traditional uke songs that involve natural history

garyg

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Greetings ukers, I teach a large (140 student) non-science majors class in Georgia Natural History (think of the birds and bees of the south or ecology for art majors). With a class that large one has to use innovative teaching methods and I was thinking of getting some of my uke friends together and giving a class concert of traditional songs that feature biological themes or describe natural features of the landscape (think The Cuckoo, Bluebird song, etc.). Because this is Georgia, I stretch the geographical limit a bit to include the southern Appalachians and perhaps the Gulf Coast, but the biological/geographic component should be the focus of the song. The point here is to show how the landscape/biota influenced the people of the region. So I'm looking for songs with uke arrangements that fit these criteria. I'd appreciate any arrangements that you'd care to provide, and any song suggestions even if you don't have an arrangement. I would classify myself as an advanced beginner (i.e., I can play E minor and B flat well but have trouble getting from E to any other chord <g> and I don't pick yet. TIA, g2
 
This is certainly not a traditional song, but it has a fair amount of biology in it (think birds and bees at the microscopic level). Hope it isn't too risque'. :)

Great idea for your class, good luck, and have fun!

 
There's always this one... :)



JJ
 
This one is nice on the uke. More like astronomy than geology though
http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs/020622.html

The Lion Sleeps Tonight is a good one. Any Lions in Georgia? F, Bflat, F, C7
This Land is Your Land is also a good uke song (easy to google for chords)
Good luck with your class.
–Lori
 
Okay maybe I should restate my request, I am looking for uke arrangements for traditional ballads over the period ranging from settlement in North America to the early 20th century that focus on some aspect of wildlife, botany, geography. For example The Cuckoo is a perfect example of what I am looking for. Songs about a particular wildflower or animal or southern mountain range or river. What I am trying to find are songs that document how the flora and fauna and geographic features of the southeastern US influenced the people sufficiently that they wrote music about it. TIA, g2
 
This is certainly not a traditional song, but it has a fair amount of biology in it (think birds and bees at the microscopic level). Hope it isn't too risque'. :)

Great idea for your class, good luck, and have fun!



Go Bears!
Nice to see another Old Blue here.
 
Okay maybe I should restate my request, I am looking for uke arrangements for traditional ballads over the period ranging from settlement in North America to the early 20th century that focus on some aspect of wildlife, botany, geography. For example The Cuckoo is a perfect example of what I am looking for. Songs about a particular wildflower or animal or southern mountain range or river. What I am trying to find are songs that document how the flora and fauna and geographic features of the southeastern US influenced the people sufficiently that they wrote music about it. TIA, g2

Cumberland Gap, a geographic feature that is perhaps unrivaled in significance in the westward migration through the Appalachians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Gap_(folk_song)
 
Ulili E is a song about the wandering tattler and golden plover. You can find this in He Mele Aloha songbook. Also sung by Iz in Alone in Iz World.
 
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Ulili E is a song about the wandering tattler and golden plover. You can find this in He Mele Aloha songbook. Also sung by Iz in Alone in Iz World.

There are lots of Hawaiian songs about the geography and flora and fauna of Hawai'i. Another one that comes to mind is Na Moku Eha, which identifies a flower indigenous to, and the biggest mountain on, each of O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui and the Big Island. I was under the impression the OP wanted similar traditional songs about the geography, flora and fauna of the Southeast United States.
 
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Home on the Range immediately springs to mind, but that is Kansas and may be too far west. What about all the Wildwood songs? Wildwood Flower for instance. Red River Valley is about nature but not many animals or plants in it. It is too early in the morning to think of others but there are lots.
 
Okay, we're getting closer but I wasn't thinking of Hawa'ii when I said southeastern US and yes the Appalachians, pronounced "appa latch ans" are probably the most crucial geographic area because they are the backbone of traditional folk music in the southeast and in fact the whole US. Oh and let's leave all the "Go Bears" posts for a post entitled "Why do so many Cal grads play the uke" signed class of '75. I'm having trouble downloading the Park Service "Songs of the Mississippi" pdf but that looks like exactly what I'm looking for albeit a bit west. I'll check Jon's CD's for songs, he does have the cuckoo and hopefully some others. Thanks for the suggestions. g2
 
My apologies for the "go bears" post, just having a little fun, but I hope you did see my suggestion about "Cumberland Gap".
 
Ditto ... didn't mean to offend with my Go Bears ... just nice to see some Old Blues here.
 
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