Methinks One Tooth is Dry

Give me yesterday's Bread, this Day's Flesh, and last Year's Cyder.
Poor Richard's Almanac, 1744

On 23 August 1775, King George III declared the American colonies to be in "open and avowed Rebellion" and issued a "Proclamation For suppressing Rebellion and Sedition."

Yet at the time General Washington had other than Rebellion on his mind.  An epidemic of dysentery raged through his camp.  As this coincided with the pressing of the first apple harvest, he made the connection and issued his own Proclamation:

"As nothing is more pernicious to the health of Soldiers, nor more certainly productive of the bloody-flux; than drinking New Cyder: The General in the most possitive manner commands, the entire disuse of the same..."
George Washington, August 28, 1775

Cyder in the 18th century meant unfiltered hard cider--a popular and very common drink.  (If you wanted it with no alcohol, you requested sweet cider.)  Every farm and estate in America (and England) had an apple orchard, and nearly everyone else with a bit of ground near their houses kept a few apple trees.  Communities had cider mills where you could bring your apples to be pressed if you couldn't do it yourself.

So it's interesting that the drinking songs of the era, while extolling the virtues of beer, wine and whisky, fail to mention cider.  Perhaps because after beer or wine, at least, you can still hold a quill to write a song.

Still, each New Year the apple trees were blessed so they'd bring a good harvest in August, along with the assurance of cider to last the winter through.

As for General Washington's dilemma, he'd likely have done better to forbid the drinking of water.

TRUDGE away quickly and fill the black bole,
Devoutly as long as wee bide,
Now welcome, good fellows, both strangers and all,
Let madness and mirth set sadness aside.

Masters, this is all my desire,
I would no drink should pass us by;
Let us now sing and mend the fire,
For still me thinks one tooth is drye.

from Thomas Ravenscroft's A Brief Discourse, 1614

(This song can be heard on Colonial Revelers'

Down Among the Deadmen CD.)

Your humble servants,
HH

Williams Billings & Independence

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another...a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, July 4, 1776

Upon this both solemn and happy Occasion of the Anniversary of our Independence, Colonial Revelers is pleased to perform Music by Mr. William Billings at St. Matthews United Methodist Church of Valley Forge on July Fourth, at half past nine in the Morning.

Mr. William Billings grew up in Boston, poor and uneducated, untidy in dress, described by some as a gargoyle, due to a short leg, a withered arm, and one blind eye. He became a tanner, yet also took up music at a young age and taught choral singing by the age of 22.


At age 24, he published "The New-England Psalm-Singer," a collection of choral works, and the first book of entirely American music. His friend Paul Revere engraved the book's frontispiece. Five more volumes followed. Within 30 years, Mr. Billings's music had become vastly popular and he was able to earn his bread and butter as a composer, the first American to do so.

His music combines traditional sacred hymn and classical styles, the new American choral-singing movement, and his own political fervor. His hymn "Chester" was considered the original National Anthem.

"I think it best for every composer to be his own carver."
William Billings

Your humble servants,
HH

Midsummer Revelry

The Sun never repents of the good he does, nor does he ever demand a recompense.

Poor Richard, 1735

If ye Planting be not done, get to it. Midsummer Day is nearly upon us or, as some prefer, St. John's Eve on the twenty-third. Bonfires shall be lit and Folk shall gather to dance 'neath Sun and Stars.

So shall Colonial Revelers gather a fortnight hence on Sunday, June 27th at half past one in the afternoon to present a Concert of Colonial Music to all, free of charge.

The program is part of the weekend long "Once Upon a Time in Montgomery County" sponsored by the W.S. Hancock Society, taking place from 9 am, June 26 through 3 pm, June 27 at the East Norriton Township Facility, 2501 Stanbridge St., East Norriton, PA 19401.

For more information go to

http://www.wshancocksociety.org/

Your humble servants,
HH

Bringing in the May

'Twas on a bright morning,

A morning in May,
When all the lads and lasses,
They all came out to play.

