Hi,
Today we'll look at the original Carter Family songs titled with H:
Happiest Days of All;
Happy in the Prison;
Happy or Lonesome;
He Never Came Back;
He Took a White Rose from Her Hair;
Heart That Was Broken for Me;
Heaven's Radio;
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven;
Hello Stranger;
Hold Fast to the Right;
Home by the Sea;
Home in Tennessee;
Homestead on the Farm;
Honey in the Rock;
Happiest Days of All is usually titled "Gathering Shells From the Seashore." The song is by Will Thompson in 1875. Otto Gray's band did the first recording in 1930, the Carters did theirs in 1932. There's a good article from 1906 here:http://books.google.com/books?id=f_bCmZUgDIcC&pg=PA297&dq=Gathering+Shells+From+the+Seashore&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF ALL- Carter Family
I wandered today on the seashore
The waves and the winds are low
I thought of the days that are gone by, ma
Many long years ago
We lingered by the gently flowing billows
And watched the golden sunset fade away
And there among the sweet ocean breezes
We talked about our future wedding day
CHORUS: Gathering up the shells from the seashore
Gathering up the shells from the sea
Those were the happiest days of all, ma
Gathering up the shells from the shore [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the waves are rolling on the ocean
And the golden moonbeams on the pebbles shine
At your cottage by the sea I'll come again, ma
When the waves are rolling gentle, sweetheart mine
Now I am growing up in years, ma
My locks are all silver and gray
But the vows that we made on the shore, ma
Are fresh in my memory today CHORUS:
No more bright shells we will gather
As the waves come dashing as of yore
She lies 'neath the white pebbled sand
Just covered up with shells on the shore CHORUS:
Happy in the Prison is a spiritual also known as "When I Lay my Burdens Down" or "Since I Lay my Burdens Down." The Carters learned some African-American spirituals and blues from Leslie Riddle and his friend Pauline Gray. The Carters 1938 recording followed several important recordings. Here's the first, the 1927 Earnest Phipps Holiness Quartet version:
HAPPY IN PRISON- 1927 Earnest Phipps Holiness Quartet
Well I am happy in this prison
Yes, I'm happy everywhere
In my heart the Savior's risen
Of 10,000 he was spared
CHORUS: Glory, glory, *hallelujah
Sinners lay that burden down
Glory, glory, hallelujah
For a cross receive a crown(fiddle)
Oh Pentecostal reign is falling
And its coming draweth nigh
Well I can hear the Savior calling
Go in heaven or you die. CHORUS (Fiddle)
Blind Roosevelt Graves recorded this traditional spiritual in 1929 backed with an incredibly hot band, Mississippi Jook Band, that included his brother Aaron.
WHEN I LAY MY BURDENS DOWN- Blind Roosevelt Graves
Glory glory, hallelujah,
When I lay my burdens down
Glory glory, hallelujah,
When I lay my burdens down.
All of my troubles will be over,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
I'll go home to meet my Savior,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
I will see, see my mother,
When I lay my burdens down,... (x2)
HAPPY IN PRISON- Carter Family
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair
Glory, glory, hallelujah
Sinners lay your burdens down
Glory, glory, hallelujah
For a cross receive a crown [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the food is low and failing
And the children bare for clothes
I look up to father's healing
For I know my savior knows
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Any cost, a fire is burning
And its coming draweth nigh
But I'm happy, always happy
Though in prison I must die
I am happy in a prison
Yes, I'm happy anywhere
In my soul my savior's risen
Of 10,000 he is fair
"Happy or Lonesome" is likely based on an earlier parlor song and was first collected by Dick Burnett and published in 1913 as "Are You Happy or Lonesome" in his songster; the same songster that produced "Man Of Constant Sorrow." Burnett and Rutherford first recorded the song in 1927. The Carters slight name change was probably recommended by Peer to prevent copyright problems since the song was copyrighted by Columbia.
HAPPY OR LONESOME- Carter Family, 1934
Come back to me in my dreaming
Come back to me once more
Come with the love light gleaming
As in the days of yore
I wonder if you still love me
And if your heart is still true
When the spring roses are blooming
Then I'll come back to you
Somewhere a heart is breaking
And calling me back to you
Memories of loved ones awaiting
Each happy home and you
Absence makes my heart fonder
Is it the same with you
Are you still happy, I wonder
Or do you feel lonesome, too [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
When the sun is sinking
In the golden west
And the birds and flowers
They have gone to rest
Come tell me that you still love me
And that your heart is still true
When the spring roses are blooming
Then I'll come back to you
Somewhere a heart is breaking
And calling me back to you
Memories of loved ones awaiting
Each happy home and you
Absence makes my heart fonder
Is it the same with you
Are you still happy, I wonder
Or do you feel lonesome, too
He Never Came Back was written by William Jerome in 1892 and can be viewed here:
http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/levy-cgi/display.cgi?id=141.006.001;pages=4;range=0-3
HE NEVER CAME BACK-Words and Music by William Jerome 1892.
