Carter Family: Songs titled with Letter D

Hi,

On the left is a photo of the Carters on the road in the 1930s. Both Maybelle and Sara had children to raise, AP continued to do some booking and organized the recording sessions. Because of their families the Carters were not a touring group, usually settling for short local venues.

This photo subtly shows the the upcoming problems between AP and Sara, the 1930s would not be a happy time for them.

Carter Family songs titled with letter D are: Dark and Stormy Weather; Dark Haired True Lover; Darling Daisies; Darling Little Joe; Darling Nellie Across the Sea; Diamonds in the Rough; Distant Land to Roam; Don't Forget Me Little Darling; Don't Forget This Song; Dying Mother; Dying Soldier.

"Dark and Stormy Weather" has been recorded as "I Don't Know Why I Love Her/Him" It was recorded at the Carter Family's last session for Bluebird in October 1941. New Lost City Ramblers did a cover of it.The song "Dark and Dreary Weather" has been collected by Randolph (volume IV #750, pp 234-36)and Brown's North Carolina Folksong II, #168. It was used in Mildred Haun's Master's thesis at Vanderbilt.

Charles Wolfe says about it: "Dark and Stormy Weather shows up in several folksong collections as 'I Don't Know Why I Love Him' and had been recorded in 1937 by the Delmore Brothers." "It's dark and dreary weather, Almost inclined to rain, My heart is almost broken, My lover has gone on the train!" The singer wonders why she loves him so much, and he loves her not at all. "Some say that love is a pleasure; What pleasure do I see?"It's related to the song "Farewell He," "Adieu to Dark Weather" songs and the "Let him go God Bless Him" songs.

DARK AND STORMY WEATHER

CHORUS: Dark and stormy weather
It still inclines to rain
The clouds hang over center*
My love's gone away on a train

We met, loved, and parted
I thought the world of you
You left me brokenhearted
To me you proved untrue CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I'm leaving old Virginia
There's nothing here for me
I know you love another
In my grave I'd rather be CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

You told me that you loved me
I believed just what you said
But now you love another
I wish that I were dead CHORUS:

*sinners (unclear what this is)

"Dark-Haired True Lover" is hard to find much info on. The 1918 text is in Robert Gordon Collection #1536 but I don't have access to that collection. This is a rewrite of an existing folk song but we need more info.

The Prisoner's Song/I Wish I Had Someone has the following:

I wish I had someone to love me,
Someone to call me his own,
Someone to sleep with me nightly,
I weary of sleeping alone.

DARK-HAIRED TRUE LOVER Carter Family

I once had a dark-haired true lover
She was all the world to me
She promised herself to another
Now don't you think it was me

I was young when I wrote my first letter
I blotted the lines with tears
But now I am old, I know better
We've parted for many long years

Take back every word you have spoken
Let it be as though we've never met
For tonight I'm a poor boy heartbroken
I'll forgive but I'll never forget

Oh, Ruth, Oh, Ruth, how I love you
You just seemed to me like a bird
Although you went back on your promise
Although you went back on your word

Take back every word you have spoken
Let it be as though we've never met
For tonight I'm a poor boy heartbroken
I'll forgive but I'll never forget

We parted in the month of September
Some say we parted for life
But I hope some day or another
I'll call you my sweet darling wife

Take back every word you have spoken
Let it be as though we've never met
For tonight I'm a poor boy heartbroken
I'll forgive but I'll never forget

I wish I had someone to love me
Someone to call me their own
I'm out in this wide world a-wandering
I'm tired of living alone

Darling Daisies: It's rare when you find out something about a song that perhaps no one has figured out. This may be the case. This song is based on "Down by the Garden Wall" by Max Vernor. Published in 1882.http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mussm&fileName=sm/sm1882/16400/16490/mussm16490.db&recNum=1&itemLink=D?mussm:1:./tem As far as I know no one has attributed this to the Carter's song. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometime!

DARLING DAISIES- Carter Family

When first I met my darling Daisy,
Down by the garden wall
I was walking along the street so shady
I was going for a twilight call

CHORUS: I'd love to sing and dance among the roses
Down by the garden wall
It's there I'd like to meet my Daisy
When I make a twilight call

She was sleeping in a bed of roses
Dreaming of the bye and bye
While the little birds around were a-singing
Up above the branches so high CHORUS: [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

If you want to see a bright-eyed beauty
Bright as the stars that shine
Just come and go with me some evening
To see that pretty girl of mine

Darling Little Joe: there are two sheet music printings, one (dated 1876) crediting it to Charles E. Addison, the other (1866) by V. E. Marsten. See Marsten's at Levy site: http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/otcgi/llscgi60

Randolph collected several versions and the song entered tradition so the likely source of the Carter's 1939 version is Bradley Kincaid, who did the song in 1934.

BROADSIDES: Levy 105.044, "The Death of Little Joe," G. Andre & Co., Philadelphia, 1866LOCSheet, sm1876 10660, "Little Joe," Blackmar & Finney (New Orleans), 1876 (tune)"The Death of little Joey" H. De Marsan, Publisher, 60 Chatham Street, N. Y.http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?amss:2:./temp/~ammem_wo0t::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,calb

Broadside LOCSheet sm1876 10660: "Composed and sung by Maj. Chas. E. Addison the noted Confederate Spy and Scout of Gen. John H. Morgan's Command."

Darling Little Joe-Carter Family

What will the birds do mother in the spring
The little brown birds around the door
Will they fly from the trees and tap at my window
Wondering why Joe wanders out no more

What will the kitten do mother all alone
Will it stop from its frolic for a day
Will it lie on its rug by the side of my bed
As it did before I went away

Keep Tyke dearest mother my poor little dog
For I know that he'll miss me too
Keep him when old and useless he grows
Sleeping all the long summer through

Show him my coat mother so he'll not forget
Little master who will then be dead
Speak often and kindly of little Joe
And pat him on his curly head

What will Thomas the old gardener say
When you ask him for a flower for me
Will he give you a rose he has tended with care
The first fairest bloom of the tree

And you dearest mother will miss me for a while
Though in heaven I'll no larger grow
Any kind angel will tell you at the gate
When you ask for your darling little Joe

"Darling Nellie Across the Sea" was recorded by the Carter Family in 1930 in Memphis TN. This song is based on a ballad or parlor song. Maybe someone can find it. Anyone?

