Lyr Req: Farewell to the Mountains (Davy Crockett)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to the Mountains (Davy Crockett)
From: GUEST,RDavS
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 12:31 AM

Don't know much about "Farewell", but Lundy's diatribe against the Texans proves only that he didn't like them. The Texas revolt was a joint effort by newly arrived people from the U.S. and native Tejanos (who traced their ancestry to both Spaniards and Native Americans) in response to the reversal in Mexican government from a Federalist Constitution to a Centralist Dictatorship. The Americans did not go with the purpose of fomenting a revolt, but for the opportunity of land and riches that the government approved land grants offered. They became Mexican citizens and supported the Mexican Constitution of 1824. The Texas declaration of independence did not come until during the siege of the Alamo. Like others, David Crockett figured he'd spend a short time in service to the province of Texas and then bring his family from Tennessee once he secured his grant. David was a legend in his own time and for a while thereafter, but that legendary status almost completely faded by about 1900 and was revived by the Disney productions.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to the Mountains (Davy Crockett)
From: GUEST,Tommy D from BIG KC
Date: 30 Oct 09 - 04:38 AM

Someone asked earlier if anyone could post the tune to farewell.

I wish I could........for the tune is in my head and always has been.
I remember hardly able to contain myself waiting for the next episode.

I remember as a kid listening to Fess Parker singing that.
It was the scene from the evening before the last battle.

Davey asked Georgie Russell (Buddy Epson) if he had his guitar. (of course it just so happened to be there)

I remember him singing a couple of the verses, and at the end he closed, "Farewell, farewell, fare thee well, farewell. Farewell, farewell, fair thee well." I vividly recall wiping a tear from each eye.

Davey Crockett became a hero to many of us then. I was a little kid who lived in the inner-city of Baltimore, Md.   Great memory!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to the Mountains (Davy Crockett)
From: Artful Codger
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 01:28 AM

The tune reminds me of one of the "Away in a Manger" variants, with the major difference being that it starts high. But since the chord progression and melodic pattern are pretty generic, it resembles a lot of other tunes, too.

Subject: Lyr. Add: Farewell to the Home of My Childhood
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 06 Mar 09 - 09:50 PM

Lyr. Add: FAREWELL TO THE HOME OF MY CHILDHOOD
Anon.

1
Farewell to the Home of my childhood,
Farewell to my cottage and vine,
I go to the land of the stranger,
Where pleasure alone will be mine.
When Life's fleeting journey is o'er,
And earth again mingles with earth,
I can rest in the land of the stranger,
As well as in that of my birth.
Yes, these were my feelings when parting,
But absence soon alter'd their tone,
The cold hands of sickness came o'er me,
And I wept o'er my sorrow alone.
2
No friend came near me to cheer me,
No parent to soften my grief,
No brother, nor sister were near me,
And strangers could give no relief;
It's true that it matters but little,
Tho' living, the thought makes one pine,
Whate'er befalls the poor relic,
When the spirit has flown from its shrine,
But oh! when life's journey is o'er,
And earth again mingles with earth,
Lamented or not, still my wish is,
To rest in the land of my birth.

Reminiscent in part to Crockett's "Farewell to the Mountains."

Song sheet, Johnson, Philadelphia. Also Thomas G. Doyle, Baltimore.

Also posted to thread 52484, "Man of Constant Sorrow," but put here to make comparisons easier with Crockett's "Farewell...," posted above by Malcolm Douglas.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell to the Mountains (Davy Crockett)
From: Lighter
Date: 18 Dec 04 - 04:42 PM

With the Bodleian dates in mind - the broadside writer may have stolen it from R. P. Smith !

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 10:48 PM

Earliest date on one of the Bodleian copies of this English Farewell- 1814-1844.

Subject: Lyr Add: FAREWELL TO THE MOUNTAIN (English)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Jan 04 - 02:12 PM

Lyr. Add: FAREWELL TO THE MOUNTAIN (English)

Farewell to the mountain,
And sun-lighted vale,
The moss-border'd streamlet,
And balm-breathing gale,
All so bright, all so fair,
Here a seraph might drwll--
'Tis too lovely for me,
Farewell! Oh, farewell!

