Saturday, January 31, 2009

Alouette


Traditional Québécois
Rise Up Singing chapter: Play, p.166
C - G C / // C G - GC //: G7 - (as needed) :// G7 - - -

Alouette, gentille alouette / Alouette, je te plumerai
Je te plumerai la tête (2x)
Et la tête (2x) / Alouette (2x) O!

Je te plumerai:
la tête
le bec
le cou
les ailes
la queue
les jambes
les pattes

Friday, January 30, 2009

Baby Beluga


By Raffi
Rise Up Singing chapter: Play, p.166
D - / - A7 / - - / - D // G - / D - / E - / A7 -

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Teach Your Children


By Graham Nash (who is famous for being in Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young with Neil Young, that quitter...)
Rise Up Singing chapter: Home and Family, p.113
Verses: C F / C G ://
Chorus: C F / C G :// C F / C Am FG / C -

For the moment you can Google the verses. I don't really feel like I need to put them down for posterity on a song as well-known as this one.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Guantanamera


Words by José Martí, adapted by Julian Orban, music by José Fernandez Dias (Joselito Fernandez) adapted by Pete Seeger and Julian Orban
Rise Up Singing chapter: Creativity, p.24

Verses: D Em A - (3x) G - A - / D Em A - (2x)
Chorus: G - A - D - A - / D Em A - (2x)

José Martí wrote an incredibly long poem called Versos Sencillos from which these 3 verses were taken. The chorus was added later.
His entire poem (in Spanish) is here: http://www.damisela.com/literatura/pais/cuba/autores/marti/sencillo/index.htm

I won't give a link to an English translation because I've never found one I like all that much. They exist, though, so look them up if you don't speak Spanish.

José Martí himself is also well worth learning about. His writings have broad relevance to humanity beyond the Cuban independence movement, or even independence movements in general.
I looked for a biography to link this to, and skimmed through several, ultimately choosing this one even though it has less than stellar web design. Still, it's good. Give it a chance and never mind the ugly font: http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/havana/Marti.htm

Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crece la palma
Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crece la palma
Y antes de morirme quiero
Echar mis versos del alma

Chorus:
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera

Mi verso es de un verde claro
Y de un carmín encendido
Mi verso es de un verde claro
Y de un carmín encendido
Mi verso es un ciervo herido
Que busca en el monte amparo

Con los pobres de la tierra
Quiero yo mi suerte echar
Con los pobres de la tierra
Quiero yo mi suerte echar
El arroyo de la sierra
Me complace mas que el mar

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Sisters of Mercy


By Leonard Cohen
Rise Up Singing chapter: Dreams and Fantasies, p.32
C F C G C / Em Bm Em Bm D
F C G F G / C F C G C

Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone
They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on
And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song
Oh, I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long

Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control
It begins with your family, but soon it comes 'round to your soul
Well I've been where you're hanging and I think I can see how you're pinned
When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned

As they lay down beside me, I made my confession to them
They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem
If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn
They will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem

When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon
Don't turn on the lights they can read your address by the moon
And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night
We weren't lovers like that, and besides, it would still be all right
We weren't lovers like that, and besides, it would still be all right

Sunday, January 25, 2009

America The Beautiful (Inauguration Week Song 7 -Benediction)


Music by Samuel A. Ward, words by Katharine Lee Bates (last verse by Pamela Haines)
Rise Up Singing chapter: America, p.1
G D - GD / G D A D / G D - G / C G CD G

I tend to be skeptical of new add-on verses to songs, but I do this one because it's actually really good, I think. The words, the rhymes, I just think it fits pretty well and brings something new to the song, too, rather than just repeating the theme. So, good job Pamela Haines.

"Oh beautiful for working folk who forged the wealth we see
In farm and mill, in home and school, unsung in history
America! America! may race nor sex nor creed
No more divide, but side by side, all rise united, freed!"

