Category: songs

trad 

 

Oscar Brand translated it in 1957 from a Pennsylvania Dutch song.

The Melrose Quartet: https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/when-i-first-came-to-this-land

https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com/track/when-i-first-came-to-this-land

When I first came to this land, I was not a wealthy man So I got myself a shack And I did what I could And I called my shack “break my back” For the land was sweet and good, and I did what I could So I got myself a cow?And I called my cow “no milk now” And I called my shack “break my back” So I got myself a hen?And I called my hen “now and then”… ?cow?shack So I got myself a duck?And I called my duck “out of luck”… ?hen?cow?shack So I got myself a wife?And I called my wife “love of my life”… ?duck?hen?cow?shack So I got myself a son?And I called my son “my work’s done”… ?wife?duck?hen?cow?shack

 

 

Phil Ochs 1966

 

Phil Ochs – When I’m Gone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB-BBVQLnxI

There’s no place in this world where I’ll belong when I’m gone And I won’t know the right from the wrong when I’m gone And you won’t find me singin’ on this song when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here And I won’t feel the flowing of the time when I’m gone All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I’m gone My pen won’t pour a lyric line when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here And I won’t breathe the brandy air when I’m gone And I can’t even worry ’bout my cares when I’m gone Won’t be asked to do my share when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here And I won’t be running from the rain when I’m gone And I can’t even suffer from the pain when I’m gone Can’t say who’s to praise and who’s to blame when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here Won’t see the golden of the sun when I’m gone And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I’m gone Can’t be singin’ louder than the guns while I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here All my days won’t be dances of delight when I’m gone And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I’m gone Can’t add my name into the fight while I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here And I won’t be laughin’ at the lies when I’m gone And I can’t question how or when or why when I’m gone Can’t live proud enough to die when I’m gone So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here

 

 

 

 

The Copper Family: When Spring Comes in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aORKa07fubY

When Spring comes on then the birds do sing, The lambs do skip and the bells do ring While we enjoy their glorious charm so noble and so gay. Chorus: The primrose blooms, the cowslips too, The violets in their sweet retire, the roses shining through the briar, And the daffodown-dillies which we admire will die and fade away. Young men and maidens they will be seen On mountains high and meadows green, They will talk of love and sport and play While them young lambs do skip away. At night they homeward wend their way When evening stars appear. The dairymaid to milking goes, her blooming cheeks as red as a rose, And she carries her pail all on her arm so cheerful and so gay, She milks, she sings, and the valleys ring. The small birds on the branches there sit listening to this lovely fair For she is her master’s trust and care, she is the ploughman’s joy.

 

 

trad 

 

Oh the stars they will be falling Yes the stars they will be falling Oh the stars they will be falling When this world comes to an end Oh, sisters do get ready?For the time is drawing near Chorus: Oh there’ll be signs and wonders Yes, there’ll be signs and wonders Oh, there’ll be signs and wonders When this world comes to an end Oh the sun she will be darkened?When this world comes to an end Oh the moon she will be bleeding?When this world comes to an end Oh the stars they will be falling?When this world comes to an end

 

 

Penka Jane ?ulevski 2020

 

I’ll drink my whiskey neat again Sing in chorus with my friends Wish well to Johnny, our dear bartend When they reopen all the bars Chorus: When they reopen all the bars (x2) We’ll all shake hands and all link arms When they reopen all the bars I’ll give a hug to sweet Colleen And hear her whistle bright and keen When all of us may reconvene When they reopen all the bars We’ll sit together knee to knee Sharing tunes and converse free Passing hours cheerfully When they reopen all the bars We’ll gayly greet old Jackie Tar Hunt the bucks of Orenmore Banish misfortune when frost’s all ‘or When they reopen all the bars We’ll raise a glass, fear to dispel And one for those who made us well We’ll raise one more for those that fell When they reopen all the bars We’ll gather then, long overdue All our friendships to renewÿ I’ll kiss my love there in full view When they reopen all the barsÿ

 

 

John Tams 1987

 

Tams wrote a number of songs for plays he was involved with and this was one of them.

John Tams: John Tams – “Rolling Home”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppxPrmXoVcE

‘Round goes the wheel of fortune, don’t be afraid to ride, There’s a land of milk and honey waits on the other side; There’ll be peace and there’ll be plenty, you’ll never need to roam, When we go rolling home, when we go rolling home. Chorus Rolling home, (when we go) rolling home, (when we go); Rolling, rolling, when we go rolling home. The gentry in its fine array do prosper night and morn, While we unto the fields must go to plow and sow the corn; The rich may steal the power, but the glory is our own, The summer of resentment, the winter of despair, The journey to contentment is set with trap and snare; Stand true and stand together, your labour is your own, The frost is on the hedgerow, the icy winds do blow, While we poor weary labourers strive through the sleet and snow; Our hopes fly up to glory, up where the larks do go, So pass the bottle ’round, and let the toasts go free, It’s a health to every labourer, wherever he may be; Fair wages now and ever, let’s reap what we have sown, ‘Round goes the wheel of fortune, don’t be afraid to ride, There’s a land of milk and honey, waits on the other side; There’ll be peace and there’ll be plenty, you’ll never need to roam,

