DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples of the Sun)

Subject: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: bill kennedy
Date: 31 May 02 - 03:55 PM

This is an edited DTStudy thread, and all messages posted here are subject to editing and deletion.
This thread is intended to serve as a forum for corrections and annotations for the Digital Tradition song named in the title of this thread.

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WANDERING ANGUS (GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN) [DT lyrics]
(Words Wm. Butler Yeats; tune trad.)

Em Dm / G Bm Am Em / G Bm Am Em / Bm Em

I went out to the hazelwood
Because a fire was in my head
Cut and peeled a hazel wand
And hooked a berry to a thread

And when white moths were on the wing
And moth-like stars were flickering out
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
And gone to blow the fire aflame
Something rustled on the floor
And someone called me by my name.

It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossoms in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And vanished in the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands
I will find out where she has gone
And kiss her lips and take her hand

And walk through long green dappled grass
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon
The golden apples of the sun.

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Poem by William Butler Yeats, a great Irish poet at the turn of
the century. The tune is traditional.
On Judy Collins' GOLDEN APPLES and in her SONGBOOK. Also on some
early Burl Ives. Donovan wrote a better tune. DC
@plant
filename[ WANDANG
Tune file : WANDANG

CLICK TO PLAY
DC

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Subject: RE: DT Study: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 31 May 02 - 04:12 PM

"Off Topic", but the sub title (Golden...etc) has been used as a title for a collection of short stories by Sf writer Ray Bradbury.
Nigel

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS (W B Yeats)
From: bill kennedy
Date: 31 May 02 - 04:30 PM

first off to Joe or whoever, I don't know how to do all the blue clicky things to creat links, I promise I will do a tutorial or something in order to in future, but help with that will be appreciated. Also, don't know if it's in the discussion anywhere, but the fact that you search the forum and it only brings up treads from 2001 & previous doesn't mean all threads will be found? All of this can be edited out, but though I'd ask here.

beginning with the correct title:

THE SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire a-flame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And someone called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

taken from the Varorium Edition of the Poems of W. B. Yeats, as the final corrected definitive edition as published in 1949.

Poem first published by William Butler Yeats in 'The Sketch' August 4, 1897; first collected in 'The Wind Among the Reeds', 1899; appears in McClure's Magazine, March 1905; alternately titled by Yeats as 'A Mad Song' in 'Stories of Red Hanrahan', 1904; appears untitled in the story 'Hanrahan's Vision'; The first stanza appears in Yeat's Essay 'Speaking to the Psaltery' originally published in final form in 1907, with musical notation taken down from the chanting of Yeats himself by Arnold Dolmetsch. This air is the basis for all of the airs given as 'Traditional', though some variations have occurred over time. The earliest recording of the song is by Burl Ives, 1958, learned as he says on the sleeve notes from the actress Sara Allgood, a contemporary of Yeats, from whom she learned it. A complete discography to date can be found in this thread ..... blue clicky thing please?

https://www.bartleby.com/146/9.html

Subject: RE: DT Study: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: bill kennedy
Date: 31 May 02 - 04:53 PM

the thread to blue click for discography is under my name, not guest, APril 18, 104, and an addition under songs not recorded should be

1994, Steve Savitsky

The story of the song is the love sickness of the Celtic God of Love, Aengus Mac Og, for the fairy Caer Ibermoth(sp?) and Aengus wish to spend eternity in Avalon with her. Avalon the Island of the Dead, sort of an Elysium, where grew the silver and gold apples, from the Celtic word for apple - (Avalon in Welsh is - avallach).

the mention of the Speaking to the Pslatery essay should include that it was eventually reprinted in a collection entitled 'Essays and Introductions' first printed in 1961 by Macmillan. As I have related in previous threads, the source for Judy Collins and others versions is considered to be Will Holt, who may have learned the song from Richard-Dyer Bennett, neither of whom have left a commercial recording, but Judy Collins claims to have a cassette of Will Holt teaching her the song. However, Travis Edmonson, of Bud & Travis, who recorded a very similar version to Judy's claims in a website interview - blue clicky thing - to have written the music and geiven the song to Judy himself. The Truth may be some combinatin of the above. The only parties who would know have both spoken and have differning stories. The discography breaks down the versions that follow Yeats' model, and those writing other tunes for the poem, of whose the most well known is by Donovan, and most recently by Sean Tyyrell.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 09:15 AM

this is somewhat related, in that many people have written their own music for this tune and other of Yeats' poems. In 1922, and re-published in other forms afterwards, referring specifically to his collections of poems including

Wind Among the Reeds
The Old Age of Queen Maeve
Baile and Aillinn The Shadowy Waters
From the Green Helmet and Other Poems
Responsibilites
The Wild Swans at Coole
Michael Robartes and the Dancer

(a large body of his work, excluding for some reason only his earliest and last poems)

Yeats says,

"A musician who would give me pleasure should not repeat a line, or put more than one note to one syllable. I am a poet not a musician, and dislike to have my words distorted or their animation destroyed, even though the musician claims to have expressed their meaning in a different medium.---"

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 21 Jun 02 - 09:02 AM

Refresh: in an attempt to get some interesting threads back in the system

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Mudlark
Date: 22 Jun 02 - 03:25 AM

This beautiful song plays wistfully and lyrically on a dulcimer in Mixolydian tuning...especially if chorded and picked rather than strummed.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: The Pooka
Date: 22 Jun 02 - 02:02 PM

Bill & Nigel - thanks for this. An interesting thread indeed. I've always liked ol' Aengus, but without even knowing who he *is*. Now I know. / Would you further dispel ignorance by explicating "The Host of the Air" (O'Driscoll's Dream)? (And, is it set to music also??)

