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!
Depression Blues song is about a coal miner, tells of hard times in the Great Depression of the 1930s. Miners go to work hungry, ragged and shoeless; when they go to the office for scrip, they're told they're behind and owe the company as the scale boss cheats them of their pay. The National Recovery Act offers hope, but the Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional. Roosevelt declares a bank holiday; John L. Lewis wins the miners' battle; the singer urges listeners to join the U.M.W., saying the Depression is now gone.
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Throughout the 1940s, Guthrie recorded hundreds of discs for Moses Asch, the founder of Folkways Records. One was “1913 Massacre”. According to Pete Seeger, Guthrie was inspired to write the song after reading about the Italian Hall disaster in We Are Many (1940), the autobiography of Ella Reeve Bloor, also known as Mother Bloor, a labor activist whose granddaughter was married to Hollywood actor and activist Will Geer who performed with Guthrie in the 1930s. Guthrie's notes indicate that he got the idea for the song "from the life of Mother Bloor", an eyewitness to the events at Italian Hall on Christmas Eve, 1913.
A socialist and labor organizer from the East Coast, Bloor was in Calumet working on the miners' behalf with the Ladies Auxiliary of the Western Federation of Miners. She was assisted by Annie Clemenc, also known as "Big Annie of Calumet" – the "lady" in Guthrie's song who hollers "'there's no such a thing! / Keep on with your party, there's no such a thing.'" Bloor tells the story of the Calumet strike and the Italian Hall disaster in the first half of a chapter called "Massacre of the Innocents." She devotes the second half of the chapter to events in Ludlow, Colorado in 1914, the subject of another Guthrie song — "Ludlow Massacre."
Guthrie's song echoes the language of Bloor's account in many places. The historian Arthur W. Thurner has found similar accounts in English and Finnish-language newspapers from the period; these accounts, he says, probably originated with Clemenc. (Many Finnish miners settled and worked in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, including Calumet.)
There are conflicting stories about what happened that Christmas Eve and who yelled "fire" in Italian Hall. These conflicts may never be resolved. They are, according to Thurner, evidence of a "war between capital and labor" in the Copper Country in 1913. This war included a dispute about what transpired that Christmas Eve in Italian Hall.
The debate over what the event means (or should mean) is ongoing. Guthrie's song counts as one of the more powerful —and certainly one of the best-known – interpretations of the tragedy. While "1913 Massacre" never became a folk standard, the song has been recorded and performed by many artists, including Guthrie's son Arlo; Ramblin' Jack Elliot; Scottish folksinger Alex Campbell; and Bob Dylan.
Dylan performed "1913 Massacre" at Carnegie Chapter Hall in 1961. Dylan set his tribute to Guthrie —"Song To Woody" released in early 1962 — to the tune of "1913 Massacre."
The song revolves around a tragedy that took place on the evening of December 24, 1913, in Calumet's Italian Hall when more than five hundred striking miners and their families gathered for a Christmas party. The hall was on the second story and was reached by climbing a steep set of stairs. The only other exit was a poorly marked fire escape which could be reached by climbing out the windows.
The trouble began when someone yelled "fire!". Even though there was no fire, people panicked and rushed toward the steep stairway which led to the street entrance. Seventy-three people were trampled to death, including fifty-nine children.
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Lyrics:
Take a trip with me in nineteen thirteen
To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country. I'll take you to a place called Italian Hall Where the miners are having their big Christmas ball.
I'll take you through a door, and up a high stairs. Singing and dancing is heard everywhere, I will let you shake hands with the people you see And watch the kids dance round that big Christmas tree.
You ask about work and you ask about pay; They'll tell you that they make less than a dollar a day, Working the copper claims, risking their lives, So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives.
There's talking and laughing and songs in the air, And the spirit of Christmas is there everywhere, Before you know it, you're friends with us all And you're dancing around and around in the hall.
Well, a little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights To play the piano, so you gotta keep quiet. To hear all this fun you would not realize That the copper-boss thug-men are milling outside.
