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Ballad of the Merry Ferry -songs of the Northwest
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry -songs of the Northwest From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Nov 14 - 12:12 AM He put that to music way before 1978, it was probably his earliest marriage of poetry and music. I remember riding the Fauntleroy ferry in Seattle over to Vashon Island prior to 1965. We were singing it back then in the family station wagon. Probably at the top of our lungs. It was on a similar ferry ride when my sister, four years younger, spotted a deckhand working the lines and asked if he was a "dirty little cabin boy." Hilarity ensued! :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry -songs of the Northwest From: Deckman Date: 02 Nov 14 - 04:28 PM Good job Stew ... thanks ... bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry -songs of the Northwest From: Stewart Date: 02 Nov 14 - 03:13 PM And here is the Ballad of the Merry Ferry as sung by John Dwyer, who put the poem by Emma Rounds to music in 1978. I just got the sound clip from Bob (Deckman) Nelson - recorded at a Seattle hoot in 1978. And a couple other of John Dwyer's Pacific Northwest songs sung by John Dwyer (also recorded at the same hoot in 1978). Notice to Mariners San Juan Pig More Pacific Northwest songs are on the PNW Folklore Society web site here. In the next issue of the NW HOOT - at the end of November - Bob Nelson will have an article about John Dwyer - SEATTLE FOLKSINGERS, THOSE WHO LED THE WAY. Cheers, S. in Seattle |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry -songs of the Northwest From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Nov 14 - 07:42 AM [slaps forehead] Odd to realize that it took all of this time to put up the lyrics. I should have done it in the first post. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry -songs of the Northwest From: Stewart Date: 01 Nov 14 - 10:52 PM At long last, here it is Ballad of the Merry Ferry – words by Emma Rounds ("Rainbow in the Sky", ed. by Louis Utermeyer, Harcourt Brace, Inc. New York, NY, 1935); music by John Dwyer (1978). From "The Rainy Day Songbook" by Linda Allen Sing hey, and sing ho, and sing down-a-down-derry, Oh, what is so merry as missing a ferry? A nice wintry morning so jolly and freezing, A dear little cold keeps you coughing and sneezing, And everyone mirthful and happy and gay, As we all watch the ferry go puffing away. Sing hey, and sing ho, and sing down-a-down-derry Oh what is so merry as missing a ferry! Cheers, S. in Seattle and this is a great thread to refresh! |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 06 Oct 02 - 07:00 PM Refresh. The school bus thread led me to look for the words to Fred Small's song about Sequim, which led me to this thread, which I think is worth bringing back. Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Jan 02 - 10:23 AM I agree, very nice poem. I like the dimensions of the salmon (!). And as someone who was "local" for many years, because the Sedro Woolley post office serves much of Skagit County east of Mt. Vernon and serves a big chunk of Whatcom County (at the south end of Lake Whatcom) and along Hwy 9 possibly as far north as Acme), I, like many neighbors, would talk in casual conversation about going down to Sedro, dropping the Woolley. (Take a breath, and don't try to diagram that sentence). I'll have to look through Dad's papers to see if he ever did anything with that poem. It sure looks like something he would have fiddled with tune-wise. He did write songs about the area, including the "Blue Canyon Mining Disaster." And there's one about the little ferry that used to run up and down the lake--I don't remember the name of that one right off of the top of my head. Maggie
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 30 Jan 02 - 09:37 AM That's a fine poem. I'm not aware of a melody for it tho. Thanks for posting it. CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 30 Jan 02 - 03:54 AM An acquaintance on Ishmail, the Melville email list, just supplied me with a link to the Sedro-Woolley poem I cited early on in this thread. Here it is. He says he's going to ask local musicians if there's a tune for it. Liland |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: artbrooks Date: 17 Jan 02 - 06:21 PM Yeah, I remember that it was named after a typewriter manufacturer (anybody still OWN a typewriter?). I recall when our office moved into the "new" Federal Building at 2nd and Madison. I resolved to get into Human Resources (then called "Personnel") since the Personnel Officer had a corner office on the 13th floor with a beautiful view of Elliot Bay. That was before they built at least one additional row of high-rises between that building and the water. And Starbucks was a little hole in the wall on Marion just below 1st that sold only solid coffee. No lattes in sight. |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 17 Jan 02 - 05:18 PM Oops. That was me on netscape without a cookie. Maggie |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: