Category: Listen

Introduced by Judy Cook

Our song for this month is Dave Goulder’s “January Man.” It’s a song of fine images, insight into human nature, and just a hint of mysticism. We’re invited to contemplate the ever-circling years and our place in them. Dave wants to be sure folks sing the lyrics as he wrote them, and I know I’m not alone in wanting to hear this song sung more; this should help.

Here are the lyrics, the musical notation, and a bit of information about Dave Goulder. I love Ed Trickett’s singing of this song: simple, unaccompanied, very accessible. You’ll find a YouTube video (audio only) embedded below:

Lyrics

The January man he walks abroad
In woollen coat and boots of leather
The February man still shakes the snow
From off his hair and blows his hands
The man of March he sees the Spring and
Wonders what the year will bring
And hopes for better weather

Through April rains the man goes down
To watch the birds come in to share the summer
The man of May stands very still
Watching the children dance away the day
In June the man inside the man is young
And wants to lend a hand
And grins at each new comer

And in July the man in cotton shirt
He sits and thinks on being idle
The August man in thousands takes the road
To watch the sea and find the sun
September man is standing near
To saddle up and lead the year
And Autumn is his bridle

The man of new October takes the reins
And early frost is on his shoulder
The poor November man sees fire and wind
And mist and rain and Winter air
December man looks through the snow
To let eleven brothers know
They’re all a little older

And the January man comes round again
In woollen coat and boots of leather
To take another turn and walk along
The icy road he knows so well
The January man is here for
Starting each and every year
Along the way forever

Dave Goulder was born in 1939 of a Derbyshire farming family — a railway footplate man, mountaineer, motorcyclist, classical music enthusiast, Spanish guitar player, mouth harp virtuoso, songwriter, poet, singer, hedge layer, junk sculptor, naturalist, community arts administrator, drystone walling Master Craftsman/instructor, ceilidh band member, failed mandolin player, and arthritic. He lives in Scotland.

Judy Cook is an author, entertainer, and folk-singer. She has been living in Oberlin, Ohio, with her husband Dennis since 2013. 2017 will be her 20th year touring throughout both Britain and the US. She is known for her repertoire and storytelling ability in ballad form. Judy has one book and several CDs. You can reach her through her web page.

Introduced by Lorraine Hammond

Our celebration of this “CDSS Year of Song” has kept us singing, and our “Song of the Month” has been a meaningful part of that celebration — a great new CDSS resource for songs. They are archived here, and ready for you to add to your own repertoire, each one chosen by a singer who treasures the choice they offered.

We began our “Song of the Month” year with Brendan Taaffe’s elegant “May It Fill Your Soul,” and we’ll close out the calendar with a round that speaks to the heart of this season, “Lamb and Lion.” It is a round in four parts that I wrote one wintry season as a holiday gift to tuck into the cards I was sending. It has found its way into the new Rise Again song compilation by Annie Patterson and Peter Blood, and Sol Weber’s Rounds Galore.

The audio below is from a recording by the wonderful songwriter and entertainer, Christine Lavin (with the Mistletones). Songs have an uncanny way of staying in circulation!

Lorraine Lee Hammond is a member of the CDSS board, a humanities lecturer at Lasell College in Newton, MA, and Music Director of WUMB-fm acoustic music week and weekend programs. She performs and records with her husband, guitarist Bennett Hammond.

Introduced by Katy German

One of my favorite things about the folk process is the way a song can reemerge in different forms over time. Whether accidental or intentional, changing some portion of melody or words can suddenly give a song new life and depth.

This song is a beautiful example. The melody is a simple and beautiful 19th century hymn, with alternative words from Eastern Kentucky singer and storyteller Randy Wilson. Randy kept the melody and some of the poetry from the traditional version, but mixed in phrases and language to give it a more universal spiritual appeal.

I first heard Randy sing his version of Farther On about a decade ago at Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, KY. At the time I thought it was a clever rewording and recognized its appeal as a soulful yet easy group singing option.

What I have found since then, though, is that this is the song that rises to my mind every single time I am feeling discouraged or low on hope. It is a meditation for my soul when I am feeling derailed. I asked Randy what inspired this version and he replied, “I liked the chorus and wanted to make a spiritual out of it, with repetition so that folks could join in easily.”

I guess sometimes it’s just as simple as that. Here is one of the traditional arrangements, along with Randy’s alternative lyrics. I’ve included both versions so that the readers and singers can enjoy it in more than one incarnation. And Randy, thank you for this beautiful song.

Music: Traditional (not the first image)
New words: Randy Wilson, a musician, songwriter, and storyteller from Eastern, KY

Lyrics

Oh dear brothers, are you weary with the roughness of the way?
Search your soul and plant a seedling. Stir the ashes, seize the day.
Farther on, still go farther. Count the milestones one by one.
There’s a light that leads us onward. It is better farther on.

(Repeat, replacing “brothers” with sisters, mothers, fathers, children, etc.)

Here’s a version of the song by the Alaska String Band:

Katy German is a CDSS Board member living in Asheville, NC. She loves community singing and introducing children, families, and first-timers to country dance traditions.

Introduced by Lorraine Hammond, with Jon Pickow

October’s song will be a spooky one! I learned this long ago from Jean Ritchie, of Viper, Kentucky. I have sung it for hundreds of children, delighting as they jump, startle, and then collapse with laughter and relief. And grown-ups are not exempt either! Perfect Hallowe’en musical fare.

Skin and Bones has a venerable British Isles legacy. The Roud index at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library lists more than sixty sources. One early print source is “Halliwell, Nursery Rhymes of England (3rd edn. 1843) pp.85-86, There Was A Lady All Skin and Bone.”

