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Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)

22 Feb 00 - 11:33 PM (#183140)
Subject: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: GUEST,L>L

Is there anyone out there who remembers old 60's folk tunes. The lyrics to this tune starts out: Roll turn spin, wheel I'm in, Tick Tock and tole the bell, round and round .... Would appreciate any help you can give for finding the rest of the lyrics.

22 Feb 00 - 11:58 PM (#183152)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: Sorcha

Album available at Taj Mahal , assume (?) words are on it. Couldn't find lyrics. Click on the blue words.

23 Feb 00 - 10:59 AM (#183361)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: GUEST,L>L

Sorcha: Thanks for the information, I'll check out Taj Mahal at Music Warehouse to see if it is the same tune.

24 Feb 00 - 02:40 AM (#183916)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: GUEST,George Ward

The Author of the song is Len H. Chandler, Jr. The album it originally appeared on was titled 'Lovin' People'.

24 Feb 00 - 01:31 PM (#184128)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: Art Thieme

Benji Aronoff did it on his Prestige LP years ago. Concerns a woman who is the mistress of a German officer in occupied Europe during World War 2. She is working for the underground and does this only to secure secrets that will be used against Hitler. I do have a tape of this song somewhere. I'll look it up and will post it soon---if nobody has done that before me.

Art Thieme

24 Feb 00 - 01:37 PM (#184130)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: Art Thieme

Hey, George,

Been a long time since I listened to your Erie Canal LP. Much longer even since we swapped a tune or two. How ya been. I heard somewhere that you have a new CD out---again, on a particular topic. Is that true. How about a swap!?

All the best to you two,

Art Thieme

24 Feb 00 - 06:29 PM (#184289)
Subject: Lyr Add: ROLL TURN SPIN (from Benji Aronoff)
From: Art Thieme

from the singing of Benji Aronoff.

ROLL TURN SPIN
(Len Chandler, from Benji Aronoff)

Roll, turn, spin---wheel we're in,
Tick, tock and toll on the bell,
Round and round---in, out, up, down,
The wheel will keep turning forever.

He brought her sweets and things to eat,
A clip to bind up her hair,
Her hair hung down---he liked it bound,
She'd bind it no more come the morning.

The candy and his beaded strand,
Were not all he would pay,
For secrets slip from love-drunk lips,
And help to pave the way to coming morning.

She'd shine his boots and press his suits,
And pass his secrets on,
Not caring what the townsmen thought,
In calling her the wife of the invader.

Old friends pretend that she was dead,
As dead she'd risked to be,
But all would know at dawn's first glow,
They'll tell them that she never was a traitor.

The days she'd vowed---the tears she'd cried
The dauntless deaths that she died,
Her enemy still could not see,
That she must only fain(?) her love 'til morning.

And in the circle of her arms,
He felt a warning chill,
You could not weigh the purse he paid,
To hold back the sun and the morning.

And with every tick that followed tock,
He wished that clock were still,
But the hourglass calls just as fast
But silently the coming of the morning.

For rebel sons with sullen guns,
Were waiting for the sign,
In the steeple spire they tend the fire,
A fire that would burst into morning.

And in the stark and ancient dark,
A marksman takes his aim,
And waits for him to step through
The door that knew no morning.

The night was clear of fog and fear,
As he stepped through her door,
And then they heard the signal word,
His farewell to Thomasina.

In the dark the shot that sparked
Like a cock that crowed for the dawn,
And with that sign---one stroke behind,
The breaking of the long awaited morning.

She rubbed her hands in the cleansing sand,
And called aloud her own name,
And with great care unbound her hair,
And let it fall free to her shoulders.

Roll, turn, spin--wheel we're in,
Tick, tock and toll on the bell,
The sands will spill and shift until,
A new day will be a-dawning.

I do hope this is what you're looking for.
---Art Thieme

25 Feb 00 - 02:13 AM (#184549)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: georgeward

Hi Art! The lyrics you post are almost wor-for-word as I remember Len's singing of it (I've done it a few times, meself, but not for a while). Only question I have is your time-periood setting. Len was writing as an African-American activist in the turbulent 1960s. While I never asked him (and don't recall his liner notes - lazy... they're in another bldg.) I've always assumed that he was thinking in anticolonial terms. After all, the same album also contains "Missionary Stew #2 "! The new album 'All Our Brave Tars: Songs from the age of Fighting Sail' is period material about the great frigate actions during (mostly) the War of 1812. I'd love to trade. Long time, no hear. Send me a snail address, to Mulesong@aol.com. -George ::-.--O

25 Feb 00 - 08:47 AM (#184604)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: Art Thieme

George---Will do as you suggest...

