This blog is dedicated to the amateur or beginner musician with music written in a simple and easy to read Alpha Notes format and with Chords for the left hand. This is to assist those with little or hardly at all note reading skills. This is a blog that shows all the chords in Alpha Notes format too which you can find the notes for the chords in one of the blogs. Please feel free to leave a comment or any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me or Shew! fly, don't bother me is a minstrel show song from the 1860s that has remained popular since that time. It was sung by soldiers during the Spanish–American War of 1898, when flies and the yellow fever mosquito were a serious enemy. Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album Join Bing and Sing Along (1959). Today, it is commonly sung by children, and has been recorded on many children's records, including Disney Children's Favorite Songs 3, performed by Larry Groce and the Disneyland Children's Sing-Along Chorus.
The song became popular on the minstrel stage in 1869, and several claims have been made for its composition. An anonymously written 1895 New York Herald article on the history of minstrel show dancing gave this history:
'Shoo-Fly' is said to have come originally from the Isthmus of Panama, where the black people sang 'Shoo Fly' and 'Don't Bodder Me' antiphonally while at their work. A black person from there, Helen Johnson, took it first to California and taught the song to 'Billy' Birch [a performer with the San Francisco Minstrels troupe]. ‘Dick’ Carroll and others also had versions of it which they performed. Delehanty and Hengler had theirs, too, and used to sing it as an encore with Bryant’s Minstrels, slipping on old dresses over their heads in the interim of the score. It was from hearing them that ‘Dave’ [Reed] and ‘Dan’ [Bryant] fancied the song. ‘Dave’ fixed it up with a dance, and original version thereof. It was rehearsed secretly, and when the time came they ‘sprang it’ on ‘the boys’ of the company one evening in public, with ‘Come and Kiss Me’ as an encore. It was a howling success from the start, and ‘Dan’ Bryant had printed the next day at the Herald office twenty thousand notices, which he gave to the company and others to scatter about the town wherever they went. Horse shoes with a fly on them were put in odd and conspicuous places, even on the telegraph wires, and in no time the public was crazy over the act and 'business was great.' E.M. Hall has a version with a more elaborate and an excellent chorus, ending 'Shoo Fly, &c., "Go 'way, fly, I'll cut your wing.”'
Theater historian Eugene Cropsey also credited Dan Bryant with introducing the song to the public in October, 1869.The version sung byBryant's Minstrelsserved, in 1869, as the title number inDan Bryant’s Shoo Fly Songster.
"Shoo Fly" is among the songs ("John Brown's Body" is another) claimed as compositions by T. Brigham Bishop. According to Bishop's account, he wrote "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me" during the Civil War while assigned to command a company of black soldiers. One of the soldiers, dismissing some remarks of his fellow soldiers, exclaimed "Shoo fly, don't bother me," which inspired Bishop to write the song, including in the lyrics the unit's designation, "Company G". Bishop claimed that the song was "pirated" from him, and that he made little money from it. Bishop published a sheet music version of the song in 1869 (White, Smith & Perry). That version includes the caption, "Original Copy and Only Authorized Edition."
Other sources have credited Billy Reeves (lyrics) and Frank Campbell, or Rollin Howard, with the song. An early publication appeared as "Shew! Fly, Don't Bother Me. Comic Song and Dance or Walk Round. Sung by Cool Burgess and Rollin Howard, melody by Frank Campbell, words by Billy Reeves, arr. by Rollin Howard."
During a dinner table scene in the 1992 teen comedy Encino Man, Stoney Brown (Pauly Shore) quietly sings "Shoo Fly" while Link (Brendan Fraser) tracks a fly around the room.
It has been used in Tuneland with a flying shoe.
The song was sing as one of the songs in Walter Lantz’ Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon, “Alaska”.
In the 1994 movie "Maverick", starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster the song is being played by the brass band on the Lauren Belle riverboat prior to the big card game. (1hr 19mins into the movie).
The song was included in one of the jukebox songs in the edutainment PC game, Jumpstart 2nd Grade.
In the 1998 Disney/Pixar film A Bug's Life, Francis the Ladybug references the song's title.
"Happy New Year" is a song by Swedish groupABBAfrom their 1980 albumSuper Trouper, with lead vocals byAgnetha Fältskog. It originally had a very limited release as a single in December of that year. The song's working title was "Daddy Don't Get Drunk on Christmas Day".