DARLING NELLIE ACROSS THE SEA- Carter Family

[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Oh, the night was dark and stormy
When this message came to me
It was from my darling Nellie
Who is far across the sea

Oh, dear Jack, I know I'm dying
I've no friends, no parents nigh
But remember, dearest Jackie
There's a home for us on high [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Oh, dear mother, I must leave you
I must go across the sea
I must find my darling Nellie
Who so dearly cared for me

I was wandering through the graveyard
When I found where Nellie laid
It was there my heart was broken
It was there I knelt and prayed [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Now I'm left alone in sadness
On the field of flowery Spain
And the girl I love is sleeping
In the cold and silent grave

Lay me where Nellie's sleeping
Close beside her let me lie
Where the blooming flowers are creeping
There, oh, lay me when I die

Diamonds in the Rough: is a gospel song by CW Byron words and LL Pickett Music from 1897. AP Carter sometimes sang this solo on Border Radio programs in the late 1930s.

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH Carter Family

While walking out one evening
Not knowing where to go
Just to pass the time away
Before we held our show

I heard the Bethel Nation stand
Singing with all their might
I give my heart to Jesus
And left the show that night

CHORUS: The day will soon be over and digging will be done
And no more gems be gathered, so let us all press on
When Jesus comes to claim us and says it is enough
The diamonds will be shining, no longer in the rough

One day, my precious comrade
You, too, were lost in sin
And others sought your rescue
And Jesus took you in

And when you're tired and tempted
And scoffers can rebuff
Don't turn away in anger
This diamond in the rough CHORUS:

While reading through the Bible
Some wondrous sights I see
I read of Peter, James, and John
On the Sea of Galilee

And Jesus when he found them
He bound them very tough
And they were precious diamonds
He gathered in the rough CHORUS:

Distant Land to Roam; is based on LM Bandy's 1902 song "Leaving Home"
On-line I found the text: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II, p. 201 (1931), "(The Wanderer)"

Other versions:Hazel And Alice. Won't You Come and Sing for Me, Folkways FTS 31034, LP (1973), trk# 9
Patterson, Ray and Ina. Songs of Home and Childhood, Vol. 3, County 737, LP (1973), trk# 5 Stanley, Ralph. Distant Land to Roam. Songs of the Carter Family, Columbia DM2, CD (2005), trk# 13

A DISTANT LAND TO ROAM (Carter Family)(Victor 40255/Bluebird5433/Montgomery Ward 7020, 1929)

I remember very well
On one dark and dreary day
Just as I was leaving home
For a distant land to roam

Mother said (mother said)
My dear boy (my dear boy)
I hope to see you next year again
Fare you well (fare you well)
Fare you well (fare you well)
So I left my dear old home
For a distant land to roam [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Now I've wandered far away
From my home I've gone astray
Now I'm coming, coming home
Never more from thee to roam CHORUS [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

And these words she said to me
As she took me by the hand
If on earth we meet no more
May we meet at God's right hand CHORUS

Don't Forget Me Little Darling: CW Vance- Words and RS Cradall-music 1874. Several years later Thomas Westendorf (Thompson's Mule and others) published a version. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mussm&fileName=sm/sm1874/05900/05986/mussm05986.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?mussm:1:./tem The Carter's version was recorded in 1935 for ARC in NYC.

Don't Forget Me Little Darling- Carter Family

Don't forget me little darling
When from me you're far away
But remember little darling
We'll meet again someday.

Darling, I have come to tell you
Though this message breaks my heart
At the dawning of the morning
We'll be many miles apart

Take this little bunch of roses
That you gave me long ago
Many a time I've kissed them, darling
These I'll never kiss no more

Who is going to love you, darling,
Who will hold you to their breast?
Who will talk the future over,
While I roam the desert west?

You may meet with many changes
Driving down life's river stream
But remember, little darling
You are always in my dreams

You may meet with brighter faces
Some may say that I'm not true
But remember, little darling
None can love you as I do

At my window sad and lonely
Oft times do I think of you
And I wonder, oh I wonder
If you ever think of me

"Don't Forget This Song," is an example of a traditional song the Carters changed the name and considrably rewrote the lyrics probably to avoid copyright issues. The song was known and recorded multiple times as "Bad Companions" or Young Companions (Laws E15). Other names are "Bad Company" and "Taney County."

The song was included in Lomax 1910 edition of cowboy songs with no author or information. It's simply known as an old song about a singer, born in Philadelphia, who abandons his family to go to Chicago where he "sinned both might and day." At last he murders a girl and is condemned to die.

The first recording was cowboy Carl Sprague's "Bad Companions" followed by Kelly Harrell's "I was Born in Pennsylvania" in 1925. Spragues debut sides were "When the Work's All Done This Fall" and "Bad Companions"; the former would go on to sell over 900,000 copies.

DON'T FORGET THIS SONG Carter Family

My home's in old Virginia
Among the lovely hills
The memory of my birthplace
Lies in my bosom still

I did not like my fireside
I did not like my home
I have a mind for rambling
So far away from home

It was on one moonlight evening
The stars were shining bright
And with an ugly dagger
I made the spirits fly

To friends I bid adieu
To parents I bid farewell
I landed in Chicago
In the very midst of hell [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

While I was in the sober it struck me
As plain as you can seeI'm doomed,
I'm ruined forever
Throughout eternity

I courted a fair young lady
Her name I will not tell
Oh, why should I disgrace her
When I am doomed for hell

But now I'm upon my scaffold
My time's not very long
You may forget the singer
But don't forget this song [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

The Dying Mother is a song by Nona Lawson- words and C. M. Tate- music written in 1881.

