Oh, no. Harper plays the Lyrics Game.

[kniteracy]

Heartened by the fact that I actually knew some of the songs on redaxe's Lyrics Game List earlier this morning, I thought to myself, "Gosh! Maybe I should play, too! I mean, how hard could it be, setting my iTunes to shuffle and just throwing out the first line of the first 20 songs that come up?"

The Harper who said those words obviously had forgotten what is in her mp3 collection. The first song that came up was a version of "Twa Corbies." Um, in Swedish, or maybe Finnish. Then there were three songs with the titles prominently displayed in the first line. I despaired. I said, "filceolaire, what do I do?" And J, who is a big old sadist (who knew!?) said, "Just put them in there, to demonstrate that your collection is either completely unintelligible or dead easy." Well, except the other-than-English language ones that I can't even spell....

So here are 20 first lines from my mp3 collection. I took out instances where two or three versions of the same song followed one another and have tried to put in the most accessible version where this occurred. I did not include field recordings. I also left out songs performed/written by me (only one came up). I promise I do have some pop music in my collection-- it just didn't show up on this list. And yes, I would have put it in there, even if it was Cyndi Lauper. ;)


Play Harper's Lyrics Game?

Twenty random songs from my mp3 shuffle displayed below for your consternation or amusement. Googling is cheating. If a song comes with several versions, just tell me what you know about it. If you're not sure who the performer is, tell me who recorded your favourite version. I will post the answers in 24 hours. I will be surprised if anybody can guess more than two or three of these. Hell, I'd be surprised if I could guess more than two or three of them. Well, not really. ;)


1. If all those young men were as rushes a-growing --guessed by fionnabhar
2. A bold young farmer courted me, he gained my heart and liberty
3. Where've you been all the day, Henry my son? --guessed by pocketnaomi
4. The boar's head in hand bear I, bedecked with bays and rosemary --guessed by smallship1
5. The last time I saw you was down at the Grace --guessed by asknosecrets --and incorrect lyrics pointed out by him, as well.
6. If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone -- guessed by pocketnaomi
7. Oh, the maid went down to the well with the wash, and the dew fell down on her snow white flesh
8. There were two sisters side by side, sing i-tum and sing i-tay --guessed by angevin2
9. Johnny arose on a May morning, got the water to wash his hands --guessed by mdlbear
10. As I went down to Derby upon a market day --guessed by tig_b
11. As I rode out one evening fair, it being summer, to take the air, I spied a sailor and lady gay, and I stood to listen --guessed by occams_pyramid
12. As I was walking down the way, a feeling fine and larky-O --guessed by asknosecrets
13. I fight the force of evil, I'm a cowboy dressed in white
14. Oh, the sky was dark and the night advanced when a convict came to the Isle of France
15. Well friends, hereby hangs a tale, the year was 1931 --guessed by autographedcat
16. I'll tell you the tale of Mister Fox, how he came courting me --guessed by mbumby
17. Oh the king he sits in Dunfirmlin town, drinking the blood red wine -- guessed by fionnabhar
18. One evening as I rambled among the springing thyme --guessed by smallship1
19. There was a lady and a lady gay, of children she had three --guessed by resourceress
20. Lay down your burden, lay down your care, the holy virgin, she's gonna greet you up there --guessed by fionnabhar

Comments

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm going to give this one to you. After doing a little googling, with the understanding that your knowledge of traditional music is not shallow, I *did* find an instance of this song called "A Maying Song", on a webpage called www.hedgewytchery.com, which lists "Traditional songs and chants" and appears to have lots of pagan-y songs on it.

The song is widely known, in both male and female versions, as "Hares on the Mountain", and the first line is almost always

If all those young men/women were (like) hares on the mountain...

Sharp collected it as "Hares on the Mountain", and I've never heard any other title for it, but obviously it appears under more than one title. If you go to http://www.hedgewytchery.com/songs_chants.html, you'll find that the person there has given the song a chorus that I've never seen appear in any of the traditional versions either, although I could just have missed these. Versions I know generally go,

If all the young men were like hares on the mountain (repeated 3 times)
Then all the young women would get guns and go hunting,

To me right fol the diddle der-o, to me right fol the diddle day-- obviously other nonsense lines are inserted here.

