Oh My Darling, Clementine
Vorlage:Refimprove Vorlage:Infobox song "Oh My Darling, Clementine" is an American western folk ballad in trochaic meter usually credited to Percy Montrose (1884), although it is sometimes credited to Barker Bradford. The song is believed to have been based on another song called "Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden" by H. S. Thompson (1863). It is commonly performed in the key of F Major. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[1]
History and origins
The lyrics were written by Percy Montrose in 1884, based on a earlier song called "Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden". On the other hand, the origin of the tune is unknown. In his book South from Granada, Gerald Brenan claims that the melody was from an old Spanish ballad, made popular by Mexican miners during the California Gold Rush. It was best known from Romance del Conde Olinos o Niño, a sad love story very popular in Spanish-speaking cultures. It was also given various English translations. No particular source is cited to verify that the song he used to hear in the 1920s in a remote Spanish village was not an old text with new music, but Brenan states in his preface that all the information in his book has been checked reasonably well.[2]
It is unclear when, where and by whom the song was first recorded in English, but the first version to reach the Billboard charts was that by Bing Crosby recorded on June 14, 1941,[3] which briefly reached the No. 20 spot. It was given an updated and up-tempo treatment in an arrangement by Hal Hopper and John Scott Trotter. The re-written lyrics include a reference to Gene Autry ("could he sue me, Clementine?") amongst the five swinging verses.[4]
Contemporary use
Vorlage:In popular culture Vorlage:Refimprove section
In the 1945 novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the pig Old Major explains his dream of an animal-controlled society three nights before his death. The song's tune is described in the novel as sounding like a combination of "La Cucaracha" and "Oh My Darling, Clementine".[5]
The singing of the song was a signature trait and running gag of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Huckleberry Hound in episodes released in the late 1950s and early 1960s and in later appearances, often sung as "Oh My Darling, What's-Her-Name".
The melody is whistled by the character J. Frank Parnell (played by Fox Harris) in the 1984 film Repo Man, directed by Alex Cox.
The melody for the song has become popular as the rhythm for a number of chants by sports supporters, such as the Barmy Army, popularized by the 1998 hit song "Carnaval de Paris" by English dance trio Dario G.
The song plays during the opening credits for John Ford's movie My Darling Clementine, with Henry Fonda. It also runs as a background score all through the movie.
The melody is used in "Xīnnián Hǎo" (新年好), a Chinese New Year song.[6]
Similarities have been drawn between the song and the chorus of Cher Lloyd's debut single "Swagger Jagger".Vorlage:Cn
At the end of M*A*S*H episode 22 of season 5, "Movie Tonight", the song is sung by all the staff in the operating room after an abortive attempt to view the John Ford movie My Darling Clementine.
The 1963 film Hud, starring Paul Newman, included a scene in a small town movie theatre where the audience sang along to the song prior to the start of the main feature.
In the 1981 film Death Hunt, Charles Bronson's character sings part of the song to himself alone in his log cabin as his pursuers listen on from outside.
The melody is the intro theme for the game Miner 2049er.
In 1992, Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, sang "Darlin' Clementine" on The Late Late Show on Republic of Ireland television. Just hours earlier, eight people (seven of them civilians) had been killed in the Teebane bombing. Brooke was forced to resign shortly after.[7][8][9]
The song is featured in the Equinox Episode of Star Trek Voyager which aired in September 1999. The Doctor and Seven of Nine sing lines from the song while he is working on her cortical implant.
In the 2001 Columbo episode "Murder With Too Many Notes", Lieutenant Columbo sings the first verse of the song along with Billy Connolly's character Findlay Crawford when the Lieutenant visits him in his bungalow. Columbo is also heard singing it in the 1978 episode "Make Me A Perfect Murder.[10]
In the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, there are two references to the song (specifically its use in Hanna-Barbera in which Huckleberry Hound sings it): one at the beginning and one at the end, both regarding Clementine (Kate Winslet)'s name. Joel (Jim Carrey) mentions the song to Clementine when they introduce themselves and Clementine herself sings the chorus to Joel on a train to Montauk.[11]
Bobby Darin version
Bobby Darin recorded a version of the song, credited to Woody Harris, in which he made fun of Clementine's weight, joking at the end of the song that whalers might find her: "Hey you sailor, way out in your whaler, a-with your harpoon and your trusty line, if she shows now, yell... there she blows now It just may be chunky Clementine".
Jan and Dean version
Jan and Dean had a hit with "Clementine", charting as high as 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released on the Dore label (SP DORE 539 (US)) in November, 1959; "You're on My Mind" was the B Side.
Tom Lehrer version
Tom Lehrer recorded a set of variations on the song on his live album An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer, demonstrating his theory that "folk songs are so atrocious because they were written by the people." He plays the first verse in the style of Cole Porter, the second in the style of "Mozart or one of that crowd", the third in a disjointed jazz sound in the style of Thelonious Monk, and the final verse in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Other versions
- Television host Jack Narz recorded the song for his album Sing the Folk Hits With Jack Narz in 1959.
- In 2004 the song was recorded by Westlife on their Allow Us to Be Frank.
- The song is referenced in the lyrics of two separate songs by Elliott Smith. The first, "Clementine", from his 1995 self-titled album. The second, "Sweet Adeline", appears three years later on XO.
- Megan Washington recorded "Clementine" in 2010. The song references some of the lyrics from the original.
- In 2012 Neil Young and Crazy Horse recorded a minor-key hard-rock version of "Clementine" on their album Americana.
- In the 2018 Telltale Games video game, The Walking Dead: The Final Season, the character Louis (voiced by Sterling Sulieman) will sing the main characters, Clementine and Alvin Junior (voiced by Melissa Hutchison and Taylor Parks), a shorter version of the song if the player responds with "I love that song." Or if she responds with silence, she will listen to him sing.
References
- ↑ Western Writers of America: The Top 100 Western Songs. American Cowboy, 2010, archiviert vom am 13. August 2014.
- ↑ Gerald Brenan: South from Granada. Penguin, Cambridge 1957, ISBN 978-0-14-118932-1, S. 119 (google.es [abgerufen am 19. September 2019]).
- ↑ A Bing Crosby Discography. In: BING magazine. International Club Crosby, abgerufen am 19. August 2017.
- ↑ Fred Reynolds: The Crosby Collection 1926–1977. Part Two 1935–1941 Auflage. John Joyce, S. 209–210.
- ↑ Charles Hauss: Comparative Politics: Domestic Responses to Global Challenges: Domestic Responses To Global Challenges. Cengage Learning, 2005, ISBN 978-0-534-59053-6 (google.com).
- ↑ Chinese new year in Nagoya. Abgerufen am 8. Februar 2018.
- ↑ https://extra.ie/2019/01/06/entertainment/movies-tv/are-these-top-20-most-memorable-moments-from-rtes-late-late-show
- ↑ http://www.indymedia.ie/article/69009
- ↑ https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/1992-in-the-north-85-people-killed-in-the-troubles-1.3340596
- ↑ Columbo: An analysis of "Make Me a Perfect Murder" part 1 – Biohazard Films. Radioactive-studios.com, 13. Juni 2015, abgerufen am 18. November 2015.
- ↑ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Soundtracks. Abgerufen am 1. September 2018.
