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Oh My Darling, Clementine is an American western folk ballad usually credited to Percy Montrose (1884), even though it's sometimes referred to Barker Bradford. The song is believed to have been based on another song called Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden by H. S. Thompson (1863).
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History and origins
Clementine’s grieving admirer originally used her first name in the song. After singing the new song to the deceased’s family relation they objected to the use of her first name, embarrassed that people would then know their own daughter could not swim. To make the family happy the maiden fair’s real last name was used and changed slightly in order to rhyme with other words in the song.
Clements was the real last name of the maiden fair; she was born in America to the descendant English noble family (relation to Captain Benjamin Clements of Virginia) with intermarried maternal blood lines to Scottish Royalty. During the 1800’s woman of this family were renowned for their natural captivating beauty which caught the eye of the song’s creator. Lady Clements fell into the water near her own home and drowned because she did not know how to swim. Although Clementine’s Father was not truly a 49er he was a Farmer, this portion was added due to the popularity of the gold rush at the time and its ability to rhyme in the song.
The words are those of a bereaved lover singing about his darling, the daughter of a miner in the 1849 California Gold Rush. He loses her in a drowning accident, though he consoles himself towards the end of the song with Clementine's "little sister".
The verse about the little sister was often left out of folk song books intended for children, presumably because it seemed morally questionable.
Another theory is that the song is from the view of Clementine's father, and not a lover.
Gerald Brenan attributes the melody to originally being an old Spanish ballad in his book South from Granada. It was made popular by Mexican miners during the Gold Rush. It was also given various English texts. 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 facts mentioned in the book have been checked reasonably well.
Lyrics
In a cavern, in a canyon,
Excavating for a mine
Dwelt a miner forty niner,
And his daughter Clementine
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine
Light she was and like a fairy,
And her shoes were number nine,
Wearing boxes, without topses,
Sandals were for Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine
Drove the ducklings to the water
Ev'ry morning just at nine,
Hit her foot against a splinter,
Fell into the foaming brine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine
Ruby lips above the water,
Blowing bubbles, soft and fine,
But, alas, I was no swimmer,
So I lost my Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine
How I missed her! How I missed her,
How I missed my Clementine,
But I kissed her little sister,
I forgot my Clementine.
---OR---
In a churchyard on a hillside
Where the flowers grow and twine
There grow roses amongst the posies
Flowers for my Clementine
---OR---
Then the miner forty-niner
He began to weep and pine
For his darling little daughter
Now he's with his Clementine
---OR---
In a churchyard on a hillside
Where the flowers grow and twine
There grow roses amongst the posies
On the grave of Clementine
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine
Alternate Lyrics
In the centre of a golden valley,
Dwelt a maiden all divine,
A pretty creature a miner's daughter
And her name was Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Her noble father was the foreman
Of ev'ry valued mine,
And ev'ry miner and ranchman
Was a brother to Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
The foreman miner, an old forty niner,
In dreams and thoughts sublime,
Lived in comfort with his daughter,
His pretty child Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
When far away, he would often pray
That in his sunny clime
No harm might overtake her,
His favorite nugget, Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
When the day was done and the setting sun
Its rays they ceased to shine,
Homeward came the brawney miner
To caress his Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
None was nearer, none was dearer,
Since the days of forty-nine
When, in youth, he had another
Who was then his Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
She led her ducks down to the river,
The weather it was fine,
Stubbed her toe against a sliver,
Fell into the raging brine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
He heard her calling: "Father, father!"
Her voice was like a chime,
But alas he was no swimmer,
So he lost his Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Additional verses
I took her, on a picnic,
Oh, how the Sun did shine.
But she’s 'llergic to bee stings
To the doctor, Clementine
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine
Contemporary Use
The melody for the song has become popular as the rhythm for a number of chants by sports supporters, such as the Barmy Army[1] It was also parodied by the satirist Tom Lehrer in a song also named Clementine, in which he rewrote the verses of the song in various notable styles of music. Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Huckleberry Hound often sang an off-key version of Clementine.
External links
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