Spanish is the Loving Tongue

Lyrics:
[E] Spanish is the [A] loving [E] tongue

Soft as music, [F#m] light as [B7]spray

‘Twas a [E]girl I [A] learned it [E] from

Living down [B7] Sonora [E] way

[A] I don’t [G#m] look much [A] like a [E] lover

Still I hear those [F#m] love words [B7] over

[E] Mostly when I’m [A] all [E] alone!

Mi amor, Mi [B7] cora – [E]z�n

On the nights that I would ride
She would listen for my spurs,
Throw that big door open wide,
Raise those laughing eyes of hers.

Oh, how the hours would go a-flyin!
All too soon I’d hear her sighin’
In her sweet and quiet tone
‘Mi amor, mi corazon.’

But I had to fly one time
All ’cause of a stupid gamblin’ fight,
And so we said a swift goodbye
On that dark, unlucky night.

How oftentimes to me she’s clingin’
And in my ears the hoofsbeats ringin’,
As I galloped north alone
‘Adios, mi corazon.’

Haven’t seen her since that night,
I can’t cross the line, you know.
She was Mex and I was white;
Like as not it’s better so.

Still I’ve always kind of missed her
Since that last wild night I kissed her;
I broke her heart, lost my own
‘Adios, mi corazon.’

Water is Wide, The

Water.jpg

I remember going to see Pete Seeger in concert at Orchestra Hall in Chicago many times in my teen years. His 12-string guitar was always tuned down so that the bass notes were big and round, filling the hall as would a string quartet. His voice was clear, full of emotion and youthful exuberance. That was the first time I heard The Water Is Wide. Now I'm on concert tour in England. I decided to recorded this song live at the Jazz Café in London.
Lyrics:
D

The water is wide

G D

I cannot cross over

Bm

And neither have

A7

I wings to fly

D F#m

Build me a boat

G

That will carry two

A7

And both shall roam

D

My Love and I

A ship there is

And she sails the sea

Sailing as deep

As deep can be

But not so deep

As the love I'm in

And I know not

How I sink or swim

I leaned my back

Against some young oak

Thinking she was

A trusty tree

But first she bent

And then she broke

And thus did my

False love to me

The water is wide

I cannot cross over

And neither have

I wings to fly

Build me aboat

That will carry two

And both shall roam

My Love and I

The Riddle Song

I wonder if this song from the 17th Century inspired the following poem by Walt Whitman?

A Riddle Song
By Walt Whitman
1819-1892

That which eludes this verse and any verse,
Unheard by sharpest ear, unform’d in clearest eye or cunningest mind,
Nor lore nor fame, nor happiness nor wealth,
And yet the pulse of every heart and life throughout the world incessantly,
Which you and I and all pursuing ever ever miss,
Open but still a secret, the real of the real, an illusion,
Costless, vouchsafed to each, yet never man the owner,
Which poets vainly seek to put in rhyme, historians in prose,
Which sculptor never chisel’d yet, nor painter painted,
Which vocalist never sung, nor orator nor actor ever utter’d,
Invoking here and now I challenge for my song.

Indifferently, ‘mid public, private haunts, in solitude,
Behind the mountain and the wood,
Companion of the city’s busiest streets, through the assemblage,
It and its radiations constantly glide.

In looks of fair unconscious babes,
Or strangely in the coffin’d dead,
Or show of breaking dawn or stars by night,
As some dissolving delicate film of dreams,
Hiding yet lingering.

Two little breaths of words comprising it,
Two words, yet all from first to last comprised in it.

How ardently for it!
How many ships have sail’d and sunk for it!

How many travelers started from their homes and neer return’d!
How much of genius boldly staked and lost for it!
What countless stores of beauty, love, ventur’d for it!
How all superbest deeds since Time began are traceable to it–and
shall be to the end!
How all heroic martyrdoms to it!
How, justified by it, the horrors, evils, battles of the earth!
How the bright fascinating lambent flames of it, in every age and
land, have drawn men’s eyes,
Rich as a sunset on the Norway coast, the sky, the islands, and the cliffs,
Or midnight’s silent glowing northern lights unreachable.

Haply God’s riddle it, so vague and yet so certain,
The soul for it, and all the visible universe for it,
And heaven at last for it.

Lyrics:
The Riddle Song

[G] I gave my love a [C] cherry that has no [G] stone,
I [D] gave my love a [G] chicken that has no [D] bone,
I gave my love a [G] ring that has no [D] end,
I [C] gave my love a [Am] baby with [C] no [G] crying.

How can there be a cherry that has no stone?
How can there be a chicken that has no bone?
How can there be a ring that has no end?
How can there be a baby with no crying?

A cherry, when it’s blooming, it has no stone,
A chicken when it’s pipping, it has no bone,
A ring when it’s rolling, it has no end,
A baby when it’s sleeping, has no crying.

