Season 400 Myths and Legends

Hello again, Geoff! I have had real trouble finding anything which fits into this week's theme, but I came across a Steeleye Span album from 2013, entitled "Wintersmith", based on the works of the late and great Sir Terry Pratchett. I hope that the Discworld novels might fit into the category of "Myths and Legends". This song comes from that album ...

 
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A traditional song The Herring (Or Why Sea Water Is Salty) in Estonian. The folk tales tell about the mill, grinding salt at the bottom of the sea, but they don't mention herrings...
 
A few things came together to inspire this video.

First, on Sunday night I saw the Myanmar rock band "Iron Cross" live at a stadium here in Yangon. "IC" is by far the most successful and popular rock band in the country, and I was amazed to see how many different kinds of people were at the show. From teenagers to retired people, they all knew every word. So I decided to cover an iron cross tune for my entry this week. I'll Post the original over on the island.

Second, I'm starting up a "making music" club here at my school and I need to come up with at least half a dozen short lesson plans to teach the group. Now, I don't claim to be an expert, but I've written a few songs and have some ideas. I decided to document my techniques for this. All that also put online later.

And lastly, it's been a holiday week here and I've had plenty of time to waste on previous versions that were too ambitious. Tried to sing way outside my register. Tried using multiple instrument to just chaos...I hope you enjoy it.

I don't know the original songs name, but in my book of Burmese folktales, this tale is called the "The Rainbow".

 


I wrote this for Theme Music’s Bodily Fluids prompt, but since there are monsters and saints I thought you guys would like it.
 
Cross a border and there is always someone asking if you have the right to be there. Irishmen into Scotland or Mexicans into America.
If they don't like the look of you then you are in trouble.

Well A know ye're a Pat by the cut o yer hair
Bit ye aa turn tae Scotsmen as sune as ye're here
Ye left yer ain countrie for brakin the law
An we're seizin aa stragglers fae Erin-go-Bragh



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Ma name's Duncan Campbell fae the shire o Argyll
A've traivellt this country for mony's the mile
A've traivellt thro Irelan, Scotlan an aa
An the name A go under's bauld Erin-go-Bragh

Ae nicht in Auld Reekie A walked doun the street
Whan a saucy big polis A chanced for tae meet
He glowert in ma face an he gied me some jaw
Sayin whan cam ye owre, bauld Erin-go-Bragh?

Well, A am not a Pat tho in Irelan A've been
Nor am A a Paddy tho Irelan A've seen
But were A a Paddy, that's nothin at aa
For thair's mony's a bauld hero in Erin-go-Bragh

Well A know ye're a Pat by the cut o yer hair
Bit ye aa turn tae Scotsmen as sune as ye're here
Ye left yer ain countrie for brakin the law
An we're seizin aa stragglers fae Erin-go-Bragh

An were A a Pat an ye knew it wis true
Or wis A the devil, then whit's that tae you?
Were it no for the stick that ye haud in yer paw
A'd show ye a game played in Erin-go-Bragh

An a lump o blackthorn that A held in ma fist
Aroun his big bodie A made it tae twist
An the blude fae his napper A quickly did draw
An paid him stock-an-interest for Erin-go-Bragh

Bit the people cam roun like a flock o wild geese
Sayin catch that daft rascal he's killt the police
An for every freen A had A'm shair he had twa
It wis terrible hard times for Erin-go-Bragh

Bit A cam tae a wee boat that sails in the Forth
An A packed up ma gear an A steered for the North
Fareweill tae Auld Reekie, yer polis an aa
An the devil gang wi ye says Erin-go-Bragh

Sae come aa ye young people, whairever ye're from
A don't give a damn tae whit place ye belang
A come fae Argyll in the Heilans sae braw
Bit A ne'er took it ill bein caad Erin-go-Bragh
 
One from your host.
She Moved Through the Fair is an interesting song. It's a song of unfulfilled love with a gorgeous melody. As originally written, it had four verses but people often sing just three, leaving out the third verse. Big mistake, IMO. The third verse is the key to the whole story told in the song. Also, many folk have taken to singing "my dead love came in" in the final verse. Wrong! It was "my young love came in" and it's one of those bits of folk processing of a song that spoils it. By the end of the last verse, you realise that it's taken place many years after the first three and it's her ghost he's seeing but by singing 'dead love' you spoil the gradual revelation in the verse. It's a brilliant song and here is my take on it.


