Oh, Annie, what a marvelous way to start my Saturday morning! I love that song, too, and the pictures were wonderful.

Thanks!
Cynthia

That was great Annie, thanks for giving us the link. Such great pictures!

I liked this song as a child too. But the funny thing is that the lyrics include a lot of species which just don't exist in the British Isles. The birds especially are hilarious. However, the tune is an old folk dance melody, collected by Cecil Sharp and arranged, famously, by Percy Grainger, who was Australian. But I'm having trouble finding out who wrote the lyrics. Was it J Rogers himself? That would explain the American fauna.

Yes, that is an old British folk song played for dances. I know that it was very early on played on the harpsichord or harp. It is fun to dance to using the old 18th century dance steps. I can't remember the names of the two Americans who wrote the lyrics (and arrangement), but it wasn't Jimmy Rogers. He just sang it (me thinks).

Jimmy Rogers was very popular when I was a small girl and my grandparents collected his music sold on LP albums back then. They also liked Berle Ives and had much of his recordings, as well. He sang many of the old folk tunes too.

I have heard another lyrics version with British "critter" species and using more of the old plant names, but don't know who wrote them nor when. There were many verses.

Glad you enjoyed this.
~Annie

I guess they never played this quaint little song on the radio, at least in my neck of the woods. I know only Honeycomb and Kisses Sweeter Than Wine by JR.

In my early twenties, there was an electric harpsichord in a local music store that I wanted to buy in the worst kind of way, but it was way out of my price range. It's probably just as well, since we lived in a small one bedroom apartment at the time. I bought a 12-string guitar instead. :)

TM

Mom used to sing this song to me all the time and I still remember every word. I have, in fact, collected each of the flowers mentioned in the song (or as close as I can get to the originals)as a kind of memorial to Mom. No one ever really knew the song when I was growing up but then they didn't know "The Little Blue Man" either. :) I remember both fondly and sing them often while I am in the yard. I used to have the harpsichord version of ECG on my old computer. Can't find it now. :(

Thanks for the link Annie. I love that song and the memories it brings me!

Ginny

fun song

mr toad