BANJOJUDY - Posted - 08/23/2012:  18:02:50

A bit  early - but I will be out of town on August 24, and didn't want anyone to worry that there would not be a tune!!!

So.....The Tune of the Week for August 24, 2012 is “The Girl I Left Behind Me.”

My personal memories of this tune date back to my childhood  when I watched Bugs Bunny play this on a fife accompanied by Yosemite Sam on drums  in  the 1950 production, “Bunker Hill Bunny.”   The tune appears at the end of the cartoon.bcdb.com/cartoon_video/3761-Bu...unny.html

Historians are divided about its origins, but they date it back to at least the 17^th century when it was known as the popular British marching song, “Brighton Camp.”  It most likely has even older roots in Ireland, and been played around the world as a military march, often used in movies and television.

This is such a great tune, and I certainly have been enjoying listening to a variety of styles in versions by Western Swing Band bands, and Celtic groups,  as well as individual artists including The Tune Wranglers, Rex Allen, Hot Club of Cowtown, The Skillet Lickers, Uncle Dave Macon, Pete Seeger, and Alan Jabbour.   You might want to bookmark the site below where you can find not just the Tune Wranglers and Rex Allen, but hundreds of other songs you will like (not old time or clawhammer, but good music at zero cost):westernswing78.blogspot.com/20...lers.html

Many versions have lyrics, but with or without words, played as a march, a swing tune, a Celtic fiddle tune , a fife and drum, and of course, on the banjo, this is one of my personal favorites.

On YouTube, I came across a version of this, along with a nice history, so rather than write everything I found at this link, I’ll merely encourage you to take a look and listen.youtube.com/watch?v=k_cRy98JBkc

Folksinger Patrick Sky, in 1972, recorded this with some unusual lyrics as “Under All Flags “on his “Songs That Made Americans Famous” album.   He actually plays clawhammer banjo on this version, and you can watch it here:youtube.com/watch?v=6SRj_ahkG74

It is often used as part of military marches.  Click below to download the free mp3 of the US Marine Fife and Drum Corp.  This site has a wealth of information and free mp3 downloads, so even if you are not thrilled with this Tune of the Week, you might want to visit the site and see what else is there.archive.org/details/thegirl1904

It is traditionally played in open G tuning on the banjo.  There are numerous tab versions online, but I prefer to play it in gDADE tuning, and so I asked my friend, and Banjo Newsletter columnist, Wayne Shrubsall to tab it for me in “my” tuning, and he complied.

I’ve attached the tab for my G version tuned in gDADE . This appears below, and also in my photos, in the tab album, as well as in the tab section of the Banjo Hangout.  

I have also uploaded to my homepage, an mp3 file of our noontime group playing it (Ari, Yigal, Michael and me), as well as a video of me playing it solo. youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=...p7EhS_uyc

Edited by - BANJOJUDY on 08/23/2012 18:04:22

Girl I Left Behind Me in gDADE tuning

aeroweenie - Posted - 08/23/2012:  19:55:00

Great pick, I've always like this tune!  I play a version bluegrass style, this gives me the impetus to learn it clawhammer style, which I expect is better suited to the tune.  I will work on it tonight, but I'll try it in standard G-tuning first.

Julian44_4 - Posted - 08/24/2012:  01:37:52

Tabledit file available

janolov - Posted - 08/24/2012:  05:36:31

An interesting thing with this tune is that it occurs in both 3/4 (or is it 6/8) and 4/4 (or 2/4 or 2/2) time. When I first tried to play this tune some years ago I preferred the 4/4 but now I prefer the 6/8.

SCclawman - Posted - 08/24/2012:  05:54:17

I love this song! Great pick for TOTW.

Here are the words that were used by the army in the 19th century. According to the always accurate wikipedia, "The song was popular in the US regular army, who adopted it during the War of 1812 after they heard a British prisoner singing it."

I'm lonesome since I crossed the hill

And over the moor that's sedgy

Such lonely thoughts my heart do fill

Since parting with my Betsey

I seek for one as fair and gay

But find none to remind me

How sweet the hours I passed away

With the girl I left behind me

Here is a version I recorded a few months ago with clawhammer banjo and mandolin.