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 22 Jun 02 - 03:26 PM

I hope the title in the DT is corrected. The date of the poem should be added and Yeats should be credited with adding the original tune.

In addition to Bill Kennedy's reproduction of the poem, with excellent notes, the poem as published in "The Wind Among the Reeds," 1899, also is reproduced at the Bartleby website: http://www.bartleby.com/146/9.html, Aengus Other Yeats poems at this site.
The note in the DT that "Donovan wrote a better tune" or fitted a better tune should be changed to read "Other tunes by Donovan (date) and-----." Whether a tune is better or not is in the ear of the individual performer or listener.
Numbers of pertinent threads should be added and click links posted (useful to see the thread number as well as the link). Bill Kennedy's Discography is thread 46666: Discography

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 22 Jun 02 - 03:43 PM

"Host of the Air" has been recorded several times, by the Clancy Bros., Sean Tyrell and Tommy Peoples, and Mitchell, McCreesch and Campbell (put host of the air into the Forum and three threads with mention of these show up).
Sounds like O'Driscoll had a bad dream of someone stealing his gal away- that's a simple-minded interpretation anyway. Otherwise, Pooka, some poeteer will show up with a better explication.
The poem also was in "The Wind Among the Reeds: O'Driscoll

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: The Pooka
Date: 22 Jun 02 - 08:41 PM

Thanks much, Dicho. I have an old Clancy Bros. (Tom, it was) *recitation* of Host of the Air, but hadn't heard it as a song. / Yes, I believe I've had poor O'Dricoll's bad dream meself. One time I woke up and it was real...and never was piping so bad...but I digress. As does this thread. OK, fellers, back to Wandering Aengus. (Somebody stop me before I demand the melody to "Easter 1916". :)

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Bearheart
Date: 17 May 04 - 08:58 PM

So I am confused-- my husband was asking about the tune so I thought I'd revisit this thread, since I had remembered something being said about the tune; but one person says it's traditional (if so what is the traditional tune?) and others give,if I understand properly, two possible sources for the tune? (I am speaking of the one I have most often heard recorded and use myself-- which was recorded by Judy Collins.

Can anyone clarify?

And also I am interested in other Yeats poems set to music, particularly his mystical/mythical poems.

Bekki

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 May 04 - 11:21 PM

The "traditional" tune seems to be Yeats as taken down by Dolmetsch, according to posts by Kennedy. That's the way I read it; perhaps Kennedy will clarify that.
According to my reading of Kennedy, the early Burl Ives recording, which I once had, follows Yeats as learned from Sara Allgood.

Not having heard the later recordings by Donovan and others, I have no idea of their music for the poem.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: Cuilionn
Date: 18 May 04 - 09:27 AM

Jist a wee side note, regairdin the imagery o apples in Celtic song & bardach (work o the bards).

When Ah wis studyin Scottish Gaelic wi Richard Hill in Seattle, oor class haed some craic aboot the mony references tae apples (ubhlan, pronounced "oo-lan") in Gaelic lore. There's a love sang ca'd "Craobh nan Ubhal" that refers tae the Belovit as "chraobh as mutha 's as milse ubhlan" (the biggest tree with the sweetest apples). Another sang, "Domhnall Beag an t-Siucair" laments that puir wee Domhnall cannae get a lass, even tho he has "apples at his heels" (rough translation). The comparison atween a guid lover an a fruitfu tree seems tae be a standard poetic device, but Ah jalouse there's muckle mair gaein on there... ony Mudcatters ken an ancient bard we cuid consult, an settle the matter ance & for aa?

-Cuilionn (whae apologizes for no puttin accents on her Gaelic vowels, as she disnae ken how tae mak 'em shaw up correctly.)

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Wandering Angus(Golden Apples
From: michaelr
Date: 18 May 04 - 01:54 PM

Bekki -- Bill Kennedy said in his above post that the air was written down from the chanting of Yeats himself; not having heard it, I can't comment on how close it is to subsequent recorded versions.

I have, however, had opportunity to compare the recordings by Judy Collins, Donovan, and Christy Moore, and all three melodies appear to be closely related. The liner notes from JC's "Golden Apples of the Sun" LP state "The haunting melody is probably the composition of Richard Dyer-Bennett".

CM's songbook says "music learned from Richie Havens". My guess is that Donovan and CM both varied the tune to suit their own tastes.

Loreena McKennitt wrote her own tune to Yeats' "The Stolen Child" (on "Elemental", 1985). My own band, Greenhouse, recorded "The Host of the Air" with our version loosely based on Sean Tyrell's melody (on "One Last Cold Kiss", 2003).

Cheers,
Michael