I Am Changing My Name To Fannie Mae/Chrysler (Inauguration Week Song 6)


Inauguration Week Special #6
By Tom Paxton
Rise Up Singing Chapter: Rich and Poor, p.182
These are his updated lyrics. In Rise Up Singing it's "I Am Changing My Name to Chrysler". Same tune, though.

Download Paxton's version free on his website: Link
Or see all his free downloads and lyrics: Link
Alternate lyrics and a video of Arlo Guthrie singing them: Link
Or directly on YouTube: Link


Lyrics and chords (all misspellings are [sic]):
Everybody and his uncle is in debt
And the bankers and the brokers are upset.
Goldman Sachss, Merrill Lynchs
Saw themselves as lead-pipe cinches,
Now theyve landed in the biggest screw-up yet.
GC G / C G / D GE / A D
Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns and all their kind
Have turned out to be the blind leading the blind.
They are clearly the nit-wittest
In survival of the fittest
Let me modestly say what I have in mind:
/ " / C B7 / C GE / AD G

I am changing my name to Fannie Mae,
I am changing it to AIG.
On this bailout I am betting,
Just a piece of what theyre getting
Would be perfectly acceptable to me.
GC G / C G / D GE / A D
I am changing my name to Freddie Mac,
I am leaving for that great receiving line.
Ill be waiting when they hand out
Seven hundred million grand out
Thats when Ill get mine.
/ " / C B7 / C GE / AD G

Since the first amphibian crawled out of the slime,
Weve been struggling in an unrelenting climb.
We were hardly up and walking
Before money started talking
And it said that failure is the only crime.
GC G / C G / D GE / A D
If you really screwed things up, then you were through;
Now it seems there is a different point of view.
All that crazy rooty-tootin'
And that golden parachutin'
Means that someones making millions
Just not you!
/ " / C B7 / C GE / AD G

So I'm changing my name to Fannie Mae,
I am changing it to AIG.
On this bailout I am betting,
Just a piece of what theyre getting
Would be perfectly acceptable to me.
GC G / C G / D GE / A D
I am changing my name to Freddie Mac,
I am leaving for that great receiving line.
Ill be waiting when they hand out
Seven hundred million grand out
Thats when Ill get mine.
/ " / C B7 / C GE / AD G

The version Arlo Guthrie does (don't know to whom to attribute the adaptation):

Oh the price of gold is rising out of sight
And the dollar is in sorry shape tonight
What the dollar used to get us now wont buy a head of lettuce
No the economic forecast isnt right
But amidst the clouds I spot a shining ray
I can even glimpse a new and better way
And Ive devised a plan of action worked it down to the last fraction
And Im going into action here today

CHORUS:
I am changing my name to Fannie Mae
I am going down to Washington D.C.
I'll be glad they got my back
'Cause what they did for Freddie Mac
Will be perfectly acceptable to me
I am changing my name to Fannie Mae
I am headed for that great receiving line
So when they hand a trillion grand out
Ill be standing with my hand out
Ill get mine

When my creditors are screaming for their dough
Ill be proud to tell them all where they can go
They wont have to scream and holler
Theyll be paid to the last dollar
Where the endless streams of money seem to flow
Ill be glad to tell them all what they can do
Its a matter of a simple form or two
Its not just remuneration its a liberal education
Aint you kind of glad that Im in debt to you

Since the first amphibians crawled out of the slime (of the slime!)
Weve been struggling in an unrelenting climb
We were hardly up and walking before money started talking
And its sad that failure is an awful crime
Its been that way for a millennium or two
But now it seems that theres a different point of view
If youre a corporate titanic and your failure is gigantic
Down in Congress theres a safety net for you

Saturday, January 24, 2009

We Shall Overcome (Inauguration Week Song 5)


Inauguration Week Special #5
Musical and lyrical adaptation by Zilphia Horton, Frank Hamilton, Guy Carawan and Peete Seeger. Inspired by African-American gospel singing, members of the Food and Tobacco Workers' Union, Charleston, SC and the southern Civil Rights Movement.
Rise Up Singing chapter: Freedom, p.63
C F C - (2x) / C FG Am D G D G -
*C F C* - F G Am - / C F C G C F C -

You could replace *C F C* with *F G C* with harmonious results.

