The May song of the month seems to have been well received. I'm still working on it and will post hopefully this next week. Life has been full.

Time to dial it back a bit for June and do a waltz. I can't find any background on the Oberlin Waltz - so if anyone can help here, that would be great. Marc? Neal? How about lyrics?

I personally like the Oberlin Waltz a lot. It's a song that doesn't really seem to have a "set piece" way of being played. It lends itself easily to a lot of variation and seems to really highlight the left hand. It works with a slow and sad feel and with an upbeat tempo. It's a great song to work on moving around on the keyboard or you can stay mostly in one spot.

There are not a lot of versions out on youtube that I can find, unfortunately.

I like this version in particular. It got me going on this song.



He uses all 10 buttons on the board and throws a lot of techniques that aren't all that hard to nail down.

Here's another good version from a jam.



There it is. Let's see what all variations are out there.

@Jim Pettijohn - I'd really like to hear this song on that old Globe you restored.

John in Oregon

Great one, John! Anyone got any lyrics for this one?

Love this waltz. Not many versions of it out there. Cory McCauley recorded it, he told me he got the song from Bois Sec Ardoin and changed the tempo and lyrics. Jamey, do a search on this forum, we transcribed it a few years ago.

Cory always plays this song if I'm there because he knows I'm going to ask for it. I really like his lyrics, it's about his growing up and his parents.

Cory McCauley's version

Travailler dans les clos oui, tu m'as rien dit,
Travailler dans les misères comme un esclave.
J’suis parti avec les chemises dessus mon dos
Et 15 sous dans ma poche, je les ai pas.

Mon père et ma mère s’est cassé le dos,
Pour donner (z)une bonne chance aux enfants.
Aujourd’hui, moi j’suis pas aussi heureux,
Mais je suis pas aussi content, que quand je restais à Oberlin( ?)

Marc

One correction, Marc, second line is:
Travailler dan les rizieres.. (rice fields). I confirmed that with Cory.

Thanks Bryan. C'est encore mieux !!

Marc

Ooops, one more correction, Marc, first line is
Travailler dans les clos tout ma jeune vie.

Thanks again Bryan. New corrected version :

Travailler dans les clos oui, toute ma jeune vie,
Travailler dans les rizières comme un esclave.
J’suis parti avec les chemises dessus mon dos
Et 15 sous dans ma poche, je les ai pas.

Mon père et ma mère s’est cassé le dos,
Pour donner (z)une bonne chance aux enfants.
Aujourd’hui, moi j’suis pas aussi heureux,
Mais je suis pas aussi content, que quand je restais à Oberlin( ?)

One thing I'm wondering, Marc, instead of "moi, j'sus pas aussi heureux", I hear "ma vie est pas dur". Comment tu crois? I may ask the man himself.

Yes Bryan, best would be to ask Cory himself, if you know him. I'm never absolutely sure of my transcriptions.

Marc

I like those songs where the singer doesn't really have a verse but belts out just a line or two. Octa Clark used to do that. Nathan Abshire did it on French Blues. Bois Sec does it on this one (Website Link #1)

http://www.npmusic.org/Alphonse_Bois_Sec_Ardoin_and_Canray_Fontenot_Valse_d_Oberlin.mp3

Sounds like the following (need some help!):

Oh, comment tu veux m'en jeté pour m'en aller?

Oh, quoi? Mon couer fait mal. J'vas aller te rejoindre.

Oh, How do you want to throw me out for me to go away?

Oh, what? My heart hurts. I'm going to go join you.

I figured I could count on you, Neal. It's been tickling the back of my neck. I've got that album and have always liked that recording. I really like the fiddle playing right along with the accordion. That seems to really have fallen out of favor. Sad.

John in Oregon

Here we go. My take on the Oberlin Waltz. I really like it that in 1 phrase, you can use all 10 buttons on the box. And it showcases the left hand.



And now... back to planning a datacenter migration. For those who don't know... this is the very opposite of fun.

In fact... a lot like this...
http://devopsreactions.tumblr.com/post/82878392442/debugging-a-legacy-system
Warning: might offend some. But it's true


John in Oregon

Here's my take on it based mostly on the bois sec - canray version. I don't know Cory's version.

As usual, Chris --- Wow!!!

John in Oregon

Yeah, like that!

So is that Corey playing in the 1st clip John?
It'll take me a few months to learn this one, its got a real twist to it and combining that low stuff with fluidity is going to take time.
Thanks for the challenge!

Checked out the channel from the 1st clip and I see its "cajun fid", what a fantastic player! Will be studying that stuff for sure

Cajunfid (John Dowden of New Orleans) was one of my first discoveries on YouTube when I took up the accordion. I continue to refer to his videos regularly. He's one of the top fiddlers, but can hold his own with the best of the accordion players. Quite a talent.

I've downloaded all John Dowdens stuff. I've wondered who he was. Good solid playing for sure and he's a good instructor.

John in Oregon