The Manx Cat Song
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In October of 2010, John Cuyler sang this song for me, and wondered if anyone else had ever heard the song.
Read the following to get an update on his quest, and then join in! |
Six Degrees of Separation… (or, it truly is a Small World)
(from Tailless Tunes 2)
October, 2010 -- Milford, CT - John Cuyler, a dulcimer player, sings The Manx Cat song for Carol Walker at the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival. He reports that as a young boy he had learned it from his father, and has always wondered about the song’s origin, but never found anyone else who has ever heard it. Carol emails Breesha Maddrell, Manx Music Development Officer for the Manx Heritage Foundation, to ask if she’s heard of the song, but she has not.
May, 2013 -- Douglas, IOM -- Alan Franklin, a librarian for the Manx National Heritage, happens across a copy of a manuscript, “THE CATS or FELINE FANTASY,” in the Manx National Library archives, where it has been tucked away in an uncatalogued scrapbook about Manx cats since 1965. Alan "flagged it up at the time because [he] thought it was unusual," and sends it to Breesha.
June, 2013 -- Douglas, IOM -- Breesha Maddrell, then the editor of Kiaull Manninagh Jiu (Manx Music Today), a monthly online newsletter published by the Manx Heritage Foundation, also thinks it is unusual and includes it in the June, 2013 issue.
March, 2014 -- Denville, NJ-- Carol Walker, while hard at work on Tailless Tunes 2, remembers the video she had made of John singing his cute little song, pulls it up again and decides to tab it out for the new book. Just on a whim, she sends a copy of her arrangement, along with an MP3 of John’s rendition (recorded in 2010) to Breesha, reminding her that this was the song about which she had inquired four years earlier. Almost immediately, Breesha replies and sends Carol the link to the newsletter that contains the manuscript. Carol subsequently contacts Alan at the Manx National Heritage and gains permission to use the manuscript in this book.
April, 2014 -- Hamden, CT -- John Cuyler picks up the phone and hears Carol’s voice: “John, are you sitting down?”
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Well. Now I really was on a mission to help John figure out the origin of this song, and was excited to share the discovery of the manuscript with him. During our subsequent phone conversations we tried (unsuccessfully) to find a connection. John, who is in his 70s now, remembers hearing his father sing this tune all through his childhood. “My father would just trot out some of these ditties at family parties,” including one day in 1955 when some men had been hired to do some repairs in the kitchen, and it so happened that one of the workers was actually from the Isle of Man. John’s father sang the song for him, but this Manxman had also never heard it.
And, as with any good quest, it often happens that when answers are discovered, they bring up more questions! Among other things, the note says the song was “unearthed” for the 10th reunion of Harvard’s Class of 1915. Unearthed??? Where? How did this particular manuscript make its way to the Isle of Man? How did it get connected with the Boston Pops Orchestra? Might there be an obscure recording of this event in the historical archives of the Harvard Glee Club or with the Boston Pops? Did a Manxman graduate from Harvard in 1915 and bring the copy with him? And where did John’s father first hear it? He was a Princeton grad with no connection to Harvard, but perhaps this song made the rounds in his particular corner of New England?
So, gentle readers, especially in this time of connectivity via the internet, the concept of “Six Degrees of Separation” is indeed alive and well. Somebody, somewhere, can help us connect the dots. We (John, Breesha, Alan, and I) now ask your assistance in filling in the missing pieces of the puzzle surrounding the song’s origin. Please send me an email with any information you might find -- I’ll collate and post your findings on my website. [email protected]
Ready? Go.
(from Tailless Tunes 2)
October, 2010 -- Milford, CT - John Cuyler, a dulcimer player, sings The Manx Cat song for Carol Walker at the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival. He reports that as a young boy he had learned it from his father, and has always wondered about the song’s origin, but never found anyone else who has ever heard it. Carol emails Breesha Maddrell, Manx Music Development Officer for the Manx Heritage Foundation, to ask if she’s heard of the song, but she has not.
May, 2013 -- Douglas, IOM -- Alan Franklin, a librarian for the Manx National Heritage, happens across a copy of a manuscript, “THE CATS or FELINE FANTASY,” in the Manx National Library archives, where it has been tucked away in an uncatalogued scrapbook about Manx cats since 1965. Alan "flagged it up at the time because [he] thought it was unusual," and sends it to Breesha.
June, 2013 -- Douglas, IOM -- Breesha Maddrell, then the editor of Kiaull Manninagh Jiu (Manx Music Today), a monthly online newsletter published by the Manx Heritage Foundation, also thinks it is unusual and includes it in the June, 2013 issue.
March, 2014 -- Denville, NJ-- Carol Walker, while hard at work on Tailless Tunes 2, remembers the video she had made of John singing his cute little song, pulls it up again and decides to tab it out for the new book. Just on a whim, she sends a copy of her arrangement, along with an MP3 of John’s rendition (recorded in 2010) to Breesha, reminding her that this was the song about which she had inquired four years earlier. Almost immediately, Breesha replies and sends Carol the link to the newsletter that contains the manuscript. Carol subsequently contacts Alan at the Manx National Heritage and gains permission to use the manuscript in this book.
April, 2014 -- Hamden, CT -- John Cuyler picks up the phone and hears Carol’s voice: “John, are you sitting down?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well. Now I really was on a mission to help John figure out the origin of this song, and was excited to share the discovery of the manuscript with him. During our subsequent phone conversations we tried (unsuccessfully) to find a connection. John, who is in his 70s now, remembers hearing his father sing this tune all through his childhood. “My father would just trot out some of these ditties at family parties,” including one day in 1955 when some men had been hired to do some repairs in the kitchen, and it so happened that one of the workers was actually from the Isle of Man. John’s father sang the song for him, but this Manxman had also never heard it.
And, as with any good quest, it often happens that when answers are discovered, they bring up more questions! Among other things, the note says the song was “unearthed” for the 10th reunion of Harvard’s Class of 1915. Unearthed??? Where? How did this particular manuscript make its way to the Isle of Man? How did it get connected with the Boston Pops Orchestra? Might there be an obscure recording of this event in the historical archives of the Harvard Glee Club or with the Boston Pops? Did a Manxman graduate from Harvard in 1915 and bring the copy with him? And where did John’s father first hear it? He was a Princeton grad with no connection to Harvard, but perhaps this song made the rounds in his particular corner of New England?
So, gentle readers, especially in this time of connectivity via the internet, the concept of “Six Degrees of Separation” is indeed alive and well. Somebody, somewhere, can help us connect the dots. We (John, Breesha, Alan, and I) now ask your assistance in filling in the missing pieces of the puzzle surrounding the song’s origin. Please send me an email with any information you might find -- I’ll collate and post your findings on my website. [email protected]
Ready? Go.
Here's the link to the June 2013 issue of Kiaull Manninagh Jiu (Manx Music Today) -- You'll find the manuscript on p. 11, but I know you'll enjoy reading about all the other musical activities that are a part of the Island's daily life!
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