Traditional

Coffee Grows On White Oak Trees

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This is a Southwestern play-party song. Play party songs were designed to protect young people from the evil business of square dancing. Any number of couples would join hands and form a ring. The ladies would march around a single man and sing the first part of the song at a slow tempo. The man would chose a partner from the ring and the dancers would skip around them singing 'Two in the middle and I can't dance Josie.' This would continue until all couples were In the center. They would swing left and Right.
Lyrics:
[D] Coffee grows on white [Bm] Oak trees
[D] The river flows with [Em] brandy –O[A]
[D] Go choose someone to [Bm] roam with you
[Em] Sweet as lasses [A] candy –O
[D] Two in the middle and I [Bm] can't dance Josie
[D] Two in the middle and I [C] can't get [A] around
[D] Two in the middle and I [Bm] can't dance Josie
[G] Hello [A] Susan [D] Brown

Four in the middle and I can’t dance Josie
Four in the middle and I can’t get around
Four in the middle and I can’t dance Josie
Hello Susan Brown
[D] Railroad, [F#m] steamboat, [Bm] river and [G] canal
I lost my [Em] true love on that [A] ragin’ canal [D]
[D] O she’s gone, gone, gone,
O she’s gone, gone, gone, [A]
O she’s gone on that ragin’ [D] canal (X2)

Fiddler’s drunk and I can’t dance Josie
Fiddler’s drunk and I can’t get around
Fiddler’s drunk and I can’t dance Josie
Hello Susan Brown

Cow in the well and can't jump Josie
Cow in the well and can't get around
Cow in the well and can't jump Josie
Hello Susan Brown

Railroad, steamboat, river and canal
I lost my true love on that ragin' canal
O she's gone, gone, gone,
O she's gone, gone, gone,
O she's gone on that ragin’ canal
(X2)

The Cruel War

Lyrics:
[G] The cruel war is [Em] raging,
[Am] Johnny has to [G] fight I [C] long to be [Am]
with him, from [C] morning till [G] night

I want to be [Em] with him, it [Am]
grieves my heart [G] so Won’t you
[C] let me come [Am] with you?
[C] No, my love [G] no

Tomorrow is Sunday, Monday is the day
That your captain will call you and you must obey
Your captain will call you, it grieves my heart so
Won�t you let me come with you?
No, my love no
I’ll tie back my hair, men’s
clothing I’ll put on

I’ll pass for your comrade as we march along
I’ll pass for your comrade, no one will ever know
Won’t you let me come with you?
No, my love no

Oh Johnny,
oh Johnny, I feel you are unkind
I love you far better than all of mankind
I love you far better than words
can e�er express
Won’t you let me come with you?
Yes, my love yes

They marched into battle, she never left his side
‘Til a bullet shell struck her and love was denied
A bullet shell struck her, tears came to Johnny’s eyes
As he knelt down beside her, she silently died

Willie Moore

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Drone in G, and play melody Video version HERE.
Lyrics:
Willie Moore was a King, his age twenty-one
Courted a maiden fair;
Her eyes were like two diamonds bright
Raven black was her hair, hmmm hmmm hmmm…
He courted her both day and night,
To marry him she did agree,
But when they went to get her parents' consent,
They said, 'This could never be,' hmmm, hmmm, hmmm…
'I love Willie Moore,' sweet Annie replied,
'Better than I love my life,
And l would rather die than weep here and cry,
Never to be his wife,' hmmm, hmmm, hmmm…
That very same night sweet Anne disappeared,
They searched the country 'round
In a little stream down by the cabin door,
The body of sweet Annie was found' hmmm, hmmm, hmm
Sweet Annie's parents they live all alone,
One mourns, the other cries,
In a little grave down by the cabin door
The body of sweet Annie now lies.
Willie Moore scarce spoke that anyone knew,
Soon from his friends did part;
And the last heard of him was he's on Montreal
Where he died of a broken heart.

Lilly of the West

I don’t know the origin of this song, but it has the same basic tune as The Buffalo Skinners. It’s a sad tale of betrayal and a crime of passion. In France, I’m told they have different penalties for such crimes. The photo is of a Bulgarian Bluegrass musician who’s named her latest CD after the title of this song. Click her picture to learn more.
Lyrics:
Am C G
When first I came to Louisville
F Am
Some pleasure there to find
C F G
A damsel there from Lexington
Am
Was pleasin’ to my mind
Am C G
Her ruby lips her rosy cheeks
Am
Like arrows pierced my breast
Am C G
The name she bore was Flora
F Am
The Lilly of the West

I courted lovely Flora
Some pleasure there to find
But she turned onto another man
Which sore distressed my mind

She stole away my liberty
Deprived me of my rest
Then go my lovely Flora
The Lilly of the West

Way down in yonder shady grove
A man of low degree
Conversin’ with my Flora there
It seemed so strange to me