1. A soldier kissed his wife goodbye, he was going to the war.
The tears they trickled down the face of the one he did adore.
"Be patient until I return, my own sweetheart," he cried,
But at the battle of Bull Run, he like a soldier died.
CHORUS: He never came back.
He never came back.
His dear form she never saw more.
But how happy she'll be
When his sweet face she'll see
When they meet on that beautiful shore.
2. I went into a restaurant as hungry as a bear,
And like a raving maniac, I grabbed the bill of fare.
The waiter said, "What will you have?" "Bring me a steak," I say.
He took my order, bowed his head, and slowly walked away. CHORUS:
3. I went to see the Barnum's show and took my mother-in-law.
She laughed at ev'rything she saw until it broke her jaw.
Outside the tent, a big balloon it proved to be my friend.
I shoved her in, then cut the rope, and up she did ascend. CHORUS:
4. A jay that lived "down on the farm" came in to see the town
And registered at Smith's Hotel as Mister Hayseed Brown.
He took his key and went upstairs with whiskers green as grass,
Pulled off his boots, jumped into bed, and then blew out the gas. CHORUS:
5. An old maid who was forty-five, she madly fell in love,
And with a young man just nineteen who called her turtledove.
The wedding day at last arrived. The birds did gaily sing.
He touched her for a hundred to go out and buy the ring. CHORUS:
Fiddlin' John Carson first recorded the song in 1926 as "When We Meet on that Beautiful Shore." The Carters recorded theirs in 1937:
HE NEVER CAME BACK- Carter Family
An old Jane about 49 came in to view the town
She registered up at Smith's Hotel as Miss Ada Brown
She said she was just 25 and that she was in love
With a young lad about 16, she called him her turtledove.
The wedding day at last arrived, the birds did merrily sing
He touched her up for a hundred to go out and buy the ring]
He never came back, no, he never came back
He's been gone for a year or more
That sassy young thing better have that ring
When we meet on that beautiful shore
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I went down to a restaurant as hungry as a bear
And a raving thief I did, I grabbed the bill of fare
The waiter said, now what for you, a piece of steak, I said
He taken my order and bowed his head and slowly walked away
No, he never came back, no, he never came back
I waited an hour or more
His neck I will break if he has not that steak
When we meet on that beautiful shore
He Took a White Rose from Her Hair is a traditional song usually titled "The (Little) White Rose" and was first recorded in 1927 by Red Patterson and his Piedmont Log Rollers. Again the title was probably changed by the Carters to prevent copyright problems. The song appears in print in 1929 JOAFL.
I found this snippet on-line:
"O, Willie," I said with a smile,
"I'm sure I will have to say no."
He took a white rose from my hair
And said "Good bye, I must go.
Here's a version on-line from Alabama: http://books.google.com/books?id=ZG_VpWAciWsC&pg=PA290&dq=took+a+white+rose+folk+song&lr=&as_brr=0&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
"The White Rose" was a favorite of WHAS radio radio star Frankie Moore and his Log Cabin Boys. They included the song in their 1936 songbook.
HE TOOK WHITE ROSES FROM HER HAIR- Carter Family 1935
Oh Willie my darling come back
I will ever be faithful and true
Oh Willie my darling come back
I'll forever be faithful to you
I remember once that he said
He loved me better than his life
He called me his darling his wife
Then asked me to be his own bride
Oh darling he said I am sure
Your heart is made of a stone
He took a white rose from my hair
Then left me a standing alone
The next day poor Willie was dead
He was found in the pond near the mill
Oh the clear precious waters so fair
That flows from the branch up the hills
His blue eyes were forever closed
And damp was his golden hair
And close to his pale lips was found
The white rose which he took from my hair
Heart That Was Broken for Me is a southern gospel song by Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855-1939) written in 1914.
