Saturday 25 April 2009
Tune of the Day: She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain
American folk song
Although the first printed version of this song appeared in Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag in 1927, the song is believed to have been written during the late 1800s. It was based on an old Negro spiritual titled “When the Chariot Comes”, which is sung to the same melody. During the 19th century it spread through Appalachia, where the lyrics were changed into their current form. The song was later sung by railroad work gangs in the Midwestern United States in the 1890s.
The song's style is reminiscent of the call and response structure of many folk songs of the time, where one person would shout the first line and others repeat. You may want to imitate this on the flute by varying dynamics and/or timbre.