THE DYING MOTHER Carter Family 1940

On a cold winters eve as the snow flakes were falling
In a low humble cottage an poor mother lay
And although wrecked with pain she lay there contented
With her Savior her friend and peace with Him made

We will all meet again on that great judgment morning
The book will be opened the roll will be called
Oh how sad it will be if forever were parted
While some rise to glory and others stand to fall [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Oh that mother of yours has gone oe'r the river
And you promised you'd meet her while knelt by her bed
As the death sweat rolled off and fell down on her pillow
Over memories she'll live although she is dead

You remember the kiss and the last words she uttered
Oh the arms that embraced you are with you no more
As we stand by the grave tears drops fall on her passage
And we vow there to meet her on that happy shore

Dying Soldier: As you can imagaine there are many different songs titled and about Dying Soldiers. The Carter's setting is surely World War I.

This should not be confused with Dock Boggs, "Dying Ranger" or Buell Kazee, "The Dying Soldier" (Brunswick 214, 1928).

There are many old "Dying Soldier" songs at American Memory. The text of the Carters song was collected by Crabtree and appears in the 1945-46 Journal of American Folklore. Anyone have access to that?

THE DYING SOLDIER- Carter Family

France's sun was slowly sinking o'er the hilltops far away
The land was in its beauty where the dying soldier lay
Tears were streaming down his face as he slowly raised his head
And these were the dying words he said

Oh, carry me back to old Tennessee
Let this be my last repose
Lay my feet beneath the lilacs
Lay my head beneath the rose [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Take this message to my mother for I know she's old and gray
At home I know she's waiting, looking for her boy some day
Oh, dear mother, I pulled through for my country and for you
And I'm dying for the red, white, and blue

Oh, carry me back to old Tennessee
Let this be my last repose
Lay my feet beneath the lilacs
Lay my head beneath the rose [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

O'er the hills of Tennessee where the wild winds wander free
The little girl waiting there for me
Tell her that the rose she gave me will be placed upon my grave
In memory of her soldier brave

Oh, carry me back to old Tennessee
Let this be my last repose
Lay my feet beneath the lilacs
Lay my head beneath the rose

That's 'bout it,

See you

Richard

Song Research

Hi,

It's always a challenge trying to find out the origin of a song; especially a song from the 1920s or 1930s. What's intriguing is that there is more information available than ever because of the internet and old sheet music and song books becoming digitized.

There are authorities on folk music, old-time music, fiddle tunes and early blues and jazz. There are slueths that ferret out the secrets of the past and shine some light upon them. Certainly the late great Charles Wolfe was one of the greatest pools of knowledge in Country Music history. The same can be said for Gus Meade and his amazing book, Country Music Sources.

There are some authors that certainly reach the authority status including Tony Russell, who I know, and Nolan Porterfield, who wrote "the" Jimmie Rodgers biography. I remember arguing by email with Nolan over certain Jimmie Rodgers' details at the Bristol Sessions.

There are others who contribute their time and talents to folk related discussion forums like Mudcat: http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm

and old-time http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.country.old-time/topics


What's really amazing is when you find out the origin of a song that perhaps no one else has found. This has only happened to me several times. I think my best contribution was the origin of "Whoa Mule" certainly a well known song- after all, it was on Andy of Mayberry! [It was "Hold Onto the Sleigh" by W.S. Hays. I found the actual sheet music on-line]

So yesterday I found another one when checking out Carter Family songs. It was "Darling Daisies" This song is based on "Down by the Garden Wall" by Max Vernor. Published in 1882. Here's the link:

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mussm&fileName=sm/sm1882/16400/16490/mussm16490.db&recNum=1&itemLink=D?mussm:1:./tem

As far as I know no one has attributed this to the Carter's song. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes!

DARLING DAISIES- Carter Family

When first I met my darling Daisy,
Down by the garden wall
I was walking along the street so shady
I was going for a twilight call

CHORUS: I'd love to sing and dance among the roses
Down by the garden wall
It's there I'd like to meet my Daisy
When I make a twilight call

I've been lucky to have other people to help me. Thanks especially to the folks at Mudcat and my friend and fellow researcher John Garst, who does some excellent research.

Next post we'll look at the Carter's songs titled with the letter D.

Richard

Carter Family: Bristol Sessions

Hi,

On the left you see the original Carter Family in an early publicity photo. This would have been similar attire they would have worn to their first recording session in Bristol, maybe not the same but their Sunday best.

This is just a small point but illustrates the spin recording innovator Ralph Peer would put on the Carters and the Bristol Sessions.

First Recording at Bristol Sessions: Contrary to many accounts, A.P. Carter contacted Victor recording scout Ralph Peer through Cecil McLister, Bristol’s local Victor outlet representative, in March 1927 about making a record.

Peer was already in the planning stages to do recordings in late July- earlyAugust in Bristol with Ernest Stoneman and invited the Carters to come. [Charles Wolfe wrote: "Then, in March 1927, the local Victor Talking Machine Company's dealer in nearby Bristol, Tennessee, had put A.P. in touch with a curious visitor. His name was Ralph Peer, and he was planning to bring a portable recording studio into Bristol that summer; after talking to A.P., and later writing to him, it was agreed that A.P. and his "Carter string band" would come to the session and try some records."]

In the notes from the Country Music Hall of Fame Carter Family compilation [MCA MCAD 10088]: "Bristol was the first of three stops Peer and his unit would make on this swing through the South, the others being Charlotte, NC, and Savannah, Georgia. As organizer of the expedition, Peer had lined up some of the talent before embarking on the trip. He invited the Carter Family for an August 1 audition on the recommendation of the manager of a downtown Bristol store that sold phonograph records. This local merchant (Cecil McLister) knew the Carters from their visits to his store and it was he who told Peer how to contact them."

Ralph Peer had recorded Fiddlin’ John Carson in Atlanta for Okeh in 1923. He was the most experienced talent scout in the fledgling Country Music (then called hillbilly music) business. His only rival was Columbia's Frank Walker. After the Victor Talking Machine Company’s success with Vernon Dalhart's million selling "Wreck of the Old 97/Prisoner’s Song" they were very interested in recording Country songs.

