Song popped up in unusual places
It was an old folk song, possibly from Cornwall, that travelled far from its roots. By the early years of last century, it had become a popular standard all around the world, writes Tina White.
There was a time, in the New Zealand of not so long ago, when almost no social gathering was complete without someone singing There is a Tavern in the Town.
This bouncy song was popular with everyone from noisy roisterers to genteel young ladies – and even church groups. The
Nelson Evening Mail of October 11, 1929, reported that during the All Saints boys’ Bible class concert party – in aid of funds for the local school – a Mr Pearson had concluded the concert with a rousing rendition of the song.
Immigrants brought the old folk song with them from Ireland, Wales (where it was the college anthem of Trinity College, Carmarthen, and known as ‘‘the student song’’), from England, Australia and Canada.
But how did it start? Legend has it that it began in Cornwall, as a miners’ drinking song.
In sheet music form, the song
had been published by Willis Woodward &Coof Broadway, New York, in 1891, the words and music credited to F. J. Adams. Adams may, in turn, have based his arrangement on an edition of songs published by William Hill in 1883. There Is a Tavern
is a genre known as ‘‘died for love’’ songs – which still have their echoes today. It’s the sad story of a woman jilted by her lover; he’s carousing in the tavern with his new sweetheart: ‘‘and drinks his wine, as happy as could be, and never, thinks of me ...’’ while the heroine is contemplating ending it all: ‘‘I’ll hang my harp on a weeping willow tree, and may the world go well with thee.’’
This odd expression throws in a reference to a biblical story of the Israelites who, taken captive by Babylon, mourned their homeland.
A really odd thing about the song is its cheery, rollicking tempo, in contrast to the sad lyrics.
In New Zealand, the song sometimes popped up in unexpected places.
On June 16, 1932, the Temuka
Leader told its readers: ‘‘The Strolling Yodeller arrived in Temuka yesterday! Since his last big performance at Geraldine on Monday, he has been on the road. Establishing his props, which comprised a mouth-organ, a patriarchal beard and an apparently insatiable thirst, in A
Tavern in the Town he attracted a huge audience. Calling on his extensive repertoire, he quickly yodelled his way into the hearts of his listeners – and mouth-organed his way out ...’’
The song travelled here in more ways than one.
In 1934, American movie star and singer Rudy Vallee shared
There is a Tavern ona record that New Zealanders could buy and play at home. He performed two versions of the ballad – which on that occasion had been newly titled The Drunkard’s Song.
In one version, Vallee bursts out laughing halfway through, maybe egged on by studio technicians. In the second verse, he recovers momentarily and then guffaws through the rest of the song. Immediately after, he recorded a perfect take – but released both versions for the amusement of his fans.
The popular English actress/singer Gracie Fields sang There is a Tavern too – in a 1938 movie called We’re Going to be Rich, which screened in cinemas around New Zealand.
Woody Guthrie wrote Hard, Ain’t It Hard, a popular, updated retelling of the sad Tavern story, in the early 1950s; later, even burly Burl Ives, actor and singer, got into the act with his own vinyl version.
Later still, the tune was turned into a popular children’s ditty called ‘‘heads and shoulders, knees and toes’’.
Readers of the Gisborne Herald may have been surprised by a story which ran on August 29, 1947. The headline was Russians Like Jazz and continued: ‘‘ K-K-Katie, Tavern
in the Town and scores of other oldtime favourite American jazz tunes today are sending Ivan and his girlfriend swinging and swaying in thousands of private Russian homes.’’
The US State Department had discovered that young Russians really liked American popular music, and was adjusting its Voice of America radio programmes to beam out a lot more tunes they could dance to.
There is a Tavern in the Town
as a jazz tune? Whatever would those Cornish miners have thought?