The answer that she gave to him
It sore did me oppress
I was betrayed by Flora
The Lilly of the West

I stepped up to my rival
My dagger in my hand
I seized him by the collar
And I boldly bade him stand

Be mad to desperation
I pierced him in his breast
Then go my lovely Flora
The Lilly of the West

And then I had to stand my trial
I had to make my plea
They put me in the criminal box
And then commenced on me

Although she swore my life away
Deprived me of my rest
Still I love my faithless Flora
The Lilly of the West

Traditional / Arr. Roger McGuinn (C) 2000 McGuinn Music

The Brazos River,

Frank Hamilton, and his wife Mary stopped by the house to say hello. I hadn’t seen Frank since the mid 60’s in Los Angeles, and we had a great time catching up, although we barely scratched the surface.

Frank had taught me to play guitar, and banjo at the Old Town School of Folk Music, in Chicago, from 1957 to 1960.

He showed me a song that he’d performed with the Weavers, and said that Pete Seeger had bemoaned the fact that this song hadn’t been published in Singout, and that it was in danger of getting lost. That makes it an ideal candidate for the Folk Den.

Here are Frank and Mary Hamilton singing The Brazos River, with me playing 12-string and banjo backup.

Lyrics:
A D A
The cool Angelina runs lofty and gliding
A F#m B7 E
The crooked Colorado runs weaving and winding
A F#m D A
The Red River runs rusty, the Wichita clear
A F#m E A
But Down by the Brazos, I courted my dear

A D A E
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
A D A E A
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
A D A E
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
A D E A
There’s many a river that waters the land

She hugged me and she kissed me
And she called me her dandy
The Brazos is muddy,
And sometimes quick sandy

She hugged me and she kissed me
And called me her own
But down by the Brazos
She left me alone

Now the girls of them rivers
They’re plump and they’re pretty
The Supine and the Sulfur
Have many a beauty

I may wander the rivers
And many a shore,
But down by the Brazos
I’ll wander no more

I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
I la lie lee lee lee give me your hand
There’s many a river that waters the land X2

Brandy Leave Me Alone

brandy.gif

This can be taken either as a love song, or as a cry
for deliverance from alcohol abuse. It’s origins are said to be African.
In honor of February 14, I prefer to interpret this as a romantic song.
Lyrics:
E
Oh, Brandy, leave me alone
A
Oh, Brandy, leave me alone
B7
Oh, Brandy, leave me alone
E
Remember I must go home

My home it is far away
My home it is far away
My home it is far away
Remember I cannot stay

Oh Brandy, you broke my heart
Oh Brandy, you broke my heart
Oh Brandy, you broke my heart
Remember that we must part

Oh, Brandy, leave me alone
Oh, Brandy, leave me alone
Oh, Brandy, leave me alone
Remember I must go home

My home it is far away
My home it is far away
My home it is far away
Remember I cannot stay

Oh Brandy, you broke my heart
Oh Brandy, you broke my heart
Oh Brandy, you broke my heart
Remember that we must part

� 1998 McGuinn Music – Roger McGuinn

Wagoner’s Lad

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Last week, I had the pleasure of performing at a
tribute concert for The Harry Smith Anthology, sponsored by the
Smithsonian, The Folk Alliance, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It was a wonderful night of music and re-acquaintance with old
friends. Ella Jenkins was there, whom I hadn’t seen in over thirty
years, as well as the New Lost City Ramblers, and new friends, Jeff and
Jay from Wilco.

This is one of my favorite songs from the Anthology. It’s one of
those melodies that stays with you long after you’ve heard the song.

The original recording is from 1928, by Buell Kazee, with just vocal
and 5-string banjo. I have done it again, keeping the sound as close to
the original as possible.

The format is interesting; the first verse is by a narrator, the
second by the girl, the third by the boy and the fourth and fifth verses
are split between the boy and girl.

She’s trying to talk the Wagoner’s Lad into staying with her, and he’s dead set on leaving.

Lyrics:
[G] Oh hard is the [C] fortune of all women [G] kind.
They’re [D] always [G] controlled, they’re always [D] confined
Controlled by their [G] parents until they are [D] brides
Then [C] slaves to their husbands for the rest of their [G] lives

Oh I am a poor girl, my fortune is sad
I have always been courted by the wagoner’s lad
He courted me daily both by night and by day
And now he is loaded and going away

Your parents don’t like me because I am poor
They say I’m not worthy of entering your door
I work for my living, my money’s my own
And if they don’t like me they can leave me alone

Your horses are hungry, go feed them some hay
Come sit down beside me as long as you may
My horses ain’t hungry, they won’t eat your hay
So fare thee well darling, I’ll be on my way

Your wagon needs greasing, your whip’s for to mend
Come sit down beside me as long as you can
My wagon is greasy, my whip’s in my hand
So fare thee well, darling, no longer to stand
� 1998 McGuinn Music – Roger McGuinn