Annotation:Sweet Marie (1)
X:1 T:Sweet Marie [1] M:4/4 L:1/8 R:Air, Schottische B:Ford - Traditional Music in America (1940, p. 379) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D FG AA Bd A2 |D>E F4 z2|FG AA Bd F2|E>D E4 z2| F>E DC DE F2|ED Gd B>d A2|FG AA Bd F2 |E>E D4 D2|| P:"Chorus" dc B2 G>G G2|dB A2 F>F F2|FG AA Bd F2|E>D E4 z2| F>E DC DE F2|ED Gd B>d A2|FG AA Bd F2 |E>E D4-D2||
SWEET MARIE [1]. AKA and see "Old-Fashioned Schottische." American; Air, March, Schottische (whole time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. "Sweet Marie" was a popular song written and composed by Cy Warman (words) and Raymond Moore (music) in 1893. According Robert B. Waltz[1], Warman wrote the lyric in honor of his wife and approached Moore, a popular variety stage singer, asking him to perform it. Moore came up with the tune and sang it as mpart of the musical comedy Africa. Ironically, the song received only a lukewarm reception after Moore sang it, but when the singer left the show his replacement made it a hit. It entered traditional repertory and was widespread, and, as with many songs that attain a measure of popularity, many parodies of it have been written (not the least because the rhythmic meter scans same as a limerick). The original words begin:
I've a secret in my heart, sweet Marie,
A tale I would impart, love, to thee;
Every daisy in the dell
Knows my secret, knows it well,
Yet to thee I dare not tell, sweet Marie.
When I hold your hand in mine, sweet Marie,
Then a feeling most divine comes to me;
All the world is full of spring
Full of warblers on the wing,
And I listen while they sing, sweet Marie.