Van DeVenter attended Hillsdale College, Michigan, then taught art in Sharon, Pennsylvania. After several years, he decided to switch to a career in evangelism, working with Wilbur Chapman and others in America and England. Toward the end of his life, he lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, then moved to Tampa, Florida, around 1923. He was professor of hymnology at the Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity Bible College) for four years.Probably his best know gospel song is "I Surrender All"
THE HEART THAT WAS BROKEN FOR ME- Carter Family 1938
There came from the skies
In the days long ago
The Lord with a message of love
The world knew Him not
He was treated with scorn
This wonderful Gift from above
They crowned Him with thorns
He was beaten with straps
He was wounded and nailed to the tree
But the pain in His heart
Was the hardest to bear
The heart that was broken for me
He came to His own
To his owners He loved
The sheep that had wandered astray
They heard not His voice
But the Friend of mankind
Was halted and driven away
I will take up my cross
I will walk by His side
For the pathway of duty I see
I will follow my Lord
And abide in His heart
The heart that was broken for me
Heaven's Radio is a gospel song recorded by the Carters in 1940. I'm not sure where they got this one but Stamps-Baxter music copyrighted a song by Brumley titled "Heaven's Radio Station Is In The Air" in 1943 so the idea was around. From a 1942 book: Such items as a Negro woman singing a song she composed called "Heaven's Radio" in which the words are the expression of a simple mind. The song was referred to a Freddie Lee Kirby who was a black choir director in Texas during the 1930s. [Popular Song Index: Third Supplement By Patricia Pate Havlice Published by Scarecrow Press, 1989]
HEAVEN'S RADIO- Carter Family
There's a wonderful invention
It's called the radio
You can hear it every where you chance to go
But the static in the air
Sometimes makes it hard to hear
But it is not so with heaven's radio.
CHORUS: Heaven's radio on the other shore
For my precious savior always listens in
It's the same old radio that was used long time ago
For my precious savior always listens in
Daniel in the lions den
With this power should surely win
For my precious savior always listens in
And I know without a doubt
Honest prayers will bring you out
For my precious savior always listens in
Well He set the Hebrews three
From the fiery furnace free
For my precious savior always listens in
He will rescue you today
In that same old fashioned way
For my precious savior always listens in
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven is a song by Charles K. Harris written in 1901. Here's a link to the sheet music: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
HELLO, CENTRAL! GIVE ME HEAVEN 1934 Carter Family
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair
She'll be glad it's me a-speakin'
Won't you call her for me please
For I surely want to tell her
That we're sad without her here
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Papa dear is sad and lonely
Sobbed a tearful little child
Since mama's gone to heaven
Papa dear, you do not smile
I must speak to her and tell her
That we want her to come home
You just listen while I call her
Call her through the telephone
Hello, central, give me heaven
For I know my mother's there
And you'll find her with the angels
Over on the golden stair [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I will answer just to please her
Yes, dear hearts, I'll soon come home
Kiss me, mama, it's your daughter
Kiss me through the telephone
"Hello Stranger" is a collection of blues and traditional lyrics from different songs arranged by The Carter Family. Maybelle wrote/arranged blues songs as well as A.P. The first verse seems to be the only original one from the Carters. It's been recorded by Doc Watson; Hazel and Alice.
HELLO, STRANGER Arranged Carter Family 1937
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
You are a stranger and you're a pal of mine.
Get up, rounder, let a working man lay down
Get up, rounder, let a working man lay down
You are a rounder, but you're all out and down
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Every time I ride the 6th and 4th streetcar
Every time I ride the 6th and 4th streetcar
I can see my baby peeping through the bars.
She bowed her head, she waved both hands at me
She bowed her head, she waved both hands at me
I'm prison bound, I'm longing to be free
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Oh, I'll see you when your troubles are like mine
Oh, I'll see you when your troubles are like mine
Oh, I'll see you when you haven't got a dime.
Weeping like a willow, mourning like a dove
Weeping like a willow, mourning like a dove
There's a girl up the country that I really love
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine
You are a stranger and you're a pal of mine
Hold Fast to the Right is from James Vaughan 1906. Lester McFarland and James Gardner recorded the song first in 1928.