The copper-boss thugs stuck their heads in the door One of them yelled and he screamed, "There's a fire!" A lady, she hollered, "There's no such a thing! Keep on with your party, there's no such a thing."
A few people rushed, and it was only a few "It's only the thugs and the scabs fooling you." A man grabbed his daughter and carried her down But the thugs held the door and he could not get out.
And then others followed, a hundred or more But most everybody remained on the floor. The gun-thugs they laughed at their murderous joke, While the children were smothered on the stair by the door.
Such a terrible sight I never did see We carried our children back up to their tree. The scabs outside still laughed at their spree And the children that died there were seventy-three.
The piano played a slow funeral tune And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon, The parents they cried and the miners they moaned, "See what your greed for money has done."
"The Anti-Confederation Song." This folksong
originated around the time of the heated 1869 election in which Newfoundland
was to decide whether or not to join the newly formed Dominion of Canada.
"The Anti-Confederation Song." This folksong
originated around the time of the heated 1869 election in which Newfoundland
was to decide whether or not to join the newly formed Dominion of Canada.
Pro-Confederationists argued the advantages of lower prices for goods;
Anti-Confederationists countered with the prospect of high taxes on fishermen's
boats and gear and played on Newfoundlanders' pride in being Britain's oldest
overseas colony.
The traditional tune is possibly a variant of the widespread
"Villikins and His Dinah." The song was published first by Gerald S.
Doyle in Old-Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland (St. John's 1940), and is
included in the Fowke-Johnston Folk Songs of Canada (Waterloo 1954) and the
Fowke-Mills Singing Our History (Toronto 1984). Alan Mills recorded it (Folk
3000).
The song's lyrics express pride for the island and convey a
sense of distrust in the proposed terms of union.
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Lyrics:
Ye brave
Newfoundlanders who plough the salt sea,
With hearts
like the eagle so bold and so free,
The time is
at hand when we'll have to say
If Confederation
will carry the day.
Men, hurrah
for our own native Isle, Newfoundland,
Not a
stranger shall hold one inch of its strand;
Her face
turns to Britain, her back to the Gulf,
Come near at
your peril, Canadian Wolf!
Cheap tea
and molasses they say they will give,
All taxes
taken off that the poor man may live;
Cheap nails
and cheap lumber, our coffins to make,
And homespun
to mend our old clothes when they break.
If they take
off all taxes, how then will they meet
The heavy
expenses on army and fleet?
Just give
them the chance to get into the scrap,
They'll show
you the trick with pen, ink and red tape.
Would you
barter the right that your fathers have won?
Your freedom
transmitted from father to son?
For a few
thousand dollars Canadian gold
Don't let it
be said that our birthright was sold.
We Are Fred Karno's Army is atype of chaotic organization, named for the comedian Fred Karno (1866–1941); his ‘Army’ was the company which gave a solid start or valuable experience to many comedians. ‘We are Fred Karno's army, the ragtime infantry’, perhaps referring to ‘Kitchener's Army’, was one of the trench songs of the First World War.
Music Hall impresario Fred Karno had his own “fun factory,” where he discovered and trained a generation of British stage comedy performers. Many of these “plonks” went on to make their marks on world cinema. Featured in the stage-to-screen line-up are Max Linder, Charlie Chaplin, Billie Ritchie, and Stan Laurel.
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"I was born about ten thousand years ago, And there's nothing in this world that I don't know." The singer boasts of his past accomplishments, e.g. watching Adam and Eve eat the apple (and eating the core); teaching Solomon to read.... It need hardly be stated that there is very little truth in this song (even if one accepts the Bible as literally true). I won't state examples; they would just bore you. I do suspect that the "Ten Thousand Years" title is original, and "four thousand years" is a later correction by those who thought the braggart couldn't have been born before 4004 BCE. And "six thousand years ago" may be an adjustment by someone who knew Archbishop Ussher's 4004 date and did some subtraction.
Not to be confused with the bawdy "Three Thousand Years Ago".
The verse "She's my darling, she's my daisy, She's humpbacked and she's crazy... She's my freckled-faced consumptive Mary Ann" (sung as part of this song, e.g., by Charlie Poole) is also associated with "Hungry Hash House," and that's where I've listed it when it occurs on its own. It's not clear that Poole's piece belongs there, but for the moment I'm listing that song with this one because it fits better metrically.
