Artist: arr by wocky steele for Fremantle Ukulele Rabble for educational use onlyComposer: Brooks BowmanGoChords.com
Key G : East of the sun and west of the moon..........................................
Just you and I for - ever and a day..............................................
We'll build a dream - house of love............................. dear
Love will not die............................we'll keep it that way- (go to CODA)
Near to the sun in the day, near to the moon at night,
We'll live a love ly way, dear, liv ing in love and pale moon-light.............
CODA: Up a mong the stars we'll find a har mo ny of life to a love ly tune
East of the sun and west of the moon..........................dear..................................
East of the sun and west of the moon..................................................................
moon..(try a trem x5)-> strum (hold)
I dedicate this arrangement to my dear friend and Ukulele colleague, Winnie whose promise to sing it for me was stimulus enough.
The song title is a Nowegian Fable. Briefly, it is the tale of a "White Bear" taking off the youngest daughter of a poor peasant farmer to an enchanted castle deep in the forest. She grows homesick and Bear allows the girl to make a short visit to her family, on condition that she never speaks to her mother alone. Mother eventually prises the story from her daughter. She then instructs the maiden to carry candles back to the castle so she can identify the evil "Troll" who is sharing her bed each night.
But the maiden discovers that the "Bear", far from being a hideous Troll, is a handsome young Prince. However she accidently spills three drops of tallow on the Prince's body, awakening him. He explains how this "injury" has enabled his evil step-mother, Queen of the Trolls, and instigator of all that's gone before to re-assert her spell on him. He will now have to return to the Castle of the Trolls which lies "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" to wed her hideous daughter......Well, the plot takes many twists and turns until it all comes right in the end. The lovers are united and live happily ever after....
Brooks Bowman's life story has a thread in common with the songs he wrote. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1913. he graduated from Cleveland University in 1931 then went on first to Stanford then Princeton as a sophomore in 1933. There he became involved in the Triangle Music Club, writing songs for their shows. "East of the Sun" was one such song. He wrote several songs, mostly with the word "Love" in their titles.
Following his graduation in 1936 he moved to California where he was contracted to Selznick Pictures for a time. But he returned to the east coast where he formed a writing partnership as the lyricist. He was killed in a motor vehicle accident in October 1937, 4 days before his 24th birthday.........
Arrangement Notes:
I read several arrangements of this song before I decided to "go my own way". I have used my own progressions and I have tried to convey something of the sad romantic life of Brooks Bowman, a young man who may have develpoed into one of the great ballad writers for the American Theatre......
Note I use slow apeggio strums where I can. Note the many triplets (three notes played in 2 beats) throughout the song. I have also used these symbols to triple strum where a note is held for 2 beats.
Also: The D13 at end of line 4 is optional. All chords in this barre may be 'held' as the tempo slows....for only this barre.
Wocky, March 2013
I dedicate this arrangement to my dear friend and Ukulele colleague, Winnie whose promise to sing it for me was stimulus enough.
The song title is a Nowegian Fable. Briefly, it is the tale of a "White Bear" taking off the youngest daughter of a poor peasant farmer to an enchanted castle deep in the forest. She grows homesick and Bear allows the girl to make a short visit to her family, on condition that she never speaks to her mother alone. Mother eventually prises the story from her daughter. She then instructs the maiden to carry candles back to the castle so she can identify the evil "Troll" who is sharing her bed each night.
But the maiden discovers that the "Bear", far from being a hideous Troll, is a handsome young Prince. However she accidently spills three drops of tallow on the Prince's body, awakening him. He explains how this "injury" has enabled his evil step-mother, Queen of the Trolls, and instigator of all that's gone before to re-assert her spell on him. He will now have to return to the Castle of the Trolls which lies "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" to wed her hideous daughter......Well, the plot takes many twists and turns until it all comes right in the end. The lovers are united and live happily ever after....
Brooks Bowman's life story has a thread in common with the songs he wrote. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1913. he graduated from Cleveland University in 1931 then went on first to Stanford then Princeton as a sophomore in 1933. There he became involved in the Triangle Music Club, writing songs for their shows. "East of the Sun" was one such song. He wrote several songs, mostly with the word "Love" in their titles.
Following his graduation in 1936 he moved to California where he was contracted to Selznick Pictures for a time. But he returned to the east coast where he formed a writing partnership as the lyricist. He was killed in a motor vehicle accident in October 1937, 4 days before his 24th birthday.........
Arrangement Notes:
I read several arrangements of this song before I decided to "go my own way". I have used my own progressions and I have tried to convey something of the sad romantic life of Brooks Bowman, a young man who may have develpoed into one of the great ballad writers for the American Theatre......
Note I use slow apeggio strums where I can. Note the many triplets (three notes played in 2 beats) throughout the song. I have also used these symbols to triple strum where a note is held for 2 beats.
Also: The D13 at end of line 4 is optional. All chords in this barre may be 'held' as the tempo slows....for only this barre.
