Here's a new song that seemed to be knocking around in my brain for the last two weeks.  I started out using the psaltery, but it just didn't work.  When I sat down with the dulcimer this past weekend it finally came out.  It is in the key of Em.  On the dulcimer, it is capo 1 and requires a 1.5 fret to have that C note.  I'll be working on getting it tabbed out when I can get together with my buddy Rudy Ryan.

Flow

Two mountain dulcimer parts plus a guitar part by Mike O'Bryan and bass dulcimer, tenor bowed psaltery, and upright bass by Rick Long

When You And I Were Young, Maggie

Grandfather's Clock

Mike O'Bryan playing two mountain dulcimer parts, plus the rhythm guitar.  Rick Long playing the baritone bowed psaltery, upright bass, and the high strung guitar in open D tuning.

Home Sweet Home

Rick Long is playing two baritone ukulele parts, baritone bowed psaltery, and upright bass.  Mike O'Bryan is playing two dulcimer parts and the rhythm guitar.  The baritone uke is tuned to an open G tuning.

Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior

Mike O'Bryan is playing two dulcimer parts plus the guitar.  Rick Long on the baritone ukulele, baritone bowed psaltery, and the upright bass.

The Old Spinning Wheel

Mike O'Bryan is playing two mountain dulcimer part and the rhythm guitar on this tune.  Rick Long playing the bowed psaltery, 12 string guitar, and upright bass.

Fair and Tender Ladies

I'd Rather Have Jesus

Mike O'Bryan is playing two mountain dulcimer parts and the rhythm guitar.  Rick Long is playing two baritone ukulele parts, two tenor bowed psaltery parts and the upright bass.

The Old Rugged Cross

Rick Long plays three baritone ukulele parts, tenor bowed psaltery, and the upright bass.  This song is in the key of A

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

A great old Carter family tune.  Mike O'Bryan playing two mountain dulcimer parts and the rhythm guitar.  Rick Long playing the octave mandolin, two tenor bowed psaltery parts, and the upright bass.

The Storms Are On The Ocean

Great old Stephen Foster song.  Mike O'Bryan plays two dulcimer parts and the rhythm guitar.  Rick Long on the octave mandolin, tenor bowed psaltery, and upright bass.

My Old Kentucky Home

This is our cover of a great old tune.  We have played this one for years at every dulcimer jam we are at.  Mike O'Bryan plays the mountain dulcimer and rhythm guitar.  Rick Long plays the tenor bowed psaltery, 12 string guitar, octave mandolin, and bowed upright bass.

Tennessee Waltz

Mike O'Bryan on the mountain dulcimer and rhythm guitar.  Rick Long on the tenor bowed psaltery, octave mandolin, classical guitar, and upright bass.

Life's Railway To Heaven

This is our cover of this great tune that was performed by The Cascades.  Mike O'Bryan plays mountain dulcimer and rhythm guitar.  Rick Long plays tenor bowed psaltery, bass dulcimer, and upright bass.

Listen To The Rhythm Of The Falling Rain

I posted this new original song a few days ago in the key of G.  This one is in the key of D and I am playing the octave mandolin, tenor bowed psaltery, and the upright bass.

Tennessee Spring Key Of D

This is our cover of the song by Bread.  Mike O'Bryan plays mountain dulcimer and Rick Long plays the octave mandolin, tenor bowed psaltery, and upright bass.

These two songs were written by Pat Shaw.  Margaret's Waltz in 1959 and Nan's Waltz in 1946.  Both beautiful tunes.  I had known Margaret's Waltz since hearing it first on an early Trapezoid album and then Jean Schilling played it for me on a bowed psaltery at her dulcimer shop.  Mike found out about adding Nan's Waltz to it as a medley.  They are beautiful together.  Mike O'Bryan plays the mountain dulcimer and rhythm guitar.  Rick Long plays the tenor bowed psaltery and upright bass.

Margaret's Waltz/Nan's Waltz Medley

This is a song I wrote back in 2018.  My music partner, Mike O'Bryan's daughter Katie had recently passed away.  Katie was part of my musical family too, which is very large.  She was started playing the bowed psaltery after Mike built a couple of them.  I remember that first time hearing her add harmony to our music jams at Cumberland Gap National Park.  What she played was so beautiful and was a natural talent that she pulled directly from her mind.  She joined us at many of our music jams and several of the bowed psaltery gatherings that I hosted.  I even talked her into teaching a workshop one year on how to add feeling to your playing.  She was a master at that.

Mike came down to my place a couple of weeks after she had passed and said he needed to get back to playing some music.  I played through this tune that I had written.  He said, "that's pretty, what do you call it?".  I said "if it is alright with you it is called Katie's Waltz".  He quickly agreed and the song had its title.  On this recording, Mike plays two mountain dulcimer parts and the rhythm guitar.  I play the tenor bowed psaltery, high strung guitar, and upright bass.