Peer, who left Okeh in 1925, offered his services to Victor. "I had what they wanted." Peer recalled later. "They couldn't get into the hillbilly business and I knew how to do it."
Victor executive Nat Shilkret bought Peer the latest portable electrical recording system, produced by Western Electric, for his recording trips.

In early 1927 Peer did sessions in Atlanta, Memphis and New Orleans. Peer then wrote Ernest Stoneman and told him that he was coming to Galax to visit and he should find some acts worth recording. He would hold auditions and the Stonemans and the other approved acts would meet him in Bristol for the recording session.

Bristol, part of an early urban area known as Tri-Cities, was located on the border of Virginia and Tennessee. It was the largest urban area convenient for the Stoneman’s to enlist other area musicians to attend. There was also Victor distributor in Bristol named Cecil McLister and a railway.

Peer told a local newspaper when he arrived there on July 21 with his recording crew: "In no section of the South have the pre-war melodies and old mountaineer songs been better preserved than in the mountains of all Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, experts declare, and it was primarily for this reason that the Victor Company chose Bristol as its operating base."

Peer rented a studio space at an empty furniture store at 408 State Street [other accounts give 410 State street] formerly occupied by the Taylor-Christian Hat Company and then placed advertisements in local newspapers saying, "The Victor Company will have a recording machine in Bristol for ten days beginning Monday to record records," and inviting all comers to present themselves. These notices were also inserted in the advertisements for the local dealer of the Victrola company, the Clark-Jones-Sheeley Co. at 621 State Street.

According to Charles Wolfe, "Accompanied by his wife, Anita, and two engineers named Echbars and Lynch, Peer returned to Bristol July 21 with a carload of portable recording equipment. They began preparing the second and third floors for recording; they hung blankets on the wall, built a tower for the pulley that would drive the recording turntable and a platform for singers to stand on."

As the Bristol Sessions started on July 26, 1927 the first week was pretty much already booked up with established local stars such as the Stonemans, the Johnson Brothers, and the singer Blind Alfred Reed. A small ad appeared in the Sunday paper announcing that the Victor Company would have a recording machine in Bristol for ten days, but this hadn't generated much response.

Peer needed more talent to fill out the rest of the sessions so he astutely invited the newspaper editor of the Bristol News Bulletin to come and watch a session. The editor was more than happy to oblige and he photographed Ernest Stoneman and fiddler Eck Dunford recording "Skip to Ma Lou."

The result was a major front-page story in that evening's Bristol News Bulletin. "The synchronizing is perfect," wrote the editor. "Ernest Stoneman playing the guitar, the young matron (Mrs. Stoneman) the violin, and a young mountaineer the banjo and mouth harp. Bodies swaying, feet beating a perfect rhythm, it is calculated to go over big when offered to the public."

The article also revealed that Stoneman got $100 a day for his services and that Stoneman, a carpenter form nearby Galax, had received $3600 in royalties the previous year [Today that would approximate $50,000 in royalties]. The average income per year in that area in 1927 was around $1,000.

"This worked like dynamite," said Peer. "The very next day I was deluged with long-distance calls from surrounding mountain region. Groups of singers who had not visited Bristol during their entire lifetime arrived by bus, horse and buggy, trains or on foot." In a matter of hours, Peer was swamped with potential recording stars, and soon he found himself having to add night sessions to accommodate the new talent. During his stay in Bristol, Peer would eventually record 76 performances by 19 different groups.

Whether A.P and Ezra Carter (Maybelle's husband) read the accounts of the ongoing Sessions in the paper, A.P. already had an appointment to audition on Aug. 1. Many members of the Carter clan didn’t understand A.P.’s desire to make records. "Send him to Marion (mental institution)," said Uncle Lish. "He’s completely gone this time. His family with starve no doubt."

A.P. borrowed his brother Eck’s car (in exchange for weeding Eck’s corn patch) and on Sunday July 31 they left Poor Valley to make their appointment to audition the next morning. After a harrowing trip over 26 miles of dirt roads with wife Sara, 8-year-old daughter Gladys, 7-month-old son Joe, and 8-month pregnant cousin Maybelle, A.P. pulled the Essex in Bristol.

One account goes: With a hearty country breakfast under their belts, they loaded into Ezra’a old Essex and headed for Bristol. Rains had swollen the Holsten River at a place where they were to ford it, and the Essex stopped right in the middle of the river and refused to go any further. Long dresses were hiked up over the ladies knees, and guitars and autoharps carried on their shoulders to the dry bank and they pushed, and tugged until they finally got the old car moving. Up the bank they discovered another problem- there was a flat on the right rear tire. A.P. being the flat tire fixer, got out the hand patch kit and quickly repaired the flat, pumped the tire up, and, with the instruments climbed aboard again. [Wolfe reports they had three flat tires and the weather was so hot that the patches had melted off as fast as they were put on.]

The Carters spent the night at their Aunt Fergie’s who lived in Bristol. When the Carters came to the audition the next morning on Monday August 1 Peer identified them as "Mr. and Mrs. Carter from Maces Springs." Peer recalled, "He was dressed in overalls, and the women are country woman from way back there- calico clothes on- the children are very poorly dressed. They look like hillbillies." [Peer manufactured this famous account to establish a "hillbilly image" for the Carter Family, a group he soon managed exclusively. The Carters dressed up for the occasion in their Sunday best and all existing photos show A.P. in a suit and tie.]

Although they had scheduled the audition in March Peer was surprised to see them. After they started played he was relieved, saying, "But as soon as I heard Sara's voice, that was it. I knew it was going to be wonderful."

The Carters were asked to come back and record after supper, from 6:30 to 9:30. On the recordings Maybelle played guitar and sang harmony, Sara played autoharp and sang alto lead and A.P. sang bass. "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow," "Little Log Cabin by the Sea," "Poor Orphan Child," "The Storms Are on the Ocean," were recorded that evening and "Wandering Boy," and "Single Girl, Married Girl" the next morning. A.P didn’t sing on the Aug. 2 session because Peer told him "you’re not doing much" and mentioned that he kept moving away from the microphone.

