Lyr Add: Andorra (Malvina Reynolds)

Subject: Lyr Add: ANDORRA (Malvina Reynolds)
From: JesseW
Date: 10 Aug 06 - 03:15 AM

ANDORRA
(Malvina Reynolds)
(last two verses by Pete Seeger)

I want to go to Andorra, Andorra, Andorra
I want to go to Andorra, it's a place that I adore
They spent $4 & 90 cents on armaments & their defense
Did you ever hear of such confidence? Andorra, hip hurrah!

In the mountains of the Pyrenees there's an independent state
Its population 5000 souls & I think they're simply great
One hundred seventy square miles bio & it's awf'lly dear to me
Spends less than $5 on armaments & this I've got to see

It's governed by a council, all gentle souls & wise
They've only $5 for armaments & the rest for cakes & pies
They didn't invest in a tommy-gun or a plane to sweep the sky
But they bought some blanks for their cap pistols to shoot on their 4th of July

They live by the arts of farm & field & by making shoes & hats
And they haven't got room in their tiny land for a horde of diplomats
They haven't got room in their tiny land for armies to march about
And if anyone comes in with a war budget, they throw the rascals out

I wandered down by the Pentagon, this newspaper clipping in hand
I hollered I want to see everyone in MacNamara's band
I said "Look what they did in Andorra, they put us all to shame
The least is first, the biggest last, let's get there just the same"

The general said, "My dear boy [girl] you just don't understand
We need those things to feel secure in our great & wealthy land"
I said "If security's what you need I'll get a couch for you
A head-shrinker is cheaper & quicker & a damn sight safer too!"

Copied from Rise Up Singing, 2004 edition, p. 158
Their notes are: "Copyright 1962 Amadeo-Brio Music Inc., PO Box 1770, Hendersonville TN 37077. Used by permission. -- In her Little Boxes. In Sing Out! 12:3 & Songs that Changed the World. On Pete Seeger The Bitter & the Sweet."

Subject: Lyr Add: Andorra (Malvina Reynolds)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Aug 06 - 03:45 AM

Hi, Jesse. Cute song, isn't it?

Once I came across this site (click), I more-or-less stopped posting Malvina lyrics. i suppose one of us ought to copy the whole shebang, just in case the site disappears sometime.

I thought we had a discussion on this song not long ago, but I can't find it - we were wondering who has recorded it. I'm sure I've heard Faith Petric sing it, but Faith sings a lot of Malvina songs she hasn't recorded.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: Re: Charles H. Smith and Nancy Schimmel's site
From: JesseW
Date: 10 Aug 06 - 04:00 AM

Thanks for pointing me to that site; it does seem quite complete and otherwise excellent. I'm not sure how I missed it when I was searching for mentions of Faucets or this song; hopefully the next time someone thinks to post a Malvina, they'll see this, and check the version there, as well as whatever version they have.

As for the who's recorded it question, the site says:
"Recordings by other artists on which this song is performed:
---- Gerri Gribi: It's A Dog's Life (Lilyfern Records LR-46, 1988)
---- Annie Patterson et al.: Everything Possible; 164 Songs About Community & Change (Sing Out Corp. SO107-SO112, 1991)
---- Pete Seeger: The Bitter and the Sweet (Columbia CS 8716, 1962)
---- Pete Seeger: Pete Seeger in Prague, 1964 [as "I Want to Go to Andorra!"] (Flyright FLY CD 68 and FLY CD 69, 2001)"
http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/MALVINA/mr005.htm

And, interestingly enough, the site also says that the song was released by the Andorran government in 1996. Wow.

---

Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems     Andorra Notes: words by Malvina Reynolds, music by Pete Seeger; copyright 1962 Brio Music, renewed 1990. a.k.a. "I Want to Go to Andorra!" Pete Seeger's recording of this song was issued on a CD in 2003 by the Andorran government. Also on the CD is a 1996 speech by the Andorran Foreign Minister given on the occasion of his signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty at the U. S. State Department in Washington, D.C. Chorus: I want to go to Andorra, Andorra, Andorra, I want to go to Andorra, it's a place I adore, They spent four dollars and ninety cents On armaments and their defense, Did you ever hear of such confidence? Andorra, hip hurrah! In the mountains of the Pyrenees There's an independent state, Its population five thousand souls, And I think they're simply great. One hundred and seventy square miles big And it's awf'lly dear to me. Spends less than five dollars on armaments, And this I've got to see. (Chorus) It's governed by a council, All gentle souls and wise, They've only five dollars for armaments And the rest for cakes and pies; They didn't invest in a tommy gun Or a plane to sweep the sky, But they bought some blanks for their cap pistols To shoot on their Fourth of July. (Chorus) They live by the arts of farm and field And by making shoes and hats, And they haven't got room in their tiny land For a horde of diplomats; They haven't got room in their tiny land For armies to march about, And if anyone comes with a war budget They throw the rascals out. (Chorus) Malvina Reynolds songbook(s) in which the music to this song appears: ---- Little Boxes and Other Handmade Songs Other place(s) where the music to this song appears: ---- Peter Blood and Annie Patterson: Rise Up Singing: The Group-Singing Song Book [lyrics & guitar chords only] (Bethlehem, PA: Sing Out Corp., 1992) ---- Peter Blood-Patterson: Rise Up Singing: The Group-Singing Song Book [lyrics & guitar chords only] (Bethlehem, PA: Sing Out Corp., 1988), p. 158 ---- Broadside No. 5 (May 1962) ---- Sing Out!, Volume 12(3) (1962), pp. 32-33 ---- Wanda Willson Whitman: Songs That Changed the World (New York: Crown, 1969) Malvina Reynolds recording(s) on which this song is performed: ---- [none] Recordings by other artists on which this song is performed: ---- Gerri Gribi: It's A Dog's Life (Lilyfern Records LR-46, 1988) ---- Annie Patterson et al.: Everything Possible; 164 Songs About Community & Change (Sing Out Corp. SO107-SO112, 1991) ---- Pete Seeger: The Bitter and the Sweet (Columbia CS 8716, 1962) ---- Pete Seeger: Pete Seeger in Prague, 1964 [as "I Want to Go to Andorra!"] (Flyright FLY CD 68 and FLY CD 69, 2001) ---- listen to youtube.com video ---- listen to youtube.com video *                 *                 *                 *                * http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/MALVINA/mr005.htm This page copyright 2006 by Charles H. Smith and Nancy Schimmel. All rights reserved. Return to Song Menu Return to Home

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Andorra (Malvina Reynolds)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Dec 16 - 01:02 AM

Wikipedia says is a sovereign landlocked microstate in Southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. Created under a charter in 988, the present principality was formed in 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a monarchy headed by two Co-Princes – the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spain, and the President of France.

Interesting, eh?

-Joe-