Syncopation on the last quarter of the first beat,
lowered/flat seventh (Te) (blue note) in the refrain
which is centered around the dominate, So.

 

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: USA – Cowboy Song
• Key: C Major
• Time: 6/8
• Form: AB – verse/refrain
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ti/ ri ti ti ti ti | syncopation, | ti ti ti ti ti ti | ti ti ti ta ti ri |
  | ta ti ta ti ri | syncopation, | ta ti ti ti ti |
  | ti ti ti ta ti |
• Pitches: intermediate: Do Re Mi Fa So Te Do – flat/lowered seventh (Te) – blue note
• Intervals: advanced: Do/Mi\Do, Do/Fa, So\Re, So\Do, So/Te, Te\So, So/Do8, Do8\So, Fa/Te
• Musical Elements: notes: quarter, dotted eighth, eighth, sixteenth; pickup beat, lowered 7th (Te), syncopation, blue note
• Key Words: USA geography, Wyoming, USA history, cowboy vocabulary: spurs, cowpuncher, git, dogies (cows), chuck-wagon, whoopee, ti-yi-yo, brand, bob tails, round up, throwed; pleasure, spied, jingling, misfortune, spring, throw; contraction: it’s (it is); abbreviations: approach’d (approached), ’em (them), whoopin (whooping), yellin’ (yelling), drivin’ (driving), punchin (punching)

“Git Along Little Dogies” 

		1.	As I was a walking one morning for pleasure, I spied a cowpuncher a riding alone; His hat was throwed back and his spurs was a-jingling, And as he approach’d he was singing this song:
			Refrain:
			Whoopee ti-yi-yo, git along, little dogies, It’s your misfortune and none of my own; Whoopee ti-yi-yo, git along little dogies, You know that Wyoming will be your new home.
		2.	Early in the spring we round up the dogies, Mark ’em and brand ’em and bob off their tails; Drive up our horses, load up the chuck-wagon, Then throw the dogies out on the trail.
			Refrain
		3.	It’s whoopin’ and yellin’ and a-drivin’ them dogies; Oh, how l wish that you would go on. It’s a-whoopin’ and punchin’ and go on-a, little dogies For you know that Wyoming is to be your new home.
			Refrain

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Syncopation on the second half of the first beat (and of 1)
with ascending and descending tonic arpeggios.

 

Description

• Grade: Fourth

• Origin: Spiritual
• Key: C Major
• Time: 4/4
• Form: AB – refrain/verse
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ti ta/ ta/a | syncopation,
  | ta ti ti ti ti ta | ta ta ti ti ta | ta ta ta/a |
  | ta ta ti ti ti ti |
• Pitches: beginners: Do Re Mi So La – pentatonic scale
• Intervals: intermediate: Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio, So\Mi\Do descending tonic arpeggio, Do/La, La\Mi, Do/So, Mi/La
• Musical Elements: notes: half, dotted quarter, quarter, eighth; repeat sign, refrain/verse, vocal slur
• Key Words: USA civil rights, African American history, civil rights protest song, African American spiritual, sacred, freedom, God, almighty, crippled, lame, Jesus, yonder (a distance away), graveyard, knees, soul, rise and fly, mornings, bright, fair, King Jesus; contractions: I’m (I am); abbreviations: an’ (and), walkin’ (walking), pass’d (passed), goin’ (going), tho’t (thought), possessive: Jesus’

 

“Free at Last” 

		Refrain:
		Free at last, free at last, Thank God almighty I’m free at last. Free at last, free at last, Thank God almighty I’m free at last.
	1.	Some come crippled an’ some some lame, Thank God almighty I’m free at last. Some come walkin’ in my Jesus’ name, Thank God almighty I’m free at last.
		Refrain
	2.	Way down yonder in the graveyard walk Thank God almighty I’m free at last. Me and my Jesus going to meet and talk Thank God almighty I’m free at last.
		Refrain
	3.	On my knees when the light pass’d by Thank God almighty I’m free at last. Tho’t my soul would rise and fly Thank God almighty I’m free at last.
		Refrain
	4.	Some of these mornings, bright and fair Thank God almighty I’m free at last. Goin’ meet King Jesus in the air Thank God almighty I’m free at last.
		Refrain

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Two part round in straight and dotted rhythms, syncopation,
and a dominate octave skip.

