Intermediate                                            BA2 - Unit 9                         "Practice" Song: Tune (iv)

FAREWELL  TO  NOVA SCOTIA
Nova Scotian adaptation of the 1803 Scottish
folk song "The Soldier's Adieu," attributed to
Robert Tannahill (1782 to 1872).
  • The lyrics tell of a young man, who has already lost three brothers, sailing away to war, leaving his Nova Scotia home, his friends, his parents and his "bonnie lassie".  Hence his feeling of sadness and melancholy heightened, for us, by the use of a minor key.  At the same time, there is the sense of his excitement driven, for us, by the tempo and rhythm.  A beautiful and meaningful song.
Button Accordion  (Limited) Notation
Outside treble-row buttons 4 to 7,
plus some of inside row buttons  i4 & i6
with chords o1, o1* & o3
Play the notes & chords together.
This is not a tapping exercise.
For this version of this practice tune, "limited" means that cross-playing applies only to those treble outside-row notes 4*& 5* (= i3 & i4) that cover (or are held for) more than one beat-interval, either singly or consecutively.​​
Verse 1 

  "6   |   ;6       "7*     .6    "4   "4*   |     .5    "5  "4      .5   
The    sun    was    set -  ting__         in    the__    West;
  o1               o1*     o1           o1*        o1       

"6   "6*   |     ;i4      "6*    "6    "6     .7*   |     .7       .5*    .5*     
The___      birds  were  sing-ing    in         ev  -   'ry    tree.
      o1*       o3     o1*   o1          o1*      o1     o1*         

'"6    '7*   |    ;7   "7          .7*      "7* "6*  |     .5       "5   "6*        .7*
All____       na - ture  seemed   in___  -   clined   for____      rest,
o1  o1*     o1               o1*                      o1           o1*     

'"6    '7*    |    "7 "6   "6  "6*     "5*  "6*     "5* "5   |    .4      .5*  .5*
But___         still__,   there      was__      no___     rest    for   me.
o1  o1*        o1           o1*                         o1              o3  

Chorus

'"5*  '6*   |   '"6    '6*   '"6   '7*     .6    "4     "4*   |   .5     "5 "4      .5 
​Fare__  -    well  to    No - va   Sco - tia,   the     sea - bound  coast,
o1*            o1  o1*  o1  o1*   o1           o1*     o1 
   
 "6    "6*   |    ;5*    "6*       .6      .7*   |     .7     "5* "5     .5*  
Let  your   moun-tains  dark  and      drear - y____    be.
        o1*     o3    o1*     o1   o1*       o1   o1* o1        

'"6      '7*   |   "7   "7    '"7     '7*   .7*     "7*  "6*   |   "5  "5   "5  "6*       .7*
For  when      I    am    far    a - way     on  the       bri-ny   o-cean  tossed,
 o1   o1*     o1                 o1*                            o1             o1*     

 '"6    '7*   |  "7  "7*   "6     "6*   "5* "6*   "5*  "5   |   .4    .5*   ;5*   
​Will  you       ev - er   heave   a     sigh__     and   a      wish  for  me?
​ o1   o1*     o1  o1*   o1     o1*                        o1             o3  

For Intermediate to Advanced players: 
  • As you played the accordion notation above, you may have noticed that although each verse and chorus begins on "push" button 6, as is often the case, each ends on, "pull" button 5*, which suggests that this tune is (perhaps) intended for a natural minor key, based on 5*.  If so, on a G-C accordion (outer row) this key is Eminor (known as the natural minor of G)
Embedded youTube VIDEOS
Sixteen videos in these "key" (accordion row) collections:        Ab=1   A=3     Bb=2     C=2      F=2      G=6
Most played in corresponding (natural) relative minor keys:    F=1  F#=3    G=2     A=2     D=2    E=6
(Except for electronic ones, it is unusual to find a dual-row diatonic accordion with Ab or Bb rows.)
Collection (accordion row):   Ab