GUEST Date: 17 Jan 02 - 02:27 PM Only a friend of John Dwyer's could assume that slipping in a pun is the way to put a thread "back on track!" Converting this from an aligned thread to a clam track. |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 17 Jan 02 - 02:31 AM Liland ... you are completly correct ... that's your award for today. I also was raised, as I assume you were, in the Seattle area. And well I remember my first trip to the top of the Smith tower. Do you remember the brass bars on the elevator ... and the uniformed elevator operator? (theres gotta' be a song here somewhere). CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 17 Jan 02 - 01:15 AM Chinese Room at Smith Tower Photo Page No, it was named for an Eastern Capitalist, Lyman, according to the HistoryLink page. Wish I knew what the dead photo was supposed to show. For the non-Seattleites in the audience, in the photo that is there in the HistoryLink page, the Smith Tower is the pointy-headed little white skyscraper at the far right. Liland |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 17 Jan 02 - 01:01 AM Smith Tower, I meant. It wasn't named for the cough drop guys, was it? They looked like they could have been in the Denny Party. Aloha, Mark (OK, I'll stop now.) |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 17 Jan 02 - 12:58 AM So if the Smith Building had housed insurance offices, it could have been called "Ivar's Acres of Claims"? OUCH!!! Stop hitting me with that geoduck! I was only trying to resurrect the spirit of John Dwyer...and thus once again get this thread back on track. (Which is a hopeless, and, in fact, unnecessary task. But I needed an excuse.) Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 17 Jan 02 - 12:48 AM The Smith Tower, on the other hand, remains a one-of-a-kind treasure. (And one that, incidentally, Ivar Haglund once owned.) You younger 'uns may be astonished to know that when I was your age or younger, the Smith Tower (which you can hardly even see nowadays unless you're on the west sidewalk of Second Avenue) was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. This was back before they built the EMP ;-)... Liland |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 17 Jan 02 - 12:37 AM Oops, booboo alert! The link above, which didn't work, was actually for PrintMusic, not Noteworthy Composer. You can find Noteworthy Composer here. And I also wondered, Maggie, how many other buildings like that Sears built in the -- what? -- 1920s? 30s? I'm sure it would be easy enough to find out somewhere on the Web, but I still have some semblance of a life... Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Amergin Date: 16 Jan 02 - 11:05 PM I remember jj newberry's they just closed their store in portland a few years ago.... |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 16 Jan 02 - 11:01 PM Thanks for the update on the Sears building. Interesting that it matches the Philly building. I suppose they just transported the design and plan out to Seattle. I wonder if anyone else has a matching store? Like the old dime stores--anyone remember Newberry? (Was that J.J. Newberry or something?) They all had the two flights of stairs going down to the basement? But this is thread creep. . . (The most exciting trip to that Sears was when I was about six and my sister and I got our first Barbie dolls. That was back in the days when one Barbie doll was all you generally had). I'll have to pay attention to all of the discussion on how to play or record music for use in places like Mudcat--because I have so much of Dad's, some of it already on tape, some of it notations on paper. When I get moved this spring all of that stuff comes out of storage--and then the fun begins! I would like to be able to answer some of these questions based on Dad's work, about versions and words, and I also would like to make this collection available through some university library or folklore society or museum. Maggie |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 16 Jan 02 - 10:32 PM Bob, give Noteworthy Composer a try. It takes a little getting used to, but once you're up and running it's pretty easy to make a lead sheet. There's a free version to play with; if you register, you get a printed manual and unlimited use. You can also save your NWC file as a MIDI for sending to others. It's even possible to play a song with a MIDI-connected keyboard and have NWC turn it into dots. A friend of mine gave me a copy of PrintMusic to try (that's the "Chevrolet" version of Finale, which is one of the "Cadillac" music printing programs--they also have Finale NotePad, which is sort of a Yugo). I actually find NWC easier to use for my limited needs. Try it, you might like it! Download it here. Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 16 Jan 02 - 07:58 PM Ya Ya Ya ... that's all you guys ever do ... complain about my inability to post music. Actually, I've been trying to download the information so I can post stuff. I'm 'gonna need help with it. Maybe I'll wait and contact Joe Offer when he returns from never-never land. CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 16 Jan 02 - 07:08 PM Yeah, Mark, I thought that was probably the culprit ;-)... My guess is the old Sears bldg is (at least mostly) now not exactly a dotcom but Office Depot or something along those lines' warehouse. However, I am of a generation for which it well ne'er be aught but Sears. Liland PS Yeah, Bob, we want music! Preferably MIDI or NWC, as I'm still not proficient in ABC (though I have the system saved somewhere and can muddle through if absolutely necessary). |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 16 Jan 02 - 06:58 PM Not bad at all, Bob...any chance of putting the melody into MIDI or Noteworthy Composer or ABC format so those of us homesick for the Northwest can sing it? Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 16 Jan 02 - 09:35 AM Yes, I confess I am the guilty party the wrote "The Puget Sounder." I write very few songs, and those badly. Also, with the laws regarding public decency I have to be very careful on where I sing them. Bob Nelson |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 16 Jan 02 - 03:12 AM Hmmm...I can guess who the person is...read between the lines, Liland! And Maggie, I've heard that the old Sears store is now the warehouse for one of those big online retailers (just like Amazon.com is housed in the old Public Health Service Hospital on Beacon Hill, where I worked after it became Pacific Medical Center). I'm not sure which dotcom bought the Sears building, but I'm sure somebody does. And that Sears building, with its big tower, was a twin of the one on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia, a few blocks from where my mom grew up. There, aren't you glad you know all that? Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 16 Jan 02 - 12:40 AM And that person you know well is named? And the tune is more or less like? Liland |
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Subject: Lyr Add: WHAT IS A PUGET SOUNDER From: Deckman Date: 15 Jan 02 - 10:58 PM I've been cleaning out some files lately and I came across this Northwest song. It was written in 1965 by someone I know well. Here's the song WHAT IS A PUGET SOUNDER What is a Puget Sounder, I'll tell you if I can, He's a rugged individual, a special breed of man He doesn't shave, his clothes are old. He lives down by the beach Where all of God's gifts to man are there within his reach What is a Puget Sounder, I'll see if I can tell, His feelings run as deep as the sound, and move with every swell, He lives within an old log house and hears the waves at night, And wakens every morning to food within his sight What is a Puget Sounder, he's a man who who knows his land, He knows where to hunt the geoduck and where to shoot the clam, He's eaten kelp and seaweed, though usually in jest, For when it comes to eating, he loves his salmon best. What is a Puget Sounder, just 'list while I do boast, He knows his fish food from the sea, and how to catch the most, He knows how to catch the Humpies, the King and Silver too, And how to polish his dinner off, with a plate of fish-head stew. What is a Puget Sounder, I do believe I know, For I was raised upon the Sound, within the sight of snow, To me, it's more than the water, the rain, the fog, the clams, But the people and the country that make me a happy man What is a Puget Sounder, there's nothing more to say, He's the strangest individual that's ever come your way, You'll never be able to change him, to move him from the sound, For he knows he's got the very best, that ever can be found |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jan 02 - 06:01 PM Bob, We lived in West Seattle prior to our move to Everett in 1965. I remember driving in downtown Seattle past Harbor Island (is there still a humongous Sears store down there?) and past the Pioneer Square area. Anytime we were near First Avenue Mom would always caution us to "Lock your doors!" Maggie
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 09 Jan 02 - 12:11 AM Maggie, I've perused Ivar's book carefully and can find no mention of anything resembling Lutefiske ... I remember that he DID have certain standards! I actually have just come across an early mention of Ivar Hauglund that lends more credence to his first hand collecting of songs from the early days in Seattle. Here is a direct quote from Winifred I. Knox's thesis, presented to the Juilliard school of Music, 1945: "... Much credit is given to Ivar Haglund for the following songs. Ivar has been in and around the waterfront of Seattle for many years gathering stories and songs of Puget Sound. The songs included here were gathered when we poked around the fishing boats the other side of Railroad Avenue, and the skidroad section of lower Seattle." (note ... the "other side of Railroad Avenue" is where the viaduct is now. The "lower section of Seattle" refers to the skidroad area, where all the 'low life' folks lived, fishermen, stevedores, working men. It's where I loved to hang out when I was a kritter. It is also EXACTLY where Ivar placed his first, and most successful restaurant. CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 