I've just been doing a bit of checking. Padraic Colum, an Irish Poet, originally wrote the first two verses and took a verse from a traditional song for the final verse. This was published in 1909. He later then added the third verse to account for the events in the final verse and published the four verse song in 1916 as part of a collection of Irish verse. The tune is traditional and was collected by Colum and a musicologist, Herbert Hughes in Donegal. Irish tenor, John McCormack recorded song in 1941 and is credited with being the first to change 'young love' to 'dead love'

Here is Colum's 1916 version of the song.

My young love said to me, "My brothers won't mind,
And my parents won't slight you for your lack of kind."
And she stepped away from me and this she did say:
"It will not be long, love, till our wedding day."

She stepped away from me and she moved through the fair,
And fondly I watched her go here and go there,
Then she went her way homeward with one star awake,
As the swan in the evening moves over the lake.

The people were saying, no two were e'er wed
But one had a sorrow that never was said,
And I smiled as she passed with her goods and her gear,
And that was the last that I saw of my dear.

I dreamt it last night that my young love came in,
So softly she entered, her feet made no din;
She came close beside me and this she did say,
"It will not be long, love, till our wedding day."
 
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What, nobody wanted to play all 11 minutes of "Desolation Row"? (Cinderella, mermaids, etc.)

Here's a different fairy tale-based song. Super catchy, but maybe hasn't aged so well...

 
Not the first time I've gone to post a Seasons video and seen what I was about to post right there... It's a sign of good fortune and auspiciousness! We're linked today, Andy (I haven't watched yours yet, but will do so forthwith)

I was so disappointed to learn yesterday that the Iron Cross cover that I spent several days adapting a Burmese folk tale to fit was not what I thought it was. Here I thought I'd discovered a new songwriting possibility. Many, if not most of the songs which have become standards here in Myanmar over the years have actually just been English-language hits with their lyrics re-written into the local language, often without the local even being aware of the original.

I thought I was turning the tables. A hit song from Myanmar's biggest rock band, and I wrote Eblish lyrics for it... Then I played it for a co-worker yesterday.
"That's a song from The Scorpions", he told me.
"No, it's Iron Cross"
"Yeah, I know, but it's a cover a Scorpions song"

Oh. He pulled up the original from the German band (in English), but he didn't need to. It totally sounds like a Scorpions song.

So what I had done was I'd made an English version of Myanmar tune that was itself a version of an English song. Kind of took away my satisfaction.

I had to do another for 400... Mind you, I was going for the crazy Big Bad Wolf look in this video. I called it my fist "BBW" (Big Bad Wolf) video just to see what that very popular internet abbreviation would do to it's view count.

 
i'm not sure there's ever been a person whose short life has been mythologized more than Kurt Cobain's.
this, from the Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree LP (2005).
 
I’ve been missing my Seasonista friends. Last week, the chorus teacher at our school approached me and asked if my elementary ukulele students would play with the elementary chorus at our holiday convocation this year. This is the song he had picked out, and I recorded a ukulele track for the chorus to practice along with. I realized that the song fit this season’s theme, so I added some vocals. So here’s your very, very early Christmas song. Now I just have to get 15 kids to learn it. Wish me luck!
 
I couldn't learn this one in time for Joko's Season, but I managed to bash something into place for SEASON 400 !

This is an early Genesis song that tells the story of the Greek myth of Hermaphroditus.

Every hundred Seasons, I tally up how many Seasons I've taken part in. As of this video, it's 298 of the 400 Seasons.

 
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Getting this in under the wire. I have been away all week in Portugal learning to surf (or rather, falling off the board a lot).

Just got back after a 12 hour drive.

I had written the lyrics while I was away and put it to music (sub folk) tonight and recorded it.

It is a family legend, I hope that counts.

Now to catch up on the week that was.
Meanwhile, here is:

 
Back in the 90s, a friend of mine wrote this beautiful song adapting the myth Orpheus of Eurydice to life in 90s Los Angeles.



Thank you, Geoff, for this Season! And thank you all for 400 (or however many you've contributed to) amazing weeks of music!!
 
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