Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier

[michael01612]

I fell in love with this song, by Irish Anonymous, the first time I heard it on Ken Burns' Civil War movie. So sad, so anti-war...and it evokes all the emotion of that movie for me. My lunchtime jam partners indulged me today and we gave it a go.

 

The great Jagan Nath on fiddle. Steve on guitar (strumming some here, working on a lead for next week), and me on my concertina. When I got home I asked my wife Cindy to sing.

 

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album....d=3240&alid=964

 

Mike

[David Barnert]

The Weavers used to sing it (Ronnie Gilbert's lovely alto voice) and it appears on their Carnegie Hall reunion album from 1955. I grew up with that album and now have it on CD.

[Robert Booth]

Yeah, I grew up with that album and have known the song from childhood. There is a short pennywhistle tune on the album that makes a beautiful introduction to the song; the fingering sweetly leads from one to the other.

Question: Is "Schul-a- rhuh (badly informed phonetic spelling-please correct) part of the same song or does it exist solo?

Any body know?

[David Barnert]

I was wrong. It's on a different album I grew up with, "Folk Song & Minstrelsy." Ronnie sings it with Fred Hellerman (also of the Weavers) playing a haunting, understated guitar accompaniment.

 

The other songs you mention don't seem to be on this album, but I think you're trying to say "Suliram," which is on the Carnegie album.

[scott fineran]

I am not sure of the name of the album but "Solas" do a really nice version of this song on of of their albums.

[Robert Booth]

Just gave the album another listen, and the Shul, shul shul is not there. Now I can't remember where I learned it; I have a distinct memory of my sister's rendition of the song bringing me to tears when we were children. I guess we knew it from early days.

Johnny has gone for a soldier makes a nice medly with the civil war song, The Blue And The Grey. Both are mournful enough to wrench even a heart of stone, play well in the same key, and are easy to switch back and forth twixt the two.

[Pam B]

I am not sure of the name of the album but "Solas" do a really nice version of this song on of of their albums.

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It's on their first album, simply titled Solas.

[Daniel Bradbury]

Robert,

 

I think that Peter Paul and Mary made the Shul Shul Shul a Roo very popular inthe 1960's. It probably the recording that is most burnt into our burnt out minds.

 

"If you remember the 60's....you probably weren't there".

[Tom Hall]

Check out this thread on Mudcat.org:

 

http://207.103.108.99/thread.cfm?threadid=6969&messages=43

 

More than you want to know -- Tom

[brightfield]

Great stuff. I like the Ashokan Farewell - both versions. Great atmosphere in the background - was it a party? I'm trying to detect the clinking of wine glasses.

 

I'm recording tomorrow evening - my friend John has assembled a great studio in his spare room from components on ebay and wants to try it out. We're going to do my Lachenal before restoration (now) and after (in July). Also a couple of tunes on the Jackie I think. I like the idea of Nowhere Radio and have signed up for an account so I can load them there.

[michael01612]

Glad you liked it!

 

Yes, it was a party. It started with just a few peopel and grew to about 25. We had a fiddle, a cello, 3 guitars, mandolin, 2 banjos, 1 dojo...and affiliated spouses and children. A very good time...I am planning on doing it again real soon.

 

NowhereRadio is a great deal. When I joined they had a free trial period where you could upload up to say 10MB of stuff free. But to be a full fledged paying member with unlimited upload and playing bandwidth it costs a whopping $25 a year or so.

 

Recording oneself and listening is a lot of fun...like sharing family snapshots over the internet. And it can also be very humbling to hear oneself play. In that regard, it certainly is educational. I use a cheap portable 3-track recorder called the Zoom PS-02 that I bought used on ebay for $175. Very happy with that as well.

 

Mike

 

Great stuff.  I like the Ashokan Farewell - both versions.  Great atmosphere in the background - was it a party?  I'm trying to detect the clinking of wine glasses.

 

I'm recording tomorrow evening - my friend John has assembled a great studio in his spare room from components on ebay and wants to try it out.  We're going to do my Lachenal before restoration (now) and after (in July).  Also a couple of tunes on the Jackie I think.  I like the idea of Nowhere Radio and have signed up for an account so I can load them there.

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[groeswenphil]

I have a feeling that it might be much older than the American Civil War....possibly from the Peninsular War....Napoleonic.

 

It features in the TV series, "Sharpe" staring Sean Bean.

It also features on the CD of music from the series, featuring John Tams and Kate Rusby.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B...7677899-4761403

 

Phil

[brightfield]

NowhereRadio is a great deal.  When I joined they had a free trial period where you could upload up to say 10MB of stuff free.  But to be a full fledged paying member with unlimited upload and playing bandwidth it costs a whopping $25 a year or so. 

 

Recording oneself and listening is a lot of fun...like sharing family snapshots over the internet.  And it can also be very humbling to hear oneself play.  In that regard, it certainly is educational.  I use a cheap portable 3-track recorder called the Zoom PS-02 that I bought used on ebay for $175.  Very happy with that as well.

 

Thanks for that Mike. I had my session in the studio last night and the result is here

 

my radio page (click on discography and then Jackie or Lachenal

 

I found it astonishingly difficult to get a note perfect recording under studio conditions. I am going to now spend more time practicing and have booked another session in July when my Lachenal will have been fully restored.

 

Tom

Edited April 8, 2005 by brightfield

[michael01612]

Oh my Tom....thanks for sharing. That is a good quality recording. More important...that is very good playing! If not perfect, an excellent bid. Wow.

 

 

NowhereRadio is a great deal.  When I joined they had a free trial period where you could upload up to say 10MB of stuff free.  But to be a full fledged paying member with unlimited upload and playing bandwidth it costs a whopping $25 a year or so. 

 

Recording oneself and listening is a lot of fun...like sharing family snapshots over the internet.  And it can also be very humbling to hear oneself play.  In that regard, it certainly is educational.  I use a cheap portable 3-track recorder called the Zoom PS-02 that I bought used on ebay for $175.  Very happy with that as well.

 

Thanks for that Mike. I had my session in the studio last night and the result is here

 

my radio page (click on discography and then Jackie or Lachenal

 

I found it astonishingly difficult to get a note perfect recording under studio conditions. I am going to now spend more time practicing and have booked another session in July when my Lachenal will have been fully restored.

 

Tom

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