Woody Guthrie took this idea and rewrote it as "The Great Historical Bum." This was one of his Columbia River songs; Greg Vandy with Daniel Person, 26 Songs in 30 Days: Woody Guthrie's Columbia River Songs and the Planned Promised Land in the Pacific Northwest, Sasquatch Books, 2016, p. xvi, shows one of Woody's typed copies; it ends "But Coulee Dam's th' biggest thing that Man has ever done." Someone (Chad Mitchell Trio? Milt Okun?) then combined the two. Talk about a strange sort of folk process.
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Lyrics: I was born about ten thousand years ago There aint nothing in this world that I dont know I saved king davids life and he offered me a wife I said now youre talking business have a chair
Yeah, I was born about ten thousand years ago Aint nothing in this world that I dont know Saw peter, paul and moses playing ring around the roses Ill lick the guy that says it isnt so
I was born about ten thousand years ago Aint nothing in this world that I dont know I saw old pharaohs daughter bring moses from the water Ill lick the guy that says it isnt so
I was there when old noah built the ark And I crawled in the window after dark I saw jonah eat the whale and dance with the lions tale And I crossed over canaan on a log
I was born about ten thousand years ago Aint nothing in this world that I dont know I saw old pharaohs daughter bring moses from the water Ill lick the guy that says it isnt so
Yeah, I was born about ten thousand years ago Aint nothing in this world that I dont know Saw peter, paul and moses playing ring around the roses Ill lick the guy that says it isnt so
I was there when old noah built the ark And I crawled in the window after dark I saw jonah eat the whale and dance with the lions tale And I crossed over canaan on a log
I was born about ten thousand years ago There aint nothing in this world that I dont know I saved king davids life and he offered me a wife I said now youre talking business have a chair
Yeah, I was born about ten thousand years ago Aint nothing in this world that I dont know Saw peter, paul and moses playing ring around the roses Ill lick the guy that says it isnt so Send "I Was Born About Ten"
Ophelia Letter Blow 'way song dates back in 1950 (Elder-FolksongsFromTobago). This song is describing as life is like a letter that wind can blow away, but the person whose life has been lost is not dead but blown away to some other place, like Arima.
Elder-FolksongsFromTobago: "In 'Ophelia letter' we have a beautiful metaphor of a woman losing her husband or spouse and the sheer impossibility of saying just where the dead man is."
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Lyrics:
Ophelia letter blow way, It blow 'way in Arima (repeat).
It blow way in Arima, It blow' way in Arima (repeat). Oh!
Ophelia where your letter? It blow 'way in Arima (repeat).
It blow 'way in Arima, It blow' way in Arima (repeat). Oh! .
Ophelia where your letter? It blow 'way in Castara (repeat).
It blow 'way in Arima, It blow' way in Castara (repeat).
"Hill an gully rider" is a call and response work song from Jamaica which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common.
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Lyrics
Refrain Hill and gully rider, Hill and gully. (repeat)
1. Took my horse and come down, Hill and gully, But my horse done tumble down, Hill and gully. And the nighttime come a-tumblin’ down, Hill and gully.
2. Oh the moon shone bright down, Hill and gully, Ain’t no place to hide in down… An’ a zombie come a ridin’ down… Refrain
3. Oh, my knees they shake down… An’ my heart starts quakin’ down… An’ I run ’til daylight breakin’ down… Refrain
4. That’s the last I set down… Pray the Lord don’ let me down… Ain’t nobody goin’ to get me down… Refrain
Fan Me Solja Man is from Jamaica. It's about a young wife, whose husband has gone to war. This young wife loses her good reputation, although she continues to be well dressed, because she is carousing with and accepting the gifts of (ill reputed) soldiers.