I asked Jean Ritchie’s son Jon Pickow about his childhood memories of the song, and he offered the following great anecdotes:

“The first time I remember hearing Skin and Bones was when mom sang it at a children’s concert at our local library here in Port Washington. I was very young, and reacted just like all the other kids: scream first, then laugh hysterically. I loved watching her sing it for new audiences and seeing their reactions, although I always jumped at the end, even though I knew what was coming.

“Mom always warned sound men and engineers after singing it on the radio once and seeing the engineer jump up and throw the headphones across the room.

“Several generations have learned it from the singing of Raffi. Even though more people knew the surprise, audiences were still delighted to hear mom sing it.”

You can hear Jean Ritchie singing this, with her lovely dulcimer accompaniment, in the YouTube video on this page.

Lorraine Lee Hammond is a member of the CDSS board, and a humanities lecturer at Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts.

Introduced by Sasha Hsuczyk

Interest in singing from the American “Sacred Harp” tradition has grown stronger in recent years, an awareness that is reflected in our selection for this month’s Song of the Month.

The Sacred Harp is an American collection of hymns that has been continuously in print since it was first published in Georgia in 1844. Families of singers in many parts of the South have been singing from the book for generations, and today the Sacred Harp is enjoyed and used all over the U.S. as well as abroad. Part of what I think makes the book appealing to people from such a wide range of places and backgrounds are the universal messages that many of the songs express. As individual people we may lead very different daily lives, but as humans, collectively, we share a lot of the same emotions as we face the various trials of life. I find that singing from the Sacred Harp can offer a great deal of comfort, as well as a chance to empathize with others through song.

For September, I chose a popular favorite from the Sacred Harp that helps to inspire me — Canaan’s Land. For those who have a copy of the book it can be found at the top of page 101. The tune is rather interesting in that it is one of only a few songs in the Sacred Harp that uses just four notes in the melody. The words can be found going back as early as 1822 in a words-only hymnal called Social and Campmeeting Songs for the Pious, and was printed in several later hymnals, as well. It was no doubt a popular piece of poetry.

It’s not certain, but this song was likely composed by E.J. King, one of two compilers of the first edition of the Sacred Harp. He is described as “a farmer and singing teacher with ‘bright prospects as a musician'” in David Warren Steel’s book, The Markers of the Sacred Harp. Unfortunately, he passed away at the young age of 23, just after the Sacred Harp was published.

The words in the second half of the song look to the Eternal Spirit to give the singer guidance to “steer thro’ [sic] life’s tempestuous sea, where stormy winds do blow.” We can look for the same comfort in raising our voices in song with friends; try these harmonies with some of your favorite singing pals!

Sasha Hsuczyk was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Her first few years of college were spent in Ireland attending the University of Limerick’s undergraduate program in traditional Irish music, where she studied the fiddle. It was there in the traditional music section of the library that she discovered a copy of the Sacred Harp. She completed her undergraduate degree in Western Massachusetts at Hampshire College, earning a certificate in ethnomusicology. She has traveled all over the east coast to sing from the Sacred Harp, with several pilgrimages to Alabama and Georgia. Sasha currently resides in Pennsylvania, where she works as a vegetable farmer and musician, splitting her time between rural Berks County and Philadelphia. Thanks to Aldo Ceresa, Rachel Hall, Alex Forsyth, and Emma Swartz for their support!

Introduced by Sarah Jane Nelson

It was a challenge to pick one song (just one?) from the Max Hunter Folksong Collection, but “Farmer’s Daughter” swiftly made its way to the top of the pile. Harrison Burnett, who sang this song for Max in 1959 and in 1961, had the great fortune to be a “singing watchman” at the University of Arkansas where folklorist Mary C. Parler taught classes. Parler and her husband, Vance Randolph, were lifelong mentors to Max and often shared tapes and “informants” with him. Max visited Harrison at least twice, and got 16 songs from him. See The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection at Missouri State University.

Listen to “Farmer’s Daughter,” as sung by Harrison Burnett, Fayetteville, Arkansas on June 15, 1959. (Source: Max Hunter Folk Song Collection, Missouri State University)

Checking the Ozark Folksong Collection at the University of Arkansas, I see that Parler got there first, having collected this same song under the title “I’m Gonna Get Married A-Sunday” back in 1955. It was clearly a favorite of Harrison’s, who sang it with an authority in which he gives equal weight to both the old man’s cautionary message and the young-girl-in-a-hurry. There is such a visceral quality to this song — I can just feel the sun on my back as I “walk down in town” and I can smell the [implied] scent of lavender on the “bonnet and shawl” as they “lie on the shelf.” And then there’s the buoyancy of the melody itself which will put you on a cloud as you sing.

And while this piece could be tossed off as a “quaint little ditty” about a young girl’s naïve obsession with ribbons and bows, Harrison’s manly, sonorous voice (note the bass clef transcription!) delivers it on a much deeper level; it’s really about love and sex, hindsight and foresight, wisdom and impulsivity —a ll the things that make the world spin. There is a timeless universality in the dialogue between these two people, and they reside in every one of us.

According to writer Ted Anthony, Max had this to say about Burnett: “I believe Harrison is one of the finest singers I have ever visited and collected from.” I would encourage readers not only to listen to the Hunter recording, but to get a hold of Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf’s recording Wolf Hunter, a magnificent album which gives this song (along with many others) new life.

Musician and writer Sarah Jane Nelson is still at work on her biography of Ozark song collector Max Hunter. You can learn more about her project by going to her campaign site.