Arlene, PJ, Frank, Betty, Bill, Ken, Jen, Anne, Sally, Dave, Jack, Larry and Dawn were all here to sing FOLK SONGS. It was hard to determine what was and wasn't a folk song, but we muddled through.

1. Side By Side.

It's become our warm-up number.

2. If I Had a Hammer, Peter Paul and Mary, 1962 (Betty)

There were fast changes on the easy [C] [Em] [F] [G7] chords. Sometimes we got it. Sometimes it was messy. This was an early childhood memory.

3. The MTA Song, Kingston Trio, 1962 (Betty)

It seemed only Betty and Bill were vocal on this. The rest of us were tentative. I've heard it before but don't know it well enough, especially on the verses. It's about a guy on the subway in Boston who pays his ten cent fare, but for some reason still owes a nickel, which he doesn't have, and they won't let him off the train. I can't figure that out. Someone enlighten me. It's a pretty comical song, nonetheless.

4. Walk Right In, The Rooftop Singers, 1963 (Betty)

I've always loved this one.

5. Happy Together, the Turtles, 1967 (Irene/absent)

The Turtles had some great songs, but is it folk? Irene may be fined. (The Supreme Council will meet soon to weigh the evidence and dispense justice if necessary.)

6. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, The Band, 1969 (Irene)

Robbie Robertson of The Band wrote this, but it was Joan Baez in 1971 who had the hit. Our only problem was that we couldn't figure out how to transition between the choruses and the verses.

7. Amazing Grace, John Nathan, 1779 (Ken)

Speaking of Joan Baez, did you ever hear her do this as a singalong?

8. I'm In Love With a Big Blue Frog, Peter Paul and Mary, 1967 (Arlene)

This funny song is actually a song against racial prejudice.

9. The Garden Song, Paul Stookey, 1979 (Arlene)

A few different folks did this. Stookey was the Paul in Peter Paul and Mary.

10. Hi Lili Hi Lo, Manfred Mann, 1965 (Arlene)

Nice one. Never heard it. It had two fun chords: a [C diminished] and a [C# diminished].

11. Greenback Dollar, 1963, Kingston Trio (Bill)

12. Weave Me the Sunshine, Peter Paul and Mary, 1986 (Arlene)

13. Turn Turn Turn, The Byrds, 1965 (Jen) This could have been a good one, but people were going at different speeds.

14. Day Is Done, Peter Paul and Mary, 1969 (Bill)

Lots of Peter Paul and Mary tonight.

15.Hard Times Come Again No More, Stephen Foster, 1854 (Ken)

This was on the Billboard Top 40 just before the Civil War.

16. Will the Circle Be Unbroken, The Carter Family, 1935 (Jen)

Pretty grim stuff. A guy's mother passes away and he's not taking it well.

17. Green Green, New Christy Minstrels, 1963 (Bill)

I remember this. THIS is a folk song by a folk group.

18. The Dash of the Old '49, Shel Silverstein, 1962 (Bill)

Bill built this up as an historic tribute to American railroad disasters, but it was a joke song done on the Smothers Brothers show.

May I digress?

This coming weekend, my wife and I rented a tiny cabin upstate in Saugerties. I had been wondering, if we were to move up to the glorious Hudson valley when she retires in four years, what the ukulele scene was like up there, or if there even was one. It turns out that in the village of Catskill, home to the erstwhile Catskill Game Farm, a twenty minute ride from our campground, there exists the Catskill Ukulele Group. I e-mailed them, asking if I might join in for their Saturday session at the Catskill Community Center, and yes, they will welcome me. The captain of the Catskill Uke ship is Carmen Borgia. She said, "I always like meeting people from other ukulele tribes." This is a lovely thing. I had never thought about us as a tribe, but now I'm going to think of myself as an ambassador or delegate from the Nassau branch of the L.I.U.S.C. I hope I represent us well with the upstate folks. (Do I have authority to sign treaties?)

Four years ago, Jack and Larry attended the Ashokan Ukefest and spoke highly of it. The next year Vin, Louise, Suzan and I went with them. We loved it. We met folks from around the country, from other clubs and immediately had a rapport because we all have this instrument in common. Never mind age, affluence or lack thereof, political beliefs or regional accents. "Do you know how this song goes, dear brother from another tribe? Right. Here are the chords. Let's try it."

Last year Ken, Arlene, Jen and Louise went to the New Jersey Uke Fest in Morristown. In a few weeks, Louise will be attending the Allegheny Ukulele Soiree in Altoona, Pennsylvania, a five hour drive from here. (That's dedication, Louise.) Bill has been in to a jam with the Brooklyn Ukes. Me too. Yesterday, Jen, Ken Louise and I were at the Suffolk chapter of our L.I.U.S.C. (It's on the second Saturday of each month, from ten to noon, at the beautiful Sachem library.) There were a half dozen shy young girls there, about age 12, along with a few old guys, new to the instrument, a couple of whom I engaged and tried to encourage. It was a kind of kinship.

I say all this to urge you to go to another club or meeting, see another tribe, just to see how other people do it and to spread the influence of the Ukulele Brotherhood.

19. Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Kingston Trio, 1958 (PJ)

We did this not long ago. We made no mistakes. Put it on the list.

20. If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot, 1971 (Dan)

What a good job we did on this one. Thanks, everyone. There were only a couple of spots where we stumbled on the brief instrumental bits (just an [F] to a [G]), and that wasn't our fault. The chordsheet-maker goofed or was a lazy proofreader.

21. City of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie, 1972 (Jack)

This always goes well.

22. This Land Is Your Land, Woody Guthrie, 1945 (Jack)

Not only did we play this well, but we all ended together.

23. Camptown Races, Stephen Foster, 1850 (Jack)

Very easy and well done.

24. Old Folks At Home, Ed Norton, 1851 (Jack)

Jack picked a handful of winners tonight. Most if us know this as Swanee River.

25. Edelweiss, Captain von Trapp, 1959 (?)

We were nearly perfect. We only need to practice the last couple of lines with the slightly tough Gm and Fm chords.

26. Greensleeves, Richard Jones, 1580 (?)

Will Robinson sang this in an episode of Lost In Space. Great melody.

27. Beautiful Dreamer, Stephen Foster, 1864 (Jack)

This had the same problem Turn Turn Turn had. We weren't all going at the same speed.

28. Happy Wanderer, Oberkirchen Children's Choir, 1954 (PJ)

Most people know this melody. It's a German song. (Mein Vater War Ein Wandersman.) We were a bit lousy and didn't get far, thus ending with a fizzle. But overall this was a decent night of singing and playing.

Of the 28 songs we did, eleven were by either Peter Paul and Mary, the Kingston Trio or Stephen Foster.

For the next time the theme will be CONTRACTIONS. A contraction is two words made shorter by placing an apostrophe where letters have been omitted, such as I'm, we've, she'll, they'd and wasn't. Some song examples include The Beatles Can't Buy Me Love, The Delfonics Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time, and Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine. This was Arlene's inspired suggestion. There are loads of songs to fit this category.

-- Dan.