Those Were The Days (Дорогой длинною)

  1. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    This is the tune to the Russian popular song "Dorogoi dlinnoyu" (Дорогой длинною, "By The Long Road"), composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) and first published in 1925. In the 1960s, unrelated English words were substituted and the song became a big hit as "Those Were The Days". I've looked the tune up following a request by a Youtube subscriber on my channel.

    My recording on mandocello with tenor guitar backing is based on a transcription by Nigel Gatherer:

    http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tab/tab13/dorog.html

    Suzuki MC-815 mandocello
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin
  2. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Отлично! Exellent!
  3. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Oчень красиво! Very beautiful!
    (Didn't know, the melody is of Russian origin.)
  4. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, Frithjof and Christian. I didn't realise either that this was a Russian tune. I got the request on Youtube for "By The Long Road", said to be a Russian gypsy tune. I looked that up, and found that it was the same tune as "Those Were The Days". Not sure it actually has any gypsy roots. As far as I can see, Fomin was simply a composer of Russian popular songs. Nothing wrong with that, of course.

    Martin
  5. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    Excellent Martin, your mandocello has wonderful tone and you play it with great skill. I had a mandocello once but the scale length was too long to play tunes on.
  6. Jill McAuley
    Jill McAuley
    Great stuff Martin! Brings back memories as well - this was my dad's "party piece" on the ukulele, and I have vivid memories of being a wee kid and hearing himself, his brother and aunt sing this at get togethers.
  7. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, David and Jill. This is a short-scaled mandocello (relatively, of course), which has some trade off for tone on the C course but makes melody playing much less daunting.

    Martin
  8. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    The English version is one of my favourite songs, and now that you mention it: It wasn't just the Leningrad Cowboys version that made the melody sound Russian! It sounds good on the mandocello.
  9. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Good arrangement and playing, Martin. I like the pick-up in tempo after your initial opening, then the return to the slower pace. The mandocello sounds really full in tone, even on the lowest notes.
  10. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, Dennis and John. I'd forgotten about the Leningrad Cowboys!

    John: It's a bit less full on the low C course, but this tune doesn't go that deep.

    Martin
  11. phb256
    phb256

    The lead sheet I found calls the tune Le Temps des Fleurs, which is fitting for this time of year. In addition to the mandocello, I played a 12 string halfway up the neck and an acoustic bass guitar. I used Audacity to record the off camera parts, and it seems to have had a little latency which put everything off beat. So I visually shifted the tracks some only some things are off beat.
  12. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Interesting version, PHB. Multitrack recording can take all your time and all your nerves.
    (Your video seems to be reversed left to right.)
  13. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Thanks Martin and Phb, this is a lovely song, well played by both of you, I was looking at the history of the song, quite interesting, so thanks for that too.
  14. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, Phb -- I like the change of octave halfway through, livens it up on the repeat. What's the make of that mandocello? It looks to have a relatively small body as these beasts go. Good to see another one here.

    Simon: glad you liked it. It's a fun tune and suits the lower register.

    Martin
  15. phb256
    phb256
    Martin - It's a Gypsy Teardrop, made by Walt Kuhlman. I had been practicing it in each octave, trying to decide which one to go with. Then I figured, "Why not both?"
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