Love In March

My wife Camilla and I met in an acting class in Beverly Hills CA. We fell in love in March and were married on April 1st 1978. This is our song about love in March.

Lyrics:
 
* [D] In March, [F#m] when the world is reborn, 
* And the [Bm] earth is dressed in [A7] green, 
* [G] I met you, my love, [A7] my bride, 
* And my [Bm] heart’s never been the [A7] same. 
*  
* [D] The daffodils bloom, [F#m] the birds still sing, 
* [Bm] Nature’s symphony [A7] fills the air, 
* [G] Your laughter rings, [A7] like a melody 
* [Bm] In my heart, you’re always [A7] there. 
*
* Chorus: 
* G] In March, [A7] the month of our love, 
* [D] When our hearts became [Bm] entwined, 
* [G] Like the vines that [Em] climb the trees, 
* [G] Our souls forever [A7] bind. 
Break
*  
* [D] Through the years, [F#m] in joy and pain, 
* [Bm] Our love stood the [A7] test of time, 
* [G] Like the seasons, we [A7] change and grow, 
* [Bm] But our bond remains [A7] sublime. 
* Chorus: 
* G] In March, [A7] the month of our love, 
* [D] When our hearts became [Bm] entwined, 
* [G] Like the vines that [Em] climb the trees, 
* [G] Our souls forever [A7] bind.  
Break X 2
© Roger McGuinn Lyrics and Music
McGuinn Music 2025

If I Had A Hammer

Pete Seeger and Lee Hays wrote this song in 1949. The Weavers had a hit with it in the 50s and Peter Paul and Mary got it to #10 on the Billboard charts in 1962. I’m posting this in memory of Peter Yarrow who passed away on January 7, 2025.

My wife Camilla and I visited Pete Seeger’s house, which he had built himself in Beacon New York. He said that he could only afford to buy the land and had his friends help him construct it. If anyone visited him, he would hand them a hammer.
The picture above is Pete pointing to the house he built.

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
[D] If I had a hammer
[G] I’d hammer in the [D] morning
[F#m] I’d hammer in the evening
[Bm] All over this [A] land
[D] I’d hammer out danger
I’d hammer out a [Bm] warning
I’d hammer out [G] love [D] between my [G] brothers and my [D] sisters
[G] All [A] over this [D] land

[Verse 2]
If I had a bell
I’d ring it in the morning
I’d ring it in the evening
All over this land
I’d ring out danger
I’d ring out a warning
I’d ring out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land (If I had a song)

[Verse 3]
If I had a song
I’d sing it in the morning
I’d sing it in the evening
All over this land
I’d sing out danger
I’d sing out a warning
I’d sing out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

Never Go Back

This is a “contemporary” folk song that I wrote around 40 years ago. It’s a about the disappointment I’ve felt going back to old places, only to find buildings torn down and replaced by new trendy hotels with neon signs. Hoping to see old friends but finding out they had moved or passes away. Nothing stays the same, you really can’t go back.
It’s better to enjoy the present, the only time that truly exists.

Lyrics:

[G] Walked through the streets of my old town
Latin school had long been torn down
[C] Neon lights flickered from a [G] new hotel

Turned down the road where Cathy dwelt
One time she’d had me in her spell
Neon lights flickered from a new hotel

CH: [F] Sometimes it’s [Am] better not go [Em] back
[F] My advice – don’t ever [Em] go back

Three days of Fall vacation
Strolled passed the railroad station
Neon lights flickered from a new hotel

Doorman once worked the railroad
Told me his line had long been sold
Neon lights flickered from a new hotel
CH:
Bridge:
[C] Hold [D] on to [F] precious [EM] memories
[C] Don’t [D] let them [F] slip your [Em] mind
[C] Never [D] go [F] back to [Em] capture them
[F] Everything is bound to change [Em] in time
[F] Everything is bound to fade [Em] in time

This trip was meant to take me back
Just like an ancient almanac
Neon lights flickered from a new hotel

I longed to see my dear old friends
Like looking backward through a lens
Neon lights flickered from a new hotel
CH:
Bridge:
[C] Hold [D] on to [F] precious [EM] memories
[C] Don’t [D] let them [F] slip your [Em] mind
[C] Never [D] go [F] back to [Em] capture them
[F] Everything is bound to change [Em] in time
[F] Everything is bound to fade [Em] in time
CH: X 2
© 2024 McGuinn Music

Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desiring By J. S. Bach

I first learned this tune from Pete Seeger’s “Goofing Off Suite” in the mid 1950s. Years later when it was time to make up a Rickenbacker introduction for Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” I used a few notes from this J.S. Bach piece which happen to match part of the melody of the chorus. I also played this as an instrumental break in the Byrds’ song “She Don’t Care About Time” and remember how much George Harrison, who as visiting our Columbia Records studio at the time, liked it.