Farewell! for how sweetly,
Each sound meets mine ear,
The wild bee and butterfly,
They may rest here,
Hark! their hum how it blends,
With the deep convent bell--
Such strains are of heaven,
Farewell, oh! farewell!

This song could be the inspiration for "Farewell to the Mountains," by Crockett(?). The meter and the feel are the same.

Bodleian Ballads, Harding B 11(802), printed by Neesom, London, 18--.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,skyesong
Date: 11 Dec 03 - 01:27 PM

"Farewell" was on the flip side of Ernie Ford's "Ballad of Davy Crockett" but was not sung by Ford -- it was sung by a choir or group but 'I wish I may be shot' if I remember who it was. Fess Parker sang it in the movie, to the accompniment of an autoharp. Parker also recorded "Ballad of Davy Crockett" -- I have it on a CD called 'Best of the Golden West'.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 16 Jul 03 - 01:45 PM

Wasn't Ernie Ford's rendition of "Farewell" on the flip side of "The Ballad of DC" rather than "16 Tons"?? I had both of these 45's (though 16 Tons belonged to my mother) so I could be getting them mixed up, but that's what my aging boomer's memory tells me. If anyone is looking for his recording of it, they might want to keep this possibility in mind.

My record jacket had a wicked drawing of a guy with a rifle and a coonskin cap, and I used to get into fierce school-yard arguments about whether it was "born on a mountain in..." or "born on a mountain-TOP in..." because Ford sang one and Ebsen sang the other. Never did sort that one out...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 08:13 PM

It is difficult to sort truth from fiction in the Abbott book (see link in Malcolm's post with the lyrics of "Farewell... from Chap. 11," above, 31 Aug. 01)- and repeated by Sharon A, but it seems evident that many of the entries in Crockett's "Journal," quoted throughout Abbott's book, were fictitious. Crockett papers exist, but they mostly concern politics and his hate for General Jackson.

One statement in the book said that the poem "Farewell..." had been polished by a man called Peleg (or Pegleg?) Longfellow of the Nashville Banner newspaper.

Very little time was spent in Texas by Crockett before he was killed. He seems to have been looking for a political base with the Texans, at least from the few records of that time in Texas.

Who did pen the poem?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 07:03 PM

Disappointing, but unsurprising, I suppose. So much misinformation has been promulgated over the years about such people that it's hardly to be wondered at. The Abbott book, of course, was published online "as is", without comment as to its accuracy. Thanks for the information.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: SINSULL
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 07:00 PM

Damn! First the Easter Bunny and now this. I too have a 45rpm which will make it to AllanC one of these days.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,lighter
Date: 15 Jul 03 - 06:44 PM

Davy's "Farewell" knocked me out when I heard Fess Parker sing it on Disney's Alamo episode. But the fact is, he didn't write it.

The poem's initial connection with Crockett is its appearance in Chapter II of the one-time bestseller "Col. Crockett's Exploits and Adventures in Texas," first published in the summer of 1836, a few months after Crockett's death. Though the book was marketed as fact to a trusting public, Crockett's biographer James Atkins Shackford decisively exposed the "Exploits" as a money-grubbing hoax suggested by the Philadelphia publisher E. L. Carey and carried out by Richard Penn Smith, a successful novelist of the period. The fakery was revealed in print as early as 1839 (and again by Edgar Allan Poe in 1842), but Smith's fraud is so entertaining that apparently few people wanted to believe Davy's "Exploits" weren't the real thing.
   
Smith made the story up. We know Crockett died at the Alamo, but little is known of the details of his "adventures" in Texas, except for the significant fact that he signed an oath of allegiance to the new Texas government. That was more than a month before he reached the Alamo.

For the evidence, see Shackford's biography, "David Crockett: The Man and the Legend" (1956), esp. pp. 273-81.

As for the "Farewell," if Penn didn't write it, he stole it from someone (not Davy) who did.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From:
Date: 14 Jul 03 - 10:36 PM

I finally found this 45. DavyCrockett/Farewell. If anyone is interested let me know. I can load it onto Kazaa.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: The Pooka
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 10:19 PM

Ah HA! Thanks Gareth. Givvem Hell, Hereward, & I'll just bet he did too. Good fer him.

