H
Hippie Dribble
Guest
howdy gang,
a new song for JJ's Daily Ukulele project from the Beloffs' songbook:
"Polly Wolly Doodle" (pg. 323)
some background...
a traditional folksong dating back to the 2nd half of the 19th century, with its roots in the American south. Authorship is dubious but sometimes credited to Dan Emmett.
it was first published in a Harvard student song collection in 1880. It was also sung, famously, by Shirley Temple in the 1935 film "The Littlest Rebel", and then featured in the 1938 film "You Can't Take It With You", which also won the award for Best Picture in that same year. The lyrics were again published in 1943 in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, 'These Happy Golden Years'.
throughout most of last century up to the present, the song has become most commonly known and loved as a children's tune.
my attempt...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2xAETDTYAU
last night I sat down and made a simple arrangement for the song, really to see what I could do with the two chords and a few notes to embellish them. Consequently my attempt is a bit raw and could do with some refining.
To try and keep the playful tone of the melody, I used a kazoo and some whistling at the end. I also borrowed some verses from another old-time tune, 'Cindy' to throw in, but I guess this is always the stuff of folklore, eh! My daughter Eugenie videoed it for me this morning at home, and I played it on a mya moe mango soprano uke. Playing 'C' and 'G' chords but the uke is tuned up to 'D'.
a good uke group tune?
not sure, but I'll take it along to our little get together next week and see what they reckon. Might get the "oh, that's just a silly kids song" response, but you could have one group playing rhythm and another playing melody. Also you could get the call and response thing happening between the guys and gals in the chorus "Fare Thee Well..." "fare thee well"...just feels like there's a lot of elbow room to work with for a unique take on it. Plus, it's hard not to sing this one and not feel better at the end than when you started!!!
Hope you have some fun with it and sing and play along!
Blessings all. eugene
a new song for JJ's Daily Ukulele project from the Beloffs' songbook:
"Polly Wolly Doodle" (pg. 323)
some background...
a traditional folksong dating back to the 2nd half of the 19th century, with its roots in the American south. Authorship is dubious but sometimes credited to Dan Emmett.
it was first published in a Harvard student song collection in 1880. It was also sung, famously, by Shirley Temple in the 1935 film "The Littlest Rebel", and then featured in the 1938 film "You Can't Take It With You", which also won the award for Best Picture in that same year. The lyrics were again published in 1943 in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, 'These Happy Golden Years'.
throughout most of last century up to the present, the song has become most commonly known and loved as a children's tune.
my attempt...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2xAETDTYAU
last night I sat down and made a simple arrangement for the song, really to see what I could do with the two chords and a few notes to embellish them. Consequently my attempt is a bit raw and could do with some refining.
To try and keep the playful tone of the melody, I used a kazoo and some whistling at the end. I also borrowed some verses from another old-time tune, 'Cindy' to throw in, but I guess this is always the stuff of folklore, eh! My daughter Eugenie videoed it for me this morning at home, and I played it on a mya moe mango soprano uke. Playing 'C' and 'G' chords but the uke is tuned up to 'D'. a good uke group tune?
not sure, but I'll take it along to our little get together next week and see what they reckon. Might get the "oh, that's just a silly kids song" response, but you could have one group playing rhythm and another playing melody. Also you could get the call and response thing happening between the guys and gals in the chorus "Fare Thee Well..." "fare thee well"...just feels like there's a lot of elbow room to work with for a unique take on it. Plus, it's hard not to sing this one and not feel better at the end than when you started!!!
Hope you have some fun with it and sing and play along!
Blessings all. eugene
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