The Girl I Left Behind Me

JanetB - Posted - 08/24/2012:  06:00:16

Interesting write-up, Judy, with lots of viewing still to do from your links.  Here's a different version by the John Hartford Stringband with Bob Carlin's banjo and Chris Sharp's singing:  amazon.com/The-Girl-Left-Behin...tringband 

The Girl I Left Behind Me was one of the first songs I figured out using melodic and single string styles for 3-finger picking.  It starts with a thumb on the first string and then a common 1st string, 4th fret, 2nd string, 5th fret phrase.  It also helped me learn how to fit single string thumb/index picking into a melody.

I liked your clawhammer version with its unique licks (isn't there a better word--licks is so over-used).  Anyway, thanks!

Jay K - Posted - 08/24/2012:  06:57:18

Great choice! I'm familiar with this tune from several John Ford films (I love Westerns) like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Can't wait to try it out.

g3zdm - Posted - 08/24/2012:  07:07:19

 Lovely old tune and  song. There's an interesting  version in the Penguin book of Bawdy British Folk Songs too. I know that variant as "The Wayward Boy".

 This version includes a banjo:   youtube.com/watch?v=1MwPc9_hVyQ

Chris Muriel, Manchester UK

Edited by - g3zdm on 08/24/2012 07:08:16

BANJOJUDY - Posted - 08/24/2012:  07:39:25

quote:

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Originally posted by Jay K



Great choice! I'm familiar with this tune from several John Ford films (I love Westerns) like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Can't wait to try it out.

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If you are fan of the old Westerns, make sure you get to the site I mentioned above that has hundreds of free mp3 western genre songs.  Here's the link again:

http://westernswing78.blogspot.com/2007/05/tune-wranglers.html

jamesd - Posted - 08/24/2012:  08:42:26

Thanks Judy for this tune.  I would have never thought about a tune like this for the banjo. Your playing is great and so is SCclawman.  I really like this tune!  It does make me think of John Wayne.

staronjeff - Posted - 08/24/2012:  10:05:28

here a version i cut a couple months back, it nothing special.

it was played on a fret less Zither.

Just thought i would contribute for once.

g3zdm - Posted - 08/24/2012:  13:18:41

hangoutstorage.com/jukebox.asp...D%3D27529I just uploaded a quick version recorded with headset microphone and Audacity.

 How do you folks get it to appear as an MP3 icon with the link running javascript ?

Chris Muriel, Manchester, UK

SCclawman - Posted - 08/24/2012:  13:49:52

quote:

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Originally posted by g3zdm

hangoutstorage.com/jukebox.asp...6musicID%3D27529I just uploaded a quick version recorded with headset microphone and Audacity.

 How do you folks get it to appear as an MP3 icon with the link running javascript ?

 

Chris Muriel, Manchester, UK

---

 Hey Chris,

It's pretty easy to add - Look right below where you are typing when you are posting a post, and it says "Add Attachments" right above the "subscribe to topic." From there, just click what song you want to add, and you should be good to go. You can do this with pictures, mp3s, and videos you've uploaded to the hangout.

Jay K - Posted - 08/24/2012:  15:33:23

Love Western music too and will check out the site, thanks!

Edited by - Jay K on 08/24/2012 15:34:41

Banjowik - Posted - 08/24/2012:  17:26:45

Great tune, great choice for TOTW.

Anyone know if its connected in any way to the Irish song Waxies Dargle, They sound related

youtu.be/-WFBC-PEnTI

Edited by - Banjowik on 08/24/2012 17:31:20

g3zdm - Posted - 08/24/2012:  17:35:20

Yes. The tune existed before the words. Also "Rare Old Mountain Dew" pretty much borrowed the same tune (with slight variations).

Chris Muriel

witty banjo related username - Posted - 08/25/2012:  19:18:23

and, if I'm not mistaken, the Girl I Left Behind Me is also the theme to the Tommy Cooper/Eric Sykes classic "The Plank"

Tamarack - Posted - 08/25/2012:  19:56:03

Great pick for TOTW -- let us not forget that it closes out the first track of the classic Red Clay Ramblers LP "Twisted Laurel" with banjo by the inimitable Tommy Thompson.

(Following one YouTube link to another leads one to some fun Morris Dance videos)

pollywaffle - Posted - 08/25/2012:  21:26:54

cheers for posting this

cockneybanjo - Posted - 08/31/2012:  10:09:52

It's a super tune which sounds good on just about anything, I've been learning it in the tenor banjo