We shall overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day!

We are not afraid (3X) today!...
We shall stand together (3x) someday...
The truth will make us free...
The Lord will see us through...
We shall be like Him...
We shall live in peace...
The whole wide world around...
We are not alone...
We'll walk hand in hand...
Black and white together...
We shall all be free...

Friday, January 23, 2009

Draft Dodger Rag (Inauguration Week Song 4)


U.S. Inauguration Week Special #4
(Song begins at 1:42)
By Phil Ochs
Rise Up Singing chapter: Peace, p.154
G - / A - / D7 - / - G ://
Jobless Americans turning to military enlistment.
Thinking of enlisting?



Lyrics:
Well I'm just a typical American boy
From a typical American town
I believe in God and Senator Dodd
And in keeping old Castro down
And when it came my time to serve
I knew "Better dead then red"
But when I got to my old draft board, Buddy
This is what I said:

Sarge, I'm only 18, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat and my feet are flat
And my asthma's getting worse
Oh, think of my career, my sweetheart dear
And my poor old invalid aunt
Besides I ain't no fool, I'm a-going to school
And I'm working in a defense plant

I got a dislocated disc and a racked-up back
I'm allergic to flowers and bugs
When the bombshell hits I get epileptic fits
And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs
I got the weakness woes, I can't touch my toes
I can hardly reach my knees
And if the enemy came close to me
I'd probably start to sneeze

I hate Chou En-Lai, and I hope he dies
But one thing you gotta see
Is that someone's got to go over there
And that someone isn't me
So I wish you well, Sarge, give 'em hell
Kill me a thousand or so
And if you ever get a war without blood and gore
I'll be the first to go!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Banks of Marble (Inauguration Week Song 3)


Inauguration Week Special #3
By Les Rice
Rise Up Singing chapter: Rich and Poor, p.180
(Song begins at 2:00)

In which I'm a little sarcastic, I talk a little about Barack Hussein Obama, and play a song about money and poverty and sharing -"Did he say communism?!?!" -No, I said sharing.


Rise Up Singing chords (in D)
Verses: D A D - / G - D - / A - D - / /
Chorus: D - - - / A - D - / - - GD D / A - D -

My way
Verses: D A D - / G - D - / G - D - / A - D -
Chorus: D - GD D / A - D - / - - GD D / A - D -

I've traveled 'round this country
from shore to shining shore
It really makes me wonder
the things I heard and saw

I saw the weary farmer
Plowing sod and loam
I heard the auction hammer
Just a-knocking down their home

But the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver
That the farmer sweated for

I saw the seamen standing
Idly by the shore
I heard those bosses saying
"Got no work for you no more"

But the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver
That the seamen sweated for

I've seen the weary miners
Scrubbing coal dust from his back
I heard their children crying
"Got no coal to heat the shack"

But the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver
That the miners sweated for

I've seen my brothers working
Throughout this mighty land
I pray we'll get together
And together make a stand

Then we'll own those banks of marble
With no guard at any door
And we'll share those vaults of silver
That the workers sweated for

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Power And The Glory (Inauguration Week Song 2)


U.S. Inauguration Week Special #2:
By Phil Ochs
Rise Up Singing chapter: America, p.3
(Song begins at 1:47)

Intro: C↓ (Walk down the bass line of C. It's easy. Can't do it? send me a messsage. Advice is free. I can't help you with any fancy stuff, sadly, but walking down the baseline of C? Piece of cake.)
Verses: C - / - Dm / - - / F G
Chorus: Am G / / C Em / F G (I go back to the intro between verses and walk down C again a few times.)