The 'rushes' verse is often second, but not in this version by Frankie Armstrong:

If all the young men were like rushes a-growing (repeat 3 times)
Then all those young women would get scythes and go mowing

etc., etc., etc. :)

[telynor.livejournal.com]

And of course to *add* to this confusion, there are two famous songs with the title "Green Grow the Rushes". One is a traditional carol

I'll sing you one-oh,
Green grow the rushes-oh...
(etc., I'm sure you know it;

and the other is the Rabbie Burns song with the chorus that goes,

Green grow the rushes, o
Green grow the rushes, o
The sweetest hours that e'er I've spent
I've spent them with the lasses, o.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

'there are two famous songs with the title "Green Grow the Rushes". One is a traditional carol'

I don't think of it as a 'carol', what definition do you use for that term? (I suspect that there is a technical definition of 'carol' which I don't know. And I've probably therefore been misusing the term for the last 50 years...)

[trinsf.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping she's using it to mean a dancing song. Like Good King Wenceslas was *sniffle* before they made it stiff and slow sounding.

[tibicina.livejournal.com]

I believe a carol is technically any song which tells part of the biblical story or related judeo-christian mythology (saints tales, etc.). Particularly those associated with holidays, though not necessarily. (There are, for example, a number of easter carols.)

Note: they are not psalms. Settings of Psalms have their own category. And usually not general hymns, though I have seen the terms used interchangably. Really , they're more often overlapping. But hymns can just explain doctrine without telling a story of any sort.

Green Grow the Rushes and Children Go Where I Send Thee, can both be considered carols as well as counting songs, because of the implied story/lessons in the counting elemnts. (The Seven Joys of Mary is more explicit about the story elements.)

At least that's my understanding.

[trinsf.livejournal.com]

Carol: "...derived from a medieval French word, carole, a circle dance. In England it was first associated with pagan songs celegrating the winter solstice. It then developed into a song of praise and celebration, usually for Christmas."

I would differentiate between a advent or Christmas hymn, and a carol. Silent Night, not a carol in the sense above, those certainly in the definition you're using. The Holly and the Ivy, on the other hand, very clearly a carol.

[trinsf.livejournal.com]

c/those/though.

To distinguish them

[hvideo.livejournal.com]

I've always seen the song with "I'll sing you one-oh" use the word "rushes" while the song with "The sweetest hours" has always had the word "rashes".

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

No idea what version I was referencing because I don't own a version and can't trace it. I've heard it with a "maying" reference in the chorus (not the one on that site, though) and with the fol-de-rol chorus.

And what an interesting site. Witch spelled with a "y." How very quaint. She must be very magyckle. *eyeroll*

[telynor.livejournal.com]

*laugh*

Yes, very mystyckel. ;-)

If you do come across information for the version you know, I would love to know more about it!

(not a folk geek, nope!) :D

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. My "version" is more like bits and pieces trying to congeal in my brain.

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Mm, tasty fionnabhar brain jelly.... ;)

OMG! I smite thee, Robert Graves

[telynor.livejournal.com]

I'll bet he is the reason for this confusion!

Check out this page from The Triple Muse. (http://books.google.com/books?id=pRfnDBU9tqQC&pg=PA146&lpg=PA146&dq=%22if+all+those+young+men%22&source=web&ots=aYRZBRBfv8&sig=IOg5ttvC7AHncRQVU1sInADLn1U#PPA146,M1)

Ah, those romantical mystics. He says:

The folk song If all those young men evidently belongs to these May-eve witch frolics.

(underlining mine on "evidently", which in my book is a sure synonym for "I made it all up and it's true!") ;-)

Re: OMG! I smite thee, Robert Graves

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Well, young maidens aren't interested in that sort of thing during the rest of the year. Us old ones, either. Except not so much with the maiden for us. Evidently.

I say we blame everything on Robert Graves.

Re: OMG! I smite thee, Robert Graves

[telynor.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I've pointed everyone to my new favourite May song:

It's here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KTSp-itGA) ;)

Re: OMG! I smite thee, Robert Graves

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Love Jonathan Coulton!

Re: OMG! I smite thee, Robert Graves

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Gah, YouTube has bowdlerised the video by cutting it off at 35 seconds.

Try this one. (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8456995878011926927)

Re: OMG! I smite thee, Robert Graves

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Found this one with another title and a backward theme:
http://www.makem.com/discography/recordings/lyricpage/ifallyounggirls.html

I assume that copyright at the bottom of the page is on the website. :-)