 

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: England – Old Round
• Key: F Major
• Time: 4/4
• Form: Through Composed
• Rhythm: beginners: version 1: | ta ta ta ta | ta/a/a ta |
  version 2 : | ta/ ti ta/ ti | syncopation, | ta/a/a ta |
• Pitches: intermediate: So Ti Do Re Mi Fa So
• Intervals: intermediate: So/So ascending dominate octave skip
• Musical Elements: notes: dotted half, dotted quarter, quarter, eighth; two part round, straight rhythms and dotted rhythms, octave skip
• Key Words: sacred, daily prayer, meal prayer, dinner prayer, food blessing, blessing the food, giving thanks, health, strength, praise, Thy, O Lord

 

 

“For Health and Strength”

 

For health and strength and daily food We praise Thy name, O Lord.

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Beginners pitches and intervals with intermediate syncopation.

 

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: USA – Traditional
• Key: F Major
• Time: 6/8
• Form: ABA
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ta ti ti ti ti | ta/ ta ti | syncopation, | ti ti ti ta ti | syncopation, | ta/a ti |
• Pitches: beginners: Do Re Mi Fa So La
• Intervals: beginners: Mi\Do, Do/Mi, Fa\Re, Mi/So
• Musical Elements: notes: dotted quarter, quarter, eighth; pickup beat, repeat signs, fermata, D.C. al Fine, Fine
• Key Words: song of congratulations, song of accomplishment, camp song, celebration, festive
  hip hoorah, jolly, fellow, nobody, deny, which, contraction: he’s (he is)

“For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” 

For he’s a jolly good fellow, For he’s a jolly good fellow, For he’s a jolly good fellow, Which nobody can deny.

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Beginners syncopation in the pentatonic scale while distinguishing the ascending intervals Mi/So from Mi/La.

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: USA – Southern Appalachian Folk Song
• Key: F Major
• Time: 2/4
• Form: staves: AaAaB – song AB verse/chorus
• Rhythm: beginners: | ti ti ti ti ri | ti ti ta |
  | ti ti ti ti | ti/ ri ti ti | syncopation
• Pitches: beginners: Do Re Mi So La – pentatonic scale
• Intervals: intermediate: Mi/So, So\Mi, Mi/La, Do/Mi
• Musical Elements: notes: quarter, dotted eighth, eighth; repeat sign, verse/chorus
• Key Words: USA geography, Southern Appalachia, earth science: poplar (fast growing tree in southern USA); trough (a long, narrow open container for animals to eat or drink from), silver spoon, kicked, over the moon, dead and gone, jawbones, plowing

“Fed My Horse” 

	1.	Fed my horse in a poplar trough, Fed my horse in a poplar trough, Fed my horse in a poplar trough, Then she caught the whooping cough.
		Chorus:
		Coy malindo Killko, killko: Coy malindo Killko me.
	2.	Fed my horse in a silver spoon, Fed my horse in a silver spoon, Fed my horse in a silver spoon, And then he kicked it over the moon.
		Chorus
	3.	My old horse is dead and gone, My old horse is dead and gone, My old horse is dead and gone, But he left his jawbones plowing the corn.
		Chorus

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Minor tonality: tonic/home is the sixth pitch of the major scale, La.

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: Hebrew – Folk Song
• Key: D minor – pitched in F Major
• Time: 4/4
• Form: staves: ABABCBCB – song: AABB
• Rhythm: beginners: | ti ti ti ti ta/ ti | syncopation,
  | ta ta ta/ (ti) | ta ta ti ti ti ti | ta ta ta/a |
• Pitches: intermediate: La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La
• Intervals: intermediate: La\Mi, Mi/La, Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio
• Musical Elements: notes: half, dotted quarter, quarter, eighth; rest: eighth; repeat signs, minor tonality, stepping down the staff So-La
• Key Words: world geography, Hanukkah, Hebrew, Torah, seasonal song, dundai, Yisrael, Israel

“Dundai”

 

Erets Yisrael b’li Torah. Hi chguf b’li n’shama. Erets Yisrael b’li Torah. Hi chguf b’li n’shama. Dundai, dundai, dundai, dundai, dai. Dundai, dundai, dundai, dundai, dai. Dundai, dundai, dundai, dundai, dai. Dundai, dundai, dundai, dundai, dai. Translation: Israel without the Torah is like a body without a soul.