The Spanish-language version of the song, "Felicidad",was released in 1980 in Spanish-speaking territories. The single reportedly charted in the top 5 in Argentina and was included on the South American versions of the Super Trouper album. It was first released on CD as part of the 1994 Polydor US compilation Más ABBA Oro, and in 1999 on the expanded re-release of ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos.
In 1999, the English version of the song was re-released for the new millennium, and charted at number 27 in Sweden, number 15 in the Netherlands and number 75 in Germany. In 2008, it was released again in several countries, and charted at number 4 in Sweden, number 6 in Norway and number 25 in Denmark. It re-entered the Swedish and Norwegian charts in 2009 at number 5 in both charts and number 8 in the Netherlands in 2011. It has since gone on to regularly chart in some countries upon the turn of the new yearand is regularly played at the same time such as Vietnam.
In December 2011, a silver glitter vinyl single limited to 500 copies was released, including the songs "Happy New Year" and "The Way Old Friends Do". The edition was available exclusively from the official ABBA site and the ABBA fan site. It was sold out within a day of the release being announced.
Upon the release of ABBA: The 40th Anniversary Singles Box Set on 5 May 2014, an alternate mix of "Andante, Andante" was revealed to have been used on the B-side of the single in the box set instead of the original album version. In 2022, it was the 32nd top best selling vinyl single in the UK behind Open the Floodgates by the Smile.
The song was covered by the A-Teens, and released as a single in 1999. The single was released to celebrate the arrival of the new millennium: thus, the last line in the song's third verse is altered to "in the end of ninety-nine", as opposed to the original's "in the end of eighty-nine". It reached number 4 on the Swedish charts, becoming the band's fourth consecutive top ten in the country and earning a Gold certification weeks after its release. The single was only released in selected countries, including Chile, after their visit there in February 2000. A music video was made to support the single's release.
To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here.
Enjoy!
Lyrics:
No more champagne And the fireworks are through Here we are, me and you Feeling lost and feeling blue It's the end of the party And the morning seems so grey So unlike yesterday Now's the time for us to say...
Happy new year Happy new year May we all have a vision now and then Of a world where every neighbour is a friend Happy new year Happy new year May we all have our hopes, our will to try If we don't we might as well lay down and die You and I
Sometimes I see How the brave new world arrives And I see how it thrives In the ashes of our lives Oh yes, man is a fool And he thinks he'll be okay Dragging on, feet of clay Never knowing he's astray Keeps on going anyway...
Happy new year Happy new year May we all have a vision now and then Of a world where every neighbour is a friend Happy new year Happy new year May we all have our hopes, our will to try If we don't we might as well lay down and die You and I
Seems to me now That the dreams we had before Are all dead, nothing more Than confetti on the floor It's the end of a decade In another ten years time Who can say what we'll find What lies waiting down the line In the end of eighty-nine...
Happy new year Happy new year May we all have a vision now and then Of a world where every neighbour is a friend Happy new year Happy new year May we all have our hopes, our will to try If we don't we might as well lay down and die You and I.
She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" (sometimes referred to as "Coming 'Round the Mountain") is a traditional folk song often categorized as children's music. The song is derived from the Christian spiritual known as "When the Chariot Comes".
The original song was published in Old Plantation Hymns in 1899. It ostensibly refers to the Second Coming of Christ and subsequent Rapture, with the she referring to the chariot that the returning Christ is depicted as driving. Like many spirituals that originated in the African-American community, this was probably a coded anthem for the Underground Railroad. It was also used in labor circles to refer to Mother Jones, who frequently visited far-flung communities with labor issues.
The secularized version that developed among railroad work gangs in the late 19th century has become a standard over the years, appearing in printed collections of children's music while also being performed by both children and adults in sing-alongs, particularly as a campfire song. Since the mid-1920s, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" has been recorded by numerous musicians, ranging from Tommy Tucker and Bing Crosby to Pete Seeger and Neil Young.
In the Reader's Digest Children's Songbook, published in 1985, the song is adapted with new words by Dan Fox and his son, Paul. The lyrics tell of the things "she" will do in increasing number up to ten, for example, "She'll be ridin' on a camel", "She'll be tuggin' on two turtles", and "She'll be carvin' three thick thistles".
The English sing a song in Soccer called Ten German Bombers whenever England plays Germany. In reference to World War II. By saying "There were ten German Bombers in the air" or "And the RAF From England shot them down" depending on the line.
