Lyr Add: Juanita (Norton/May)

Subject: Lyr Add: JUANITA (Norton/May)
From: Artful Codger
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 04:36 PM

JUANITA
Spanish Ballad (pub. 1855)
words: (Hon.) Caroline Sheridan Norton (1808-1877)
music: T.G. May

Soft o'er the fountain,
Ling'ring falls the southern moon;
Far o'er the mountain
Breaks the day--too soon!
In thy dark eyes' splendor
Where the warm light loves to dwell,
Weary looks--yet tender,
Speak their fond farewell!

Nita! Juanita!
Ask thy soul if we should part!
Nita! Juanita!
Lean thou on my heart.

When in thy dreaming
Moons like these shall shine again,
And daylight beaming,
Prove thy dreams are vain,
Wilt thou not relenting,
For thine absent lover sigh!
In thy heart consenting
To a prayer gone by!

Nita! Juanita!
Let me linger by thy side!
Nita! Juanita!
Be my own fair bride!

From sheet music at Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music site.
Instrumental on "The Civil War: Its Music and Its Sounds", CD 2, track 14

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: Stewart
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 05:00 PM

Hard to believe that Juanita is not in the DT. It used to be part of the standard folk music repertoire when I was in college. Thanks for reminding me of a nice song that I haven't sung in a long time.

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 05:07 PM

Sheet music at Levy Sheet Music: http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/display.pl?record=035.052.000&pages=4

Original sheet music at Duke available through Historic American Sheet Music:
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/a/a21/a2173/
Juanita

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 06:00 PM

I remember singing this in music lessons, grade 6 or so. Once learned, never forgotten.

The melody is by G. F. Handel, "Lascia Ch'io Pianga," a sarabande in his opera "Almira."
Mrs. Norton included the song in her "Six Songs of Affection," a copy deposited in the British Museum Dec. 24, 1853, by Chappell of London, according to James J. Fuld, "The Book of World-Famous Music." I was unable to find any reference to this 1853 publication, so I am not able to check whether the words by Norton are the same as those in the sheet music by May. T. G. May seems to have set the poem to music for the Oliver Ditson Company; I have not found a biography.

Seeing that the author of the words was English, perhaps this is not strictly a 'Civil War' song, but it certainly was known to soldiers on both sides.

The authors seems to have been forgotten by the beginning of the 20th c., The score and lyrics are in "Heart Songs," c. 1909, p. 371, but no mention authors.

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 07:13 PM

The Doo Wop group I've become friends with do a wonderful song of the same title. Not the same song, though.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: sian, west wales
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 05:08 AM

" The melody is by G. F. Handel, "Lascia Ch'io Pianga," a sarabande in his opera "Almira."" (Q)

Really? I know Lascia Ch'io Pianga and I guess if I listened with my eyes all squinted up and my lips tightly pursed I'd hear SOME similarities but ... Really???

sian

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 05:23 AM

I also sung this in the 60-70's but with a falsetto voice as more of a comedy song....got a few laughs.

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: GUEST,ib48
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 07:34 AM

i thought juanita was a girl who only had one tooth?

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: GUEST,ib48
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 07:37 AM

there is a singer in benidorm called juan jose quesada,if you drop the jose his name is,work it out.

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 02:15 PM

Sian, west wales- I was quoting from Fuld; he has been known to be wrong.
There is a set of Almira, with Ann Monoyios, recommended in the BBC Music magazine. I will have to see if my library has obtained it.

Subject: RE: Juanita
From: Louie Roy
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 02:20 PM

This song was sung in the country schools in Idaho in the 1930s

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 02:30 PM

I hope it's not impertinent for me to add "Nita Juanita" to the thread title, since some people know it by that name.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 02:45 PM

The song appeared in several songbooks used in schools. It certainly was widely known.

in48-
Juan Quesada? A not uncommon name. Ciudad Quesada a popular vacation site.
Uncommon Spanish usage, but quesada means cheesecake, largely supplanted now by quesadilla.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Artful Codger
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 02:54 PM

Well, it IS impertinent, but I'll overlook it for the sake of the poor fools. :-} Wouldn't a search on "Nita Juanita" have pulled up this song anyway?

