An ABBA Contrafactum (mishmash) part #2: "Those Were Our Trains"

 

Illinois Central Railroad:
 Mississippi Valley route

POST #85

PASTICHE OF 2 ORIGINAL SONGS, with interchange of lyrics and themes; the more complex term contrafactum is explained in the previous post, "Starry Notions."

ORIGINAL SONG#1-MUSIC: "Those Were The Days", by Boris Fomin. This song was first recorded with Russian lyrics in 1925; translated by Gene Raskin, it was recorded by the Limeliters. Subsequently it became a worldwide hit single as recorded by Mary Hopkin, 1968; Paul McCartney produced the session for the new Apple label.

ORIGINAL SONG#2 - LYRICS: "The City of New Orleans". Steve Goodman wrote this song after riding the iconic train in 1971, and played it for Arlo Guthrie, who recorded it on his album "Hobo's Lullaby", 1972.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, April, 2015.

KEYWORDS: goldenoldy, mishmash

An A-B B-A-CONTRAFACTUM

1)Singable Introduction 

2)"Starry Notions"

 =see the previous posting

3)"Those Were Our Trains"

(to the tune of Those Were the Days" as performed by Mary Hopkin) 

Fifty years ago a lonely whistle –

Goodman’s ode to disappearing trains.

Arlo Guthrie covered his epistle
While passengers took off for cars and planes.

Those were our trains my friend, their near demise portended -

Grid derailed while Willie topped the charts,

A spate of bankruptcies – Pullman and then Pennsy,

And Congress salvaged the remaining parts.

La la la  la la la  La la la  la la la

Amtrak can manage the remaining parts.

Riding on the City of New Orleans.

Mississippi Central morning rail (1)

Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders

Three conductors, twenty sacks of mail.

The train they call the C. of N.O.

Along the odyssey, pull out at Kankakee
And roll along past houses, farms and fields
Past towns that have no names, freight yards full of old men
And graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

La la la  la la la    La la la  la la la

The graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
The train they call The City of New Orleans -
I'll go five hundred miles ere day is done.

The towns and people seem part of a troubling dream
But the steel rails no longer have the blues
Conductor sings again, passengers please refrain -

This line makes profit hauling coal and crude.

La la la  la la la    La la la  la la la

We now make profit hauling coal and crude.

Twenty years ago, Illinois Central

Was bought out by our neighbor’s CNR (2)

Amtrak runs the intercity service

Ridership keeps creeping up so far.

Stations and riders seem like a non-profit scheme
Yet subsidies have solved Steve Goodman’s blues
Rail’s bottom-line’s now great, its locomotive’s freight

Passenger service serves as the caboose.

La la la  la la la    La la la  la la la

Passenger service serves as the caboose.

(1) The Mississippi Central, operating from Mississippi to Tennessee, was absorbed into the Illinois Central system in 1878.

(2) Canadian National Railways

Performing Notes for "Those Were Our Trains" 

Ukuleles or other stringed instruments e.g. balalaikas, play tremolo as indicated by ~~~

[Dm~~~]
[Dm!] Fifty years [Gm!] ago a lonely [Dm~] whistle –

[Dm!] Goodman’s ode to [D7!] disappearing [Gm~] trains

[Gm7!] Arlo Guthrie [Gm6!] covered his e[Dm~]pistle

While [E!] passengers took [E7!] off for cars and [A7!] planes.

[A7+] Those were [A7] our [Dm] trains my friend, their near-[Gm]-demise portended 

[Gm7] Grid de[C]railed while [C7] Willie topped the [F] charts

[F6] A spate of [Gm7] bankrupt[Gm6]cies – Pullman and [Dm] then Pennsy,

And Congress [A7] salvaged [A7+] the remaining [Dm] parts.

[Dm!] La-[A7!]la-la  [Dm] la-la-la    La-[D7]la-la  [Gm] la-la-la

Amtrak can [A7] manage [A7+] public-[A7]-service [Dm] parts.

