Gilligans Island", and "Stairway to Heaven". I know there are a bazillion others that have made me laugh over the years, but as they say, the mind is the first thing to go. ;D
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Joan from Wigan Date: 05 Jul 01 - 02:43 PM Derek Gifford used to (and perhaps still does) sing a version of 'John Barleycorn' to the tune of 'We Plough The Fields And Scatter'. It worked very well, and I've sometimes used that tune myself. Joan |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Mrrzy Date: 05 Jul 01 - 02:53 PM The Clancy Brothers (with or without Tommy Makem, not sure) do a version of Master McGrath to the tune of Sweet Betsy From Pike, to which tune they also do (separate album) Moses-ri-too-ra-li-ay. On yet another album, they do Master McGrath to something haunting and lovely and I've never heard anything else to that tune, does anybody know what it is? Or did they write it for this song, to avoid having YET ANOTHER to the tune of Sweet Betsy? |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Matt_R Date: 05 Jul 01 - 02:54 PM Tolkien's "Song of the Ents & Entwives" can be sung to "Riders In The Sky". |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: UB Ed Date: 05 Jul 01 - 03:37 PM Stones "Can't Always Get Want You Want" and Lou Reed's "Take A Walk on the Wildside" |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: clansfolk Date: 05 Jul 01 - 03:51 PM Favourite tune for Wild Rover - Ghost Riders in the Sky
Has anyone heard a parody on Ghost Riders - "Ghost Writers in Disguise"? - there must be one!!!!! Pete |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Helen Date: 05 Jul 01 - 07:06 PM The Rose of Tralee and Tennessee Waltz. Especially the verse of the RoT which starts "She was lovely and fair..." It works as a medley too, between the two tunes. Also not drinking coffee, but definitely would have been cleaning it now from my keyboard if I had been. Helen |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Burke Date: 05 Jul 01 - 07:14 PM "Ilkla Moor" (Cranbrook) was written for "Grace 'tis a Charming Sound." Being common meter it was also widely used with "While Shepherds" before the Ilkla Moor words were written. I've heard it said "While Shepherds" has been used with every CM tune written. If you can find a hymnal with a meter index you can mix & match to your hearts content. This is why tunes used to get their own names. Common meter includes Amazing Grace, Grace 'tis a charming sound, House of the Rising Sun, Gilligan's Island, anything by Emily Dickinson.
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca Date: 05 Jul 01 - 11:22 PM Clansfolk, I just heard tonight, a friend do exactly that, Wild Colonial Boy to the Ghost Riders in the Sky tune. It worked pretty well. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: KT Date: 05 Jul 01 - 11:35 PM Ginny Hawker taught me to sing "Amazing Grace" to the tune of "Ghost Riders in the Sky." Still cracks me up when I remember her singing it.
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: JennieG Date: 05 Jul 01 - 11:51 PM We used to sing the 23rd Psalm to the tune of The Gypsy Rover (not the Wild Rover) when I went to a young peoples' group at a Presbyterian Church - gosh we thought we were being so daring that we would surely be struck down from above! But we never were. Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: toadfrog Date: 06 Jul 01 - 12:16 AM The one I liked was when Garrison Kielor sang "The Raven" to the tune of "Deck us all with Boughs of Holly." |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Burke Date: 06 Jul 01 - 12:19 PM Jennie, which version of Psalm 23? |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: GUEST,genesings@hotmail.com Date: 30 Jul 01 - 11:51 AM I believe it was Garrison Keillor I heard say that, as an English major, he learned that nearly all of Emily Dickinson's poems could be sung to "The Yellow Rose of Texas," as in: "Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me ... ." Try some others, too. Also, I sometimes switch tunes and lyrics between "This Land is Your Land" and "You Are My Sunshine". The Easter hymn, "Christ The Lord is Risen Today" and the Christmas carol "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" can be switched (with a little tweaking, such as adding the "Alleluja" part to "Herald Angels.") |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Jeremiah McCaw Date: 30 Jul 01 - 12:33 PM How couldja have missed? . . . "House of the Rising Sun" interchanged with "Puff, the Magic Dragon"?! |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Ebbie Date: 30 Jul 01 - 01:02 PM When we were kids, my brothers and I discovered an old song staple sung in our German-language church could be sung to 28 secular, English-language tunes: Bedenke, Mensch, das Ende Bedenke deinem Tod Der Todt kommt oft behende Der heute frisch und roth... One male adolescent once led the song to the tune of Dang! Now I've gone blank- it's that song about a whiskered billy goat and ends with the line: Coughed up that rag and flagged the train (Somebody had tied up the goat after one escapade too many, and laid him on the train track.) Ebbie |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: MMario Date: 30 Jul 01 - 01:12 PM BILL GROGAN'S GOAT