Come on and take a walk with me through this green and growing land
Walk through the meadows and the mountains and the sand
Walk through the rivers, the valleys and the plains
Walk through the sun and walk through the rain

Here is a land full of power and glory
Beauty that words cannot recall
Oh, her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom (freedoms)
Her glory shall rest on us all (on us all)

From Colorado, Kansas and the Carolinas too
Virginia and Alaska, from the old to the new
Texas and Ohio to the California shore
Tell me, who could ask for more?

Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of the poor
Only as free as a padlocked prison door
Only as strong as our love for this land
Only as tall as we stand

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

What Did You Learn In School Today? (Inauguration Week Song 1)


U.S. Inauguration Week Special #1:
By Tom Paxton
Rise Up Singing chapter: America, p.6
D - / - A / D - / DA D // G D / / / // D - / DA D

(Song begins at 1:40, finishes at 3:20, and then I talk about it, and a little about Barack Obama's inauguration.)

What did you learn in school today
Dear little boy of mine? (repeat)
I learned that Washington never told a lie
I learned that soldiers seldom die
I learned that everybody's free
And that's what the teacher said to me
That's what I learned in school today
That's what I learned in school

What...? / I learned that policemen are my friends
I learned that justice never ends
I learned that murderers die for their crimes
Even if we make a mistake sometimes / That's...

...I learned that war is not so bad
I learned about the great ones we have had
We fought in Germany and in France
And someday I might get my chance...

...I learned our government must be strong
It's always right and never wrong
Our leaders are the finest men
And we elect them again and again...


===================
Additional, non-Paxton verses. I like the first one, but I tend to ignore the others:

(This one by John Braxton)
...I learned that boys grow into men
Fly up to the moon and back again
That little girls to mommies grow
To stay at home and cook and sew...

...I learned that Columbus looked for land
For Isabella and Ferdinand
To India he was looking for a way
Til he bumped right into the U.S.A... (well, the Bahamas achipelago, anyway)

...I learned that Washington couldn't chew steak
For fear his wooden teeth might break
He rowed across the Delaware
And he caught the British in their underwear...

...I learned and learned and learned some more
Til my eyes got red and my brain got sore
I wander the halls in a state of shock
But it all gets better at 3 o'clock...

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Keeper


Traditional English
Rise Up Singing chapter: Ballads and Old Songs, p.12

If you're thinking about reading some Robin Hood stories, I recommed Henry Gilbert's Robin Hood. It was published in 1912, but it's highly readable; don't let the date give you any pause.


Lyrics:
The keeper did a-hunting go
And under his cloak he carried a bow
All for to shoot at a merry little doe
Among the leaves so green-o
C - F C / - - F C / - - - G / C - G C

Jackie boy? -Master -Sing ye well? -Very well
Hey down, ho down, derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o
To my hey down down, to my ho down down
Hey down, ho down, derry derry down
Among the leaves so green-o
C - - - / - - - G / C - G C ://

The first doe she did cross the plain
The keeper fetched her back again
Where she is now she may remain
Among the leaves so green-o

The second doe she did cross the brook
The keeper fetched her back with his crook
Where she is now you may go and look
Among the leaves so green-o

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Ripple


Words: Robert Hunter; music: Jerry Garcia
Rise Up Singing chapter: Hope, p.118
Verses: G - C - / - - - G / - - C - / G D C G
Chorus: Am - D - / G C A D
(Song begins at 3:08)

I talk a little and a lot at the beginning about summer camp and lovely people, lovely Americans that I've met, joy, summer, days off, road trips and the USA.
I mention Sal in Vermont and Nathaniel in Alaska by name. They're wonderful, but far from the only people I'm thinking of. It's just that no one person's essence corresponds with this song and the album, but the essence of experiences and memories I've had with a lot of people does. Sal and Nathaniel remain pretty good guesses, though.
I also mess up the lyrics a little. You'll see.