Key:   F minor

​Tempo:  ~115 bpm

Group:  Ryan's Fancy

​Posted by:  Betamax King
Collection (accordion row):   A

Key:   F# (or Gb) minor

Singer:   Stephen Fancey

​Posted by:  Stephen Fancey
Collection (accordion row):   A

​Key:   F# (or Gb) minor
​
Tempo:   ~115 bpm

Group:  Ian and Sylvia

Posted by:  Ian & Sylvia - Topic
Collection (accordion row):   A

​Key:   F# (or Gb) minor

Tempo:  ~125 bpm

Singer:  McGinty

​Posted by:  quickaccent2006
Collection (accordion row):   Bb

Key:   G minor

Tempo:  ~120 bpm
​
Singer:  Harry Hibbs

​Posted by:  UnidiscMusic
Collection (accordion row):   Bb

Key:   G minor

Tempo:  ~115 bpm

Group:  Irish Rovers

​Posted by:  Patrick Brousseau
Collection (accordion row):   C

Key:   A minor

Tempo:  ~90 bpm

Singer:  ?

​Posted by:  A Cappella Trudbol
Collection (accordion row):   C

Key:   A minor

Tempo:  ~115 bpm  ?
​
Accordionist:  B. M. Lush?

Posted by:  bmlushma

​Instrumental
Collection (accordion row):  F

Key:   D minor
​
Tempo:  110 bpm
​
Group:  Touchstone

Posted by:  forevaclevah
Collection (accordion row):  F

Key:   D minor

Tempo:  ~115 bpm

Group:  Tom Eastland & Susanne Kozo

​Posted by:  Tom Eastland
Collection (accordion row):  G

Key:   E minor

Tempo:  ~200 bpm  ?

Singer:  Bonnie Dobson

​Posted by:  andrijadragon
Collection (accordion row):  G

Key:   E minor

Tempo:  ~125 bpm
​
Group:  Pirates for Sail

​Posted by:  A Pirate's Life
Collection (accordion row):  G

Key:   E minor

Tempo:  ~120 bpm
​
Singer:  Stompin' Tom Connors

​Posted by:  Stompin' TomConnors
Collection (accordion row):  G

Key:   E minor

​Tempo:  ~115 bpm

Singer:  Tommy Makem
​
​Posted by:  Daniel Pollard
Collection (accordion row):  G

Key:   E minor

​Tempo:  ~120 bpm

Singer:   Alan Giddens
​
​Posted by:  Alan Giddens
Collection (accordion row):  G

Key:   E minor

​Tempo:  ~115 bpm

Accordionist:   ?
​
​Posted by:  Syntheway - Topic

​Instrumental
Background Lyrics, Information & Links
​Lyrics:

​





​Verse 1




​Chorus




Verse 2




Verse 3




Verse 4
Sing chorus after each verse.  Some begin with the chorus, and some omit verse 4. 

​The lyrics tell of a young man, who has ready lost three brothers, sailing away to war, leaving his Nova Scotia home, his friends, his parents and his "bonnie lassie".  Hence his feeling of sadness and melancholy heightened, for us, by the minor key.  At the same time, there is the sense of his excitement driven, for us, by the tempo and rhythm.  A beautiful and meaningful song.
​
The sun was setting in the West;
The birds were singing in every tree.
All nature seemed to be at rest,
But, alas, there was no rest for me.

​          Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,
          Let your mountains dark and dreary be.
          For when I'm far away, on the briny ocean tossed,
          Will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?

I grieve to leave my native home;
I grieve to leave my comrades all,
And my aged parents whom I hold so dear,
And the bonny, bonny lass that I do adore.

The drums do beat and the horns do alarm.
My captain calls; we must obey.
Farewell, farewell, to Nova Scotia's charm.
For it's early in the morning; I am bound far away.

I have three brothers and they are at rest;
Their hands are folded on their chest.
But a poor and simple sailor, just like me,
Must be tossed and turned on the deep, dark sea.
Background
​Links:
Click HERE for (Wikipedia) information on the song "Farewell to Nova Scotia".

Click HERE for the lyrics and background of the original song "The Soldier's Adieu".