Vicar of Bray

This is an 18th century satirical song about a clergyman staying in power no matter who was king.
Here is a detailed annotation of the lyrics:

Lyrics:

[D] In good King [A] Charles’ [D] golden [A] days, [D] when loyalty no [A] harm [D] meant,
[D] A zealous [A] high [D] churchman was [A] I, [D] and so I gained [A] preferment.
[A] To teach my flock, [D] I never missed
[A] Kings are by God [D] appointed
And damned be [A] he who [D] dare [A] resist or touch the Lord’s [A] annointed. [D]

[A] And this be law, I [D] shall maintain
[A] Until my dying [D] day, sir
That [D] what – [A]soever [D] king may [A] reign,
[D] Still I’ll be the Vicar of [A] Bray, [D] sir.

When royal James usurped the throne, and popery came in fashion,
The penal laws I hooted down, and read the Declaration.
The Church of Rome, I found, did fit
Full well my constitution
And I’d have been a Jesuit, but for the Revolution.

cho:

When William was our King declared, to ease the nation’s grievance,
With this new wind about I steered, and swore to him allegiance.
Old principles I did revoke
Set conscience at a distance,
Passive obedience was a joke, a jest was non-resistance.

cho:

When Royal Anne became our queen, the Church of England’s glory,
Another face of things was seen, and I became a Tory.
Occasional conformists base
I blamed their moderation;
And thought the Church in danger was from such prevarication.

cho:

When George in pudding time came o’er, and moderate men looked big, sir
My principles I changed once more, and I became a Whig, sir.
And thus preferment I procured
From our new Faith’s Defender,
And almost every day abjured the Pope and the Pretender.

cho:

The illustrious house of Hanover and Protestant succession
To these I do allegiance swear — while they can hold possession.
For in my faith and loyalty
I never more will falter,
And George my lawful king shall be — until the times do alter.

cho:

The Star of County Down

This lovely Irish song was written in the 1800s by Cathal MacGarvey from Ramelton, County Donegal. The tune is traditional and has been used in “Dives and Lazarus” as well as “My Love Nell” and the hymn, “I Heard The Voice of Jesus.”

Lyrics:

[Gm] Near Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July,
From a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
From the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a winsome elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I’ve seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
Then I looked with a feeling rare,
And I says, says I, to a passer-by,
“Who’s the maid with the nut brown hair?”
He looked at me and he says, to me,
“That’s the gem of the Ireland’s crown.
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She’s the star of the County Down”.

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I’ve seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down.

At the harvest fair and she’ll be there
So I’ll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked right
with a smile for a nut brown rose.
No pipe I’ll smoke, no horse I’ll yoke
‘Til my plough is rusty brown.
‘Til a smiling bride, by me own bedside
Sits the star of the County Down.

From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I’ve seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down.

Columbus Stockade Blues

“Columbus Stockade Blues” is a classic bluegrass song written by Thomas Darby in the 1920s.

Lyrics:

Columbus Stockade Blues

[G] Way down in Columbus, Georgia
[D7] Want to be back in [G] Tennessee
Way down in Columbus [D7] Stockade
Babe don’t you ever think of [G] me

[C] You can go and leave me if you [G] want to
[C] Never let it cross your [D7] mind
[G] If in your heart you truly love another
[D7] Leave me little darling, [G] I don’t mind

Last night as I lay sleeping
I dreamt I held you in my arms
When I awoke I was mistaken
I found was peering through the bars

You can go and leave me if you want to
Never let it cross your mind
If in your heart you truly love another
Leave me little darling, I don’t mind

Many a night with you I’ve rambled
Many an hour with you I’ve spent
Thought I had your heart forever
Now I find it was only lent

You can go and leave me if you want to
Never let it cross your mind
If in your heart you truly love another
Leave me little darling, I don’t mind

Blow The Candle Out

“Blow The Candle Out” is an old English sailors song (though not necessarily a sea chantey) dating from 1724 or earlier and also known and sung in Ireland, Scotland, and the U.S.

In this version a young man is about to enter military service for three years, a tragic development in view of his recent marriage to his true love. He promises to resume their love life when he returns, hoping to find a two-year-old son or daughter.

Lyrics:

[Em] Late last Saturday [D] evening
I went to see my [Em] dear
[Em] The candles were all [D] burning
And the moon shown bright and [Em] clear
[G] I rapped upon her [D] window
[Bb] To ease her of her [A7] pain
[Em] She rose and let me [D] in and
Barred the door [Em] again

I like well your behaviour
And this I often say
I cannot rest contented
While you are far away
The roads they are so muddy
I cannot roam about
So roll me in your arms, love
And blow the candle out

Your father and your mother
In yonder room do lie
Hugging one another
So why not you and I
Hugging one another
Without a fear or doubt
So roll me in your arms love
And blow the candle out

And if we prove successful, love
Please name it after me
Hug it neat and kiss it sweet
And dap it on your knee
When my three years are ended
And my time’s run out
Then I will prove my indebtedness
By blowing the candle out

Scottish Reel

It is the Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and time for a Scottish Reel to dance in the refreshing season filled with birds, flowers and love. A wee bit of a dram might make it all the more delightful.

My wife Camilla suggested that the Rickenbacker 12-string with electronic compression sounds like a bagpipe and indeed it does!
Happy Spring!

Lyrics:

Instrumental Music