Did You Know? Communities of Song
The Vermont Folklife archive is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you.
While interviews make up the vast majority of the audio and video recordings in the Vermont Folklife Archive, the collection includes a great deal of music as well. With our current Did You Know series, we hope to give you a taste of the range of music in our collections–and perhaps a little insight into aspects of Vermont’s larger musical soundscape. (If you missed the first part of this series, Songs of Loss and Longing, you can find it here.)
This month, we feature communities of song. Whether for celebrations, for spiritual purposes, or for companionship in adversity, people turn to song as a way to worship, to build bonds, to express joy--there are so many reasons to come together and sing. In this blog post, we'll hear from three groups that do just that.
For almost 50 years the Shoreham Congregational Church in Shoreham, VT has hosted an annual hymn sing for Jamaican guest workers who pick apples in Addison county’s many orchards. Vermont Folklife first stopped by the event in the late 1970s when Jane Beck, then the Vermont State Folklorist through the Vermont Arts Council, worked on a project about apples in Vermont. The recordings below were made in September 2011, and feature the group singing two of their many hymns: "Closer Than a Brother" and "Some Sweet Day / Hard Road to Travel."
Lyrics:
Closer than my brother, my Jesus is to me
He's my dearest friend in everything I need
He is my rock, my shield and hiding place
Closer than my brother, Jesus is to me
Lyrics:
Some sweet day, I'm going away
I'm going to leave this world, no more to roam
Some sweet day, when life is over
Some sweet day, I'm going away
A hard road to travel and a mighty long way to go
Jesus the Blessed Savior will lead me on the way I know
Many a lonesome valley, where many dark waters flow
It's a hard road to travel and a mighty long way to go
Next, we hear from the pub singers of Brattleboro. Pub sings are participatory singing events that take place in pubs or “public houses.” In most organized pub sings, participants take turns leading songs, often familiar ones, or songs with repeating choruses, so everyone can join in. Selections tend to draw on English language folk and traditional songs, and frequently include work songs, sea shanties, ballads and spirituals. In 2019, Vermont Folklife’s Andy Kolovos and Mary Wesley visited and recorded a pub sing in Brattleboro led by Amanda Witman and the late Tony Barrand. Here we share an excerpt from the event–a song led by participant Kirk Dale. This particular "pub sing" has been meeting regularly since 2011 and (despite the tragic fire that destroyed McNeils’ Pub, their original home) is still thriving today. Note the fun final verse, revised from more traditional lyrics. (And, please - join in on the choruses!)
Come on lads, and let's be jolly
Drive away all melancholy
For to grieve, it would be folly
While we are together.
CHORUS:
Let union be in all our hearts
Let all our hearts be joined as one
We'll end the day as we begun, we'll end it all in pleasure
Right-folly-rolly-rolly-too-rah-lie-doh (x3)
While we are together
Old King Solomon in all his glory
Told each wife a different story
All the things that we delight in
While we are together
[CHORUS]
Courting and dancing are quite charming
Piping and drinking, there's no harm in
All these things we take delight in
While we are together
[CHORUS]
Cease your quarreling and fighting
Evil-speaking and back-biting
All these things take no delight in
While we are together
[CHORUS]
So come on, lads and raise your glasses [Trad lyrics: Grab the bottle as it passes]
Catch the bottle as it passes [Do not fail to fill your glasses]
Water drinkers get more lasses! [Water drinkers are dull asses]
[CHORUS]
If you’re interested in learning more about the pub sing, or listening to the full recorded session, check out our podcast episode on the topic!
Finally, we hear a recording of Inyange, a Burundian women's chorus and dance group that was founded and led by Aline Mukiza. For over a decade Aline has been a leader in Vermont’s resettled Burundian community. She has taught people of all ages traditional dances and songs in the state’s resettled Burundian community of Vermont. She does this in order to remember Burundian culture, pass it from one generation to another, and express Burundian culture through performance. Since 2011 Aline has participated in VT Folklife’s Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program both as a master artist and an apprentice, working remotely with a dance group in Burundi to continue learning these art forms.
According to Aline, the song shared here is an “introductory song,” which helps the singers prepare themselves before they share their music. The song says “This is who we are, we are from Burundi.”
Next month we explore our musical holdings from a slightly different angle, looking at cultural practices of intergenerational singing through the songs adults share with children.
The excerpts referenced in this episode were drawn from the following recordings:
The Jamaican Hymn Singers were recorded by Mark Greenberg in September 2011 in Shorham, VT
The Brattleboro Pub Singers were recorded by Andy Kolovos in the fall of 2019
Aline Mukiza and Inyage were recorded by Mark Greenberg in December, 2013
To access the full interviews please contact the Vermont Folklife Archivist.