The well-known Scottish children's song "Ye cannae shove yer granny aff a bus" is a version of this song.
To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes (yee-haw)
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes (yee-haw)
She'll be coming 'round the mountain
She'll be coming 'round the mountain
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes (yee-haw)
She'll be ridin' six white horses when she comes (whoa back)
She'll be ridin' six white horses when she comes (whoa back)
She'll be ridin' six white horses
She'll be ridin' six white horses
She'll be ridin' six white horses when she comes
(Whoa back)
(Yee-haw)
And we'll all go out to greet her when she comes (yo, what's
up?)
Yeah, we'll all go out to greet her when she comes (yo,
what's up?)
Oh, we'll all go out to greet her
Yeah, we'll all go out to greet her
We'll all go out to greet her when she comes
(Yo, what's up?)
(Whoa back)
(Yee-haw)
Then we'll all eat purple pizza when she comes (ew, yucky)
We'll all eat purple pizza when she comes (ew, yucky)
Then we'll all eat purple pizza
Oh, we'll all eat purple pizza
We'll all eat purple pizza when she comes
(Ew, yucky)
(Yo, what's up?)
(Whoa back)
(Yee-haw)
And we'll all read books together when she comes
(Once upon a time in a far off land)
Oh, we'll all read books together when she comes
(Once upon a time in a far off land)
Yes, we'll all read books together
Oh, we'll all read books together
We'll all read books together when she comes
(Once upon a time in a far off land)
(Ew, yucky)
(Yo, what's up?)
(Whoa back)
(Yee-haw)
And she'll get to sleep with grandma when she comes (move
over)
Oh, she'll get to sleep with grandma when she comes (move
over)
Yeah, she'll get to sleep with grandma
Oh, she'll get to sleep with grandma
She'll get to sleep with grandma when she comes
(Move over)
(Once upon a time in a far off land)
(Eww, yucky)
(Yo, what's up?)
(Whoa, my back)
(Yee-haw)
One last time
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes (yee-haw)
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes (yee-haw)
She'll be coming 'round the mountain
She'll be coming 'round the mountain
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes
The "Oh Shenandoah" is conventional American folk music of not the certain origin, dating to the early nineteenth century.
The song becomes to have started with Canadian and American travelers or fur dealers making a journey down the Missouri River in canoes and has developed a number of different sets of lyrics. Some lyrics mentioned to the Oneida chief Shenandoah and a canoe-going trader who desires to marry his daughter. By the mid-1800s versions of the music had begun to be a sea shanty heard or sung by sailors in various parts of the world.
The music is number 324 (three hundred twenty-four) in the Roud Folk Song Index.
Until the nineteenth century, only travelers who were being searched for their destinies as trappers and dealers of beaver fur journeyed as far west as the Missouri River. Almost all of these Canadian and American "travelers" in the fur trade era were loners who became friendly with, and occasionally married, Native Americans. Some lyrics of this music heard by and before 1860 state the story of a trader who fell in love with the daughter of the Oneida Iroquois pine tree chief Shenandoah (1710–1816), who resided in the central New York state municipality of Oneida Castle. He was a co-founder of the Oneida Academy, which began to be Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and is hidden on the campus grounds.
The canoe-going fur-trading travelers were famous singers, and songs were an essential part of their culture. Additionally, in the early nineteenth century, flat-boatmen who used the Missouri River were well-known for their shanties, including "Oh Shenandoah". Sailors traveling down the Mississippi River selected the song and created it a capstan shanty that they sang while hauling in the anchor. This boatmen's music found its way down the Mississippi River to American clipper ships, and consequently around the world.
To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here.
Enjoy!
Lyrics:
Oh, Shenandoah, I hear you calling Hi-o, you rolling river Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you Hi-o, I'm bound away 'Cross the wide, Missouri
Missouri, she's a mighty river Hi-o, you rolling river When she rolls down, her topsails shiver Hi-o, I'm bound away 'Cross the wide, Missouri
Farewell my dearest, I'm bound to leave you Hi-o, you rolling river Oh, Shenandoah, I'll not deceive you Hi-o, I'm bound away 'Cross the wide Missouri
The song has since gone on to become a modern Christmas classic, recorded by hundreds of artists over the years, across multiple genres. Several recordings have reached the top ten in various Billboard charts. The song encourages contemplation of the relationship between Mary and her son, and it has been lauded by many Christian theologians, although other religious commentators have criticized the lyrics.