For great annotated lyrics, go here: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/ripple.html

Friday, January 16, 2009

Rise Up Singing: Take This Hammer

Traditional American (U.S.A.)
Rise Up Singing chapter: Hard Times and Blues, p.104
D - A - / - - D - / - D7 G - / D A7 D -

Down By The Sally Gardens

Words by W.B. Yeats, melody unknown
Rise Up Singing chapter: Love, p.123
C G F C F G C - / / Am F G C F G C - / 1st

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Shortning Bread (Shortnin' Bread)

Traditional (southern black American)
Rise Up Singing chapter: Home and Family, p.112
C - - - / - - G7 C ://

Some info from Wikipedia. You can check out its sources yourself:
"[Shortening Bread] is often thought of as a traditional Negro plantation song. However the first version was written by James Whitcomb Riley in 1900... E.C. Perrow published the first folk version of this song in 1915, which he collected from East Tennessee in 1912."

Apparently the pigeon-wing was a dance move (among southern black Americans, I presume). It must have been harder than the cake-walk anyway, if the kid only "almost" cut it.

Lyrics:

Three little children, lyin' in bed
Two was sick and the other 'most dead
Sent for the doctor, the doctor said:
Feed those children on shortnin' bread

(Mama's, Mommy's) Mammy's little baby loves shortnin', shortnin'
Mammy's little baby loves shortnin' bread

Put on the skillet, put on the lid
Mammy's going to bake a little shortnin' bread
That ain't all she's going to do
Mammy's going to make a little coffe too

(Note: I sang hot chocholate, because coffee's kind of gross. And hot chocolate and shortning bread sounds delicioius.)

The little child sick in bed
When he hear tell o' shortnin' bread
Popped up well, he dance and sing
He almost cut the pigeon wing

I slip to the kitchen, slip up the lid
Fill my pocket full o' shortnin' bread
Stole the skillet, stole the lid
Stole the gal making shortnin' bread

They caught me with the skillet, caught me with the lid
They caught me with the gal making shortnin' bread
Paid six dollars for the skillet, six dollars for the lid
Spent six months in jail eating shortnin' bread

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Rose

By Amanda McBroom
Rise Up Singing chapter: Hope, p.118
D - A - G GA D - / / F#m - Bm - Em - A - / 1st

Here's one you've probably heard. A lot of people know it, for better or for worse, as a Bette Midler song.

Some say love, it is a river that drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor that leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower and you, its only seed

It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes the rose

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Hard, Ain't it Hard

Arranged and adapted by Woodie Guthrie
Rise Up Singing chapter: Hard Times and Blues, p.101
D G / D A / D G / DA D

That's it!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Universal Soldier

By Buffy Sainte-Marie
Rise Up Singing chapter: Peace, p.164
In the key of C:
F G C Am / F G C - / F G Em Am / F - Dm G

I really like Buffy Sainte-Marie. A lot.
Donovan also did a pretty well-known version of this.

Lyrics:
He's 5 foot 2 and he's 6 feet 4
He fights with missiles and with spears
He's all of 31 and he's only 17
He's been a soldier for a thousand years

He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an atheist, a Jain
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew
And he knows he shouldn't kill and he knows he always will
Kill you for me my friend and me for you

And he's fighting for Canada, he's fighting for France
He's fighting for the U.S.A.
And he's fighting for the Russians, he's fighting for Japan
And he thinks we'll put an end to war that way

And he's fighting for democracy, he's fighting for the reds
He says it's for the peace of all
He's the one who must decide who's to live and who's to die
And he never sees the writing on the wall

But without him how would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone
He's the one who gives his body as the weapon of the war
And without him all this killing can't go on

He's the universal soldier and he really is to blame
His orders comes from far away no more
They come from him and you and me, and people can't you see
This is not the way we put an end to war

New verses written by "anonymous":

