Weaving Songs

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Here is a song I was taught in school in Los Angeles Calif when I was 10 or 11 years old (about 40 years ago). It was printed in the district textbook for music so it was taught to everybody in the city.

http://filipinofolksongsatbp.blogspot.co...

You can hear the melody at the website.

Shawl Weaver's Song
Cashmere Folk Song
by Seymour Barnard
Tempo: Allegretto

Deftly, deftly, nimble fingers,
Weave gold and azure strands.
Hasten, hasten, he who lingers.
Fly, firm and facile hands.

Weave for mother's shoulder
Shawls gay with glints of gold;
For her when bent and older,
Warm wool against the cold.

Although I remember the second verse was something like

Weave for the lady's shoulders
(don't remember this line)
When winter winds grow colder
Warm wool against the cold.

Anyway, that's the name of that tune.

Have a joyful day!
Franco Rios
Sacramento Calif

The Weaver and The Factory Maid
sung by Steeleye Span
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do7epBepl8U

Video includes lyrics superimposed over weaving images

Link posted on homesteadingtoday fiber arts forum by Pauline
which started this whole thread idea.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthr...

Have a joyful day!

There is a woman near me who bills herself as the Singing Weaver. She has a CD too.http://www.singingweaver.com/index.shtml  

thanks saranopp,

I went to the website and they have a sample song
The Jute Mill
Performed by Nadine Sanders with David Lange, piano
From the Straw Into Gold CD,

Have a good day!

"The work o'the weavers" recorded by (among others) Ewan McColl

"The four loom weaver" ditto (this may be a variation of something called The poor cotton weaver - see wikipedia)

Somewhere I have a cd with waulking songs, but I can't find it at the moment. IIRC these songs originated from Scotland and/or Ireland. There is a lot abour weaving "out there"!

I wrote the following to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas

On the
twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:12 sheep a
baa-ing; 11 shearers shearing; 10 carders carding; 9 spinners
spinning; 8 dyers dyeing; 7 winders winding; 6 weavers
weaving; 5 golden fleece....; 4 empty looms; 3 shuttles; 
2 bobbins full; And a warping board with a new warp!   Not, perhaps, what you were looking for but........  ;)cheers,Laura

I am a weaver, a cotton weaver.

I am a brash and a roving blade.

I will wander where I wish to.

I will follow a roving trade.

Chorus:

So come all ye weavers, ye cotton weavers, weavers where'ere ye be...

Beware of whisky, Nancy whisky. She'll ruin you like she blinded me.

... it's The Ballad of the Weaver, a Byron Herbert Reece poem set to music.  Here's a link to the CD description.

lots of weaving and spinning songs that were used as work songs - much like sea chanties - to help set a work rythmn and relieve boredom from the repetitive work. One of my favorite "folk" groups is the Weavers - they were popular in the late'40s and '50s. I discovered them in the 1970s. Not sure if they ever did a weaving song but they wove wonderful harmonies. The Irish Rovers also have the Nancy Whiskey song cited above on a coupleof their albums.

Are you looking for work songs specifically? There are many songs that have weaving as an allegorical theme both religious and secular.

Regards, Charles

Please note that I entered these in a verse style and the bulletin board system re-formatted my post!

The Weaver is Handsome (Traditional English song)

I am a young girl and my fortune is sadI’ve a long time been courted by a roving young lad.He’s courted me highlyBoth by night and by day,and now for to leave me, he’s goin’ away.Some say I’ll go crazy, some say I’ll go madFor the sake of the weaver that beautiful lad.He’s all of my life and he’s all of my joyIf I can’t have the weaver my life I’ll destroy.I’ll cut off my hair and I’ll dress in men’s clothesAnd I’ll follow the weaver wherever he goesFor the weaver is handsome, the weaver is tallAnd I love the weaver the best of them all. Her father came to her one day in great hasteSaying, “Follow the weaveryour friends to disgrace.It’s go and get married say nothing to meAnd when you are married,see how kind I will be.”So there she went walking down by the sea shoreHis words they came to her as they oft’ done before.For all that you say and for all that you doDear parents, I’ll have the weaverIn spite of all you.

The Weaver (traditional Canadian folksong)

As I roved out one moonlit nightThe stars were shining and all things bright I spied a pretty maid by the light of the moonAnd under her apron she carried a loom     To me right whack fal     the doo-a di-do-day     Right whack fal the doo-a di-do-day     Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra lay     To me right whack fal     the doo-a di-do-day.She says, “Young man, what trade do you bear?”Says I, “I’m a weaver, I do declareI am a weaver, brisk and free.”“Would you weave upon my loom, kind sir?” said she.There was Nancy Right and Nancy RillFor them I wove the Diamond TwillNancy Blue and Nancy BrownFor them I wove the Rose and the Crown.So I laid her down upon the grassI braced her loom both tight and fastAnd for to finish it with a jokeI topped it off with a double stroke.