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: lady penelope Date: 30 Jul 01 - 03:26 PM "Rudolph the red nose reigndeer" to the "British Grenadiers." "We all live in a yellow submarine" to the tune of "Tarantara" from The Pirates of Penzance ( leaving the actual "tantara's" in place ) "Daisy, Daisy" to the "Voluntary solo" TTFN M'Lady P. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: A Wandering Minstrel Date: 31 Jul 01 - 08:07 AM Rolf Harris has been known to demonstrate his versatility by singing "Tie me Kangaroo Down" to the tune of "Land of Hope & Glory" |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: GUEST,redhorse Date: 31 Jul 01 - 08:30 AM At Wigan Folk Festival a few years back, I heard Ken Dodd's "Happiness" sung to the tune of "Ellen Vannen", followed by "Ellen Vannen" to the tune of "Happiness". |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: M.Ted Date: 31 Jul 01 - 10:24 AM Mentioning "Puff, the Magic Dragon" made me remember that it is the same song as the verse to "MY MAMMY". However I really wanted to say that the lyrics to "A Whiter Shade of Pale" fit wonderfully well to "On the Beach at Waikiki"-- |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Brían Date: 31 Jul 01 - 11:24 AM I have been laughing so hard at this thread I'm afraid I'm going break stitches from a recent surgery. I am looking forward to trying some these old chestnuts in new clothing when I am able to sing again. Brían. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Ebbie Date: 31 Jul 01 - 04:49 PM That's the one, Mario! But I just remembered the German hymn to which the boy put the tune. It wasn't 'Bedenke, Mensch' at all- it was:
Es sind zween Weg in dieser Zeit Literally-
There are two roads in these times I realize the non-essential nature of these verses here in Mudcat- but I did enjoy writing them! I may have a word wrong here and there, but it's surprising how much one remembers from one's youth. Ebbie |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Gareth Date: 31 Jul 01 - 05:01 PM That hysterically funny BBC Radio 2 program " I'am sorry I haven't a Clue !" frequently does sets of tune swoping. Very dangerous to listen to whilst driving ! Gareth |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: GUEST,Brian Date: 01 Aug 01 - 08:24 AM Here's Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy sung to My Old Man's a Dustman. Brian |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: GUEST,redhorse Date: 01 Aug 01 - 08:36 AM toadfrog's "deck us all with boughs of holly" summons up marvellous images! |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Dave the Gnome Date: 01 Aug 01 - 08:44 AM I've been toying with Queens 'Bohemian Rhapsody' without much success. Anyone fancy trying to put trad tunes to ALL the parts?;-) Best up to now has been Bohemian Rap but I need some drum and bass backing! Cheers DtG |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Micca Date: 01 Aug 01 - 09:11 AM Of course "my old mans a dust man" is good to "the British Grenadiers" tune.. and "Daisy, daisy, give me your answer do" the the tune of "Thine is the glory ( see the conquring hero comes)" |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: LR Mole Date: 01 Aug 01 - 09:55 AM "Hernando's Hideaway" is good with Frost's "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening", too: "Whose woods--these are--I think I know....." |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: GUEST,Genie Date: 18 Sep 01 - 02:50 PM Here are some that popped into my head today: Puff, the Magic Dragon - - Onward Christian Soldiers Beethoven's 9th "Ode To Joy" - - various nursery rhymes, e.g., Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, Mary Had A Little Lamb How Can I Keep From Singing? - - Barbara Allen
And, via Garrison Keillor from his camp days as a youth, Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow - - Hernando's Hideaway Blue Hawaii - - Wayfaring Stranger |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: dick greenhaus Date: 18 Sep 01 - 10:20 PM SOme of my pets are Jabberwocky sung to Ode to Joy; Clementine (sung to Babylon is Fallen), Clementine (sung to Deutschland Uber Alles and Clementine (sung to Saint Anne's Reel--the dance, not the recently-composed song) |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: English Jon Date: 19 Sep 01 - 12:21 PM Whorticulture sing Cotton mill girls with the following lyrics: Space Oddity, Purple Hills, Waltzing Matilda, Bohemian Rhapsody, I'll tell me ma, My gang, Chicken on a raft etc.. EJ |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Genie Date: 01 Oct 01 - 12:35 AM Bringing In The Sheaves and Farmer In The Dell? |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Helen Date: 16 Oct 01 - 06:59 PM Refresh: because of this thread http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40170 |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Jim Dixon Date: 12 Feb 02 - 08:32 PM Any limerick, dirty or otherwise, can be sung to the tune of Blest Be The Tie That Binds. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Mark Cohen Date: 12 Feb 02 - 10:36 PM Just to tie up one loose end (how's that for a topological incongruity?), the song Ebbie was looking for, about the goat who ate a red shirt and then saved his own life by flagging down a train, is Bill Grogan's Goat. And to provide a multicultural flavor, we used to sing the Hebrew hymn "Adon Olam" (which is in Long Meter, four lines of iambic tetrameter) to a number of different tunes. A big favorite when I was in high school in the late 60's was "Hiroshima" ("I Come and Stand at Every Door", by Nazim Hikmet) -- which, of course, meant that we were singing a Hebrew prayer to a tune used for an English translation of a Turkish poem, as also used by a Mexican-American folksinger for a Scottish ballad. (And I'm sure I'm missing some steps.) Long live the folk process! If anyone is interested in the interchangeability of shape-note tunes and words, as well as the names of the different meters, here is The Sacred Harp Meter Index. Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie Date: 12 Feb 02 - 10:53 PM This was a good thread & I'm glad it got resurrected. While it's here, two adds-- Believe it or don't, "Gospel Hymns Old and New" contains "How Can I Keep from Singing?" set to the tune of "America" (Oh, Beautiful, for Spacious Skies). It ALMOST works; you have to fudge the last note of each line. That also means that America and Barbree Allen are interchangeable. Also, Cumberland Gap and Shortnin' Bread, for those tradists who were not killed by Dylan. Sorry, couldn't resist. I plan to combine those two as countermelodies rendered on the 'courtship dulcimer.' That's just before I acquire a life. :) CC |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Clinton Hammond Date: 12 Feb 02 - 10:57 PM Found myself the other day singing John Barleycorn to the tune of an acapella version of Reynard The Fox I'd heard... I was pleasantly surprised how well the 2 seemed to go together that I think I'll work it up for my solo show... |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Genie Date: 13 Apr 02 - 01:42 PM Amazing Grace works well with Beethoven's "Freude, Freude" tune. You can also, with a wee bit o' tweakin', sing "Puff, The Magic Dragon" to that tune. And "America, The Beautiful" works with it, too. Genie |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Genie Date: 14 Apr 02 - 04:56 AM I just realized that "Aura Lee" is interchangeable with either "Puff" or "'Onward, Christian Soldiers," too. So, too, pretty much, is Beethoven's "Freude, Freude." |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 27 Aug 03 - 08:02 PM refresh |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Margret RoadKnight Date: 27 Aug 03 - 08:54 PM I recorded "Amazing Grace" to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun" with 4-piece electric blues band on this year's "WOMEN 'N BLUES" CD for the Australian label Full House Records....5 singers (including Jeannie Lewis & Wendy Saddington), 3 tracks each. |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Helen Date: 28 Aug 03 - 08:04 AM In case you non-Aussie Mudcatters don't know, Margaret RoadKnight, Wendy Saddington and Jeannie Lewis are *icons* of Australian music. (I can't put enough asterixes around the word "icons" to even begin to express what I mean. ) Way to go, Margaret!!! Helen |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Margret RoadKnight Date: 28 Aug 03 - 09:13 AM You're too kind, Helen (well, extremely kind, anyway). Appreciate the appreciation...... now if it just translates into sales..... Cheers Margret RoadKnight (yes, one A, and a capital K) |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Celtaddict Date: 28 Dec 05 - 11:37 PM We used to play this game driving, when my daughter was younger, and I have gotten quite hooked on it alone since then; any more goodies out there? "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" showed up on Ebbie's Getaway recordings to two separate tunes. Seamus also sings virtually anything to the "Marine Corps Hymn." A related song stunt (?) which my kids liked that first-time hearers often are baffled by, briefly: I have heard Cindy Mangsen sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" one note off, as in "take ME out to the ball GAME, take ME out with the crowd, BUY . . ." so the last line goes "it's one TWO THREE STRIKES you're out at the old b-a-l-l g-a-m-e" and stops abruptly without the last note. Jerry Bryant sings one of the songs from Tolkien to some other familiar tune, possibly "The Fox Song" ("The fox went out on a chilly night, and he prayed to the moon to give him light"). Anyone know what song? |
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Subject: RE: switching lyrics and melodys From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 29 Dec 05 - 09:11 AM I haven't gone all through it, but try The Frozen Logger to the tune of The Halls of Montezume and vice versa. I think they Dave Oesterreich |
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