Hid in the fens, did he?

I knew the stars, the flowers and the birds,
The grey and wintry sides of many glens,
And did but half-remember human words
In converse with the mountains, moors, and fens.
--- J.M. Synge

Saxonically yours,

-- Finnegan the Wake

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Gareth
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 02:13 PM

A Saxon who alledgedly hid in the fens around Ely after the invasions by the Normans Post 1066.

And who gave them hell, or so it is said !

Gareth

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: The Pooka
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 11:59 PM

Give 'em what fer, Gareth!
--- Georgie Russell

PS - Hereward the Wake??

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Gareth
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 06:49 PM

Mmmh ! Din't Texas have OIL ???

Though I suspect the stories surounding D Crockett, may have more to do with the Expectant Myth, than reality - a bit like the myths surounding Owen Glyndower, or for the Saxons, Hereward the Wake, or Robin of Locksley - Earl of Huntingdon.

Gareth - in debunking mode.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: SharonA
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 06:32 PM

...and check out this book, "David Crockett: His Life and Adventures" by John S.C. Abbott: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/AbbCroc.html

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: SharonA
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 06:30 PM

Here's a link to the Crockett Family website (including a notice concerning a temporary exhibit about Crockett at the Texas State Museum in Austin, through August 18, 2002): http://www.goahead.org/

Lots of rare family artifacts and documents, in addition to many items on loan from other museums. Crockett buffs shouldn't miss this.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: SharonA
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 06:18 PM

Also see this thread: Lyr Add: DAVID CROCKETT'S FAREWELL POEM

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 19 Dec 01 - 12:28 AM

If you strip away the sensationalism and troll-like attempts at "journalism" from that "Davy Crockett myths" link, you're left with very little new, useful or even verifiable information. I wish I had the time to reply point by point right now but I will take the time to actually research my sources rather than post a link. I could start out by pointing out that Knoxville is considered to be within most definitions of the southern Appalachians. So "born in the mountains of Tennessee" might be more accurate. And I don't think any of us really thought he killed a bear when he was only three. It's a song, for heaven's sake. Like John Henry and Casey Jones and many others. George Washington had false teeth, Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, Abe Lincoln suffered from depression, and so on and so on. Who gives a rat's hind quarters? We have our American cultural myhic figures and they serve a purpose. Were all the firemen and police officers who died at the WTC great fathers, husbands, citizens who never cheated on their taxes, etc.? Maybe. Probably not. Who cares? They have become, in death, something more. And, as one lady is fond of saying, "that's a good thing." Just as our cultural myths reflect certain realities about our country; our country is in part defined by the mythology it chooses. And that mythology inevitably has to do with the triumph of good over evil, the ability of the common person to effect great changes, the idea that freedom is a worthwhile goal. David or Davey...he has become much more than any of us could ever aspire to. The "real" Crockett may or may not have much in common with the later creations of biographers and movie makers. What he is now is the stuff of legend. And recent events should have demonstrated that it's the sort of thing we still hunger for. You had to get me started...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Giac
Date: 18 Dec 01 - 07:01 PM

And, if you think "Davy" was born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, etc., check this out:

David Crockett myths

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Mark Clark
Date: 18 Dec 01 - 05:47 PM

I'd forgotten about this thread. All good stuff here. I was too old to actually wear a coonskin cap—girls didn't go for guys in coonskin caps but it was okay (not hip, just okay) to tie the tail on your car's radio antenna.

I certainly didn't mean to impugn the bravery or patriotism of the people who fought at the Alamo. I was just trying to bring the 20-20 vision of hindsight and history to bear on the events of that time.

The following is a timeline from a presentation at the Ohio State history department.

• 1829 – Mexico outlaws slavery. Concerned about the influx of slaveholding U.S. settlers, Mexico tries to prohibit further immigration from U.S.
• 1832 – Americans in Texas organize conventions to secure independence from Mexico and statehood.
• 1836 – After a coup in Mexico, Texas declares independence and seeks admission of the Union.
• 1838 – Filibuster blocks annexation of Texas.
• 1845 – Texas is admitted to the Union as the 28th state. Mexico breaks diplomatic relations.

