Acres of Clams -

Contrasting a vocal slur with tied notes, extending the vocal range with ascending and descending tonic arpeggios. Carrying over through the mid-phrase rest will strengthen breath control.

Description

Grade: Third
Origin: USA – Folk Song, attributed to Francis D. Henry cir. 1874
Key: E flat Major
Time: 3/4
Form: AaBa – eight measure phrases
Rhythm: beginners: | ta ta ta | ta ta/a |
| ta (ta) ta | ta/a/a |
Pitches: intermediate: So La Do Re Mi So La Ti Do
Intervals: intermediate: So/Do, Do/Mi, Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio, So\Mi\Do descending tonic arpeggio, Mi\La, Do8\So\Mi descending tonic arpeggio
Musical Elements: notes: dotted half, half, quarter; rest: quarter; pickup beat, tied notes, vocal slur, tonic arpeggio
Key Words: USA geography – Puget Sound, Washington, Salish Sea, USA western expansion, gold mining, prospecting, cradled, frequently, tunneled, wealthy, hundreds, digging, sure, grub, blanket, tools, morning, shank, country, ambition, laugh, condition, surrounded, acres, clams; abbreviation: hydraulic’d (hydrauliced); contraction: I’ve (I have)

Same tune as “Old Rosin the Beau” cir. 1830’s, and “Lay of the Old Settler.”

**“Acres of Clams”**

	1.	I’ve wandered all over this country, Prospecting and digging for gold; I’ve tunneled, hydraulic’d, and cradled, This story I’ve frequently told, This story I’ve frequently told, This story I’ve frequently told; I’ve tunneled, hydraulic’d, and cradled, This story I’ve frequently told.
	2.	For one who got wealthy by mining, I saw many hundreds get poor, I made up my mind to go digging, For something a little more sure, For something a little more sure, For something a little more sure; I made up my mind to go digging, For something a little more sure.
	3.	I rolled up my grub in my blanket, I left all my tools on the ground, I started one morning to shank it, For the country they call Puget Sound, For the country they call Puget Sound, For the country they call Puget Sound; I started one morning to shank it, For the country they call Puget Sound.
	4.	No longer a slave of ambition, I laugh at the world and its shams, And I think of my happy condition, Surrounded by Acres of Clams, Surrounded by Acres of Clams, Surrounded by Acres of Clams; And I think of my happy condition, Surrounded by Acres of Clams.

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Click to Enlarge: "Acres of Clams" Pitch Number Format

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