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I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand

9/3/2018

1 Comment

 
Hi,
I hope that you have had a good Summer.
I will resume leading the Beginner Bluegrass Jam at the Pioneer Building next Wednesday (Sept. 5).

The song of the week is 'I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand' in the key of A. This song is from Mac Wiseman, a first-generation bluegrass singer who recorded with Bill Monroe, and sang harmony on a few of Flatt and Scruggs' earliest records.  

Recordings
Mac Wiseman - key of Db
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceKa2j18dsI

The Osborne Brothers & Mac Wiseman - key of C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMyCltloKC8

Lyrics & Phrasing
Notice that the lyrics are not exactly the same in both versions, and that the phrasing of the lyrics also differs between the two versions. The way I sing the song comes closer to the first version offered here. Please keep this in mind when singing harmony with me on the choruses.

The set of lyrics I use for the chorus is:
Oh!  I love you my darling, how I  love you.
If I  talk, will you try to understand?
It's no matter how you treat me, I love you,
And I'll still write your name in the sand.


Melody
The melody for 'I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand' shares much in common with the melodies for several other bluegrass standards. For instance, the melody for the first and third lines of I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand is essentially the same as the melody for the first and third lines of 'Your Love Is Like A Flower'.  Also, the melody for the 4th line of I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand is the same, or almost the same, as the melody for the 4th line of 'Little Cabin Home On The Hill.' If you are not familiar with these old bluegrass classics, look on youtube for either the Flatt and Scruggs or the Bluegrass Album Band version of 'Your Love Is Like A Flower', and for the Bill Monroe version of 'Little Cabin Home On The Hill'.

More Recordings
Del McCoury - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_j5U3mf0oI

Tim O'Brien - key of A 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnoWZlcjVLw

Progression
The chord progression for 'I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand' is:
1144
1155
1144
1511

This is Prog. V7 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout.
(In the key of A: 1 = A, 4 = D, 5 = E. The A chord consists of the notes A, C#, and E, The D chord consists of the notes: D, F#, and A. The E chord consists of the notes: E, G#, and B.
In the key of G: 1 = G, 4 = C, 5 = D. The G chord consists of the notes G, B, and D. The C chord consists of the notes C, E, and G.)

The chord progression for 'I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand' is the most common chord progression in bluegrass. Three songs that have been played frequently at the beginner jam within the last year that use this same progression are: 

Bury Me Beneath The Willow
A Memory Of You
Wreck Of The Old '97

Once the current beginner jam is relabeled as an intermediate jam, and I start a new beginner jam - this will happen at the beginning of the new year - I will be encouraging those who participate in the new intermediate jam to expand their repertoire of jam-friendly bluegrass songs more rapidly. A good place to start for this is by choosing songs to listen to that use a familiar chord progression. The melodies and phrasings of these songs will often have many points in common with songs that one has already learned to play that use the same chord progression, thereby often making these easier and quicker to learn than songs witha less familiar chord progression. 

Here is a short list of songs that use the 'Bury Me Beneath The Willow/I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand' progression that I believe could be good song choices for people looking to introduce new songs into the jam:

Your Love Is Like A Flower (Flatt & Scruggs; Bluegrass Album Band)
I'm On My Way Back To The Old Home (Bill Monroe; Bluegrass Album Band)
Lost And I'll Never Find A Way (Stanley Brothers; Ricky Skaggs)
Y'all Come (Bill Monroe)
Come Back Darling (Flatt & Scruggs; Larry Sparks)
Why Did You Wander (Bill Monroe; Flatt & Scruggs; Ricky Skaggs)
True Life Blues (Bill Monroe; Del McCoury)
If I Should Wander Back Tonight (Flatt & Scruggs)
Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone (Jimmy Martin; Tony Rice; Boone Creek)
I'm Waiting To Hear You Call Me Darling (Flatt & Scruggs; Bluegrass Album Band)
Down Where The River Bends (Ralph Stanley)
Nobody's Love Is Like Mine (Stanley Brothers)
Back To The Cross (Flatt & Scruggs; Bluegrass Album Band)
Hold Whatcha Got (Jimmy Martin; Tony Rice)
I Have No One To Love Me (a.k.a. Drowned In The Deep Blue Sea) (Carter      Family; Flatt & Scruggs)
Rose Of Old Kentucky (verse progression)  (Bill Monroe; Doc Watson)
Little Annie (a.k.a. When The Springtime Comes Again) (verse progression) (Lilly Brothers; Tim O'Brien)

