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

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

3: it's a version I've generally heard done by Pete Seeger of the old "Make up my bed for soon I shall die" song, but I forget the title.

6: 500 Miles

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Pete calls it "Henry My Son," and that is of course Pete Seeger.

I'll call both correct; that is indeed 500 Miles; the version I was listening to was the Kingston Trio's.

[tig-b.livejournal.com]

I think 10 is one of the ram songs? - there are several with the same first line although the choruses are very different, eg 'the Derby Ram', 'Derby Ram' or 'Ram Song'

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

1. Green Grow the Rushes
10. Derby Ram
17. Sir Patrick Spens

[telynor.livejournal.com]

You are correct. This version's called "Ram of Derby", and it's by John Roberts and Tony Barrand, a pair of English ethnomusicologists and folksingers who have a following in the USA, particularly for their Christmas carol events, called "Nowell Sing We Clear".

[telynor.livejournal.com]

1. Nope. :)
10. Correct, but guessed moments before you by tig_b.
17. Correct. This is Nic Jones' version, which is my favourite.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

1. Oh, snap. "A Maying Song."

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Sorry, wrong again. The clue really is in the first half of the line. ;)

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

It's not the one with the litany of things the men could be and what the women would do to them?

[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.

[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*

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

Well, #4 is the Boar's Head Carol, but probably not the version I know which is Steeleye Span. #15 is that union song that decadentdave does, but I don't know the title. And #18 is some form of "Reynardine," possibly Pentangle/Bert Renbourn/John Jansch or one of that crowd.

And that's three more than I've managed in anyone else's lyric game in a long while.

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!") ;-)

[telynor.livejournal.com]

4. Yes, and done by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, so you're not far off.
15. Yes, but I need a title. ;)
18. Absolutely-- this was the Show of Hands version, but as you might imagine I have no less than eight version of Reynardine in my collection. :)

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.

[asknosecrets.livejournal.com]

5. I know it says Grace, not Greeks, and I'm sure the song I know is Greeks, but... The Last Time I Saw You Was Down At The Greeks?

I know it's cheating to just repeat it, so, is it the one that goes "There was whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks" - The Pogues?

[asknosecrets.livejournal.com]

And speaking of The Pogues,

12 - Recruiting Sargeant, part of the Medly on If I Should Fall From Grace With God.

[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

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) ;)

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

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

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)

[telynor.livejournal.com]

It is "grace", afaik. But that's not the title of the song, so I can't give it to you. You're right about the artist, though.

12 is absolutely correct.

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. :-)