Amazing, I heard the "Roll-Turn-Spin" song by Benji Aranoff (a white guy) and never ever thought of it in any other historical setting than in occupied Europe during World War 2 ! Bizarre what a preconception and a locked mindset can do to freeze one's perception of a given tale. Then again, I once thought that "THE BULLHEAD BOAT", that we both have recorded, was about a Viking ship with a scary bovine figurehead on the bow. ;-)

Your view of the song "Roll-Turn Spin" makes me juxtopose Tom Jefferson and Sally Hemmings into the song in my mind's eye. That sure would've changed history, huh?

As someone once said, "To ere is human. To forgive, BOVINE." **BG=Big Grin**

Art

23 May 07 - 06:47 PM (#2059380)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: GUEST

...the wheel will keep turning forever.

He brought her sweets and things to eat
a clip to bind up her hair
her hair hung down,she liked it bound
she'd bind it no more come the morning

His candy and his beaded strands were not all he would pay
for secrets slip from love-drunk lips
and pave the way to comeing morning

And with every tick that followed tock
he wished that clock were still
you could not weigh the purse he's pay to hold back the sun and the morning

etc...

23 May 07 - 10:42 PM (#2059494)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: balladeer

Len Chandler once explained to me that this story was inspired by many times and places in history, and that it could be seen as a metaphor for the black/white struggle in America, that perhaps Thomasina represents Black America in his/her continuing quest for meaningful equality. (We might have been a little tipsy at the time.) In any case, Roll Turn Spin was a staple of my repertoire from 1963 on. In 2000, with Len's blessing, I set out to record it for the CD Paul Mills and I were making, titled All The Good Times. Alas, it didn't make the final cut, but I do have it In my Itunes collection and could e-mail it as an MP3, if anyone really wants to hear it. I should warn that, again with Len's blessing, I cut two verses. We agreed they were unnecessarily repetitious and made the song very, very long, but I missed them immediately, and if I were to sing it now, it would be intact, just because I love the poetry so much. Joanne

24 May 07 - 06:04 AM (#2059655)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: GUEST,Tunesmith

I've got that Columbia album by Len Chandler. I must listen to it again. Back in the 60s I loved the folkie tracks but a number of tracks were - at the time - difficult for me to appreciate. If Len could have stuck to the Tom Paxton/Phil Ochs type song, I'm sure he would have been a bigger success. But I guess he was following his personal muse - and God bless him for that!

25 May 07 - 12:55 AM (#2060421)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin,wheel I'm in
From: balladeer

It's so true, Tunesmith, Len was not a conventional folkie in the sixties. His songs were often musically complex and difficult to reproduce.

20 Nov 07 - 09:03 PM (#2198873)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,Alfred Scott

Just wated to mention that Peter Stanley, my brother-in-law, sang this and you can find his rendition at www.talkeetna.com

I've always thought it was a beautiful song, and never heard anyone else sing it.

Alfred Scott

21 Nov 07 - 11:42 AM (#2199276)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: Dan Schatz

The Len Chandler album this is on is "To Be a Man" - the better of his two efforts in my estimation, and certainly the one with the more timeless arrangements.

Dan Schatz

04 Dec 07 - 03:23 PM (#2208525)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,dave in seattle

Hello! I'm wondering if any one out there could clarify a point for me regarding two of Len Chandler's songs, "To Be a Man" and "Keep on Keepin' On". I was in the Army in California in 1965 and there was a young guitarist and singer/songwriter in our outfit who was working on both of those songs at the time. I understood from him that he was writing them for Len Chandler, and have often wondered about that. Anyone know if Len wrote those two or if they are credited to someone else--in which case, it could well have been the person I was in the service with?

Thanks!

09 Dec 07 - 05:39 PM (#2212100)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: balladeer

To Dave in Seattle: I've known Len since very early in our respective careers in folk music. I still speak with him now and then. I learned both To Be a Man and Keep on Keeping On directly from him. I suppose one can never know for certain what goes on out of sight, but to the best of my knowledge Len wrote both songs himself - and everything else he recorded. He sometimes borrowed melodies, and I've heard him say Green Green Rocky Road was based on a children's game, but for ten years I opened all my shows with Keep On Keeping On - I always introduced it as a Len composition and no one ever corrected me.

09 Dec 07 - 09:51 PM (#2212221)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: balladeer

ps to dave in Seattle: I just re-read the liner notes on Len's first Columbia album. He sure discusses the songs as if they belong to him.