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Introducing harmony in thirds and fourths,
with uncommon intervals Mi\Ti, and Ti/M.

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: USA – Traditional*
• Key: F Major
• Time: 4/4
• Form: ABab
• Rhythm: beginners: | ta ta ti ti ta | ta/a/a/a |
• Pitches: intermediate: So Do Re Mi So La – pentatonic scale
• Intervals: intermediate: melody: So/Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio, So\Mi\Do, descending tonic arpeggio, La/Do; lower harmony: Mi\Ti, Ti/Mi
• Musical Elements: notes: whole, quarter, eighth; pickup beats, breath marks, long phrases promote breath support, harmony in thirds and fourths, two part harmony, singing in groups
• Key Words: USA history, USA geography, cowboy song, “Cowboy’s Lament,” mournfully, pallid lips, wailed, shadows, gathering, coyotes, howl, narrow grave, six by three, cottage, bower, matters, grant, grave, buffalo paws, prairie sea, laid, churchyard, hillside, slumber, mingle, weep, buzzard, tears, shed, pained, curled, locks, curled locks, rattled, brow, failed, dying prayer, dewdrops, butterfly, saddle blanket, rattlesnakes, hiss, crow, rose blooms, pale, nevermore, owl, hoots, blizzard, roam, plain, wolves, growl, handful, Him (God), soul; abbreviations: o’er (over): contractions: I’ve (I have): possessives: father’s, mother’s, sister’s

Tune is an adaptation of the sea song, “The Sailor’s Grave” or “The Ocean-Burial,” cir. 1839, written by Edwin Hubbell Chapin – music by George N. Allen.

“Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie”
also known as:
“The Cowboy’s Lament” 

	1.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Those words came low and mournfully, From the pallid lips of a youth who lay, On his dying bed at the close of day.
	2.	He had wailed in pain till o’er his brow Death’s shadows fast were gathering now; He thought of his home and his loved ones nigh As the cowboys gathered to see him die.
	3.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wild coyotes will howl o’er me, In a narrow grave just six by three. Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	4.	“In fancy I listen to the well known words Of the free, wild winds and the song of the birds; I think of home and the cottage in the bower And the scenes I loved in my childhood’s hour.”
	5.	“It matters not, I’ve oft been told, Where the body lies when the heart grows cold; Yet grant, oh, grant this wish to me: Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	6.	“Oh, then bury me not on the lone prairie, In a narrow grave six foot by three, Where the buffalo paws o’er a prairie sea, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	7.	“I’ve always wished to be laid when I died In the little churchyard on the green hillside; By my father’s grave there let mine be, And bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	8.	“Let my death slumber be where my mother’s prayer And a sister’s tear will mingle there, Where my friends can come and weep o’er me; Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	9.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie In a narrow grave just six by three, Where the buzzard waits and the wind blows free, Then bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	10.	“There is another whose tears may be shed For one who lies on a prairie bed; It pained me then and it pains me now — She has curled these locks, she has kissed this brow.”
	11.	“These locks she has curled, shall the rattlesnake kiss: This brow she has kissed, shall the cold grave press: For the sake of the loved ones that will weep for me, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	12.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wild coyotes will howl o’er me, Where the buzzards sail and the wind goes free, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	13.	“Oh, bury me not–” And his voice failed there, But we took no heed of his dying prayer; In a narrow grave just six by three We buried him there on the lone prairie.
	14.	Where the dewdrops glow and the butterflies rest, And the flowers bloom o’er the prairie’s crest; Where the wild coyote and winds sport free On a wet saddle blanket lay a cowboy-ee.
	15.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wild coyotes will howl o’er me, Where the rattlesnakes hiss and the crow flies free, Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.”
	16.	Oh, we buried him there on the lone prairie Where the wild rose blooms and the wind blows free; Oh, his pale young face nevermore to see — For we buried him there on the lone prairie.
	17.	Yes, we buried him there on the lone prairie, Where the owl all night hoots mournfully, And the blizzard beats and the winds blow free O’er his lowly grave on the lone prairie.
	18.	And the cowboys now as they roam the plain — For they marked the spot where his bones were lain — Fling a handful of roses o’er his grave, With a prayer to Him who his soul will save.
	19.	“Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wolves can howl and growl o’er me; Fling a handful of roses o’er my grave With a prayer to Him who my soul will save.”