The following quotation is from an 1836 article by Benjamin Lundy addressed to John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, et al.

But the prime cause, and the real objects of this war, are not distinctly understood by a large portion of the honest, disinterested, and well-meaning citizens of the United States. Their means of obtaining correct information upon the subject have been necessarily limited; and many of them have been deceived and misled, by the misrepresentations of those concerned in it, and especially by hireling writers for the newspaper press. They have been induced to believe that the inhabitants of Texas were engaged in a legitimate contest for the maintenance of the sacred principles of Liberty, and the natural, inalienable Rights of Man: whereas, the motives of its instigators, and their chief incentives to action, have been from the commencement, of a directly opposite character and tendency. It is susceptible of the clearest demonstration that the immediate cause and the leading object of this contest originated in a settled design, among the slaveholders of this country, (with land speculators and slave traders) to wrest the large and valuable territory of Texas from the Mexican Republic, in order to re-establish the SYSTEM OF SLAVERY; to open a vast and profitable SLAVEMARKET therein; and, ultimately, to annex it to the United States. And further, it is evident—nay, it is very generally acknowledged—that the insurrectionists are principally citizens of the United States, who have proceeded thither for the purpose of revolutionizing the country; and that they are dependant upon this nation, for both the physical and pecuniary means, to carry the design into effect.

Of course the peon system was at least as brutal as slavery but at least the peons weren't the legal chattel of the plantation owners. The peon system was so successful, in fact, that it has become the very basis for employment in the whole industrial world. The model to which we all aspire. <g>

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,vrdpkr
Date: 18 Dec 01 - 11:50 AM

Many fought for slavery, (Travis was an ex-slave dealer from Louisiana, I believe, and stayed at the Alamo despite orders from Houston to get out of an undefendable trap) many fought against despotism. Santa Anna was marching to Texas from Jalisco where he had just put down a similar insurrection. After victory, he turned his army loose on the city. Estimates run as high as 20,000 civilians slaughtered. Davy Crockett was a fascinating fellow and a unique individual. I wish I still had my coonskin cap.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: mkebenn
Date: 18 Dec 01 - 10:58 AM

Been a Crockett fan all my long life. And, yes, I was five years old in 1955 when Disney released his T V show. That fascination led me to learning about Travis and Bowie and the whole Texas Revolution. Mexico did outlaw slavery{if it was ever legal there} but as mentioned, their chaste system was not much better. I believe the real cause of the Revolution was the collision of two very different cultures, one open and liberal, one despotic. Stephan Austin tried to follow all the rules and dot all the i's, and Santa Anna threw him in prison for a year. Travis, etal, were freedom fighters, but I suspect that Sam Houston was after expansion for the U.S. He knew a Texan Republic would be too choice a gem for the States to pass up. The defenders of the Alamo live today in the hearts of many who love freedom, and know that it's not free. Mike
P.S., if anyone wants the lyrics to Mike Fink, I'm your man...LOL. M.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Sep 01 - 09:21 AM

Here are some quotes from Crockett: "Be always sure you are right, then Go ahead." The following reveal his reason for going to Texas following his congressional defeat: "Since you have chosen to elect a man with a timber toe to succeed me, you may all go to hell and I will go to Texas." In Texas, he wrote "I am in hopes of making a fortune for myself and family, bad as my prospect has been."

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BALLAD OF DAVY CROCKETT (Bill Hayes)
From: Metchosin
Date: 01 Sep 01 - 01:45 AM

Sorry, guys, couldn't resist, I'm not so high minded I won't stoop to the following, but geez I don't remember it having so many words....

THE BALLAD OF DAVY CROCKETT
Bill Hayes

From _Davy Crockett_
Music: George Bruns
Lyrics: Tom Blackburn

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee,
Greenest state in the land of the free,
Raised in the woods so he knew ev'ry tree,
Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three.
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

In eighteen thirteen, the Creeks uprose,
Addin' redskin arrows to the country's woes.
Now, Injun fightin' is somethin' he knows,
So he shoulders his rifle an' off he goes.
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear!

