Robtunes

What a silly little song. I have no idea why I wrote this. I was in France. Or maybe Belgium, or Switzerland, or Luxembourg… one of those francophonic countries. I do love accordion, though. The world would be happier if we had more accordion. 🔊 Hear the original with accordion 💾 Download the original You may prefer the big band version. I think I’ll have it played at my funeral, along with Wayne Newton’s Danke Schoen. 🔊 Hear the big band version 💾 Download the big band version   Adieu. Au revoir. À demain. That is French — oh so French — for “goodbye.” Adieu. Au revoir. À demain. 'Til tomorrow’s sun rises in the sky. Adieu. Au revoir. À demain. Until we meet again. So so long, mon ami! Goodbye, ma chérie! Adieu. Au revoir. À demain. Adieu. Au revoir. À demain. Words & Music © Copyright 1987 Robert Ritter

When I was in university they decided to renovate the library, and that came with a cleaning. Many old items were sold or stored to save space while the building was under construction. A friend picked up some research materials from the early twentieth century on spirituals because he thought I was into musicology. (It turns out I was, but I didn’t know that at the time.) I read through a collection of songs that was filled with tunes we all know and have likely sung, like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” or “Deep River.” At the back of the book, in something like an appendix, were songs that — well — weren’t very good. They may have been included for the sake of completeness, but frankly they just weren’t at the level of polish that the more familiar songs were. These were more like rough-hewn work songs, most of which were secular. There was one, however, that caught my eye: it had a nice tune and a good message, though poorly communicated. I had never heard it before and thought it woul...