These are available on Straw into Gold records q..v.

Regards, Charles

Charles, I think any song with weaving will do.

"The Weaver and The Factory Maid" that I posted is not a work song but is a song about a weaver.

As for formatting, I have the same problem with the system "improving" my post.

If you "Disable rich-text" before you start you can enter in text mode.

You can't enter links in text mode. When you are finished entering text, you can "Enable rich-text" and add the links.

It's a little tedious but it works.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

I'll keep that in mind especially about the links. I hope you and yours a very Happy New Year!

It may be a bit tedious but unlike the poster recently who bashed everything Weavo, I do believe that this is the best weaving community on the web with the best people :)

Regards, Charles

the song 4 weavers want to go to the buttermarket , i only found a version of a childrens choir.

schietspoele = shuttle

http://youtu.be/SxKK6TRNIiM

1. Vier weverkens zag men ter botermarkt gaan En de boter die was er zo diere. Zij hadden geen duit haast meer in hunne tas En ze kochten één pond sa vieren. Schietspoele, sjerrebekke, spoelza! Djikkedjakke, kerrekoltjes, klitsklets! En ze kochten een pond sa vieren.

2. En als zij dat boterken hadden gekocht, Zij hadden er vier platelen; Zij spraken dat vrouwken zo vriendelijk aan: Sa, vrouwke, en wilt het ons delen. Schietspoele, sjerrebekke, spoelza! Djikkedjakke, kerrekoltjes, klitsklets! Sa, vrouwke, en wilt het ons delen.

3. Dat vrouwken dat sprak: "Ja, dat zal ik wel doen, Ja, zo wel als een vrouwken vol eren Want ik wete wel wat er de weverkens zijn en de weverkens zijn er geen heren." Schietspoele, sjerrebekke, spoelza! Djikkedjakke, kerrekoltjes, klitsklets! en de weverkens zijn er geen heren.

4. Wat zouden de weverkens heren zijn, Zij en hebben er huize noch erven! En kruipt er een muiske in hunne schapraai, Van honger zo moet het er sterven. Schietspoele, sjerrebekke, spoelza! Djikkedjakke, kerrekoltjes, klitsklets! Van honger zo moet het er sterven.

5. En als dan dat muiske gestorven zal zijn, Waar zullen zij het begraven? Al onder de weverkens hunne getouw En het grafken zal rooskens dragen Schietspoele, sjerrebekke, spoelza! Djikkedjakke, kerrekoltjes, klitsklets! Van honger zo moet het er sterven

short story:4 weavers want to buy butter at the market but don't have enough money. the lady shares the butter because weavers are not rich. if a mouse got lost in the cupbord it would die from hunger and be burried under the loom. 

Thank you Jeannine,

The video of the children is too sweet.

I will expire from elevated blood sugar.

Thank you again!
Franco Rios

Here is a weavers song that I posted on youtube along with some pictures of my weaving. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zULCS_A7B...

Cur

I think the Weavers did Foggy Foggy Dew, as well as a lot of other artists.

When I was a bachelor, I liv'd all alone
I worked at the weaver's trade
And the only, only thing that I did that was wrong
Was to woo a fair young maid.
I wooed her in the wintertime
Part of the summer, too
And the only, only thing that I did that was wrong
Was to keep her from the foggy, foggy dew.

One night she knelt close by my side
When I was fast asleep.
She threw her arms around my neck
And she began to weep.
She wept, she cried, she tore her hair
Ah, me! What could I do?
So all night long I held her in my arms
Just to keep her from the foggy foggy dew.

Again I am a bachelor, I live with my son
We work at the weaver's trade.
And every sing time I look into his eyes
He reminds me of that fair young maid.
He reminds me of the wintertime
Part of the summer, too,
And the many, many times that I held her in my arms
Just to keep her from the foggy, foggy, dew.

Great thread! No one has mentioned Norman Kennedy yet. This link explains his story better than I could.

http://www.footstompin.com/artists/norma...

His CDs are great to listen to as you weave.

Here is one tht is rather serious from Heinrich Heine

Translation of the text is here:http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001855

Set to music with lithography from Kaethe Kollwitz from her series about the weavers revolt in Silesia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s69kNccy7Is

I was thumbing through a little songbook and it had a little song called "Sarasponda" a spinning song.

Here is the youtube link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6c8nPUbLvU

Lyrics are nonsense according to wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarasponda

Sarasponda, sarasponda, sarasponda ret set set
Sarasponda, sarasponda, sarasponda ret set set
A doray-oh, A doray-boomday-oh
A doray-boomday ret set set
Ow say paw say oh.

Have a good day!

Here's one from Finland, sung in Swedish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xTX-YOU0ig

Lots of weaving words in this one that are similar in all Germanic languages. The YouTube link includes a translation in English underneath.

We sang this song all the time at summer camp when I was a child.  Never know what it was.

Jen