Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...

Subject: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Haruo
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 10:33 AM

Wondering if anybody knows a good tune to which to sing Lord Byron's lyrics that go:

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown

For the angel of death spread his wings on the blast
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and forever were still.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord.

Haruo

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,ClaireBear
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 10:42 AM

I first learned this poem in school as part of a lesson on mixed metaphor and overly purple prose.

Never performed the whole piece, but a partner and I did use the first verse as a closer to "Sweet Betsy from Pike." I don't imagine it's quite the effect you wanted, though:

"...And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee,
Hoodle-dang fol dee di do hoodle dang fol dee day."

Cheers,
Claire

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Micca
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 11:54 AM

Well, Haruo, you can fit it to "The British Grenadiers" so therefore it will also fit,"My Old mans a Dustman";o)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: MMario
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 11:59 AM

it also fits the "A" part of Brian Boru

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 12:02 PM

I've sung it (since the '60s some time) to "Ghost Riders In the Sky."

Linn

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 04:31 PM

Farewell to Tarwathie does well. Good dramatic struff.

For a rather different effect, you could try "Villikens and Dinah" (same tune as "Sweet Betsy from Pike")

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf
From: BuckMulligan
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 04:39 PM

First sounds that came to mind were the tune of "Mother Machree" - fits nicely. Really. Gotta keep your tongue in your cheek though.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Snuffy
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 05:32 PM

The pace egging/mummers song that starts "We're one, two, three jolly boys all in one line"

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,Andrew
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 05:36 PM

I always thought it was his chariots were gleaming ...
and at school I was told it was a perfect example of aliteration


Well Hope that helps


Andrew

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,ClaireBear
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 05:38 PM

Or you could sing it to "The Star-Spangled Banner"...

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 11 Apr 03 - 07:39 PM

Noel, noel.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Jim McLean
Date: 12 Apr 03 - 09:05 AM

Up wi' the Bonnets o' Bonnie Dundee.
Jim Mclean

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wol
From: greg stephens
Date: 12 Apr 03 - 06:48 PM

I think singing it as fast as possible to the Irish Washerwoman gives a very pleasing effect.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Gareth
Date: 12 Apr 03 - 07:14 PM

No, to each others taste - But " Bonny Dundee " fits.

Gareth

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: BUTTERFLY
Date: 22 Apr 03 - 05:06 AM

The title, as I remember it from poetry at school (not my best subject!), is "The Destruction of Sennacherib", and it IS "cohorts", not "chariots" which were gleaming in purple and gold. I may be wrong in this, but I have a feeling that despite the title, Sennacherib was the destroyer, not the destroyed, so the title is a little ambiguous.

Although I am sure you could use a number of tunes, I think "Sweet Betsy From Pike" or "Ghost Riders in the Sky" are about the least unsuitable of those suggested; I don't think "My old man's a dustman", "British Grenadiers" or "Irish washerwoman" are so suitable, being too fast.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wol
From: greg stephens
Date: 22 Apr 03 - 05:19 AM

I didnt say singing it fast to The Irish washerwoman was "suitable": I just said it gives a very pleasing effect!!

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wol
From: greg stephens
Date: 22 Apr 03 - 07:39 AM

The poem, by the way, is about the destruction OF Sennacherib, not BY Sennacharib. In the first verse we see Sennacherib approaching Jerusalem, no doubt intent on destruction, but his army wakes up one morning dead,to their great surprise, in the subsequent verses. They have been killed by the Angel of Death, acting on behalf of God. Or so it says in the bible. The Angel of Death clearly followed the modern doctrine of not condoning the individual assassination of heads of state, interestingly. The army was eliminated, but not Sennacherib himself.
This is a good example of the necessity of reading as many sources as possible when studying history. Accounts of this campaign from the Assyrian angle make no mention of this unlikely, and you would think memorable, occurrence. So, did Sennacherib censor the Assyrian accounts, or did the bible writer make it up? or maybe a bit of both?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,Pete Peterson
Date: 22 Apr 03 - 08:49 AM

never learned all the words, but have been using the tune of Wildwood Flower. (thought of making up a Reuben James-like chorus but the muse never hit us)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf
From: Stewart
Date: 22 Apr 03 - 03:49 PM

It also goes well with MOUNTAINS OF MOURNE

S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Haruo
Date: 23 Apr 03 - 02:47 AM

Thank you all right kindly.

Whatever tune I end up with, I think I will not use it in my wedding. ;-)

Haruo

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: MMario
Date: 23 Apr 03 - 08:31 AM

?? I would *hope* not! Were you considering it?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Haruo
Date: 23 Apr 03 - 12:20 PM

No! ;-) Though I may put it in my online hymnal, it being so biblical and all, and Lord Byron being a great poet who is underrepresented in the hymnal business.

Haruo

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: Micca
Date: 23 Apr 03 - 01:40 PM

It fits the tune "Garryowen" too it only becomes a bit weird in the chorus!! tune Here scroll down to Garryowen

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,Lawrencejohnproject
Date: 30 Jan 13 - 03:36 PM

I remember this from my school days, we sang it to a tune which appears to be similar to El Paso, by Marty Robbins.
The tune is not identical to El Paso and seems to have an Irish lilt, so it may be a traditional Irish air, that sounds close to El Paso.

However the poem works very well to the tune of El Paso and for me much better than most of the other suggested tunes elsewhere in this thread, although The Mountains Of Mourne has a similar, if slower, Irish lilt.

Lawrence John
Deejay/ Songwriter/ Record Producer
Belfast and Nashville

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 30 Jan 13 - 04:20 PM

The entire incident in II Kings XIX, 35:

"35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!"

Everything else comes from Byron.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The Assyrian came down like the wolf...
From: GUEST,Beachcomber
Date: 31 Jan 13 - 06:23 AM

Hey, it fits the tune to "Cod Liver Oil" also.
Slowed down a little, the tune has a solemnity that befits it's subject matter.
With a suitable linking instrumental phrase between verses it could sound very well IMHO.
I don't know how to put in a link to that song but I had it on an old 78rpm disc back in "old God's time". I believe it was a Music Hall song from the 30s or around then.

In case I have the wrong title let me add a verse/chorus :

Oh doctor, oh doctor, oh dear doctor John,
Your Cod Liver Oil is so pure and so strong,
I'm afraid of me life she'll go down in the soil,
If me wife don't stop drinkin' that Cod Liver Oil.

Who else knows it ?