Happy Pickin',
Jason
I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand - banjo tab
File Size: 413 kb
File Type: pdf
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I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand - guitar tabf
File Size: 495 kb
File Type: pdf
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I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand - mandolin tab
File Size: 441 kb
File Type: pdf
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I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand - melody in A
File Size: 488 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

1 Comment
Rick Hannon link
9/5/2018 10:05:25 am

Hello, I'm new to Boise (just arriving in July). I own a set of nice tremolo harmonicas in A, C, G, D. I would like to attend and play this evening during the beginner jam.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    ​Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018


    ​with
       Jason Homey

    Picture
    ​Songs regularly called at the Beginner Bluegrass Jam and links from Jason's "Song of the Week" emails.  (from Renee)

    ​

    Songs

    All
    All The Good Times
    A Memory Of You
    Angeline The Baker
    Beautiful Brown Eyes
    Blue Ridge Cabin Home
    Boil The Cabbage Down
    Buffalo Gals
    Bury Me Beneath The Willow
    Clinch Mountain Backstep
    Cluck Old Hen
    Columbus Stockade Blues
    Cripple Creek
    Down The Road
    Foggy Mountain Top
    Gathering Flowers From The Hillside
    Good King Wenceslas
    Handsome Molly
    I Can't Feel At Home
    I'll Fly Away
    I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand
    In The Pines
    In The Sweet By And By
    Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
    Liberty
    Little Birdie
    Little Cabin Home On The Hill
    Lonesome Road Blues
    Long Journey Home
    Mama Don't Allow
    Mountain Dew
    My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
    New River Train
    Nine Pound Hammer
    Old Joe Clark
    Reuben
    Shortnin' Bread
    Silent Night
    Soldier's Joy
    Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong
    Swing Low Sweet Chariot
    Take This Hammer
    Way Down Town
    We'll Meet Again Sweetheart
    Will The Circle Be Unbroken
    Will You Be Loving Another Man
    Worried Man Blues
    Wreck Of The Old '97
    X- 30 Add. Jam-Friendly Songs
    X Basic Chord Progressions
    X- Basic Chord Progressions
    X-Bluegrass Artists And Bands
    X- Music Theory
    X- Pick-Up Notes
    X- Song List For 2018
    X Song List For 2019
    X- Top 20 List

    All of Jason's Songs
    in alphabetical order

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​Idaho Bluegrass Association
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Email

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  • Home
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Donate
    • IBA Newsletter
    • Our Logo
  • Articles & Podcasts
    • Podcasts >
      • ​Jeremy Garrett Interview
      • Keith Reed Interview
      • Jason Homey Interview
      • Becky Smith Interview
      • Marv Quinton Interview
      • Rue Frisbee Interview
      • Donna and Mike Bond Interview
      • Honi Deaton Interview
      • Dennis Stokes Interview
      • Gary Eller Interview
    • Articles >
      • Glen Garrett - The Golden Years
      • Sammie Bush - came to Weiser
      • Mark O’Connor - My History at Weiser
      • Barbara Lamb - Fiddler Extraordinaire
      • Charlie Simmons -The Idaho Bluegrass Association from 1975 to 1985
      • Idaho's 19th century Fiddlers
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions ​ 1950s & 1960s
      • ​Byron Berline
      • Dave Frisbee
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions from 1970s and 80s
      • Megan Lynch Chowning
      • Fiddle Champion ​in 1990s and 2000s
      • Tashina and Tristan Clarridge
    • Snap Shot - Videos from IBA members
  • Events
    • Calendar (BCBB)
    • Open Mic
    • SpringGrass 2023 >
      • Springfest 2022
    • Winterfest
    • IBA Concert Series
    • Virtualgrass
    • Other Bluegrass Events
  • Jam
    • Idaho Jams
    • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • All of Jason's Songs
    • Old Blogs from Jason >
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Songs in 2016
  • Camps & Contests
    • Idaho Bluegrass and Banjo Camp
    • Banjo Contest
    • National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest
  • Idaho Bands
  • Teachers
  • Classified
  • Links
    • General
    • Learning
    • Specific Instruments