A.P. never did much except sing bass and occasionally trade a lead part. He rarely fiddled and many times would sing only when he felt the spirit move him. In many ways the Carter Family was really the first female Country group. Because it was unusual for a Country group to have a female lead singer, this gave Peer pause, but he liked their music. At $50 a song the six sides the Carter Family made totaled $300, a large sum of money in those days (roughly equivalent to $4,200 today).

More on the Carters to come,

Richard

Carter Family Songs titled with C

Hi,

We'll look at some of the Carters songs titled with the letter C: Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye); Can't Feel at Home; Cannonball (Blues); Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in Texas; Carter's Blues; Charlie and Nellie; Chewing Gum; Church in the Wildwood; Coal Miner's Blues; Cowboy Jack; Cowboy's Wild Song to His Herd; Cuban Soldier; and Cyclone of Rye Cove.

There are 12 songs and one skit featuring music by Jimmie Rodgers.

Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye); Based on the gospel song: Will the Circle be Unbroken Words: Ada Habershon, Music: Charles Gabriel. Date: 1907.

WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN Words: Ada Habershon, Music: Charles Gabriel. Date: 1907. (First Verse and Chorus only)

There are loved ones in the glory,
Whose dear forms you often miss;
When you close your earthly story,
Will you join them in their bliss?

CHORUS: Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
In a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?

Clearly this is the same song the Carters used and made famous. The real question is: Did the Carters rewrite the verses or get them from other sources as well? The Carters 1935 recording was preceeded by the 1930 recording by Frank Welling & John McGhee. Their version most likely is based on this early recording.

Certainly this song is now accepted as traditional and is published everywhere. The Carter's famous version begins:

I was standing by my window,
On a cold and cloudy day.
When I saw a hearst come rolling,
For to carry my mother away.

Can't Feel at Home; Also know as "I Can't Feel at Home" and "This World is Not my Home." I've played this many times and was told it was an old hymn. The song does appear in many old hymn books. It's listed as being published in 1919 by Meade.

Meade lists Stovepipe No 1 (Sam Jones) 'Lord Don't You Know, I Have No Friend Like You' recorded August 1924 in NYC and issued as Co 210-D in November 1924. This is followed by The Kentucky Thorobreds 'This World Is Not My Home' recorded in April 1927 in Chicago and issued as Paramount 3014 (no date given), and then the Carters' 1931 recording. J.E. Mainer's Mountainers, with vocal by Zeke Morris, recorded it on 6 August 1935 in Atlanta, issued as Bluebird B60288 - several months before the Monroe Brothers 17 February 1936 recording (Bluebird B6309).

The song was the basis for Woody Guthrie's "I Ain't Got No Home." Charles Wolfe says the Monroes learned the song from the 1935 'hit' record by the Prairie Ramblers on ARC, but the song had its roots deep in the black gospel tradition. In his liner notes to vol 5 of the Rounder set of Carter RCA material, Wolfe said it had been recorded before the Carter's 1931 recording by several black gospel groups - unfortunately, he doesn't say which - and 'had appeared in a number of white gospel songbooks as "arranged" by one composer or another'.

There are two black gospel recordings of "This World Is Not My Home" before World War II listed in Blues and Gospel Records 1890-1943 (Oxford): Golden Echo Quartet (rec. Atlanta, Ga; 1 April, 1927) and Jessie May Hill (rec. Chicago; 5 May, 1927). Hill's version (backed by Sisters of Congregation ("The Church of God in Christ") and probably accompanied by Arizona Dranes on the piano) is a variant.

CAN'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE-Carter Family

This world is not my home, I'm just passing through
My treasures and my hopes are all beyond the blue
Where many many friends and kindred have gone on before
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Over in Glory land, there is no dying there
The saints are shouting victory and singing everywhere
I hear the voice of them that I have heard before
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Oh, lord, you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home, oh, lord, what would I do
Angels beckon me to heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Heaven's expecting me, that's one thing I know
I fixed it up with Jesus a long time ago
He will take me through though I am weak and poor
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Oh, I have a loving mother over in Glory land
I don't expect to stop until I shake her hand
She's gone on before, just waiting at heaven's door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Oh, lord, you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home, oh, lord, what would I do
Angels beckon me to heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Cannonball (Blues): The Carters learned "The Cannonball" ("The Cannonball Blues") from African-American guitarist Lesley Riddle. Here's more info from my upcoming book: "He was just gong to get old music, old songs, what had never been sung in sixty years," said Riddle. "He was going to get it, put a tune to it, and record it."

Riddle also taught the Carter Family such songs he knew like "Coal Miner Blues," "The Cannon Ball," "I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome," and "Let the Church Roll On." Maybelle Carter learned to fingerpick and play slide guitar from Riddle.

"You don't have to give Maybelle any lessons," said Riddle. "You let her see you playing something, she'll get it- you better believe it."It was Riddle's job to learn the melody of the song. "If I could hear you sing, I could sing it too," said Riddle. "I was his tape recorder. He'd take me with him and he's get someone to sing the whole song. Then I'd get it and learn it to Sara and Maybelle."

I have information somewhere of earlier sources for this song which is related to Whitehouse Blues and some versions of Delia's Gone. This is from another of my books: The origin of "White House Blues" is found in the murder ballad "One Mo' Rounder Gone" also known as the popular song "Delia." "One Mo' Rounder Gone" was collected by Howard Odum between 1906-1908 and appeared in print in the JOAFL in 1911. The song can be traced back to around 1900 when the murder of Delia Green took place in Savannah, Georgia. The lyrics and form are the same as "White House Blues" and was surely a song Charlie Poole must have heard in his travels.

Listen and watch Maybelle and Sara play it:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlFyGPNmOvI



Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in Texas: is a skit with Jimmie Rodgers. The session began in Louisville, Kentucky on June 10, 1931 with "Why There's a Tear in My Eye" and "The Wonderful City." A.P., who did not sing or play, contributed the song, "Why There's a Tear in My Eye" and had some lines in the skits. A.P's song as many collected came from other sources, "An Old Man's Story" was copyrighted by Carson Robinson in 1928.