They are business women, union workers, teachers, even priests
They say a strong defense will save men's lives
They have to give their money because it is the law
Yet without this money killing can't go on

They are universal citizens, they really are to blame
Their money goes to carry on the war
It comes from them and you and me, it isn't hard to see
This is not the way we put an end to war

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Shalom Chaverim (Round)

Traditional Hebrew
Rise Up Singing chapter: Sacred Rounds and Chants, p.197

No chords, it's a cappella. Rise Up Singing has the melody written out, but I don't know how to do that effectively in plain text. Also, before you have anything to say about my editing technique and the sloppiness thereof: I know. But thanks in advance for the constructive criticism. I thought the audio overlap was close enough for rock and roll, as they say.

Here are two different links to external pages that have the written melody if you're looking for it, as well as midi files if my singing was too off-key for you.

  1. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~msmiller/rshalom.html
  2. http://songs-with-music.freeservers.com/shalom.html

Shalom, chaverim,
Shalom, chaverim,
Shalom! Shalom!
L'hitraot, l'hitraot,
Shalom, Shalom

Or, differently transliterated:

...Le hit ra-ot, le hit ra-ot
Shalom, Shalom

Saturday, January 10, 2009

I'll Fly Away

(Chord review at 0:56, song begins at 1:12)
By Alfred E. Brumley
Rise Up Singing chapter: Gospel, p.93
D - G D / - - A D ://


Some bright morning, when this life is o'er, I'll fly away
To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away
I'll fly away, O Lordy, I'll fly away (in the morning)
When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away

When the shadows of this life have grown, I'll fly away
Like a bird that prison bars has flown, I'll fly away
I'll fly away, O Lordy, I'll fly away (in the morning)
When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away

Just a few more weary days and then I'll fly away
To a land where joys will never end, I'll fly away
I'll fly away, O Lordy, I'll fly away (in the morning)
When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away

Friday, January 9, 2009

Go Tell Aunt Rhody

Traditional American
Rise Up Singing chapter: Lullabies, p.131
D - A D

One of the first songs I ever learned to play, when I was just a few years old.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Nowhere Man


(Song begins at 1:31)
By John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Rise Up Singing chapter: Hard Times and Blues, p.103

Chords & lyrics:

He's a real Nowhere Man sitting in his Nowhere Land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Doesn't have a point of view knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?
C G F C / F Fm C - ://

(bridge)
Nowhere Man, please listen you don't know what you're missing
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command
Em F Em F / Em F - G

He's as blind as he can be just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere Man can you see me at all?
Doesn't have a point of view knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

(bridge #2)
Nowhere Man, don't worry, take your time, don't hurry
Leave it all til somebody else lends you a hand

He's a real Nowhere Man sitting in his Nowhere Land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Roddy McCorley


By Ethna Carberry
Rise Up Singing chapter: Struggle, p.218
D - GA D / D GD GEm A / / 1st

"The story of Roddy McCorley does not begin during the years of the United Irishmen but begins in the early 1760s with the formation of the mainly Catholic Defenders. The Defenders were a secret agrarian society that agitated for reform of the harsh penal laws then in force and consisted mainly of smallholders, small businessmen and the landless peasantry. " - From www.roddymccorley.com

Alternate lyrics are here


Rise Up Singing lyrics:
O, see the fleet-foot hosts of men who speed with faces wan
From farmstead and from thresher's cot, along the banks of Ban
They come with vengeance in their eyes, too late, too late are they
For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today

Up the narrow street he stepped, smiling proud and young
About the hemp-rope on his neck, the golden ringlets clung
There's ne'er a tear in his blue eyes, both glad and bright are they / As young...

When last he steppèd up that street, his shining pike in hand
Behind him marched in grim array, an earnest, stalwart band
"For Antrim Town!" (2x) He led them to the fray / Now young...

