On 3/16/2015 9:31 AM, David Lewis wrote:
> Just last night Rebecca pointed out to me an instance
> where Grandpa Jones and Pete Seeger used exactly the same musical setting
> for two different songs. Which of them wrote it? Neither of them; it was
> something that was out there before either of them and they simply fitted
> what they
> knew to lyrics that were also around.
Just out of curiosity, what were the Grandpa Jones & Pete Seeger songs?
Old hymns also tend to be profligate
> in terms of what they are set to.
Read the Sacred Harp hymnal, and you'll find the same words set to half
a dozen tunes.
The crossover between "sacred" and "profane" was a big deal; for
example, "Come Ye That Fear the Lord" used the tune of "Captain Kidd".
And my favorite example, Alfred Karnes's use of the tune from "Don't Let
Your Deal Go Down" with the lyrics to "The Promised Land" (rec. 1927 for
Victor).
Peace,
Paul
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