On June 11 Jimmie recorded "Let Me Be Your Side Track" and the whole group recorded their song-and-spoken-word skits "The Carter Family and Jimmie Rogers in Texas" and "Jimmie Rogers Visits The Carter Family." On June 12 the first skit was redone to its released form. "The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in Texas," though recorded in Kentucky, asks the listener to imagine the Carters paying a visit to Jimmie in the Lone Star State.

The number begins with Jimmie offering a short-lived snatch of song on 'Yodelling Cowboy', switches into repartee as the three Carters knock at the door, and then segues into Jimmie and his guests performing "T for Texas." Carter's Blues: was recorded in Nov. 1929 in Atlanta GA. It's clearly a take-off on Jimmie Rodger's who was quickly becoming the number one country recording artist in the country. Unfortunately the Great Depression was just around the corner.

Carter's Blues is rewrite of "As I Walked Out One Morning Fair" and is related to "Love Has Brought Me to Despair." Here's a short clip of "As I Walked Out One Morning Fair:" http://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/viewer.exe?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=1291&CISOMODE=bib Someone may find better versions.

CARTER'S BLUES- Carter Family

As I woke up one morning fair
To view the fields and taste the air
For to view the fields and the meadows around
I thought I heard some mournful sound
I thought I heard my true love say
"Oh, do turn and come this way"
Yodel-ay-ee, oh-lay-ee, ay-oh-lay-ee

You love some other, you don't love me
You care not for my company
You love some other, and I know why
Because he has more gold than I
But gold will melt and silver will fly
My love for you will never die
Yodel-ay-ee, oh-lay-ee, ay-oh-lay-ee

[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

There is a flower, I've heard them say
That can be seen from day to day
And if that flower I only could find
To cure this aching heart of mine
Yodel-ay-ee, oh-lay-ee, ay-oh-lay-ee

[INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

So fare you well, my charming little love
Oh, meet me in that land above
And when we meet there in that land
We'll take no more this parting hand
Yodel-ay-ee, oh-lay-ee, ay-oh-lay-ee

Charlie and Nellie; This song is usually called "Nellie Dare and Charlie Brooks." This is clearly an earlier song with little rewriting. Riley Puckett first recorded the song in 1925 as "Send Back My Wedding Ring." It's also called "Charlie Brooks." The Carter's didn't record this until 1938 hence the name change to avoid copyright issues.

This is almost the same as Holland Puckett's 1927 version:http://www.juneberry78s.com/otmsampler/otmsampat209.html

Charlie and Nellie Carter Family Recorded 6/8/38 - Charlotte, NC

Dear Nellie since I left the city
I've found I've changed my mind
I hope you won't think me untruthful
Or do me the least unkind

I think we're both mistaken
I know you'll never suit me
I owe my heart to another
Of course kind friends will agree

Please send me my ring and pictures
Also my letters and books
My clothes with many kind wishes
Respectfully yours Charlie Brooks

I heard all about it dear Charlie
I knew it would end this way
I hope you will always live happy
With your loving little wife Miss Gray

Now here's your ring dear Charlie
Don't give it to her I pray
Unless you tell her twas once mine
I wore it one year today

One year today dear Charlie
So happy were we both
You vowed you'd never forsake me
But I find you untrue to your oath

Here's your picture dear Charlie
It's almost faded away
Because I kissed it so often
And this you can tell Miss Gray

As far as your letters dear Charlie
I burned them as they came
I feared by reading them over
Would cause our love to inflame

I must say goodbye dear Charlie
My letter is near an end
Remember I'm always and always
Forever and ever your friend

"Chewing Gum" by the Carters is a different song than "Chewing Gum" by Uncle Dave Macon. This was one of Macon signature songs:

She Was Always Chewing Gum: Uncle Dave Macon Vo 5040

I'm going to sing you 'bout my pretty little girl,
She's just as pretty as a plum,
Habit she had was one that was bad,
She was always a-chewing gum,
Chewing gum, yum, yum, yum, yum

Whenever she came to Sunday school,
She always come with a chum,
Well right where they's at, and right where they sat,
They were always chewing gum,
Chewing gum, yum, yum, yum, yum

The song was first found in 1800s songbook entitled "A Collection of Favorite Songs as Sung by Ben Maginley, the clown and jester of the Great Consolidation," also contained advertisements of a score of patent medicine companies, and was 64 pages in size, with words of 40 to 60 songs included.

The Carter Family's "Chewing Gum" with the line "chewin chawin gum" first was published in the 1915 folk song book by Louise Pound. The Carter's version also became quite popular.

CHEWING GUM- Carter Family

Mama sent me to the spring
She told me not to stay
I fell in love with a pretty little girl
Could not get away

Chawin' chewin' gum, chewin' chawin' gum
Chawin' chewin' gum, chewin' chawin' gum

First she give me peaches
Then she give me pears
Then she give me fifty cents
Kissed me on the stairs
[CHORUS AND INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Mama don't 'low me to whistle
Papa don't 'low me to sing
They don't want me to marry
I'll marry just the same
[CHORUS AND INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I wouldn't have a lawyer
I'll tell you the reason why
Every time he opens his mouth
He tells a great big lie
[CHORUS AND INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I wouldn't have a doctor
I'll tell you the reason why
He rides all over the country
Makes the people die
[CHORUS AND INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I wouldn't have a farmer
I'll tell you the reason why
Because he has so plenty to eat
Specially pumpkin pie
[CHORUS AND INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

I took my girl to church last night
How do you reckon she done
She walked right up to the preacher's face
And chewed her chewing gum
[CHORUS AND INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Church in the Wildwood: is based entirely on gospel song "Little Brown Church in the Vale" by James Rowe- words, William P. Pitts- music, DATE: Pitts 1857

There is a rewrite by Rowe in 1911. The Little Brown Church in the Vale has become a famous tourist attraction in Iowa, and the song describing its beauty is still sung.

Coal Miner's Blues;

"Coal Miner's Blues" A.P. Carter (1938)Lead vocal: Sara Lead Guitar: Maybelle

Some blues are just blues, mine are the miner's blues.
Some blues are just blues, mine are the miner's blues.
My troubles are coming by threes and by twos.