 

 

Stephen J. Lawrence 

Shelly Miller 

Roberta Flack & Michael Jackson: Free To Be You and Me — Michael Jackson and Roberta Flack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdLZITiZ2VQ

When we grow up, will I be pretty? Will I be big and strong? Will I wear dresses that show off my knees? Will I wear trousers twice as long? Chorus: Well, I don’t care if I’m pretty at all And I don’t care if I never get tall I like what you look like and you’re nice small We don’t have to change at all. When we grow up, will I be a lady? Will I be on the moon? Well, it might be alright to dance by its light But I’m gonna get up there soon When I grow up, I’m gonna be happy. And do what I like to do. Like making noise! And making faces! And making friends like you. Final chorus: And when we grow up, do you think we’ll see That I’m still like you and you’re still like me? I might be pretty. I might grow tall But we don’t have to change at all.

 

 

Emma Azelborn 2021

 

“I wrote this chorus after a joyous musical reunion with dear friends, when we had just begun seeing each other again after the isolation of early covid. Finally, after so long singing to screens in empty rooms, we could sing harmonies together again.”

Emma Azelborn: https://emmaazelborn.bandcamp.com/track/when-we-sing-together

https://emmaazelborn.bandcamp.com/track/when-we-sing-together

My friends we have traveled far to gather here today The light is dim, the shadows long our time is slipping away Our voices blend so easily just like they always do As we join again in joyful song and let it bring us through Chorus: When we sing together it’s like we were never alone We want to forever believe our music will ring where green things grow We know it’ll fade so we sing ever stronger, fill up our hearts with home When we sing together it’s like we were never alone The air, how it shimmers as we sing in harmony And we can feel the floorboards shaking underneath our feet We lean against each other and pretend it’ll never end For we’ve built this song together and we’ll sing it once again No matter how much we try this moment cannot stay Our songs will turn to silence and we’ll go our separate ways The heartache it will have us as it ever has before Cause we cannot know where we will go or when we’ll meet once more And now when we’re in the world, the little things we see Can bring to mind our times gone by, the ghosts of harmony The rumbling train, the evening light, a warm cup of tea held near We all carry with us memories like those we’re making here

 

 

Florence Reece 1931

 

Wikipedia: “In 1931, miners and mine owners in southeastern Kentucky were engaged in a labor struggle called the Harlan County War. In an attempt to intimidate the family of union leader Sam Reece, Sheriff J. H. Blair and his men, hired by the mining company, illegally entered Reece’s home in search of him. Reece had been warned and escaped but his wife, Florence, and their children were in the house. That night, after the men had gone, Florence wrote these words on a calendar that hung in their kitchen. She claims to have borrowed the melody from a traditional Baptist hymn, ‘Lay the Lily Low'”

Pete Seeger: Which Side Are You On

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsNVzwuJeVk

Come all of you good workers Good news to you I’ll tell Of how the good ol’ union Has come in here to dwell Chorus: Which side are you on? (x2) My daddy was a miner And I’m a miner’s son And I’ll stick with the union ‘Til every battle’s won They say in Harlan County There are no neutrals there You’ll either be a union man Or a thug for J. H. Blair Oh, workers can you stand it? Oh, tell me how you can Will you be a lousy scab Or will you be a man? Don’t scab for the bosses Don’t listen to their lies Us poor folks haven’t got a chance Unless we organize

 

 

Nigel Russell 1973?

 

Russell was an early bandmate of Stan Rogers, whom he met in college and with whom he had a folk group called The Hobbits. Mudcat says Russell dedicated the song to the city of Bramalea, Ontario. 1973 is when Russell left Rogers’ band.

Stan Rogers: The White Collar Holler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMqz2yJKbuA

Well, I rise up every morning at a quarter to eight Some woman who’s my wife tells me not to be late I kiss the kids goodbye, I can’t remember their names And week after week, it’s always the same Chorus: And it’s Ho, boys, can’t you code it, and program it right Nothing ever happens in the life of mine I’m hauling up the data on the Xerox line Then it’s code in the data, give the keyboard a punch Then cross-correlate and break for some lunch Correlate, tabulate, process and screen Program, printout, regress to the mean Then it’s home again, eat again, watch some TV Make love to my woman at ten-fifty-three I dream the same dream when I’m sleeping at night I’m soaring over hills like an eagle in flight Someday I’m gonna give up all the buttons and things I’ll punch that time clock till it can’t ring Burn up my necktie and set myself free Cause no one’s gonna fold, bend or mutilate me