"Mary, Did You Know?" was originally released in the key of E♭ minor, with a tempo of 53 beats per minute in 4 4 meter, based around a chord progression of E♭m–D♭–A♭m7–B♭7sus4–B♭7. The lyrics evolved from a series of questions that Lowry scripted for a Christmas program at his church:
I just tried to put into words the unfathomable. I started thinking of the questions I would have for her if I were to sit down & have coffee with Mary. You know, "What was it like raising God?" "What did you know?" "What didn't you know?"
None of the questions are answered in the song. Instead, the lyrics poetically invite the listener to contemplate the relationship between Mary and her newborn divine son, even if her faith and awareness did not yet include the details of what would unfold.
The text has received both praise for reflecting the love of God, as well as criticism for perceived ambiguity or lack of theological depth. Robert McTeigue and Michelle Arnold, both Roman Catholic commentators, have questioned a particular line of text ("This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you") that might confuse or challenge the belief that Mary herself was conceived without sin. On the other hand the Roman Catholic author Karl Erickson implored people to praise Mary, Did You Know? as a "beautiful expression of God’s love for all of us" and responded to criticism of the piece, stating that "Mary, Did You Know is a song and not a theological essay. Even as simple Christmas music, however, it does a fine job conveying the beauty and profound mystery of the Incarnation. Yes, there is some poetic license taken within the lyrics, but much less than is taken within innumerable other songs we are asked to sing regularly—Sing a New Church, for example." Lutheran clergyman Timothy Koch states that criticism of the song is unwarranted because Mary, Did You Know? is simply poetry using rhetorical questions and that it is "actually communicating to the singer and hearer the truths about Jesus", including doctrines of salvation, homoousious, and the theotokos.
In 2017, Toronto-based theologian Jennifer Henry wrote new lyrics that address the criticisms and echo Mary's words from the biblical Magnificat. These new lyrics have begun to spread in religious settings.
[Verse 2] Mary, did you know That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary, did you know That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand? Did you know That your baby boy has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby You've kissed the face of God Mary, did you know?
[Bridge] The blind will see The deaf will hear And the dead will live again The lame will leap The dumb will speak The praises of the Lamb
[Verse 3] Mary, did you know That your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know That your baby boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb? This sleeping child you're holding Is the Great I Am
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had sold over 15 million copies around the world with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single. In 2019, Lee's recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In November 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, and in December 2023 the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking Lee's third number-one single and making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 at age 78, later breaking the record once again one week later at the age of 79. The song also set the record for the longest period of time between an original release and its topping the Hot 100 (65 years), as well as the longest time between number-one singles by an artist: 63 years, one month and two weeks.
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" was written by Johnny Marks, who had previously penned "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas". In spite of her adult voice, Lee recorded the song when she was only 13 years old. In a 2019 interview with The Tennessean, Lee recalled that she had no knowledge as to why Marks wanted her specifically to sing it: "I was only 12 , and I had not had a lot of success in records, but for some reason he heard me and wanted me to do it. And I did."
An instrumental version of the song appears as background music in the 1964 television specialRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which exclusively featured music written by Johnny Marks. It can be heard in the scene where Rudolph first arrives at the Reindeer Games and meets another reindeer named Fireball. A fully sung version of the song would later appear in Rankin/Bass's 1979 sequel Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July. The song was also used in the 1990 film Home Alone during a scene when Kevin McCallister pretends that there is a holiday party taking place in his house, and discourages the burglars from robbing it. The song was also featured in The Christmas Special episode of Regular Show in 2012. The song was also used in D-TV set to the Disney cartoons, Pluto's Christmas Tree and Mickey's Christmas Carol.
In 1991, Lee rerecorded the song and other standards for A Brenda Lee Christmas, which includes only the rerecording and not the original version.
On November 3, 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, consisting of the 78-year-old Lee lip synching to the original recording of her 13-year-old voice at a party that includes Trisha Yearwood and fellow former teenage country music star Tanya Tucker.