On Saturday, May 8th, we of the Colonial Revelers will forsake 18th century America to don the traditional white clothes and flowers of 19th century England as we dance around the Maypole. Join us at The Piazza at Schmidt's, 1050 North Hancock Ave., in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. Shows at 11, noon, 1 and 2.

___________

The ancient Celts celebrated eight holidays. Four were the solstices and equinoxes. The other four were halfway between each solstice and equinox. Of these, only Lughnasadh, the August 1 "first harvest" celebration has fallen pretty much by the wayside.

The November 1 "final harvest" holiday of Samhain is familiar to us now as Halloween/All Saints/All Souls Day. Imbolc, the February 1 holiday meant to hurry spring along, became the sacred holiday of Candlemas but retained its secular roots in the observance of Groundhog's Day.

Beltane, May 1st, was the Celts' second most important holiday, and has been known and celebrated as May Day for at least a thousand years. This served as a nice break after the back- breaking jobs of plowing and sowing. Once your seeds are the ground, you also want to assuage the powers that be to make your seeds grow, so the holiday was a fertility festival, a notion being helped along by the rebirth of spring, when all wild green plants bud, and birds and animals give birth. Humans welcomed a day to sing, dance, flirt and otherwise frolic with members of the opposite sex.

The Sports of May, a canon from Thomas Warren's Collection (1775), can be heard on Colonial Revelers CD Revelry, Reflection & Revolution. The single MP3 is available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/colonialrevelers .

APRIL: Yankee Doodles

Tradition has it that, on April 18, 1775, British troops on the road to Lexington and Concord, marched to a popular tune that was later published in London as "The Lexington March." We know the song as "Yankee Doodle."

A HISTORY OF YANKEE DOODLES
by Elena Santangelo

Brother Ephraim sold his cow

And bought him a commission,
And then he went to Canada
To fight for the nation;
But when Ephraim, he came home,
He proved an arrant coward,
He wouldn't fight the Frenchmen there
For fear of being devoured.

During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), a new fiddle tune reached hit parade status when British troops put words to it that made fun of the Colonial militias fighting alongside them. The verse above has been attributed to British army surgeon Dr. Richard Schuckburg and may be the earliest rendering of the song.

Soon colonial versions of the song cropped up, this one from the early 1770s:

There is a man in our town,
I'll tell you his condition,
He sold his oxen and his cow
To buy him a commission.

(Chorus:)

Corn-stalks twist your hair off,
Cart-wheel frolic round you,
Old fiery dragon carry you off,
And mortar pessel pound you.

A few years later, a verse popular with the Tories:

Yankee Doodle's come to town
For to buy a firelock,
We will tar and feather him,
And so we will John Hancock.

Edward Bangs was a Minuteman believed to have participated in the April 1775 battles. He wrote the most widely known version of the song, though no one knows when, but it had to be before July 1775 when Washington went from Captain to General. In all, he wrote 14 verses.

Father and I went down to camp
Along with Captain Gooding;
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty pudding.

(Chorus:)

Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

And there we saw a thousand men
As rich as Squire David,
And what they wasted every day,
I wish it could be saved. (chorus)

Many versions of "Yankee Doodle" were ballads commemorating battles and events. In January 1778, during the British occupation of Philadelphia, David Bushnell (the inventor of the submarine) came up with the idea of floating incendiary mines (made from powder kegs) downstream to the British warships anchored in the Delaware River. On January 9th, the New Jersey Gazette reported that the Regulars had been mustered to fire upon the kegs:

"Every chip or stick that floated by was a target for the vigor of the British arms. The action commenced about sunrise and lasted until noon, when the kegs were ... put to flight .... The British withdrew and celebrated the occasion as a great victory, receiving congratulations for their bravery and valor!"

Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, immortalized the events in a parody called "The Battle of the Kegs." (11 verses)

Gallants attend, and hear a friend
Trill forth harmonious ditty,
Strange things I'll tell, which late befell,
In Philadelphia city.
'Twas early day, as poets say,
Just as the sun was rising,
A soldier stood on a log of wood
And saw a thing surprising.

