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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner |
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| Big rock candy mountain/Fiddlers Green - Folk Song Histories - General - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Martin Bigpig Mor Approved 
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I had a listen to Richard Hefner playing Big Rock Candy Mountain in claw hammer style, and was inspired to try to learn it my self. I have liked this tune for ages, and it suits this style. The trad Irish song Fiddler's Green has very similar sentiments, a better place beyond here. My song book says that Fiddlers Green is, in part ,from a 19th century sailor's song. Does anyone know how old B.R.C.M. is? There must be more lots songs like this.
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banjo brad Super Moderator 
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Martin- According to Alan Lomax's notes in Folk Songs of North America, it was written by Mac McClintock, probably somewhere around 1910. The quote is as follows: "Mac McClintock, who claims to be the author of this song (Hallelujah, I'm a bum [ed.]), as well as of the original "Big Rock Canly Mountains" quoted below, playhed clarinet in the first IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) street band, [. . .] tried out Joe Hill's first song (The Preacher and the Slave) when Joe brought it into the Wobbly meet-hall in Portaland in 1910. [. . .] In The Big Rock Candy Mountains, McClintock tells how a jocker lured a country boy away from home by telling him 'ghost-stories' about lemonade springs and such. After many a thirsty mile the punk is disillusioned: The punk rolled up his big, blue eyes And said to the jocker, 'Sandy, I've hiked and hiked and wandered, too, But I ain't seen any candy. I've hiked and hiked till my feet are sroe, I'll be God-dammed if I hike any more To be -------------------------------------- In the Big Rock Cany Mountains. " I think the book is out of print, but it might be worth looking for. It is a great source of songs. You do have to watch out for the tunes that Lomax copyrighted, and some that are still in copyright from later authors - Woody Gutherie, for one. Last edited on Mon Jul 31st, 2006 08:12 pm by banjo brad ____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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Martin Bigpig Mor Approved
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Hiya Brad, Sorry for the delay in replying. I have been on the road a lot recently. Thanks for the information, I will look out for that book. I believe that Alan Lomax has saved a lot of old tunes from being lost and forgotten. I once had a great CD of his, recordings of old Irish music. I t was fantastic, some of it was an old woman singing in her kitchen. real grass roots stuff. I am from Northern Ireland myself, so this is a style of music I am really interested in. happy days, martin
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| ezFolk Forums > General > Folk Song Histories > Big rock candy mountain/Fiddlers Green | |