In October 2024, Universal Music Group released “Noche Buena y Navidad,” a Spanish adaptation of the song that features an AI version of Lee’s vocals. Rewritten in Spanish and produced by producer/songwriter Auero Baqueiro, the goal was to make it sound like 13-year old Lee was singing the song in Spanish. The new version uses a plug-in from AI music tech company SoundLabs. To create “Noche Buena y Navidad,” after rewriting the song, Baquiero brought in Chilean vocalist Leyla Hoyle to record a Spanish language guide track while mimicking the pitch and phrasings of the original. The vocal stems were then sent to SoundLabs, which ran the vocals through its “Brenda Lee” AI vocal model that was trained on hours of the singer’s isolated vocal stems, including the original “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Baquiero then mixed the new isolated AI-generated vocal into the original music elements of the track. The project was completed with a full sign-on from Lee, who is now 79 years old. “Throughout my career, I performed and recorded many songs in different languages, but I never recorded ‘Rockin’ in Spanish, which I would have loved to do,” Lee said in a press release. “To have this out now is pretty incredible, and I’m happy to introduce the song to fans in a new way.”
Although Decca released the single in both 1958 and again in 1959, it did not sell well until Lee became a popular star in 1960. That Christmas holiday season, Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" placed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time, eventually peaking at No. 14. It continued to sell well during subsequent holiday seasons, peaking as high as No. 3 on Billboard's Christmas Singles chart in December 1965. Lee said, "It was magic, and I think we all knew it. It took a few years to take off, but once it did, it really did."
The song experienced a large resurgence in popularity due to its use in the film Home Alone in 1990. Lee recalled, "Somebody called me and said, “Have you seen the movie Home Alone? You ought to, because they've got "Rockin'” really featured in it.” That's when it really took off with the youngsters. I knew it was special, but you never know what's going to be a hit — if you did, we'd all have hits every day. It has been a wonderful gift."
Lee's 1958 recording still receives a great deal of airplay, as radio station formats ranging from top 40 to adult contemporary to country music to oldies to even adult standards have played this version. It has since turned into a perennial holiday favorite, and due to rule changes in 2014 has returned annually to the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 2 in the 2019 holiday season and returning to that runner-up position each of the following three years (for a total of nine nonconsecutive weeks at No. 2). In December 2023, the song finally reached No. 1. By attaining the Hot 100's top spot 65 years after its original release, the song broke the record for the longest amount of time for a single to make the number-one position. It was also only the third time in the over six-decade history of the Hot 100 chart that a Christmas/holiday song reached No. 1 (following "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by David Seville and The Chipmunks in December 1958, and "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey in December 2019). With the achievement and her celebrating her 79th birthday at the same time, Lee also became the senior-most recording artist to top the Hot 100 chart, surpassing Louis Armstrong, who was 62 years old when "Hello, Dolly!" led the chart in early May 1964. Among female recording artists, Lee also passed the previous record held by Cher, who was 52 years old when "Believe" ruled the Hot 100 chart in March 1999. Making even more history, Lee set a new record for the longest break between number-one singles on the Hot 100 chart: 63 years, one month, and two weeks between "I Want to Be Wanted" making No. 1 on the week ending October 24, 1960, and the ascent of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" to the top.
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" reached over one million in digital downloads by 2016 according to Nielsen SoundScan, making it fifth on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in SoundScan history. The song has sold 1,170,000 copies in the United States as of December 2019. On December 9, 2024, the Recording Industry Association of America certified "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" 7× Platinum for US sales of 7 million copies of the digital single.
On the official UK Singles Chart, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" peaked at No. 6 when it was released in the United Kingdom in 1962. In 2013, due to downloads, it became one of a number of songs to re-enter the UK Singles Chart near Christmastime each holiday season. The single peaked at No. 63 on Sunday, December 15, 2013. Then in 2017, it reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart, its highest chart position since 1963. On the week ending January 5, 2023, the song reached No. 4, peaking two places higher than its original release 61 years prior.
To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here.
Enjoy!
Lyrics:
Rockin' around the Christmas tree At the Christmas party hop Mistletoe hung where you can see Every couple tries to stop Rockin' around the Christmas tree Let the Christmas spirit ring Later we'll have some pumpkin pie And we'll do some caroling
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear Voices singing, let's be jolly Deck the halls with boughs of holly Rockin' around the Christmas tree Have a happy holiday Everyone dancin' merrily In the new old-fashioned way
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear Voices singing, let's be jolly Deck the halls with boughs of holly Rockin' around the Christmas tree Have a happy holiday Everyone dancin' merrily In the new old-fashioned way