There's never a one of all your dead more bravely fell in fray
Than he who marches to his fate on the bridge of Toome today
True to the last (2x) he treads the upward way / As young...

Jamaica Farewell


By Irving Burgie (Lord Burgess)
Rise Up Singing chapter: Seas & Sailors, p.203
Verses: C F / CG C ://
Chorus: C F / G C / C F / CG C

Or in D, as in the video
Verses: D G / DA D ://
Chorus: D G / A D / D G / DA D

This song was popularised in the United States by Harry Belafonte
Ackee, or aki, is a Jamaican fruit that's not very sweet.

Down the way where the nights are gay
And the sun shines brightly on the mountaintop
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop

Chorus:
Well I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
Well my heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town

Sounds of laughter everywhere
And the dancers swaying to and fro
I must declare my heart is there
Though I've been from Maine to Mexico

Down at the market you can hear
Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear
Ackee, rice, salt fish are nice
And the rum is fine any time of year

Monday, January 5, 2009

Mister Sun (Mr. Sun)


Adaptation of "Mr. Moon". On Raffi "Singable Songs for the Very Young"
Rise Up Singing chapter: Play, p.174
G A D G / - A - D / G D G D / G A D G

Chords from Raffi's Singable Songbook:
G A7 D7 G / - A D7 - / G D G D / G A7 D7 G

Vacation is over! I recorded this yesterday on the beach and today I'm back in Bangkok. I've retrofitted the videos from the last few days with all the chords and song info they were missing, too.

Lyrics:
Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun please shine down on me
Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun hiding behind a tree
Thse little children are asking you to please come out so we can play with you
Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun, please shine down on me!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Abide With Me

Music: "Eventide" -William H. Monk
Words by Henry Lyte (H.F. Lyte)
These lyrics by Bertha H. Woods, based on H.F. Lyte's hymn
Rise Up Singing chapter: Lullabies, p.130
CG AmC FG C / - FC Dm G
CG Am FA Dm / G CF CG C
I play it in G:
GD EmG CD G / - CG Am D
GD Em CB Am / D GC GD G


I do this with Spanish lyrics from the Christian Science Hymnal (hymn #7), just to mix things up a bit:

La luz del día aquí conmigo está
Desaparece ya la oscuridad
Tú das la fuerza y la libertad
Siempre contigo viviré, Verdad

No temo si te siento junto a mí
Triunfante soy del mal y la inquietud
Pues quien confiadamente vive en Ti
Tiene amor, bondad, valor, salud

Poder y paz encuentro en Ti, Señor
Viviendo en Ti no pido nada más
Y nada temeré, divino Amor
Pues, sé que Tú conmigo siempre estás

Eidelweiss


Words by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rodgers
Rise Up Singing chapter: Outdoors, p.152
G D G C / G Em C D / G D G C / G D G -
D - G - / C A D D7 /   "   /   "   /

At the end of the video there's a bit of a travel story about Kyrgyzstan and China, if that sort of thing interests you.


Lyrics:
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever

From the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music"

Friday, January 2, 2009

The Flower Carol

(Song begins at 0:56)
Old Latin carol, "Tempus Adest Floridum"
English translation: Oxford Book of Carols
Traditional melody (same as "Good King Wenceslas")
Rise Up Singing chapter: Outdoors, p.152
D - GA D / / DA BmD GA D
DA BmA DA G D

Spring has now unwrapped her flowers, day is fast reviving
Life in all her growing powers toward the light is striving
Gone the iron touch of cold, winter time and frost time
Seedlings working through the mold now make up for lost time

Herb and plant that winter long slumbered at their leisure
Now bestirring green and strong, find in growth their pleasure
All the world with beauty fills, gold the green enhancing
Flowers make glee among the hills and set the meadows dancing

Through each wonder of fair days God herself expresses
Beauty follows all her ways as the world she blesses
So as she renews the earth, artist without rival
In her grace of glad new birth, we must seek revival