Oh My Darling, Clementine
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"Oh, My Darling Clementine" ( Roud 9611, sometimes simply "Clementine") is a traditional American, tragic but sometimes comic, Western folk ballad in trochaic
meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
usually credited to Percy Montross (or Montrose) (1884), although it is sometimes credited to Barker Bradford. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.


Synopsis

Multiple variations of the song exist, but all center on Clementine, the daughter of a "miner forty-niner" and the singer's lover. One day while performing routine chores, Clementine trips and falls into a raging current and drowns, as her lover is unable to swim and declines to attempt to rescue her. In Montross's version, the song ends with "Though in life I used to hug her, now she's dead – I'll draw the line."


History and origins

The lyrics by Percy Montrose were issued as sheet music by Oliver Ditson & Co of Boston in 1884, based on an earlier song called "Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden", printed in 1863. The origin of the melody is unknown. In his book '' South from Granada'', Gerald Brenan claims that the melody was from an old Spanish
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
, made popular by Mexican miners during the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
. It was best known from ''Romance del Conde Olinos o Niño'', a sad love story very popular in Spanish-speaking cultures. It was also given various English translations. No particular source is cited to verify that the song he used to hear in the 1920s in a remote Spanish village was not an old text with new music, but Brenan states in his preface that all the information in his book has been checked reasonably well. It is unclear when, where, and by whom the song was first recorded in English, but the first version to reach the '' Billboard'' charts was that by
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
recorded on June 14, 1941, which briefly reached the No. 20 spot. It was given an updated and up-tempo treatment in an arrangement by Hal Hopper and John Scott Trotter. The re-written lyrics include a reference to
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...
("could he sue me, Clementine?") amongst the five swinging verses.


Notable versions

There have been numerous versions of the song recorded over the years.


Bobby Darin version

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...
recorded a version of the song in 1960, with lyrics credited to Woody Harris, in which Clementine is reimagined as a 299-pound woman. After she falls into the water, Darin suggests that Clementine could be mistaken for a
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
and calls out to those on the high seas to watch for her, in a rhythm and style reminiscent of Darin's rendition of " Mack the Knife": "Hey you sailor, way out in your whaler, with your harpoon and your trusty line, if she shows now, yell... there she blows now. It just may be chunky Clementine." The song reached #12 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.


Jan and Dean version

Jan and Dean had a hit with "Clementine", charting as high as 65 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was released on the Dore label (SP DORE 539 (US)) in November, 1959; "You're on My Mind" was the B Side.


Tom Lehrer version

Tom Lehrer recorded a set of variations on the song in 1959 on his live album '' An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer'', demonstrating his theory that "folk songs are so atrocious because they were written by the people." He performs the first verse in the style of
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...
, the second in the style of "
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
or one of that crowd", the third in a disjointed
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...
sound parodying the style of Beat Generation musicians like Slim Gaillard or Babs Gonzales, and the final verse in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan.


Other versions

* When ethnomusicologist Colin Turnbull asked a group of Ituri forest pygmies to sing the oldest song that they knew in 1961, what came out was a strange version of "Clementine"...! * In 1995, Elliott Smith released the song "Clementine," which was about a man who gets drunk and worries about his relationship while a bartender is singing the title song.


In popular culture


Film

* The song plays during the opening credits for
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
's 1946 movie '' My Darling Clementine'', starring Henry Fonda and Victor Mature with Cathy Downs as the title character. It also runs as a background score all through the movie. This film is set in 1882, two years before the song is dated. * The song appears in the 1963 film Hud, during a scene in which a group of townspeople sing it together before a screening at the local cinema. The brief sing-along reflects a communal ritual of the era and provides a moment of warmth and nostalgia in contrast to the film’s more somber tone. * In the 2004 film '' Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'', there are three references to the song. Joel ( Jim Carrey) mentions the song to Clementine ( Kate Winslet) when they introduce themselves, and Clementine sings the chorus to Joel on a train to Montauk. Joel's mother also sings the song in one of Joel's memories.