Off through the woods he's a marchin' along,
Makin' up yarns an' a-singin' a song,
Itchin' fer fightin' an' rightin' a wrong
He's ringy as a b'ar an' twict as strong.
Davy, Davy Crockett, the buckskin buccaneer!

Andy Jackson is our gen'ral's name.
His reg'lar soldiers we'll put to shame.
Them redskin varmints us Volunteers'll tame,
'Cause we got the guns with the sure-fire aim.
Davy, Davy Crockett, the champion of us all!

Headed back to war from the ol' home place,
But Red Stick was leadin' a merry chase,
Fightin' an' burnin' at a devil's pace,
South to the swamps on the Florida Trace.
Davy, Davy Crockett, trackin' the redskins down!

Fought single-handed through the Injun War
Till the Creeks was whipped an' peace was in store,
An' while he was handlin' this risky chore,
Made hisself a legend forevermore.
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

He give his word an' he give his hand
That his Injun friends could keep their land,
An' the rest of his life he took the stand
That justice was due every redskin band.
Davy, Davy Crockett, holdin' his promise dear!

Home fer the winter with his family,
Happy as squirrels in the ol' gum tree,
Bein' the father he wanted to be,
Close to his boys as the pod an' the pea.
Davy, Davy Crockett, holdin' his young'uns dear!

But the ice went out an' the warm winds came,
An' the meltin' snow showed tracks of game,
An' the flowers of spring filled the woods with flame,
An' all of a sudden life got too tame.
Davy, Davy Crockett, headin' on west again!

Off through the woods we're ridin' along,
Makin' up yarns an' singin' a song.
He's ringy as a b'ar an' twict as strong,
An' knows he's right 'cause he ain' often wrong.
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear!

Lookin' fer a place where the air smells clean,
Where the trees is tall an' the grass is green,
Where the fish is fat in an untouched stream,
An' the teemin' woods is a hunter's dream.
Davy, Davy Crockett, lookin' fer Paradise!

Now he's lost his love an' his grief was gall.
In his heart he wanted to leave it all
An' lose himself in the forests tall,
But he answered instead his country's call.
Davy, Davy Crockett, beginnin' his campaign!

Needin' his help, they didn't vote blind.
They put in Davy 'cause he was their kind,
Sent up to Nashville the best they could find,
A fightin' spirit an' a thinkin' mind.
Davy, Davy Crockett, choice of the whole frontier!

The votes were counted an' he won hands down,
So they sent him off to Washin'ton town,
With his best dress-suit still his buckskins brown,
A livin' legend of growin' renown.
Davy, Davy Crockett, the Canebrake Congressman!

He went off to Congress an' served a spell,
Fixin' up the gover'ment an' laws as well,
Took over Washin'ton so we heered tell,
An' patched up the crack in the Liberty Bell.
Davy, Davy Crockett, seein' his duty clear!

Him an' his jokes traveled all through the land,
An' his speeches made him friends to beat the band.
His politickin' was their favorite brand,
An' everyone wanted to shake his hand.
Davy, Davy Crockett, helpin' his legend grow!

He knew when he spoke he sounded the knell
Of his hopes for White House an' fame as well,
But he spoke out strong so hist'ry books tell,
An' patched up the crack in the Liberty Bell.
Davy, Davy Crockett, seein' his duty clear!

When he come home his politickin' done,
The western march had just begun,
So he packed his gear an' his trusty gun,
An' lit out grinnin' to follow the sun.
Davy, Davy Crockett, leadin' the pioneer!

He heard of Houston an' Austin so
To the Texas plains he jest had to go,
Where freedom was fightin' another foe
An' they needed him at the Alamo.
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear!