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 03:17 PM

No, Artful Codger.

It depends on where you search. At American Memory, where I found and linked the sheet music at Duke, 'Juanita' found the item, but 'nita, Juanita' found no matches.
On Google, it found 1380 items including flowers, and much garbage.

On Mudcat, 'nita, juanita' found NO results.
Juanita found that the song is in several songbooks, but NO link to this thread.

Joe, I would remove the 'nita,' which never appears in indices of songbooks. It only serves to mislead.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 03:24 PM

Hi, Art (Codger?)-
Our search index isn't fixed yet, so the SuperSearch won't find anything newer than about 18 months old. With the title change, the Filter and the Old Forum Search will find it under the thread and message titles, both as Juanita and as Nita Juanita.
Especially with song threads, we try to include all the known names for a song.
I learned this song as "Nita Juanita," and it's nice to know what the official title is. Of course, the lyrics I learned were, "Nita, Juanita, da-da-da, da-da, da-da. (repeat)" I never learned the REAL lyrics.

If somebody would like to e-mail me a MIDI for this song, I'll post it.
-Joe, impertinently-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Artful Codger
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 05:13 PM

Is it possible that Sian is thinking of the aria from Handel's Rinaldo instead? From an article on Handel on the NNDB site:

"It [Almira] contains many themes used by Handel in well-known later works; but the current statement that the famous aria in Rinaldo, "Lascia ch'io pianga", comes from a saraband in Almira, is based upon nothing more definite than the inevitable resemblance between the simplest possible forms of saraband-rhythm."

And from the Online Encyclopedia:

"All Handel's early works contain material that he used often with very little alteration later on, and, though the famous " Lascia ch'io pianga " does not occur in Almira, it occurs note for note in Agrippina and the two Italian oratorios."

While I suspect Fuld's assertion is spurious, I haven't the resources to either prove or disprove it. To start, there is clearly no resemblance between "Juanita" and the Rinaldo aria, and, from what I can tell, the Almira sarabandes are untitled. There are two sarabandes I'm aware of, in Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 2, but I haven't found a source that clarifies which of them was purportedly recycled for "Lascia". The sound clips for Almira that I've found don't include the sarabande portions of the tracks. I found one sarabande as a separate track--it wasn't remotely like either "Juanita" or "Lascia"--, but the listing neglected to indicate which part of the opera it was from.

Side note: The "Lascia" from Rinaldo was covered by the Celtic Woman ensemble (it's on the "A New Journey" album), and also by Sarah Brightman. Y'all may know it without knowing you know it.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Stewart
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 05:24 PM

Here's the abc file - copy and paste into Concertina.net and click "submit" to get the score and a midi. This is from "Home Songs" by Oliver-Ditson Co. pub. 1906.

X:1
T:Juanita
C:Mrs. Norton/A. La Meda
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:Eb
B4AG|G2F4|FG A3A|Gc B4|B4AG|G2F4|F3/2G/2 A2B,2|
E4z2|GB e3d|d2c3z|F3/2F/2 B3A|Gc B3z|
GB e3d|d2c2z2|B3/2B/2 B2G2|E4z2|G2G2 (3GFG|A2A2z2|
F3/2F/2 B3A|Gc B2z2|G2G2 (3GFG|A2A2z2|B,B, G2F2|E4|]

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Artful Codger
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 05:32 PM

Joe, you're a hoot. Da da da da da--sounds like half the songs I know! Wonder what SuperSearch would pull up for that.

And you can just call me "Wiseass", as most casual acquaintances do. Well, sometimes they come up with more colorful monikers...

