-A song by Wendy Richardson, remembering the Mount Kembla Mining disaster of July 1902. Arranged by Doug McPherson, from a previous arrangement by Florence Rankin. “She’s gone up!!” The shout could be heard across the mountain as the peaceful hamlets of Mt. Kembla were shattered by a loud explosion. http://www.mtkembla.org.au/#!the-disaster/p99e1 “Mount Kembla from Mount Nebo” by… Continue reading Windy Gully
Tag: Douglas McPherson
“Let’s Pretend” -A Song by Peter Hicks & Geoff Francis
“Ladies and Gentlemen, take your partners for the climate denier’s waltz…” Scroll down for practice tracks and sheet music. Click here for sheet music. Practice Tracks A suggested practice strategy is to practice your part on it’s own, and then against an “all parts” track. Right click on the titles to download the tracks. Upper… Continue reading “Let’s Pretend” -A Song by Peter Hicks & Geoff Francis
Blackleg Miner: Arranged In Two Parts
Blackleg Miner is a 19th-century English folk song, originally from Northumberland (as can be deduced from the dialect in the song and the references in it to the villages of Seghill and Seaton Delaval). Louis Killen writes, “At the height of the miners’ union struggles of the 1880’s and ’90’s, labourers were brought in from… Continue reading Blackleg Miner: Arranged In Two Parts
We Are Building A Strong Union
“A strike can be tragic and glorious, bitter and beautiful…” -Scroll down for the background of this song. An arrangement of a miners’ protest song, which borders on a lament. Click here for the sheet music. Practice Tracks All Parts Soprano Alto Tenor Bass *From “Songs of Work and Protest”, Fowke and Glazer
The Hammer Song Arranged for 4 Voices
(If I had a hammer) Scroll down for the sheet music and practice tracks. An arrangement for the Union Singers, of the song originally by Pete Seeger and Lee Hayes. -From an arrangement by Tom Bridges, for 4 voices, all 4 verses. In many ways the definitive arrangements must be the Weavers renditions, both songwriters… Continue reading The Hammer Song Arranged for 4 Voices
The Hammer Song (2 Parts)
(If I had a hammer) For the (slightly) more difficult 4 part arrangement click here! An arrangement for the Union Singers, of the song originally by Pete Seeger and Lee Hayes. -From an arrangement by Tom Bridges. Here is the music for the first 3 verses. The 4th verse could follow the same pattern. Scroll… Continue reading The Hammer Song (2 Parts)
Dark As A Dungeon
Here is Doug McPherson’s arrangement of a Merle Travis song, with practice tracks, chords, lyrics, and 3 part harmony in the chorus. The lyrics are from the Merle Travis 1946 recording on the 78 RPM box set, “Folk Songs of the Hills”. I used the Country Gentlemen’s arrangement, as performed at their reunion show at Woodstock… Continue reading Dark As A Dungeon
It’s Time: A Choral Arrangement
The iconic song for Gough Whitlam and the Australian Labour Party’s victorious 1972 election campaign. A campaign that brought Australia free education and health care, an end to conscription, and equal pay for women, to name just a few reforms. Perhaps its’ time again! My arrangement is an SATB version for the Illawarra Union Singers. It’s clearly slightly different… Continue reading It’s Time: A Choral Arrangement
16 Tons
A song by Merle Travis, arranged for 4 voices and guitar by Doug McPherson. Scroll down to the link below, for the sheet music, in PDF format, or the images below that. The melody, on the top line could be sung by sopranos or tenors. The top line, the alto line and the bass line,… Continue reading 16 Tons