"The worms they crept in"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Must be you haven't listened to the tunes lately.  Cf. the opening of the Gounod piece with "The Hearse Song" in Sandburg (1927), p. 444.  The folk version is simplified and tending toward the major, but so unlike other American folk tunes as to eliminate any remaining doubt.

By the way, I have found one or two "average Americans" who, though perfectly capable of carrying a tune, profess to be unable to distinguish between the melodies of "Hinky-Dinky Parlez-Vous" ("Mademoiselle from Armentieres," "Three German Officers") and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again." The former is major, the latter minor.

PS: Am still looking for folk-transmitted versions of "Hinky Dinky."

JL

"Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Arnold M. Zwicky"
Subject: Re: "The worms they crept in"
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On Sep 18, 2004, at 12:46 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> The tune is based upon "Marche Fun`ebre d'une Marionette" by Charles
> Gounod (1818-93).

well, *that* tune is indeed the theme music from the "Alfred Hitchcock
Presents" tv program. what evidence is there that "The Hearse Song"
tune is based on the gounod melody?


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