His land is biggest an' his land is best,
From grassy plains to the mountain crest.
He's ahead of us all meetin' the test,
Followin' his legend into the West.
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,Fred
Date: 01 Sep 01 - 12:18 AM

As a one-time Texan (and still one at heart, I suppose), I have to take issue, Mark, with any quicky version of the revolution, whether freedom fighters or slavery perpetuators. There were many and varied motivations (many of which were very questionable and dubious) which collectively contributed to it, but I don't remember ever hearing that Mexico abolished slavery. A good, very thoroughly researched reference of Texas history is T. R. Fehrenbach's LONE STAR: A History of Texas and the Texans, 1968. Probably far more info than anyone really wants on the topic.

Crockett, Travis, et al, were drawn there largely because it was still "frontier" after Tennessee had become too civilized for their taste. They did see Texas as needing to become Americanized.

I too remember the coonskin craze of the mid-50's. My youngest brother was the one of the age to be mesmerized by it all. Actually, he had a little book (probably Golden) that showed Crockett standing in a cannon-blown gap on top of the Alamo, swinging his rifle butt by the barrel at Mexicans coming up the ladders. He asked, "Why is Davy Crockett knocking down the Alamo?" I guess he didn't know about cannons yet! I also remember my junior high band teacher playing "Davy Crockett" on the tuba at a teacher's talent show.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Allan C.
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 10:11 PM

Frankly, it reminds me of "He'll Have To Go" for some reason.*G*

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 08:50 PM

And thankyou to you, Allan, for providing the substantive material in the first place.

Offhand, I don't see any clear relationship between this tune and  My Heart's in the Highlands;  mind you, that one has more than one melody associated with it.  The tune given in the DT (Failte na miosg) doesn't seem to have a lot in common with Air Faillirin Illirin, which (for example) Malcolm Lawson matched with the words attributed to Burns in Songs of the North (volume II, 1905).  Neither does it seem particularly to belong to the  Bonny Portmore/ My Heart's in the Highlands  tune family, but at this stage I'm probably just confusing myself!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Allan C.
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 06:24 PM

Great job, Malcom! I have so very much to learn about the finer points of all of this. I am grateful to have about me so many wonderful folks who can so neatly compensate for some of the many voids in my knowledge. Thanks!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 05:45 PM

Mark, your interpretation of the Texas move to independence is a little off. Mexico had the peon system which was just as bad. The territories taken from Mexico by the US had the system and it was not ended until some time later. New Mexico Territory ended it over 20 years later in 1868.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 05:22 PM

Very close to my memory of the tune. It will be interesting to see if the tune can be identified. The only note change would be in the second line- Were more BEAU-ti ful far, the higher note the beau. It has been a long time since I heard it, though, and I could be wrong. "My heart's in the highlands, my heart is not here,/ My heart's in the highlands a chasing a deer"... Crockett's feelings almost echo Burns.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 05:00 PM

Whoops!  Allan, not Ian!  My apologies.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 04:58 PM

Thanks to IanC and MMario, I've been able to put together a midi.  As ever, available via  The South Riding Folk Network  site until it gets to the  Mudcat Midi Pages:

Farewell to the Mountains

I've modified some note values from Ian's singing in order to accommodate the text above, but the melody is (I hope) exactly as he gave it.  At present, the penultimate bar is of three quarter-notes rather than the eighth/ dotted quarter/ quarter I started with; does that sound alright?

It sounds very much like something else, but I can't think what just now...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 03:04 PM

...said it before and will say it again, I love this place!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: MMario
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 02:37 PM

Malcolm - be glad to - but I lost your address - if you zip an e-mail off to me I can "reply to" - or PM with address.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 02:25 PM

Sorcha and I can't harvest things for the DT, but I doubt if Joe will be able to resist a piece by Davy Crockett!  Leo: if you'd like to send me a copy of the music, I'll have a shot at transcribing it to midi.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Allan C.
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 02:23 PM

In desperation to transmit the tune to Mario somehow, I remembered that I had this camera thingy that I had never used. If anyone else would want to hear the basic tune and to see probable chords, just PM me with your email addy.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Mark Clark
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 02:18 PM

It was too bad Crockett got caught up in the Texas liberation thing. I always thought Travis, Bowie, Crockett, et. al, were freedom fighters until I grew up and discovered the reason Texas needed liberating was that Mexico had outlawed slavery.