An ABBA Contrafactum (mishmash) part#1: "Starry Notions"

The train they call
"The City of New Orleans"

POST #84

 PASTICHE OF 2 ORIGINAL SONGS, with interchange of lyrics and music; the more complex term contrafactum is explained below in the singable introduction.

ORIGINAL SONG#1 - LYRICS: "Those Were The Days", by Boris Fomin. This song was first recorded with Russian lyrics in 1925; translated by Gene Raskin, it was recorded by the Limeliters. Subsequently it became a worldwide hit single as recorded by Mary Hopkin, 1968; Paul McCartney produced the session for the new Apple label. 

ORIGINAL SONG#2 - MUSIC: "The City of New Orleans". Steve Goodman wrote this song after riding the iconic train in 1971, and played it for Arlo Guthrie, who recorded it on his album "Hobo's Lullaby", 1972.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, April, 2015.

KEYWORDS: goldenoldy, mishmash

An A-B B-A CONTRAFACTUM

1)Singable Introduction

(to the tune of "The City of New Orleans" as performed by Arlo Guthrie) 

Writing an art-form called contrafactum

Parody sub-type, web-site AmIRight

Posted there a spoof about our railroads *

A song that bids America ‘Goodnight’.

But if you can take A’s melody and substitute the theme from B

The lines have got to be the proper length;

If everybody knows the tune, it’s fun to hum, but less to croon

Changed lyrics can get you tongue-tied, but that’s its strength.

So, ‘Hello!’ new diversion we can practice-

We can also sing A’s words to tune from B,

It’s word-play I’d call an “ABBA-contrafactum”

If it gets five hundred hits, I’d be in ecstasy.  

* “Those Were Our Trains”, posted on AmIRight.com, April 6th.

2) "Starry Notions"

(to the tune of "The City of New Orleans" as performed by Arlo Guthrie ) 

verse#1:

Once upon a time there was a tavern,

Place where we used to raise a glass or two.

Remember how we laughed away the hours 

And imagined all the great things that we would do.

Chorus:

Oh yes, those were the days my friend; we thought that they would never end

We’d sing and dance for ever and a day,

Live the life that we would choose, we’d fight and we would never lose,

And as youngsters we were certain to have our way.

But later, after busy years rushed by us,

Just, “La-la-la, how are you?” ’s what we’d say,

If by happenstance I saw you in the tavern.

We gave up our starry notions along the way.

verse #2:

Tonight I stood alone before the tavern

And nothing seemed the way it used to be

In the glass I saw a strange reflection,

Was that lonely older woman really me?

Chorus

verse #3:

Through the door there came familiar laughter

I saw your face and heard you call my name.

Oh my friend we’re older but no wiser

For in our hearts the yearning's still the same.

Chorus

Performing Notes for "Starry Notions": 

The chord pattern is the same for each of the 3 verses of the new song; the chorus for this song amalgamates the 2nd and 3rd verse elements from Steve Goodman's railway-song. 

[G] Once upon a [D7] time there was a [G] tavern,

[Em] Place where we used to [C]  raise a  glass or [G] two [D7]

Re[G]member how we [D] laughed away the [Em] hours 

And i[G]magined all the [D7] great things that we would [G] do.

Oh [Em] yes, those were the days my friend; we [Bm] thought that they would never end

We’d [D] sing and dance for ever and a [A] day,

[Em] Live the life that we would choose, we’d [Bm] fight and we would never lose,

And as [D] youngsters we were [D7] certain to have our [G] way.[G7]

But [C] later, after [D7] busy years rushed [G] by us,

Just, [Em] “La-la-la, how [C] are you?” ’s what we’d [G] say,

[D] If by [G] happenstance I [D7] saw you in the [Em] tavern. [A7]

We gave [F] up our [C] starry [D7] notions along the  [G] way.