Katie's Waltz

This is a slow version of "Shall We Gather at the River" that Mike learned at a workshop with Michael Shull and I first heard on Michael Shull's CD "Come Into His Presence".  We both really liked it and have been playing it for quite a few years.  Mike O'Bryan plays two mountain dulcimer parts.  Rick Long playing the tenor bowed psaltery, 12 string guitar, and upright bass.

Shall We Gather At The River

Written is 1868 by Septimus Winner.  He was also the author of "Listen to the Mockingbird", "Ten Little Indians" and "Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone" under the pseudonym Alice Hawthorne.    A great duet song.  Willola Tyson and I sang the vocal parts.  I played the two baritone ukulele parts and the upright bass.

Whispering Hope

This is our medley of two favorite songs.  "Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written in 1848, attributed to Elder Joseph Brackett from Alfred Shaker Villiage in Maine.  "How Can I Keep from Singing" is an American folk song originally composed as a Christian hymn by America Baptist minister Robert Wadsworth Lowry around 1868.  Willola Tyson sings the vocals.  Rick Long plays the guitar, baritone Ukulele, mountain dulcimer, and upright bass.

Simple Gifts/How Can I Keep From Singing

This song is very old and is about an actual horse that was foaled in 1741 and won many races in England and Ireland.  What we did was inspired by the Peter, Paul, and Mary version.  Willola has played it on the autoharp since back in the 60's.  This is our first song that has that instrument featured on it.  The other instruments are the folk guitar and upright bass.  This is our first attempt at sharing tracks using Dropbox.  This means that Willola recorded her parts at her home and sent them to me.  I added my parts and then we both did a mix and master on our little Tascam DP-008EX multitrack recorders.  We listened to both and decided that Willola's mix has the best overall sound, so that is what you are hearing.  We are having too much fun!

Stewball

Here is the song for this week from Willola and me.  "In the Gloaming" is an 1877 song composed by Annie Fortescue Harrison with lyrics taken from a poem by Meta Orred.  Orred's poem appeared in her 1874 book "Poems".  The 1877 song was very popular in the United States that year.   Although being a Scottish song, it was popularized in 1910 throughout America by The American Quartet with Will Oakland.  Our inspiration to do this song was from an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show".  All that was heard of the song was the last two lines sang by Jim Nabors, or Gomer Pyle, in his audition for the town choir.  He beat out poor old Barney for the solo part.

Willola Tyson on the melody vocal and Rick Long on the harmony vocal, 12-string guitar and upright bass.

In the Gloaming

Here's the next tune from Willola Tyson and Me.  This has long been a favorite of ours and it's simply a beautiful song.  There are two clearly defined versions of this song around, one that feels like it might have Celtic origin, the other like it came from the mountains.  This version is mostly familiar from many artists in the '60s.  The other is the Carter family version.  Willola on melody vocal and six-string guitar.  I did the harmony vocal, 12-string guitar and upright bass.

Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies

Here's the next tune from Willola Tyson and Rick Long.  We stumbled on this one while listening to Carter Family songs.  Neither one of us had heard it, but love the message in the lyrics.  

It was written by William Shakespeare Hays.  The most popular American songwriter of the late 19th century.  He was born in Louisville KY in 1837 and died in 1907 in Louisville.  He wrote over 350 songs in his lifetime.

We hope this reminds you of special friends and loved ones.  Willola Tyson sang the harmony part and played the autoharp.  Rick Long on the melody vocal, upright bass, baritone ukulele, and a 1956 Kay archtop guitar. 

My bark of life was tossing down
The troubled stream of time
When first I saw your smiling face
And youth was in its prime.

chorus
Oh, I'll ne'er forget where e'er I roam
Where ever you may be
If ever I have had a friend
You have been that friend to me.

Misfortune nursed me as her child
And loved me fondly too
I would have had a broken heart
Had it not been for you.

Now I look back upon the past
Across life's troubled seas
And smile to think of all I've seen
You have been a friend to me.

You Have Been a Friend to Me

Here's the next song from Willola and me.  Our cover of "Beneath Still Waters".  Written by Dallas Frazier in 1967 it was first recorded and released by George Jones in 1968.   Emmylou Harris had a number one hit with it in 1981.  We both love this song and hope that you like it too. Willola did the lead vocals and six-string guitar.  I did the harmony vocals, octave mandolin, and upright bass.

Beneath Still Waters

The song we wanted to cover this week is "Making Believe" written and recorded by Jimmy Work in 1955.  Kitty Wells recorded a chart-topping version a few months later.  It has been recorded by many artists over the years, most notably Emmylou Harris in 1977.  This one was suggested by Mike O'Bryan.  He thought this would be a good fit for Willola's voice.  Willola Tyson on the lead vocal and six-string guitar.  Rick long on harmony vocals, baritone ukulele, and upright bass.  We hope you like it.