HOLD FAST TO THE RIGHT- Carter Family 1937
Kneel down by the side of your mother, my boy
You have only a moment, I know
But stay till I give you my parting advice
It is all that I have to bestow
CHORUS: Hold fast to the right, hold fast to the right
Wherever your footsteps may roam
And forsake not the way of salvation, my boy
That you learned from your mother at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
You leave us to seek your employment, my boy
By the world you have yet to be tied
But in the temptations and trials you meet
May your heart to the savior confide
CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I gave you to god in your cradle, my boy
And taught you the best that I knew
And as long as His mercies permits me to live
I shall never stop praying for you
CHORUS:
You will find in this satchel a Bible, my boy
It's a book of all others are built
It will help you to live and prepare you to die
And will lead to the gates of the blest
CHORUS:
Home by the Sea seems to be a rewrite of "Dear Old Home Beyond the Sea" by A. Hamilton Sims and William A. Keller (music) written in 1887. The sentiment is identical but the song probably entered traditional and was changed. You can look here:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100007143/pageturner.html
HOME BY THE SEA Carter Family
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
There's a lonely cottage by the seaside
Where the water lilies strew the shore
It was there I passed my happy childhood
With a loved one that's gone before
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Oh-le-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-ee Ah-lee-oh-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-e-ee
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Many years have passed since there I wandered
But the old cot' ne'er has been forgot
And my heart in fancy oft returns
To that dear old familiar spot
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Oh-le-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-ee Ah-lee-oh-lay-ee, ee-e-e-e-e-ee
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
Yes, my heart is like a humming sea shell
That tells of its birth where e'er it roams
I will sing of my cottage by the seashore
Of my home, my dear old cottage home
Then give me back my dear old home
That old home by the sea
And I never will wander far away
From my home, my dear old cottage home
Home in Tennessee was actually titled "My Little Home in Tennessee" and recorded by the Carters in 1932. It was not issued for Victor at that time and was released later on RCA CNV102. Although the song entered tradition or at least the title has, this was a song by Maggie Andrews (an alias for Carson Robison) and because it was copyrighted by Columbia, the song was not released. The song was recorded by Al Craver (actually Vernon Dalhart) for Columbia in 1925. Later when the song was released by the Carters the name was changed slightly.
HOME IN TENNESSEE Carter Family 1932
CHORUS: Oh, yes, I'm going back
To my home in Tennessee
Back to the girl that's waiting
In the cotton fields to see
There's a mother and a dad
That's waiting patiently
And the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've sailed the skies in airplanes
To a place called Bunker Hill
I've dropped from the clouds in a parachute
And, oh, boys, what a thrill
I've saw shells fall in no man's land
And dined on the great prairie
But the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]
I've been to 'Frisco's golden gate
Also that of Maine
I've been to the Rocky Mountains
And back down again
Been up to old New York
Saw the Statue of Liberty
But the place I'm longing for tonight
Is my home in Tennessee CHORUS:
Homestead on the Farm was recorded twice by the Carter Family; first for Victor in 1929 then for ARC in 1935. The song is based on "I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home" by Lambert and Vandersloot in 1909. Will Oakland recorded the song for Edison in 1910. Here's the sheet music: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/sheetmusic/a/a02/a0276/
THE HOMESTEAD ON THE FARM Carter Family
Well, I wonder how the old folks are at home
Well, I wonder if they miss me when I'm gone
I wonder if they pray
For the boy who went away
And left his dear old parents all alone
You could hear the cattle lowing in the lane
You could almost see the fields of bluegrass green
You could almost hear them cry
As they kissed their boy goodbye
I wonder how the old folks are at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK TO TUNE OF HOME, SWEET HOME]
Just a village and a homestead on the farm
And a mother's love to shield him from all harm
A mother's love so true
And a sweetheart brave and true
A village and a homestead on the farm
You could hear the cattle lowing in the lane
You could almost see the fields of bluegrass green
You could almost hear them cry
As they kissed their boy goodbye
I wonder how the old folks are at home
[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK TO TUNE OF HOME, SWEET HOME] [REPEAT CHORUS]
Honey in the Rock is a gospel song written by Frederick A. Graves in 1895. The Carters recorded their version in 1937.
Honey In The Rock- Carter family
Oh my brother, do you know the Savior
Who is wondrous kind and true?
He's the Rock of your salvation
There is honey in the Rock for you
Oh, honey in the Rock (oh, honey in the Rock)
Sweet honey in the Rock (sweet honey in the Rock)
Oh it tastes just like honey in the Rock
Oh taste and see if the Lord is good
Oh it tastes just like honey in the Rock
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way that's new?
Have you drank from the living fountain?
There is honey in the Rock for you
Oh, there's honey in the Rock my brother
There is honey in the Rock for you
Leave your sins for the Blood to cover
There is honey in the Rock for you
HONEY IN THE ROCK- Graves lyrics
O my brother, do you know the Savior,
Who is wondrous, kind, and true?
He's the Rock of your salvation!
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Refrain: Oh, there's honey in the Rock, my brother;
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Leave your sins for the Blood to cover;
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way that's new?
Have you drunk from the living fountain?
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Do you pray unto God the Father,
"What wilt Thou have me to do?"
Never fear, He will surely answer,
There's honey in the Rock for you.
Then go out through the streets and byways,
Preach the Word to the many or few;
Say to every fallen brother,
There's honey in the Rock for you.
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