      - Mark

Subject: LEAPIN' LIZARDS!
From: MMario
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 02:17 PM

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just recieved via e-mail a VIDEO of Allan singing this...

ain't technology grand?

wow! another way to share songs.....

(still need someone to transcribe it...but at least *I* know what it sounds like now...)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 01:56 PM

I had a coonskin cap from the dime store--best I could do in suburban Chicago!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 12:27 PM

I hope Malcolm or Sorcha will post the entire poem to DT.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Metchosin
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 11:49 AM

Please don't knock Davy Crockett. Because of the popularity of the show, I had one moment of limelight in an otherwise bleak childhood.

It was hard and embarrassing as a child living in a conformity driven, suburban 50's neighbourhood with a father who raised cougar hounds, constantly raised the ire of the "Cats Protection League", the back of a garage wall covered with stretched dead animal skins and a kitchen venetian blind with bullet holes through it.

When Davy Crockett showed up, my little brother and I became the most popular kids on the block. Not only did we have "real coonskin caps" we supplied the rest of the neighbourhood with real coon tails for their caps too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: SINSULL
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 11:07 AM

I am singing it now. Thanks for filling in the lyrics ( I used to dee dee dum them.) It was a pleasant surprise to learn that Crockett wrote them. Disney did good. Nice thread, Big Daddy. Oh Damn! That's an attaboy, isn't it?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: MMario
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 10:42 AM

*grin* and I unfortunately still can't transcribe by ear....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Marymac90
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 10:28 AM

Tripe as they may be, (especially as compared to the lovely poem above,) I STILL HAVE my original copies of the recordings from the three Davy Crockett episodes on the Disneyland tv show, (and I even know where they are!) Is there any wish for lyrics from those songs? Or for me to bring them, or cassette copies, to the Getaway? You older boomers in the US will remember the songs, as performed by Buddy Ebsen. They start out "Born on a mountain-top in Tennessee..."

Marymac

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Allan C.
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 10:27 AM

Mario, (or anyone else who is interested,) if you would PM your phone number, I will gladly sing it to you. But I have yet to master any other means for transmitting the tune.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Allan C.
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 10:23 AM

It was said earlier that Fess Parker may have sung this song for the movie. I just want to clarify that, yes, it was, indeed, his voice. However, I am not aware that it was sung in the movie cited (although it may have been and if so, I don't know by whom). I think you'll find that it was sung in the movie, "Davy Crockett - King Of The Wild Frontier" (1955,Disney).

I believe the original Disney 45rpm release of the "Ballad of Davy Crockett" carried this song on the flip side.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: MMario
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 09:51 AM

now - Can anyone post the tune? Or am I being greedy again?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 09:43 AM

Thank you all. Disney's Crockett in the fifties may have been a commercial craze but it introduced a lot of kids to an ideal, some history and some healthy fun. Sure beat WWF for a pastime for kids. Thanks again from a wistful curmudgeon...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Mark Clark
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 09:17 AM

The first version posted by Dicho is from the Walt Disney film starring Fess Parker and Buddy Epson. I assume the melody was composed for the film.

I'm delighted to learn that Crockett actually wrote the poem. I had always assumed the whole thing was made up by Hollywood so they could throw a song into the middle of an otherwise "cool" western. As a kid, I always hated that. The bad part of Martin & Lewis films (for a kid) was when Martin would sing.

Thanks Guest,BigDaddy for starting the thread.

      - Mark

Subject: Lyr Add: FAREWELL TO THE MOUNTAINS (David Crockett
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 08:42 AM

The URL is case-sensitive; this one should work:  www.talewins.com/Treasures/novels/Crockett/11.htm

Here is the full text:

FAREWELL TO THE MOUNTAINS

(David Crockett)

Farewell to the mountains whose mazes to me
Were more beautiful far than Eden could be;
No fruit was forbidden, but Nature had spread
Her bountiful board, and her children were fed.
The hills were our garners--our herds wildly grew
And Nature was shepherd and husbandman too.
I felt like a monarch, yet thought like a man,
As I thanked the Great Giver, and worshipped his plan.

