Thank you, thank you, Debra for this -my husband's grandmother was Welsh, Carrie Thomas, and this was one of his favorites..in Welsh (which he did not speak) or English. Lots of Welsh folk in Baltimore area - he had a friend in school whose name was Thomas Thomas, called by his family, Tucky. Ah, the memories you and Tony so graciously restore.
Nicki, so good to read your comment and glad of the happy memories that this post inspired. Thomas Thomas was so FINE a singer that I lost myself in listening to him for a very long time last night. The Welsh certainly did have music in the blood. Of course, in those days of yore, ordinary folk ALL knew endless numbers of folk songs. Happy memories, indeed!
Kind of like the former days of USA when no matter where you came from when you got on the bus, everyone knew the words to all the songs....Roll our the Barrel, 99 bottles of beer on the Wall, Pack up your Troubles, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Michael Row Your Boat, Abide With Me.... ad infinitum...until somebody said Are We There Yet....
EXACTLY. We once found in a junk shop a digest-sized songbook put together specifically for bus trips! It was a marketing tool to show folks how much fun a bus ride would be. It's an amazing artifact, and was filled with songs that everyone would happily sing along with. DIFFERENT UNIVERSE!
Marge, I'm glad you enjoyed that little piece. I want to feature Harpo one day here, doing some of his really excellent music. And he WAS an excellent musician.
I've always loved him. When I was much younger I read his autobiography, "Harpo Speaks," a wonderful story of his life and adventures, such as hanging out with the Algonquin crowd in New York. A simple, humble and truly lovely man. I'll look forward to your piece on his music.
Thank you, thank you, Debra for this -my husband's grandmother was Welsh, Carrie Thomas, and this was one of his favorites..in Welsh (which he did not speak) or English. Lots of Welsh folk in Baltimore area - he had a friend in school whose name was Thomas Thomas, called by his family, Tucky. Ah, the memories you and Tony so graciously restore.
Nicki, so good to read your comment and glad of the happy memories that this post inspired. Thomas Thomas was so FINE a singer that I lost myself in listening to him for a very long time last night. The Welsh certainly did have music in the blood. Of course, in those days of yore, ordinary folk ALL knew endless numbers of folk songs. Happy memories, indeed!
Kind of like the former days of USA when no matter where you came from when you got on the bus, everyone knew the words to all the songs....Roll our the Barrel, 99 bottles of beer on the Wall, Pack up your Troubles, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Michael Row Your Boat, Abide With Me.... ad infinitum...until somebody said Are We There Yet....
EXACTLY. We once found in a junk shop a digest-sized songbook put together specifically for bus trips! It was a marketing tool to show folks how much fun a bus ride would be. It's an amazing artifact, and was filled with songs that everyone would happily sing along with. DIFFERENT UNIVERSE!
Thanks for including Harpo!
Marge, I'm glad you enjoyed that little piece. I want to feature Harpo one day here, doing some of his really excellent music. And he WAS an excellent musician.
I've always loved him. When I was much younger I read his autobiography, "Harpo Speaks," a wonderful story of his life and adventures, such as hanging out with the Algonquin crowd in New York. A simple, humble and truly lovely man. I'll look forward to your piece on his music.
Thank you for mentioning that book. Now I want to find a copy! I'm imagining him at the Algonquin... Can't wait to read it.