Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] Misunderstanding old tunes

[DWSI at aol.com]

I guess I have to add my few comments here because of the decisions I've  had 
to make with one song, Mr. Johnson, Turn Me Loose, (Ben Harney's  biggest 
hit, 1896). I had heard and memorized Max Morath's excellent, well  syncopated 
recordings before I got curious about the history of this, one  of the earliest 
of all ragtime piano songs, (even predating Scott Joplin's,  Maple Leaf Rag of 
1899). Through the Internet I got a copy of the  original sheet music from 
the Library Of Congress. What a shock! The  lyrics used language I wouldn't 
listen to much less sing on stage today. I  asked Max later why his version was, 
in effect, cleaned up. He said simply,  he changed it because it was not 
acceptable language for an audience today. He  was right. How could you justify 
taking the time, or even trying, to  explain to an audience that this was the way 
people talked back then. Max's  version captures all the great lyrics, melody 
and, most importantly, the  syncopation that makes this a classic of its own 
kind. I'll stick with the  cleaned up version, thank you.   
 
In some ways this reminds me of how we fool ourselves into thinking we  
understand Shakespeare today, just because we speak the modern English language.  
In fact, Shakespeare is middle English with different meanings to many words 
and  phrases. Take the famous balcony scene for example, where Juliet looks at 
Romeo  and asks: Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? Is she blind? Is 
there a  heavy fog coming into Verona? No, in middle English, that phrase meant, 
why does  your name have to be Romeo. Ironically, the French understand our 
Shakespeare  better than we do because his plays are translated into contemporary 
French. Ask  a Frenchman to tell you what's going on in a Shakespearean play 
next time.
 
My point is simple. The words by today's standards often are not only ugly  
and inflammatory, they sometimes have different meanings. Let's stick to what 
we  perform and play with pride that represents the best of OKOM history.
 
Dan (backup piano man) Spink