From: thdanks@gmail.com   
      
   On Wednesday, October 21, 1998 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, ThDanks wrote:   
   > Does anyone know the origin of the song "Barges"? It has been sung by Girl   
   > Scouts for generations, and printed in various Girl Scout songbooks back into   
   > the 1930s, always attributed to "Traditional". Recently, a Girl Scout friend   
   > said she sang it with Girl Guides 30-40 years ago in England. Can anyone give   
   > it a more complete history? Thanks.   
   >    
   > Theresa Danks   
   >    
   > "Life is a symphony; play your part." -- Steve Schuch   
      
   Almost twenty years and this thread is still active :-)   
   The story about the dying girl is well-travelled. Especially since she seems   
   to have been spotted in England, Canada, and even Japan. But I think that part   
   of the story is beautiful folklore.    
      
   People with more education in these topics than I say that the structure of   
   the song--the long falling line in the middle--is very old. The note about   
   Copeland is interesting--of course he borrowed other folk music for Appalacian   
   Spring, but now I guess    
   I have to listen for the Barges section in the second half.   
      
   As to the origins, given that the song is best known by Girl Scouts, and we   
   got many of our traditions from English Girl Guides, I'm willing to believe in   
   a British origin. I'm told there are "sailing barges" on the Thames, which   
   supports the reference    
   to both sailing and barges. However, I've also gotten to know many   
   chanteysingers and fans of "sea music" of all kinds, and Barges is unknown in   
   those circles (except, of course, for Girl Scouts). Even a woman who   
   specialized in barge music hadn't heard    
   of it. So, I'm going to consider this as a still open mystery.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)