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Mar 07 - 10:23 PM

"Juanita" is in "Carmina Princetonia" 1894, p. 107, but no indication of source.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: GUEST,ib48
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 09:57 AM

q   did yuo not realise i was getting at the fact that his name is pronounced wank us harder?

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: masato sakurai
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 11:02 AM

Also a tune to Fanny Crosby's What a Friend Thou Art To Me! Hubert P. Main, I believe, is not the original composer, very possibly he is the arranger.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 02:56 PM

Masato- very, very similar, to say the least. Do you have any information on 'T. G. May?' who is credited with the music on the sheet music? A possible alias?

(No the name is definitely not pronounced as written by uninvited guest)

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: sian, west wales
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 03:49 PM

Strangely enough, I first came across the aria being sung by Barbra Streisand on the Classical Barbra LP many many moons ago. Used to have the accompanying book which I've since lost (and which I'd love to replace)!

sian

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: GUEST,pattyClink
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 04:30 PM

Is this the song Barney Fife used to sing?

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: masato sakurai
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 07:10 PM

Q,

T.G. May edition is also at the Levy collection. If T.G. May had been the composer, the description should have been "Music by T.G. May." I have no information on him/her.

Title: Juanita. A Song of Spain.
Composer, Lyricist, Arranger: Words by the Hon. Mrs. Norton. Music Arranged by T.G. May.
T. G. May Publication: Philadelphia: Beck & Lawton, 166 Chesnut St., cor. of 7th, 1855.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: RangerSteve
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 08:32 PM

For a good country version, Cliff Carlisle's recording can't be beat. It's re-issued on the British JSP label.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: masato sakurai
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 09:11 PM

In Japan, the tune was used as a patriotic song titled "Chushin" (Loyal Servant) in Shogaku Shokashu [Elementary School Songbook], vol. 3 (published by the [Japanese] Ministry of Education, 1884). I suppose it was adopted from Franklin Square Song Collection, No. 2 (1884, p. 166).

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Mar 07 - 10:28 PM

The Lake High School Song Book, 1915, p. 49, is one of the few with attribution- to Mrs. Norton.

Subject: RE: ADD: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Snuffy
Date: 03 Mar 07 - 09:09 AM

Among many delightful presents from my 2005 Secret Santa, Katlaughing, was an old dog-eared song book, with pages missing and torn - it had obviously been well used - The One hundred and One best Songs, Revised Edition, the Cable Company, Chicago, 1925.

Song No 25 is Juanita with the author given as "Mrs Norton" and the composer as "Spanish Melody". Here it is in D rather than the Eb given in ABC by Stewart, and the words are almost identical to those supplied by Artful Codger.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: GUEST,chibisan
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 07:36 PM

I went to a very small high school in Eagar, AZ back in the late
'60s, early '70s, and the tune of our school song was 'Juanita'.
Thanks to everyones' messages and info about the composer/arranger.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: kendall
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 07:41 PM

Barney did sort of sing it, but Gordon and I with a bottle of Scotch did it much better.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Juanita ('Nita Juanita')
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 08:40 PM

It pays to check "info" from stuff on the net. I should have gone back and verified the statement I made about the origin of "Juanita.".

At the top of this thread, I said "Juanita" was based on Lascia ch'io pianga, from Handel's "Almira."
1. The aria is from the opera "Rinaldo."
2. It is an aria sung by the character Almirena.
3. Along with a post also near the top of this thread, a few notes here and there suggest "Juanita," but it is a stretch too far to say that the song is based on the aria.
4. The Sarabande from "Almira" also has a few notes that suggest "Juanita," but the song and the operatic melody are unrelated.

A beautiful rendition of the aria is on youtube, sung by Monserrat Caballe.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Juanita ( Nita, Juanita )
From: Genie
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 09:20 PM

Juanita sheet music: cover sheet

Juanita sheet music page 1

Juanita sheet music page 2

Juanita sheet music page 3

Juanita sheet music page 4


YouTube instrumental version of Juanita, with lyrics superimposed


Jim Reeves sings "Juanita"