The home I forsake where my offspring arose;
The graves I forsake where my children repose.
The home I redeemed from the savage and wild;
The home I have loved as a father his child;
The corn that I planted, the fields that I cleared,
The flocks that I raised, and the cabin I reared;
The wife of my bosom--Farewell to ye all!
In the land of the stranger I rise or I fall.

Farewell to my country! I fought for thee well,
When the savage rushed forth like the demons from hell
In peace or in war I have stood by thy side--
My country, for thee I have lived, would have died!
But I am cast off, my career now is run,
And I wander abroad like the prodigal son--
Where the wild savage roves, and the broad prairies spread,
The fallen--despised--will again go ahead.

From David Crockett, His Life and Adventures, John S. C. Abbott, 1874.  Crockett commented that his friend Peleg Longfellow had edited the verses for him, but he wasn't altogether happy with the result.  It doesn't look as if it was intended to be sung, but the form of it suggests that it would sing nicely to Farewell to Lochaber.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Sorcha
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 01:20 AM

Dicho, there is something wrong with your link. I got a "could not display" and it froze up my computer, had to re boot.......check it and re post, could you please?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 01:05 AM

The entire poem is on www.talewins.com/treasures/novels/crockett/11.htm. A long biography is also on this site and the poem is in Chapter 11. It is a beautiful poem. In some ways it is comparable to a well-known Scottish poem, the author of whow I will let you guess. Crockett, a master politician, knew how to talk to backwoods and rural people.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Metchosin
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 01:04 AM

found a bit more of the poem, but oddly, not the whole thing

"Farewell to my country, I fought for thee well.
When the savage rushed forth like the demons from hell.
In peace or in war I have stood by their side.
My country for thee I have lived--and would have died.
But I am cast off, my career now is run
And I wander abroad like the prodigal son,
Where the wild savage roves, and the broad prairies spread,
The fallen--despised--will again "go ahead."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 12:24 AM

Farewell to the mountains, whose mazes to me/ More beautiful far than Eden could be, /The home I redeemed from the savage and wild, /The Home I have loved as a father his child, / The wife of my bosom- farewell to ye all./ In the land of the stranger, I rise or I fall. Thats all that I know of the poem by Davy Crockett. In college, I used to play bridge with a direct descendant. I don't know who wrote the music. Davy was much more than a frontiersman. He was elected to Congress. I have seen a letter from him taking a strip of hide off Andrew Jackson and calling him a would-be king and it is not the letter of a poorly educated man. The Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier theme song was a piece of tripe.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Sorcha
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 12:20 AM

Big Daddy, can you post the 2/3 rds you have? That might help a lot.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 31 Aug 01 - 12:02 AM

Thanks for trying, Sorcha. I'm in Florida and my 78's are in exile in Michigan. Thought I might learn this song for a family reunion in Tennessee that's coming up in about a week. Tried "Cowpie" and a variety of word combinations via google search. I can hear the song in my head but lose about a third of the lyrics. Anyway, thanks again.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Sorcha
Date: 30 Aug 01 - 11:56 PM

I found something called "Farewell/Ballad of Davy Crockett" by Ernie, but no lyrics. Tried every combo I could think of and nothing........

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 30 Aug 01 - 11:48 PM

No, but thanks for asking. The song "Farewell" may also have been sung by Fess Parker in the "Alamo" segment of the Davy Crockett tv series.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: Amos
Date: 30 Aug 01 - 11:45 PM

Tenessee Ernie Ford did do a hit recording of the "Ballad of Davy Crockett" right around the same period as "Sixteen Tons" was making its way to platinum -- that couldn't be what you're thinking of, by any chance?

A

Subject: Farewell by Davy Crockett
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 30 Aug 01 - 11:35 PM

Okay, I've tried "google" and I've tried the digitrad...I once had a recording (78 RPM) of a song called "Farewell" by Tennessee Ernie Ford. This was on the flip side of "16 Tons." Farewell was supposedly written at least in part by Davy Crockett. Anybody got the lyrics? Started out, "Farewell to the mountains and the valleys so wild. Ended, I believe, with, "Wife of my bosom, farewell to y'all; in the land of the strangers, I rise, or I fall." Thanks in advance.