Around 1945 Lion (Hubert Charles) wrote and recorded "Fan Me, Saga Boys." A "saga boy" was "a lower-class male whose garb and behavior were copied from American zoot-suitrers of the 1940s.... The song utilizes images of World War II to metaphorically describe sexual intercourse.... 'Fan Me Soldier Man, Fan Me' is probably based upon the same lavway as this song" (Donald R. Hill, "Calypso Calaloo" (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1993), p. 264; The Lion with Gerald Clark and His Original Calypsos, "Fan Me Saga Boy", Guild 125A, 1945?)). It seems unlikely that the source for "Fan Mi Solja Man" is a Trinidad lavway (calypso road march). Lion's chorus is "Fan me, saga boys, fan me / I said, Oh! fan me, saga boys, fan me / Long live our gracious king / But I kiss me saga boy Christmas morning." The chorus from Jekyll-JamaicanSongAndStory is "Fan me, soldier man, fan me / Fan me, soldier man, fan me/ Fan me, soldier man, fan me oh! / Gal, you character gone.'
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
Fan me solja man, fan me, Fan me solja man. fan me, Fan me solja man, fan me, oh !
Gal, yuh character gawn.
Wey de use yuh dah shawl up, shawl up, (3x) Gal yuh character gawn.
Wey de use dah lace-up stays-up, (3x)
Gal, yuh character gawn.
Sake a Coolie-man bangle, (3x)
Gal yuh character gawn.
Fan me solja man, fan me, Fan me solja man, fan me, Fan me solja man, fan me, oh,
Cudelia Brown(also known as "Cordelia Brown") is a Jamaican folk song from a tradition of "Mento Music".
"Mento Music is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music...
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms...
Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common. Mento was strongly influenced by calypso, the musical traditions of the Kumina religion and Cuban music. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
O Cudelia Brown, Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!) O Cudelia Brown, Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!) Yu si' dung eena di sunshine wit' nut'n 'pon yu head, O Cudelia Brown, Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
On a moonshine night, on a moonshine night, I met Missa Ivan, an' Missa Ivan tol' me, Sey dat 'im gi Neita di drop, Jamaica flop, and di moonshine drop, Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw.
Nobody's Business is aJamaican folk song. Jamaican folk songs have become a definitive characteristic of Jamaican culture.
They are exemplars of a culture whose music reflects the lifestyle of most of its citizens.
In modern times, their beauty has been show cased in local and foreign performances
which exposes an element of the country to the world. Additionally, the arrangements of
these songs by Jamaican composers like Noel Dexter and Peter Ashbourne have aided in
their renaissance in modern times. This also attests to their high entertaining quality
which most audiences have come to appreciate.
However, in colonial times, the songs’ function and purpose were two-fold. First,
they were used as a mode of communication between slaves and their masters, as well as
among the slaves themselves. Secondly, they were used to enhance religious aspects of
worship and praise. Additionally, the colonial system created a stratified society in which
the white masters were superior to the enslaved Africans. This permeated every aspect of
the colonial society and was especially noticeable in the disparity in social conditions
between the whites and the slaves. Colonialism also enabled the imposition of European
culture on society. Overtime, the slaves perceived that the European culture was better
than theirs, and they fashioned their social habits after their masters’. The resultant was
their viewing their African ancestry with shame and overtime abandoning its traditions.
This research explored the transition of Jamaican folk songs from the slave fields
to the art music stage. In so doing, it investigated colonialism and slavery as factors that
influenced these songs’ usage in communication, entertainment, and worship. It also
explored independence as a catalyst in the creation of a new identity for Jamaicans and,
in so doing, investigated the cultural policies of successive Jamaican governments
coupled with the concerted efforts of the artisan class, especially musicians in producing
Jamaican artifacts that are representative of the people.
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Lyrics:
1.Solomon Grundy gone a Ecuador Lef him wife and pickney out a door Nobody's business but me own; Solomon Grundy gone a Ecuador Lef him wife and pickney out a door Nobody's business but me own.
Chorus:
Nobody's business, business Nobody's business, business Nobody's business but my own Nobody's business, business Nobody's business, business Nobody's business but my own.
2.If I married to a naygarman An' I lef' him for a Chinaman Nobody's business but me own If I married to a naygarman An' I lef' him for a Chinaman Nobody's business but me own.
