SONNY'S  DREAM

Time signature:  4/4
Tempo: ~160  bpm (center of a wide range)
​
Ron Hynes 
Accordion Notation
Beats per bar = 4
Beat symbol = Dot ( . ) or equivalent
Either row:  Buttons 3 - 7

Verse 1 (of 4)

:r   .5   .5   |   :5     .4   "3*   "4~ | ~.   .r   .5   .5*   |   :5    .3   "3*   "4~ | ~.   .r
    Son-ny     lives  on    a   farm              on    a       wide  o - pen   space, /

    "5    "5    .6   |   .7   :7   .7*   |     :6     .5   .5    |   :5*   .6   .6   |   :5               
Where you can   take off your    sneak-ers and     give  up  the    race;  /

  "6   ;6   |   :7*  .6*    .5*    |    :6*   .7*   .7    |    :7*    .5    .5*   |    ;6*        
You can    lay down your      head  by    a      sweet  riv - er        bed,  /

 "6*  .6*  .7*  |   :6    .6      .5*   |   .4*   :4*  
But Son-ny       al - ways  re  -   mem-bers
                                        "3   "3   |   .4*  .4*   .5   .5*   |   :5    .4*  .4  |  :3*  :r~  |  ~;
                                      what  it      was  his  ma-ma      said:  (when she said)               /
Chorus:

 "5    .5   .5*   |    :5    .3   .3*  |   :4   .5   .5*   |   :5   .3   .3*   |   :4            
Oh, Son-ny,     don't  go   a    - way,  I   am     here all   a    -   lone,   /

  .5    .6    |    :7     .7   .7*   |   :6    .5   .5   |   :5*   .6     .6     |    .5   .r         
And your    dad - dy's  a       sail - or  who    nev - er comes   home.  /

.6     .7*   |     :7*   .5   .5*   |   :5   .r   "7*   "7*   |    :7*   .5       .5*   |   :6*          
And these    nights get  so     long       and  the        si - lence  goes     on,  /

  .7   .7*   |    :6     .6   .5*   |  .4* :3     .4*   |   :4*   .5   .5*   |   :5     .4*  .4  |  :3* :r |
And I'm       feel - in'    so      tired,     I'm      not   all  that    strong.                /


Replacement fourth line of final verse:

 "6*  .6*  .7*  |     :6    .6      .5*   |   .4*    :4*  
       And  I       know   I    can't      hold  him 
                               "3      "3   |   .4*     .4*   .5   .5*   |   :5       .4*  .4  |  :3*  :r~ | ~;
                           though  I've    tried          and  I've    tried   and I've   tried


Song finishes with the final chorus, as shown above, slowing towards end of final line.

However, some folks truncate & slow final chorus line, changing final :5 note to ::5, ending there.

Still other performers insert an additional line in the final chorus, slowing to end:

;r    "5     .5   .5*   |    :5    .3   .3*  |   :4   :r  |
        Oh,  Son - ny,         don't  go    a    -     way

Embedded youTube VIDEOS
Key:  C - Verses 1, 2 & chorus to video 1:45
          D - Remainder of song.

Tempo: ~175 bpm

Group:  Wonderful Grand Band
​
Singer:  Ron Hynes

​Posted by:  NewfoundlandMusicMan
Key:  A

Tempo:  ~170 bpm

Group: Slainte in Newfoundland 

​Posted by:  dougslainte
Key:  G

Tempo: ~155 bpm

Singer:  Allison Crowe
​
Posted by:  Allison Crowe
Key: C
​
Tempo ~ 180 bpm

Hensall Circle, Mississauga - 
St Paddy's day dance March 16th 2013 - a great Newfoundland sound.

Posted by:  Wilf Doyle
​​
Key: Bb - Verses 1, 2 & Chorus
        C - Verses 3, 4 & Chorus            Changeover at 2:47 point.

Tempo ~ 160 bpm.

Singer:  John McDermott

Posted by: LadyGreyCarolyn
Key:  C  until video 2:38
         D  for remainder.

Tempo: ~150 bpm

Ron Hynes Benefit Show at Delta Hotel, St. John's;  September 30, 2012.  
​Click on youTube icon at right for larger  view of on-stage performers.
 
