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Theme Of The Month, Feb 2015: Local Favorites


Jim Besser

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Until yesterday, it had been over a month since I last checked in on concertina.net.

Here is my contribution to this Theme of the Month. A few years ago I was at a pub session in in London (Chris Drinkwater and the late Kautilya were there), and when it came my turn to start a tune, somebody said "play an American tune." So I played a classic from right here in New York State's Hudson Valley: Jay Ungar's "Round the Horn." One other person there knew it and was able to play along. The guitarist picked up most of the chords, but I had to call out to him "C, G, A minor, B minor" at the beginning of the B section.
It never occurred to me to wonder, until just now when I had to name the sound file, whether the title should start with an apostrophe: "'Round the Horn," since it's an abbreviation of "Around." All over the web, you see it both ways, and even "Around the Horn." But on Jay's web site it spells it without the apostrophe. I don't know if that's Jay's preference or his webmaster just didn't enter it right. I'll have to ask Jay next time I see him.

 

 

 

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Until yesterday, it had been over a month since I last checked in on concertina.net.

Here is my contribution to this Theme of the Month. A few years ago I was at a pub session in in London (Chris Drinkwater and the late Kautilya were there), and when it came my turn to start a tune, somebody said "play an American tune." So I played a classic from right here in New York State's Hudson Valley: Jay Ungar's "Round the Horn." One other person there knew it and was able to play along. The guitarist picked up most of the chords, but I had to call out to him "C, G, A minor, B minor" at the beginning of the B section.
It never occurred to me to wonder, until just now when I had to name the sound file, whether the title should start with an apostrophe: "'Round the Horn," since it's an abbreviation of "Around." All over the web, you see it both ways, and even "Around the Horn." But on Jay's web site it spells it without the apostrophe. I don't know if that's Jay's preference or his webmaster just didn't enter it right. I'll have to ask Jay next time I see him.

 

 

I've always liked this contra dance tune. For some reason it's fallen into disfavor around here - but we played it a couple of weeks ago, and both dancers and musicians seemed to like it.

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For some reason it's fallen into disfavor around here...

Perhaps it's because Jay doesn't play it much anymore. It's from the pre-Molly days of Jay and Lyn, and is on an album they recorded together.

 

 

No, I just think it got over played. Sort of like March of St. Timothy, once a big local favorite, now a "oh, not again" tune.

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I can think of only a few other "oh, not again" tunes that were over-played once upon a time. Let's see, there's Over the Waterfall and Avalon Quickstep and...?

 

Someone I admire told me that he feels that way about Spotted Pony. Someone else told me he feels that way about Comic Sans.

 

I'm sure this is a local tradition too... the tunes that have become uncool to start. There are other very common tunes that still get played all the time and never grow stale like Sandy Boys in the US or Bonny Kate in the UK.

Edited by Jody Kruskal
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  • 2 months later...

Can't find my first posting this song, so I add my revisiting the song (see above) here:

 

Dat Du Min Leevsten Büst (2)

 

(still a WIP, comments appreciated!)

 

Edit: Now that I've learned that June's theme will be "Waltzes" I posted the new recording there.

Edited by blue eyed sailor
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