Midnight On The Water waltz

A common session tune in my neck of the woods, something soothing at the end of a session that everyone can enjoy.
I believe, though, that it is a work in copyright, although I don’t know who the composer is. Can someone check this out, please?

Trevor

According to the Waltz Book I, Luke Thomasson wrote it, but Benny Thomasson holds the copywright on it through the Winwood Music Company.

Great tune.

I’ve been playing this tune for nearly 20 years now and had even written words for it at one time which were published. But I haven;t played it for a long time. Time to revive it, thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoIZWBkzxHg

play video

Just listening to the playing of Mr Thomasson on above video and other versions on the net I think the last version listed here is the more accurate one as I cant hear any of them going up to the high A in the second part.

Setting as played at the Golden Guinea pub session, Bristol, UK.

I really like playing this and had occasion to play it with some folks a couple of weeks ago. I asked the fiddler who suggested the tune if she tuned the G down to D for this tune and she seemed rather perplexed, does anyone else retune for that drone D sound. It seems like when I learned the tune everybody played that way.

I play this in DDAD tuning. Or if I’m being lazy ADAD (I find it hard to get my G string to stay in tune when its at low D)

I mean the one posted by mix o Lydian as another has been added since my comment

sorry I meant the one before mix o Lydian. Couldent edit in time.

Played a lot in our local sessions. There is also a song by the same name, written by Ron Kavana, and recorded by The Watersons among others. The song tune is different, but Luke Thomasson’s tune is used as an instrumental break between verses, to good effect.

An arrangement of Midnight on the Water for two fiddle parts, cello, and chords can be heard here:

https://soundcloud.com/user-155461785/midnight-on-the-water

While the dots for this arrangement will be included in the next version of Weaver MacFarlane’s Choon Book, I will forward a pdf of it to anyone who asks (graeme@cracklingsmarts.com).

The current version of Weaver MacFarlane’s Choon Book is a free download of nearly 30 concert standard fiddle ensemble arrangements. Audio files of all the completed arrangements can be heard on Soundcloud (just search for Weaver MacFarlane.

Download from cracklingsmarts.com, a safe site hosted by MelbourneIT.

The next version of the "choon book" will be released in a month or so.

http://cracklingsmarts.com/

Its a must to learn a beautiful tune I heard another banjo player play it and I was smitten

Benny has said in recordings that he recalled his father and uncle composing it one night in 1900 on their porch, Texas panhandle. Similar tune in a song collected by Lomax from Oklahoma called Old Paint may have been derived from repurposing the Thomason fiddle piece, the singer originated in the Texas panhandle around the same time.