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Intermediate straight syncopation using sixteenth notes
and descending minor 7th, Fa\So.

 

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: USA – Cowboy Song
• Key: F Major
• Time: 2/4
• Form: staves: ABAbCD – song: AB, verse/refrain
• Rhythm: intermediate: | ti ti ri ti ti | ti ti ta |
  | ti ri ti ta | syncopation, | ti ri ti ti ti | syncopation, | ti ti ti ri ti ri | ti ti ti ri ti | syncopation
• Pitches: intermediate: So Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La
• Intervals: advanced: So/Do, Do/Mi\Do, Fa\So, Do\So, So/Do/Mi ascending tonic arpeggio, Re\Ti, Do/La, So\Mi\Do descending tonic arpeggio
• Musical Elements: notes: quarter, eighth, sixteenth; repeat signs, syncopation, verse/refrain
• Key Words: USA cowboy song, western dance song, campfire song, handsome, shy, fiddle, bow; contractions: don’t (do not), wasn’t (was not), where’d, (where did)

“Cotton-Eyed Joe” 

		1.	Do you remember, don’t you know? Don’t you remember Cotton-Eyed Joe? Cotten-Eyed Joe, he was some guy! He was handsome and he wasn’t shy.
			Chorus:
			Hold my fiddle and hold my bow, Watch me dance like Cotton-Eyed Joe.
		2.	Where did you come from, where’d you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eyed Joe? Cotten-Eyed Joe, he came to town, Played the fiddle making quite a sound!
			Chorus:
			Hold my fiddle and hold my bow, Watch me dance like Cotton-Eyed Joe.

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Five note acsending tonic arpeggio entends the vocal range.

Description

• Grade: Fourth
• Origin: USA – Folk Song
• Key: F Major
• Time: 2/2 counted in 4/4
• Form: AB verse/refrain
• Rhythm: beginners: | ta ta ti ti ti ti | ta ta ta ta |
  | ta ti ti ta ti ti | ta ta ta ti ti | ta ti ti ta ta |
  | ta/a ta/a | ta/a/a ta | ta/a/a ti ti | ti ti ta ta ti ti |
• Pitches: intermediate: So Do Re Mi So La – pentatonic scale
• Intervals: advanced: Mi/So, So\Mi/So, So\Re/So, Do\So, So/Do/Mi/So8/Do8 ascending tonic arpeggio, Do8\La, So/Do8, So8\Mi\Do\So descending tonic arpeggio, Do8\Mi
• Musical Elements: notes: dotted half, half, quarter, eighth; pickup beat, ascending and descending arpeggios, 2/2 counted in 4/4, verse/refrain
• Key Words: USA geography, Sacramento, CA, Sacramento River, USA gold rush, gold mining, journey, promised land, golden ore, shore, thar (there), whar (where), iron bar, spade, pick, lumps, brick, heave a sigh, bye and bye, shed, patiently, expect, coarsest, fare, wolves, howl, mountains, heigh, Frisco (San Francisco)

“The California Song”

	1.	We’ve formed our band and we are all well-named To journey afar to the promised land, Where the golden ore is thick in store On the banks of the Sacramento shore.
		Refrain
		Then ho, boys, ho! to California go, For the mountains bold are covered with gold On the banks of the Sacramento, Heigh, ho away we go, Digging up gold in Frisco.
	2.	Oh the gold in thar most anywhar, They dig it out with an iron bar, And where it’s thick with a spade and pick, They’ve taken out lumps as big as a brick.
		Refrain
	3.	Oh don’t you cry or heave a sigh, For we’ll come back again bye and bye, Don’t have fear or shed a tear, But patiently wait for about two year.
		Refrain
	4.	We expect our share of the coarsest fare, And sometimes sleep in the open air, Up on the cold ground we will sleep sound, Except when the wolves come howling round.
		Refrain

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