Making Believe

Here is the first of our Christmas offerings for this year.  This one is based on a poem by an English poet, Christina Rossetti.  Published in 1872.  It first appeared set to music in The English Hymnal in 1906 with a setting by Gustav Holst.   Willola Tyson on the melody vocals and six-string guitar.  Rick Long on the harmony vocals, 12-string guitar, and upright bass.  This isn't midwinter yet, but it sure seems to be bleak.  Willola says it is always darkest before the dawn.  We hope you like it.

In the Bleak Midwinter

Here's the next Christmas song for the season, "What Child Is This".  Written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865.  At the time he composed the carol, he had been struck by a severe illness.  While recovering, he underwent a spiritual renewal that led him to write several hymns, including lyrics to this carol that was subsequently set to the tune of "Greensleeves", a traditional English folk song.  Willola sang a harmony vocal and played the six-string guitar and autoharp.  Rick sang the lead vocal and a harmony vocal.  He also played the baritone ukulele and upright bass.

What Child Is This

Here is the next song we have done for this Christmas season, "Mary's Little Boy Child".  Written by Jester Hairston in 1956, It was an earlier song of his that he rewrote as a Christmas song for a choir.  Harry Belafonte heard the choir and recorded the song in the next year.  Since then it has been done by many others and is a Christmas favorite.  We hope our version is one of yours.  Willola Tyson on the lead vocal and six-string guitar.  Rick Long on harmony vocals and the upright bass.

Mary's Little Boy Child

Here is the next song we wanted to cover for the Christmas season.  This song was written by R. Fisher Boyce in a middle Tennessee milk barn in Plainview.  The children were being noisy in the house, so he had gone across the road to the barn for some quiet.  It was written in 1938 and first published in 1940.  Willola Tyson on the harnomy vocals, autoharp, and six-string guitar.  Rick Long on melody and harmony vocals, baritone ukulele, and upright bass.

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

Here is our next song for the Christmas season.  "Silent Night" was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in a village in the Austrian Empire.  A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had written the lyrics in 1816.  The melody was composed by his friend Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in a nearby village.  Before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve mass, after river flooding had damaged the church organ.  It has since become one of the most recognizable Christmas carols in the world.  

Willola Tyson on lead vocal, and six-string guitar.  Rick Long on harmony vocals, Appalachian dulcimer, and upright bass.

Silent Night

Here is our next song for this Christmas season.  "Still, Still, Still" is an Austrian Christmas carol and lullaby.  The melody is a folk tune from the district of Salzburg.  The song appeared for the first time in an 1865 folk song collection.  The words describe the peace of the infant Jesus and his mother as the baby is sung to sleep.  There are various English translations.  

Willola Tyson on lead vocal and six-string guitar.  Rick Long on the harmony vocals, tenor bowed psaltery, and upright bass.

Still, Still, Still

Ada Blenkhorn was inspired to write this popular song by a phrase used by her nephew.  He was disabled and often requested his wheelchair be pushed down the sunny side of the street.  Written in 1899(music by J. Howard Entwisle), the song was popularized by the Carter Family with their recording in 1928.  The song later became their theme song on the radio.  We dearly love these old songs and especially one with a message we should try to heed every day.

Willola Tyson on the lead vocals and six-string guitar.  Rick Long on the harmony vocals, octave mandolin, and the upright bass.  The song is in the key of B flat.

Keep On The Sunny Side

Here's our version of a great old fiddle tune, "Old Joe Clark".  There are various claims about the origin of the tune and also if it is written about an actual person.  Anyway, it is a song that is familiar to most folks that have learned to pick instruments.  We have known it most of our lives.  It is also interesting that there have been so many verses written for it, over a hundred.  Willola was inspired to write one of her own in the second A part.  

"Old Joe Clark had three front teeth,
He kept two in a jar.
He used the third to scratch his back,
and pick his old guitar."

Willola sang harmony and played the six-string guitar.  Rick sang melody and harmony and also played the baritone ukulele, octave mandolin, and upright bass.

Old Joe Clark

"Banks of the Ohio" was written sometime in the 1800's by unknown authors.  It was similar to other murder ballads that were popular at the time.  The Piedmont Log Rollers and also Grayson and Whitter recorded it in 1927.  In our version, Willola Tyson sang the melody and played six-string guitar.  Rick Long played the baritone ukulele, upright bass, and sang harmony vocals.

Banks Of The Ohio

I build and play bowed psalteries and mountain dulcimers.  I love creating songs on my little Tascam multi-track recorder.   Other instruments I play are octave mandolin, guitar, and upright bass.

Psalteryman

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