Blues and more blues, it's that coal black blues.
Blues and more blues, it's that coal black blues.
Got coal in my hair, got coal in my shoes.

These blues are so blue, they are the coal black blues.
These blues are so blue, they are the coal black blues.
For my place will cave in, and my life I will lose.

You say they are blues these old miner's blues.
You say they are blues, these old miner's blues.
Now I must have sharpened these picks that I use.

I'm out with these blues, dirty coal black blues.
I'm out with these blues, dirty coal black blues.
We'll lay off tomorrow with the coal miner's blues.

In "Yonder Come the Blues" by Paul Oliver, Tony Russell, Robert M. W. Dixon, they report that this song was collected by the Carters on a song trip in Lee County, Virginia and that it was popular in the mining community. This was a song Leslie Riddle helped collect and teach the Carters.

Cowboy Jack Laws B24: was first published in the 1928 Songs of the Open Range. It was recorded three times in 1929 first by Marc Williams for Brunswick.

COWBOY JACK Carter Family

He was just a lonely cowboy
With a heart so brave and true
He learned to love a maiden
With eyes of heaven's own blue

They learned to love each other
And named their wedding day
When a quarrel came between them
And Jack, he rode away [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

He joined a band of cowboys
And tried to forget her name
But out on the lonely prairie
She waits for him the same

One night when work was finished
Just at the close of day
Someone said, sing a song, Jack
We'll drive those cares away

When Jack began his singing
His mind did wander back
For he sang of a maiden
Who waited for her Jack [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

When he reached the prairie
He found a new-made mound
His friends they sadly told him
They laid his loved one down

They said as she was dying
She breathed her sweetheart's name
And asked them with her last breath
To tell him when he came

Your sweetheart waits for you, Jack
Your sweetheart waits for you
Out on the lonely prairie
Where the skies are always blue

A bit more on Cowboy Jack: The earliest recording was Jack Mathis for Columbia. Peg Moreland's 1929 recording was one of the early popular recordings. This should be considered a traditional cowboy ballad probably from Arizona which is based on an earlier song.

According to Dallas Turner A.P. Carter was still drawing royalties on the song in the early 1950s and considered it to be "his song." When Turner told A.P. he heard it as a young boy AP said, "I don't mean I composed it but I wrote it down."

Ira Sines 1928 "Songs of the Open Range" contradicts that claim. The Carter's version was one of the most popular versions and they sang it on Border Radio.The song actually is a rewrite of "Your Mother Prays for You Jack" by F.M. Eliot in 1893. The Carter's also recorded this song.

Here's some great info about the song:http://books.google.com/books?id=pbLA3HzgjW8C&pg=PA51&lpg=PA48&dq=cowboy+Jack+1928&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

Cowboy's Wild Song to His Herd was printed in 1912 book, Rhymes from the Rangeland by Wesley Beggs:http://books.google.com/books?id=qbQPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA110&dq=Cowboy%27s+Wild+Song+to+His+Herd:&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html This is a rewrite by the Carter's.

COWBOY'S WILD SONG TO HIS HERD- Carter family

One beautiful night when the moon was full
And the air was crisp and clear
A cowboy lay on the starlit plain
And thought of his home so dear [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

He thought of his mother he loved so well
And the slumber of sleep was buried
Not a sound to be heard but those of the night
As he sang a wild song to his herd [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

The cattle are lying so quiet and still
On the carpet that mantles the west
While the golden links from the sky at night
Brings peace to the cowboy's breast [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

Still he thinks of his mother in a faraway land
And his thoughts by memory was stirred
And he sees himself to the old home again
As he sings a wild song to his herd [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

He's far from the din of the city noise
Where the links of folly do shine
He's far from the brawls of the dives of sin
And the flow of the sparkling wine [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

He's in the great west with its mantle of green
Where his neighbors say never a word
A land of mirages, mountains and plains
Where the cowboy sings low to his herd

"Cuban Soldier" was based on the Cuban revolution of 1898-1902. At this time I haven't found the song it's based on. There are hundreds of songs about Spanish American War.

THE CUBAN SOLDIER- 1938 Carter Family

Far away in a Spanish dungeon
A Cuban soldier lay
Slowly dying from the torture
Inflicted day by day

He begged to send a message
But his kindness was denied
So he called his comrades to him
And told his story 'ere he died

CHORUS: When Cuba gains her freedom
And the Spaniards cease to reign
There's a loved one on that island
I will never see again

Oh, find her for me, comrades
And tell her you were by my side
And I bid you take this message
To a soldier's promised bride [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

'Tis the same old story, comrades
Love weeps when duty is done
When Cuba was struggling for her freedom
I was ordered to my gun

Though I'm a captain dying
The struggle will soon be o'er
Tell her I said to meet me
Where the soldiers fight no more CHORUS:

Cyclone of Rye Cove is an event song composed by AP Carter. On May 2, 1929, an unusually violent storm struck the little community of Rye Cove, located in the mountains of Scott County. During the storm the local two-story schoolhouse, with over 150 children and teachers inside, was struck directly by a tornado.

The building was completely leveled, and the debris caught fire from an overturned stove. Thirteen were killed. The dozens of injured were rushed by special train to the hospital in Bristol.A. P. Carter was in the next valley on the day of the storm. He rushed to Rye Cove to help with the rescue efforts. Carter was touched by the horror of what he saw and soon composed "The Cyclone of Rye Cove." The Carter Family recorded the song that same year for RCA Victor. "The Cyclone of Rye Cove" easily became a part of the musical traditions of Southwest Virginia.