10 Dec 07 - 03:13 PM (#2212635)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST

Thanks much, Balladeer! It's just something I've wondered about for many years. I was stationed at the Defense Language Institute in Monterrey, CA in late 1964 and most of 1965. The young man I mentioned in my previous email was in the same barracks as me during that time and often played and sang for us. He was an outstanding guitar player, and he appeared to write some of his own stuff. He also performed a lot of the standard folk songs popular at the time--I remember him doing a jaw-dropping version of "12 Gates to the City" on a 12-string. Anyway, I watched him writing out the music to "Keep on Keepin' On" and "To Be a Man", and I don't recall whether it was something he said or just my surmising, but I got the impression he was writing those songs and he frequently mentioned Len Chandler. I suspect, however, that I misunderstood and he was learning them FROM Len Chandler's recordings. The time frame could be significant; if Len's album was about before late '64 or early '65, then I think it most likely my barracks-mate was learning those songs from Len's recordings. If, however, Len's album didn't come out until later, then perhaps he could have contributed to those songs.

Anyway, thanks much for following up with me on this. I appreciate it.    dave in seattle

10 Dec 07 - 03:24 PM (#2212640)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,dave in seattle

On a totally (or, nearly totally) unrelated topic, would anyone out there have the chords for the song "Pride of Petrovar" that they would be willing to share? The two versions I am most familiar with are Ian & Sylvia and the Chad Mitchell Trio. I have the lyrics down pretty pat, but there's something that just keeps hangin' me up on getting the pick right.

Anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot!   Thanks in advance.

dave

13 May 12 - 08:59 PM (#3350484)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,muse

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread, but the best version of Roll Turn Spin that I have ever heard was done by Steve Gillette (even tons better than Len Chandler himself sang it on his To Be A Man album), but Steve Gillette would not record the song because he had not written it. Anyway, that was all back in the mid 60's. If I remember correctly on the liner notes on the To Be A Man album, Len Chandler said it was written by him after seeing three WWII movies in three successive days. Although I have now forgotten the titles of the movies, I remember that it listed them as part of the liner notes. The subject of the song is about a French girl during WWII who was secretively working with the French underground as an informer. The song takes place on the last night that she has to spend with the Nazi officer whose secrets she has been divulging to the French underground movement. Everything else about the song is contained in the lyrics.

13 May 12 - 09:19 PM (#3350488)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,muse

On Edit, I still have the To Be A Man LP record album, somewhere (I have just finished moving and I still have yet to unpack all of my LP record albums) but if someone would like an Mp3 download of the song, it will be possible for me to provide that. Just bear in mind that I have had the album since my teen years during the 60's, and I am sure that the album's original fidelity is no longer a part of the recording; however I do have a click and pop remover, along with a Phase Linear noise reducer that should clean it up somewhere close to its' original sound. bmccc2001@yahoo.com

06 Jun 12 - 10:00 PM (#3360309)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,laird

Keep On Keepin' On was one great Len Chandler song though the lyrics come at least in part from an Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem written in 1916. PP&M covered it in concert often, though I can't find it on any of their albums

07 Jun 12 - 03:25 PM (#3360589)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: breezy

Thank you for this thread.

the song was one of 2 that were sung regularly by a resident at a club in Blackheath S E London where Dave and Toni Arther were the organisers

I recall the chorus but missed the song

Thank you for enlightening me some 50 yeas later

thanks Mudcat

19 Dec 12 - 07:46 PM (#3454548)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,Johnny root

I Know the one you mean. I never heard it by Taj Mahal, & don't know if I want to. The original Les Claypool used to play it on his folk music show on KRHM, 90.7FM, back in the early '60's. I recorded it on my Akai Reeltoreel I bought in Japan. I love the song; I wish someone who has it would make it available on Youtube or some downloadable site. Beautiful song, wish I could do something about kicking the original back to life.

JLR

20 Dec 12 - 06:15 PM (#3454987)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: Jim Dixon

I just listened to Taj Mahal's recording on Spotify, and it's an instrumental piece, with no lyrics.

It's on 2 albums: "Music Keeps Me Together" and "World Music."

06 Dec 13 - 03:09 AM (#3581926)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,cj

' in out of down   '

06 Jan 14 - 06:16 PM (#3589571)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST

Have only heard Roll Turn Spin sung by Jacqui and Bridie - many years ago. Great song.

08 Apr 14 - 05:15 PM (#3616797)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Roll Turn Spin (Len Chandler)
From: GUEST,Chris Harvey

You are all wrong! Listen to Jaqui and Bridie album circa 1972. It's about a french spy from the underground. I think her name was Materhari. Will look this up when I get home.