As in amaze he stood to gaze,
The truth can't be denied, sir,
He spied a score of kegs or more
Come floating down the tide, sir.
A sailor, too, in jerkin blue,
This strange appearance viewing,
First damned his eyes in great surprise,
Then said, "Some mischief's brewing."

In 1780-81, British General Cornwallis took the war into the Carolinas and Virginia, followed by American General Nathaniel Greene who used guerilla tactics to wear down the British troops. A version of Yankee Doodle titled "Cornwallis' Country Dance" resulted. (7 verses)

Cornwallis led a country dance,
The like was never seen, sir,
Much retrograde and much advance,
And all with General Greene, sir.
They rambled up and rambled down,
Joined hands, then off they run, sir,
Our General Greene to Charlestown,
The earl to Wilmington, sir.

Hundreds of other lyrics were concocted during the war, on both sides of the Atlantic. However, the one where the feather in the hat becomes "macaroni" wasn't published until 1852 and probably wasn't sung during the Revolution.

(Source: SONGS OF THE REVOLUTION, compiled and edited by Irwin Silber, Stackpole Books, 1973)

The Edward Bangs version of Yankee Doodle, with one additional verse, can be heard on Colonial Revelers's CD, REVELRY, REFLECTION & REVOLUTION.

Fish and Tea and Taxes

Ne'er let Corruption taint the Patriot's Name.

Poor Richard, March 1759

And so we come to March, with spring less than two fortnights hence. For many, thoughts need focus upon the year's planting, with little time left to ponder the philosophies of men.

Yet, 'twas in March 1775 that Mr. Patrick Henry spoke the words "Give me liberty or give me death!" The sentiment is not often echoed by American patriots in our own times. Indeed, Mr. Franklin would remind us that those unwilling to give up personal safety for liberty are not deserving of it.

This month, too, our thoughts turn to taxes. As well, in those the early months of 1775, in New England, an anonymous author penned these words to "Derry Down," a popular fiddle tune of the day:

What a court hath olde England of folly and sin,
'Spite of Chatham and Camden, Barre, Burke, Wilkes and Glynn!
Not content with the Game Act, they tax fish and sea,
And America drench with hot water and tea.

The names mentioned were all members of Parliament who were sympathetic to the complaints of the colonies. The complaint, of course, was against the taxation of fishing and tea, because those taxed were given no representation within the British government.

Note should be made that, unlike those who lately associate "tea party" with a desire for no taxes at all, American colonists of 1775 were not against taxes. They understood that for the British government to serve and protect them, and to encourage their economy--especially from an ocean's distance away, considering the costs of shipping--taxes were a necessary evil. They merely objected to having no say in where those tax revenues would originate. The tea parties of America in 1775 were a protest not against taxes, but against a lack of representation in Parliament.

The song "Fish and Tea" can be heard on Colonial Revelers CD Revelry, Reflection and Revolution.

Your humble servants,
HH

Midwinter & The General's Birthday

"If February give much snow
A fine Summer it doth foreshow."

The winter is half done, and despite what the wild creatures foretell, with their thick coats and tails, and the doubtful viewing of their shadows in the dawn hour, spring shall follow in less than four fortnights' time.

This month, General Washington shall observe the anniversary of his birth. In the year of his birth, England and her colonies still employed the Julian calendar, and the anniversary then fell upon February 11. In 1752, England converted to the Gregorian calendar, and the date converted to February 22.

This year, we shall celebrate the day 'twixt old and new calendars -- on Monday, February 15. Colonial Revelers cordially bids you to join us at the visitor center at Valley Forge National Historical Park on that day, for song and a slice of Mrs. Washington's famed Great Cake.

Children may engage in crafts and learn colonial dances, and the General himself will be present to lead young troops in marching and maneuvering.

The revelry shall begin at 10 in the morning and proceed until 3 in the afternoon. You may learn more at

http://www.nps.gov/vafo/planyourvisit/events.htm

Click on the 15th.

Your humble servants,
HH