Singing begins at video 0:38

​Posted by:  BetweenTheRock
Key: A

Tempo ~ 154 bpm

Singer:  Valdy (Paul Valdemar
                        Horsdal)

Posted by: snowflake5555

First part of video is missing; it begins here with 2nd verse.
Key:  A
​
Tempo ~ 145 bpm

Singer:  Liam Clancy  

Posted by: Vito Likavec
Key:  Bb for most of song.
          ?  Not sure about final repeat of chorus.

Tempo: ~155 bpm

Singer:  Ron Hynes  

​Posted by:  Badger Drive
Key:

Group:  McGinty

Posted by:  MyMoppet52
HEADS-UP:  Some of the verse lyrics & music notation for the following two videos were modified (by Hamish Imlach, I think) from the Ron Hynes original.  These videos do not completely match the notation given above.  The modified lyrics are given near the bottom of this page.
Key:  G

Tempo: ~140 bpm

Singer:  Christy Moore

​Posted by:  Christy Moore
Key:  G

Tempo: ~145 bpm

Singer:  

​Posted by:  threelegsoman
BACKGROUND MATERIALS, INFORMATION & LINKS
​Lyrics
​(by Ron Hynes):



​
​Verse 1:

​


Chorus:



​
Verse 2:




Verse 3:



​Verse 4:






Hamish Imlach's adaptation:


​

​Chorus:



Verse 1:



Verse 2:



​
​Verse 3:


​
The following lyrics may be found in the 2005 Vinland Music publication, Songs of RON HYNES, Volume 1 ... a Newfoundland and Labrador music treasure, to be sure.  It can be purchased online from the Vinland Music Web site. This book contains twenty-nine of Ron's best known compositions, and a 2004 commentary (and tribute to Ron) by Kathleen Winter.  

Sonny lives on a farm on a wide open space,
Where you can take off your sneakers and give up the race;
You can lay down your head by a sweet river bed,
But Sonny always remembers what it was his mama said:

       Oh, Sonny, don't go away, I am here all alone,
       And your daddy's a sailor who never comes home.
       All these nights get so long and the silence goes on,
       And I'm feelin' so tired, I'm not all that strong.

Sonny carries a load, though he's barely a man.
There ain't all that to do, still he does what he can,
And he watches the sea from a room by the stair;
The waves keep on rollin', they've done that for years.

It's a hundred miles to town, Sonny's never been there.
And he goes to the highway and stands there and stares.
And the mail comes at four, and the mailman is old;
Oh, but he still dreams his dreams full of silver and gold

Sonny's dreams can't be real, they're just stories he's read,
They're just stars in his eyes, they're just dreams in his head.
And he's hungry inside for the wild world outside,
And I know I can't hold him, though I've tried
                                                    And I've tried, and I've tried.
​
The following is a tighter version, and is good - Listen to Christy Moore's youTube video above.  However, I prefer Ron's original lyrics, and Ron's youTube videos, as given above.

       Sonny don't go away, I'm here all alone.
       Your Daddy's a sailor, never comes home;
       Nights are so long, silence goes on.
       I'm feeling so tired and not all that strong.

Sonny lives on a farm, in a wide open space.
Take off your shoes, stay out of the race;
Lay down your head, on a soft river bed.
Sonny always remembers the words Mamma says:

Sonny works the land, though he's barely a man.
There's not much to do but he does what he can;
He sits by the window in his room on the stairs,
Watching the waves drifting soft on the pier.

Many years have passed on, Sonny's old and alone.
His Daddy, the sailor, never came home.
Sometimes he wonders what his life might have been;
But from the grave Mamma still haunts his dreams.
Background Links:
Click HERE for additional info about this song.

Click HERE for biographical info on Ron Hynes.
​
Click HERE for copy of Shane O'Dea's "oration" at Memorial University's May 2002 convocation, awarding an honorary doctorate to "that man of a thousand songs and this one place, Ronald Hynes".

Click HERE for copy of the address to the May 2012 Convocation by Dr. Ron Hynes.