08 Jan 02 - 09:47 PM http://www.geocities.com/lilandr/seatlo/muziko/Pugxetio1.html (Odo al Puĝetio) is the Esperanto version. Liland |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 08 Jan 02 - 09:34 PM Don, sorry, I've been away from the Web for a couple days and just saw your note about the Geoduck Song. I'm familiar with the one in Linda Allen's Washington songbook, but the one I was asking about is a different one, which Deckman had posted in this thread. That is, I'm pretty sure it's a different one. The one in Linda's book is not set to a frontier dirge as I recall it. ;-) Deckman, the Carlton Fitchett "As Happy as a Butter Clam" song (which is also, incidentally, in Linda's book, which is where I first encountered it) is on my website, with MIDI, in both English and Esperanto. Go to my Song Index and scroll down looking for "Ode to Puget Sound" (or maybe "Puget Sound, Ode to", I forget...) Liland |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 08 Jan 02 - 09:02 PM Hmmmm .... "a good lutefiske song" ... that MIGHT be a challenge! I've 'gotta go sell a deck tonight, but I'll be back on my puter in a few hours. (Hmmm ... a good lutefiske song ... just what I need ... another damned challenge) ((Hmmm) me |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jan 02 - 08:20 PM I didn't mean to stop the thread in its tracks with that news. Charles was 78, lived what can be termed a "good life," and died peacefully in his sleep. What more could one ask for? I thought perhaps Deckman might find a good lutefisk song in that apparently bottomless paper database he's working from at home. Or maybe it's time to see if I can find a Stan Boreson tape around here. If anyone intentionally sang about lutefisk, it could be he. Or Ivar. Anything in that fifty-cent book that might suit, Bob? Maggie |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jan 02 - 01:20 PM Over on the thread about throwing fish in the Pike Street Market I made a remark (when we reached the topic of lutefisk, which was not thrown around the market!) that my cousin Charles had the best lutefisk stories around. Bob PM'ed me this morning to ask if the Charles Raymond Husby obit in the paper is my cousin--I'm sad to say it is. And that obit says nothing about what a colorful, warm character he was. Consider how polite and friendly but reserved a bunch of Norwegians are in a room of a wedding or funeral reception, then consider the family member who, whether with a little wine under his belt, or just his general gregariousness, can set the whole room to laughing by telling really funny jokes (often with himself as victim of his own humor). I remember seeing people looking a little worried when Charles started, but I never heard him say anything that justified those worried looks. He will be missed. (We used to tease Dad, at our peril, that he was probably Norwegian also, and not just Irish, since the Vikings had spent a lot of time in Norway. That really ticked him off!) Maggie
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Amergin Date: 08 Jan 02 - 03:26 AM I have been following this interesting thread...wonderful! wish I had something to add...besides the appreciation I feel for the lot of you...adding colour to the PNW.... |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Jan 02 - 11:47 PM Bob, I'm the last person to worry about "thread creep!" I'm a Dwyer, remember? Be glad I'm not twisting all of these topics around in order to get some crafty puns out of them! My mom had a story about the name of the town Pysht--she said that the town was initially named Psyche but that the locals pronounced all of the letters--then gradually changed the spelling to reflect their pronunciation. Mom's father (Joe Husby) wrote a twice-weekly column called The Sage of the Stilly for many years for the Arlington and Everett papers. He grew up in the area around Arlington and Sylvana, speaking Norwegian until he went to school. When Mom died she made sure she left me all of her journal entries, and was hopeful that I'd get some of them published. I have in mind, one of these days, collecting some of my grandfather's essays (we have yellowed clippings of some of them) and Mom's, and mine, and to add some photos from my years of mountaineering, and see if someplace will publish it. I've had a couple of editors express interest. Now ask me again about thread creep! Maggie |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 07 Jan 02 - 10:53 PM Mark ... I brought up your posting of a couple of years ago regarding the ex coach who now drives bus on the "Jimmy-Come-Lately-Road. Sorry I can't help you with the particuliars of that song, but this might help: to get to "Jimmy-Come-Lately-Road, go EXACTLY 1.2 miles past the sign that says "Gairdner." Turn left at the D.O.T. sand dump and hang on. You go uphill and wind around for about 3 miles, then you start down, and I do mean DOWN. It's a one way suicide run. At the top of the hill, with all the single lane switchbacks, you blow your horn three times. Then you get out of your rig and listen for five minutes. If