THE CYCLONE OF RYE COVE- Carter Family

Oh, listen today and a story I'll tell
In sadness and tear-dimmed eyes
Of a dreadful cyclone that came this way
And blew our schoolhouse away

CHORUS: Rye Cove (Rye Cove) Rye Cove (Rye Cove)
The place of my childhood and home
Where in life's early morn I once loved to roam
But now it's so silent and lone [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK]

When the cyclone appeared it darkened the air
Yes, the lightning flashed over the sky
The children all cried, don't take us away
And spare us to go back home CHORUS

There were mothers so dear and fathers the same
That came to this horrible scene
Searching and crying each found their own child CHORUS

Oh, give us a home far beyond the blue sky
Where storms and cyclones are unknown
There by life's strand we'll clasp this glad hand
With children in a heavenly home CHORUS

That's the original Carter Family songs in C,

Take it easy,

Richard

Maybelle Carter

Hi,

Today we'll look at the third member of the original Carter Family, Maybelle Addington Carter.

Maybelle's guitar style has been widely copied throughout the years. Her influence extended well beyond the Original Carters as she performed many years with her daughters as The Carter Sisters or as Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.

For now we're looking at her early life and when she started playing with AP and Sara.

Maybelle Joins the Group: In late 1925 the third member of the original group, cousin Maybelle Addington, born on May 10, 1909 in Midway, near Copper Creek joined. Like A.P. and Sara, Maybelle was surrounded from birth by music.

June Carter Cash (Maybelle’s daughter): "The Addington family is English originating in London. Mother is a direct descendent of William Addington, born in London, 1750 locating first to Culpepper County in 1774 was appointed commissary to General Washington during the war between Great Britain and the colonies. He was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown and settled on Clinch River with 12 other families around 1782."

"The land was good with deer, bear and wild turkey in abundance. My mother's great great grandfather and family came to south western Virginia, along with the Kilgores, from which my grandmother descended. I mention all of this, because with the Doughertys, Kilgores, and Addingtons, came many an English and Irish ballad which was later sung by the Carter Family. The line of Addingtons remaining in England, produced one Henry Addington who in 1800 became Premier of England."

Maybelle’s brother Dewey played the banjo at local dances, and her older sister Madge had played guitar, banjo and autoharp with Sara. Maybelle soon learned to play the same instruments but it was with the guitar and autoharp that she excelled. She was a little child when Sara and A.P. married, but with her natural ability on the autoharp and guitar, she was noticed by the Carters.

Maybelle’s style of guitar playing was unique, and evidently she came up with it on her own. Charles Wolfe has suggested that Byrd Moore, who traveled the area and played with Earl Johnson and many early Country performers, was an influence. The style Maybelle developed is called the "Carter scratch" or "Carter lick." She played the melody on the bass strings with her thumb while brushing the treble strings with the backs of her right hand fingernails.

At the same time she would finger a partial chord with her left hand. Later she developed some intricate melody runs and hammer-ons on the bass strings. Of course, such runs were not new, but they were used differently by Maybelle, they were being used not only as a part of the lead, but as fills and also for the "bottom" of the song. This style would be imitated by generations of guitarists all over the world.

Contrary to what some have stated, Maybelle did not learn her guitar style from Lesley Riddle in 1928 when he began working with The Carter Family. She did learn to refine her slide guitar playing and to fingerpick (Travis pick with alternating bass) songs like "Cannonball Blues" from Riddle.

Maybelle also played the autoharp in a unique way, holding it against her chest and left shoulder so she could perform standing up. Rather than strumming across the harp while barring a chord, Maybelle actually picked out the melody with her thumb and finger picks. I have her autoharp book in my collection.

A.P., Sara, and Maybelle would often play together, and in December 13, 1925, Maybelle went to Maces Springs to do a schoolhouse show with A.P. and Sara. There she met A.P.'s dashing brother Ezra, known as Eck, and the two fell in love. On March 23, 1926, Maybelle and Eck were married, and Maybelle went to live with Eck and his parents and siblings in Poor Valley.

More on Maybelle and the Cater Family to come. We'll look next at the Carter Family songs titled with C.

Richard

Feature in Literary Lynnch Pen

Hi,

We'll take a short break from the Carter Family. Then we'll come back and do a bio on Maybelle and look at Carter songs titled with letter D. I'll also have images of my new painting- Sally Goodin. I've been studying Maxfield Parrish for my next painting Little Maggie. This painting will be a twilight type of scene. Maxfield is an awesome colorist and artist.

I wanted to show you a feature Lynn Tincher did on me yesterday in her Literary Lynnch Pen:

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001bDjAV6oDsrzj8gOkxE4qF0x4qrBXjW5XP1Ec9TuCJydg9A0FJ4gKqUZv_QPT4FWkcobjbMunwD6REHZb9hea7nBVckNJRjv2FMk0v4FqKC4%3D

Hope everyone has a great day,

Richard

Return to the Red River Valley

Hi,

Some breaking news about the song Red River Valley. On the left is my painting (click to enlarge). If you want inexpensive reoproductions of the painting please email me: Richiematt@aol.com

On my request John Garst obtained copies of the two handwritten versions of Red River Valley from the Piper collection at the University of Iowa.

One has, written under the lyrics, "Nemaha. 1879. Harlan 1885." He read this text is as follows:

RED RIVER VALLEY

From this valley they say you are going,

I shall miss your bright eyes and your(?) smile;

But alas, you take with you the sunshine

That has brightened my pathway awhile.

Then consider awhile ere you leave me

Do not hasten to bid me adieu

But remember the Red River Valley

And the heart that has loved you so true.

Do you think of he valley you're leaving,

How lonesome and dreary 'twill be?

Do you think of the heart you have broken

And the sorrow that o'ershadows me?

It is a long time I've been waiting

For the words that you never would say,

But alas, all my hopes they have vanished

For they say you are going away.

When you go to your home by the ocean,

O do not forget the sweet hours,

That we spent in the Red River Valley,

And be true to your promise to me.

The fair maiden prays for her lover

To the spirit that rules o'er the world

May his pathway be covered with sunshine

Is the prayer of the Red River girl.

John Garst thinks this to be a good and typical example of the form of the song that is associated with the Red River Valley of the North (Canada) and a romance between and east-coast Canadian soldier and a Metis maiden of Manitoba. He thinks it is probably the original setting of the song.

It's interesting that a song so popular and well-known would not have the first lyrics published. So here they are.

Thanks John!

Richard