About Me

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Lake Mathews (Perris), CA, United States
Born in Illinois, I grew up in Wilmette, a northern suburb of Chicago. I have one sibling, an older brother. I am married, for the 2nd time now, to Butch & got 4 children in the deal. They have gone on to make me grandmother 25 times over & great-grandmother to over 20!. After many years working in industry, I got my bachelors and masters degrees in speech communication, & was a professor in that field for 13 years. I retired in 2001 & returned to school & got my doctorate in folklore. Now I meld my two interests - folklore & genealogy - & add my teaching background, resulting in my current profession: speaker/author/entertainer of genealogically-related topics. I play many folk instruments, but my preference is guitar, which I have been playing since 1963. I write the "Aunty Jeff" column for the Informer, newsletter of the Jefferson County NY Gen. Soc. I work in partnership with Gena Philibert-Ortega & Sara Cochran as Genealogy Journeys® where we focus on educating folks about Social History. More about that: genaandjean.blogspot.com. More on our podcasts: genjourneys.podbean.com. More about my own projects: Circlemending.org.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

SUNDAY SINGALONG - Sad songs

Welcome to Sunday Singalong with Circlemending!

I was pleased to see some gospel singalong participants in the last couple of weeks. This week was the anniversary of my mother's passing and, as can be imagined, I was in something of a "funk" as a result. While I'm doing OK now (thanks, in part, to the Flagstaff Folk Festival this weekend), I thought that "sad songs" would be a good theme for this week (don't worry, I'll counter with "happy songs" for a future theme). So what songs do you remember as being sad? Remember, we want to keep these "older" songs (i.e., not something that was written last week, OK?). You can print out the lyrics, give a link to a set of lyrics, MP3, YouTube, or all of the above, if you like. Or just identify the sad song by title.

With the many disasters that have befallen our country in recent years (and currently, in the Gulf region), I can't help but think of songs written about those events. One comes immediately to mind as being particularly sad (maybe because it is still shrouded so much in mystery). July 2 will be the 73rd anniversary of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. The song "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" by Kinky Friedman is thought to be the first song that carried her name. The refrain, "Happy Landings to you, Amelia Earhart; Farewell, first lady of the air" are both catchy and poignant. Why, one can even get the tune as a ringtone for the cell phone!

To hear the song, go to the YouTube showing of Red River Dave (the first to record the song).

4 comments:

  1. For me, one of the sadder songs has always been "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" especially if you follow the three verses:

    I was standin' by my window
    On a cold and cloudy day
    When I saw a hearse come rollin'
    To carry my Mama away

    Chorus:
    Will the circle be unbroken
    By and by Lord, by and by
    There's a better home a waitin'
    In the sky, Lord, in the sky

    I said to the undertaker
    Undertaker, undertaker please drive slow
    For this body you are haulin'
    How I hate, I hate to see it go

    Chorus

    I will follow, close behind her
    I'm gonna stand up and be brave
    But I will not hide my sorrow
    When they lay her down in that grave

    Chorus

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  2. I can remember Daddy playing the guitar and singing the Kingston Trio's version of Tom Dooley:

    [Intro:]
    Throughout history
    There've been many songs written about the eternal triangle
    This next one tells the story of a Mr Grayson, a beautiful woman
    And a condemned man named Tom Dooley...
    When the sun rises tomorrow, Tom Dooley... must hang...

    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Hang down your head and cry
    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Poor boy, you're bound to die
    I met her on the mountain
    There I took her life
    Met her on the mountain
    Stabbed her with my knife

    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Hang down your head and cry
    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Poor boy, you're bound to die

    This time tomorrow
    Reckon where I'll be
    Hadn't a-been for Grayson
    I'd a-been in Tennessee

    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Hang down your head and cry
    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Poor boy, you're bound to die

    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Hang down your head and cry
    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Poor boy, you're bound to die

    This time tomorrow
    Reckon where I'll be
    Down in some lonesome valley
    Hangin' from a white oak tree

    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Hang down your head and cry
    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Poor boy, you're bound to die

    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Hang down your head and cry
    Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
    Poor boy, you're bound to die

    Poor boy, you're bound to die
    Poor boy you're bound to die
    Poor boy, you're bound to die...

    [You can listen to this on You Tube at:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoBLGE2cCdU&feature=related ]

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just saw Bill Yates and the Country Gentlemen Tribute Band sing "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight", last night. Makes me sad because it reminds me of Charlie Waller, I miss him every time I hear a Country Gentlemen song.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was introduced to The Blackest Crow--a song about parting--by a classmate and I'm very fond of it. Here's a link to my favorite YouTube version (Bruce Molsky): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6jh1vqNvMs

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