Television

* In 1986, the song was turned into an episode of the TV series '' Tall Tales & Legends'' entitled "My Darlin' Clementine" with Shelley Duvall as Clementine and narration by
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
. * In 1992, Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, sang "Darlin' Clementine" on '' The Late Late Show'' on Irish television. Just hours earlier, eight people (seven of them civilians) had been killed in the Teebane bombing. Brooke was forced to resign shortly after. * In the 2001 '' Columbo'' episode "Murder With Too Many Notes", Lieutenant Columbo, played by Peter Falk, sings the first verse of the song along with Billy Connolly's character Findlay Crawford. Columbo also sings the song in the 1978 episode "Make Me A Perfect Murder". * A mangled rendition of "Darling Clementine" is animated coonhound Huckleberry Hound's signature tune, sung in most episodes of the cartoon series '' The Huckleberry Hound Show''. But it often ends up as "Oh my darling what's her name". * In the 1961 '' Andy Griffith'' episode "Crime-Free Mayberry" (season 2, episode 7) Barney writes a song "Oh my daring, Barney Fife" about his exaggerated exploits foiling two men who are preparing to rob the bank. * In the Season 5 '' M*A*S*H'' episode "Movie Tonight", aired February 22, 1977, character Colonel Potter, played by Harry Morgan, sings the lyrics, "In a cavern in a canyon excavating for a mine..." during the last scene of the episode while the crew is performing surgery on wounded soldiers. The rest of the crew joins in on a sing-along. The episode ends when they all sing the lyric, "Dreadful sorry, Clementine." This occurs after the 4077th M*A*S*H views the 1946 John Ford classic film "My Darling Clementine".


Use of melody

* The melody is used in "''Xīnnián Hǎo''" (), a New Year and Chinese New Year song. * The melody is used in "Dip The Apple In The Honey", a Jewish New Year song. *In the 1956 Hindi film ''
C.I.D. Cid may refer to: * Cid (soil) * Cubic inch (c.i.d., cid), a displacement unit for internal combustion engines * Cid, a slang term for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) * Content-ID, a URI scheme (cid:) that allows the use of MIME within email Peop ...
'', the melody of this song was used in the song "Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan". * The chorus to
Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She participated on the The X Factor (UK series 7), seventh series of the television talent show ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor'' in 2010, where she finished in fourth place. F ...
's 2011 single " Swagger Jagger" was seen as heavily borrowed from the melody of "Oh My Darling Clementine" * The melody is used in "Picked a Strawberry", a library storytime song made by the librarian duo called Jbrary. *The melody is used in the song "There Are Seven Days (In A Week)", from ''
Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at children ages two to five. The flagship production of the ''Barney'' franchise, it originally aired on PBS under the PBS Kids brand from Ap ...
''. *The melody is used in an Indonesian children's song "Makan Apa".


Other

* In the 1945 novel ''
Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' (originally ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story'') is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic far ...
'' by
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
, the pig Old Major explains his dream of an animal-controlled society, and ends by singing ''Beasts of England''. The song's tune is described in the novel as sounding like a combination of " La Cucaracha" and "Oh My Darling, Clementine". * In the novel '' The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'' by
Suzanne Collins Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer who is best known as the author of the young adult literature, young adult Dystopian fiction, dystopian book series ''The Hunger Games''. She is also the author ...
, the character Maude Ivory sings the song and declares that she wants to wear sandals like Clementine. The character is part of a band (The Covey) that performs
folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...
and lives in a far-future, dystopian
Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
, where old songs such as this were passed down from generation to generation and managed to survive throughout the years, if only a small part of them.


References


External links

*
MIDI sound file
* Short radio episode

from California Legacy Project. {{Authority control 19th-century songs American folk songs California Gold Rush American children's songs Jan and Dean songs Traditional children's songs Vaudeville songs Huckleberry Hound Western music (North America) songs Year of song unknown