no one blows their horn back, you go for it! Down you go. If you meet another rig coming up, all you can do is slow down as much as possible and then jump ... true! I have fished steelhead on the Dungeness River below this spot, and you wouldn't believe the number of broken and rusted rigs laying down there. I have always found bears there looking for a meal ... true. I better get off here before Maggie accuses me of a thread creep ... or just being a creep! CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: Lyr Add: SOCIAL DECLINE From: Deckman Date: 07 Jan 02 - 10:18 PM As long as I've quoted one song from Ivar Hauglunds small book "The Ivar Book of Ballads," I'll go ahead and quote something more. Ivar was an extremly complex and PRIVATE person. I have heard tales, and seen some pictures, that show Ivar, during the late 1940's hanging out with Woody Gutherie and with Burl Ives. Yet when I asked him about these times, he closed up like a clam (sorry about that). Yet I KNOW that there was a lot of rebel in his soul. As one evidence, look at the two added verses to his anthem, "Acres of Clams." These verses were added under the heading of "Social Decline." Some say that country's improvin', And boast of it's commerce and trade, But measured by social enjoyment, I find it has sadly decayed. In pioneer days on the s-o-u-n-d When pee-pul had little to wear And sub-sisted on clams th' year 'round We'd a hearty good fellowship there- At our gath'rin's for pastorial pleasure Dance, picnic or social knockdown, One man wuz as good as another-r-r- No kind of dis-tinc-tion wuz shown. But now when I go to a pa-a-a-r-t-y The pee-pul around me seem fr-o-o-o-ze, They dare not be social and hearty Fer fear they may soil their store clothes It doesn't take much imagination to read these verses and hear the rebel voice coming through. I tried several times over the years to get to know him better, but I never succeeded, and I don't know anyone who really did. He was a successful business man, self made, and he damned well kept to himself. But, on the few occasions he opened up, he was a real Northwest treasure. CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 07 Jan 02 - 10:16 PM Right you are, Bob! I posted the words to the song on this thread and the little wings are there indicating it's been harvested for the next edition of the DT. The chorus goes And it's Jimmy Come Lately to Lost Mountain Road The fog on the bay will be clearin' And I'm crossing Dean Creek with a thirty-kid load And I'd rather be nowhere but here Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Don Firth Date: 07 Jan 02 - 10:12 PM A tourist from Back East is driving around in southwest Washington State, gets off Interstate 5, and manages to get himself totally lost. He sees a little one-pump gas station and general store and he decides he'd better ask directions. He goes into the store and an old fellow is sitting on a stool behind the counter. The conversation proceeds thus:-- "What city or town will I come to if I stay on this road?" the man asks. "Skamokawa," the store proprietor answers. "What was the last town, back there, down the road?" "Cathlamet." "Hmm. By the way, what county are we in?" "Wahkiakum." He leaves the general store and gets back in the car. "Where are we?" his wife asks. "I have no idea," the man answers. "The fellow in the store doesn't speak English." Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 07 Jan 02 - 07:31 PM Mark ... from my hiking days in the Olympics, I remember a "Jimmy Come Lately Road." Does that play in the song you mention? CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Mark Cohen Date: 07 Jan 02 - 06:44 PM The Stillaguamish, by the way, is called the "Stilly" by locals, and it's the source of "Stilly River Sage"'s Mudcat name. For those who were wondering. (Such as myself, until I remembered the name of the river!) One of the best Washington-place-name-pronunciation stories I've heard was told by Fred Small. He wrote a wonderful song called "Jimmy Come Lately", about a nationally-ranked college basketball coach who retired to become a school bus driver in Sequim, on the Olympic Peninsula. Fred said that he had to rewrite the entire chorus when he found out that Sequim was actually pronounced "Skwim"! (The song is based on a real person, and if anyone knows his name I'd be much obliged if you'd tell me.) Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: Lyr Add: PUGET SOUND From: Deckman Date: 07 Jan 02 - 04:43 PM Against my better judgment, I'm going to post the following song. This comes from a small collection of songs written by the late, great Ivar Haglund. For those of you who never had the chance to meet and hear him, I'll give a highly prejudiced background. Ivar was pure Seattle. He opened a waterfront "Aquarium" just after WW2. He charged five cents to enter, and you could wander around and look at a dozen very small salt water aquariums full of the normal stuff stuff we always saw in Puget Sound: bull heads, dog fish, star fish. It was NOTHING exciting, but it was new. I was about 7 or 8 when my folks took me there first. But what was a treat, was Ivar, sitting on a folding chair with his guitar, singing these goofy songs whenever he was bored. From this very modest start, his empire grew to a maximum of at least five premier restaurants during the Worlds Fair era of 1962. Many of us, including Don Firth, had personal contact with Ivar Haugland. The stories we tell of him are legion. So, going through my library, I just found this book he self published in 1953 ..."An Ivar Book Of Ballads." He charged the mighty sum of fifty cents. I've always viewed this book of twelve songs as pretty silly, except that he did publish the complete version of the traditional "Old Settler." Here is Ivar's introduction to a song titled "Puget Sound." ... "In these few bouncing stanzas the late Carlton Fitchett, beloved reportorial rhymester of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has composed a catchy metrical catalogue of most of the places and things Ivar sings about ..." PUGET SOUND As happy as a butter clam when tides are high I sing A grateful ode to Puget Sound the land of everything I love it from Tulalip to Puyallup Sequim and Pysht And to the Dosewallips where many times I've fished Cho 1 From Brinnon to the Bogachiel, from Lummi to La Push And from the lordly Sol Duc to the lovely Duckabush From Samish to Sammamish, SuQuamish to Quilcene, The climate is so friendly it's a land that's evergreen. There's peace on the Skokomish on the Queets and on the Hoh, There's calm on the Nisqually born of ageless ice and snow A land that Nature loves so much-She stays the whole year 'round- I'd trade a royal palace for a shack on Puget Sound Chorus 2 There's Chimacum and Steilaccom where spouts the goeduck The singing Stillaguamish and the swirling skookumchuck And Moclips and Copalis where razor clams abound -A little piece of heaven is a shack on Puger Sound Note, I did my best to note this exactly as Ivar published it, tho I was tempted to put in some puncuation. Also, for those of us natives who grew up with these local names, we just know how to pronounce the names right. For years I've suggested to the various Governors that we deny a Washington State driver license to anyone that cannot pronounce these names correctly ... no Governor has ever answered my letters ... sigh! CHEERS and ENJOY, Bob Nelson (Mary Garvy, if this doesn't drive you out of the closet I don't know what will). |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Barbara Date: 07 Jan 02 - 02:38 PM If you folks are interested in more recent NW songs that sound traditional, hit Mary Garvey up for some of her gems. How about it Mary? Got a home page up and running? The most recent one I heard named the NW rivers swum by the salmon, with a chorus of "Come home Little Brother..."
One Saturday night, when I got tight, he trun me in the can
And on the subject of 'trun', I assumed it was a dialect translation of 'he's thrown' |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Don Firth Date: 07 Jan 02 - 01:13 PM Liland, the tune for The Gooey Duck Song can be found in both of the songbooks compiled by Linda Allen that I cite above (my post of 02-Jan-02 - 03:25 PM). It's also been recorded (on cassette) by Sandy and Caroline Paton, WHEN THE SPIRIT SAYS SING, C-1002, Folk-Legacy. Great stuff. Sandy and Caroline singing with a batch of kids. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Jan 02 - 12:02 AM Oops. Sorry Stewart! Dyslexic fingers. |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Jan 02 - 11:05 PM If Walt and others got the song from Sandburg, did his Song Bag also have the chords? I know I've seen the book, but I can't say that I've ever opened it and looked at it. It was just always there on the shelf. Not sure who has Dad's copy right now. Did you visit the link Steward posted above? Does that seem at all like your music? Maggie |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Deckman Date: 05 Jan 02 - 08:59 PM I just picked up my guitar and plucked out the tune, as written. I don't have the ability right now to post the score, but perhaps soon. This is not a tune I recognise. I would also add that I don't even think it's very tuneful at all. I suspect a couple of things: This tune happened on paper because someone that this was a nice melody ... I do feel that you could sing these words to any number of traditional tunes that 'felt right.! Many, many of the NorthWest ballads, especially the songs from the woods, had almost no melody. By that I mean, they were almost dirges, sung to the same five notes as every other song the itinerant worker knew. Many of these songs could almost be sung as a chant. This is NOT to disparage all North West ballad melodies, as some of the are quite melodic and beautiful, but this ain't one of them! CHEERS, Bob |
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Subject: RE: Ballad of the Merry Ferry (Pacific NW) From: Haruo Date: 05 Jan 02 - 08:29 PM Deckman, Bob, what's the tune for the Geoduck song you posted in this thread? I don't think I've seen that one before. Liland |
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