Oh My Darling, Clementine
Encyclopedia
Oh My Darling, Clementine is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 western folk ballad
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...

 usually credited to Percy Montrose (1884), although it is sometimes credited to Barker Bradford. The song is believed to have been based on another song called Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden by H. S. Thompson
H. S. Thompson
Henry S. Thompson was an American songwriter of the mid-nineteenth century.Little is known of Thompson other than his works, mainly syrupy ballads used in blackface minstrel shows; 48 works were published under the name H. S. Thompson between 1849 and 1885....

 (1863).

History and origins

The words are those of a bereaved lover singing about his darling, the daughter of a miner in the 1849 California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

. He loses her in a drowning accident, though he consoles himself towards the end of the song with Clementine's "little sister".

The verse about the little sister was often left out of folk song books intended for children, presumably because it seemed morally questionable.

Another theory is that the song is from the view of Clementine's father, and not a lover.

Gerald Brenan
Gerald Brenan
Edward FitzGerald "Gerald" Brenan, CBE was a British writer and Hispanist who spent much of his life in Spain.He is best known for The Spanish Labyrinth, a historical work on the background to the Spanish Civil War, and for South from Granada: Seven Years in an Andalusian Village...

 attributes the melody to originally being an old Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

 in his book South from Granada. It was made popular by Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 miners during the Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

. It was also given various English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 texts. No particular source is cited to verify that the song he used to hear in the 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...

 in a remote Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 village was not an old text with new music, but Brenan
Gerald Brenan
Edward FitzGerald "Gerald" Brenan, CBE was a British writer and Hispanist who spent much of his life in Spain.He is best known for The Spanish Labyrinth, a historical work on the background to the Spanish Civil War, and for South from Granada: Seven Years in an Andalusian Village...

 states in his preface that all facts mentioned in the book have been checked reasonably well.
The song is using the melody placed on Romances
Romances
Romances is the fifteenth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on August 12, 1997, by Warner Music Latina. It is the third album of the Romance series, in which Miguel covers Latin songs from 1940 to 1978...

, in particular the one of Romance del Conde Olinos o Niño, a sad love story very popular in the spanish folk some of which were compiled at the court of Alfonso X
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...

 and others like the Cancionero de Uppsala later by the House of Trastamara.

Lyrics

In a cavern, in a canyon,

Excavating for a mine

Dwelt a miner forty niner,

And his daughter Clementine

  • Chorus:

Oh my darling, oh my darling,

Oh my darling, Clementine!

Thou art lost and gone forever

Dreadful sorry, Clementine

Light she was and like a fairy,

And her shoes were number nine
Shoe size
A shoe size is an alphanumerical indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. Often it just consists of a number indicating the length because many shoemakers only provide a standard width for economic reasons....

,

Herring boxes, without topses,

Sandals were for Clementine. --Chor.

Drove she ducklings to the water

Ev'ry morning just at nine,

Hit her foot against a splinter,

Fell into the foaming brine. -- Chor.

Ruby lips above the water,

Blowing bubbles, soft and fine,

But, alas, I was no swimmer,

So I lost my Clementine. -- Chor.

How I missed her! How I missed her,

How I missed my Clementine,

But I kissed her little sister,

I forgot my Clementine. -- Chor.

---OR---

How I missed her! How I missed her,

How I missed my Clementine,

Till I kissed her little sister,

and forgot my Clementine. -- Chor.

---OR---

How I missed her, how I missed her

How I missed my Clementine.

So I kissed her little sister,

And forgot my Clementine.

---OR---

In a churchyard on a hillside

Where the flowers grow and twine

There grow roses amongst the posies

Flowers for my Clementine. -- Chor.

---OR---

Then the miner forty-niner

He began to weep and pine

For his darling little daughter

Now he's with his Clementine—Chor.

---OR---

In a churchyard on a hillside

Where the flowers grow and twine

There grow roses amongst the posies

On the grave of Clementine—Chor.

---OR---

In a corner of the churchyard,

Where the myrtle boughs entwine,

Grow the roses in their poses,

Fertilized by Clementine. -- Chor.

---OR---

In A Tavern in the canyon,

Drinking beer and lots of wine,

Sat a miner forty niner,

Grieving over Clementine. -- Chor.

---OR---

Then the miner forty niner,

He began to peak and pine,

Thought he oughta join his daughter

Now he's with his Clementine. -- Chor.

---OR---

In my dreams she still doth haunt me,

Robed in garments soaked in brine.

Though in life I used to hug her,

Now she's dead, I'll draw the line. -- Chor.

---OR---

Now you Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

, there's a moral

To this little tale of mine.

Artificial respiration
Artificial respiration
Artificial respiration is the act of assisting or stimulating respiration, a metabolic process referring to the overall exchange of gases in the body by pulmonary ventilation, external respiration, and internal respiration...

,

Would have saved my Clementine. -- Chor.

__ OR__
when she slipped and hit the water

'felt my heart skip a time

all had scattered nothin' mattered

'cept my darlin' clementine. - Chor.

Alternative lyrics

In the centre of a golden valley,
Dwelt a maiden all divine,
A pretty creature a miner's daughter,
And her name was Clementine.
Chorus:
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
My darling Clementine,
You are lost for me forever,
Dear sweet darling, Clementine.

Her noble father was the foreman
Of ev'ry valued mine,
And ev'ry miner and ranchman,
Was a brother to Clementine. -- Chor.

The foreman miner, an old forty niner,
In dreams and thoughts sublime,
Lived in comfort with his daughter,
His pretty child Clementine. -- Chor.

When far away, he would often pray,
That in his sunny clime,
No harm might overtake her,
His favorite nugget, Clementine. -- Chor.

When the day was done and the setting sun,
Its rays they ceased to shine,
Homeward came the brawny miner,
To caress his Clementine. -- Chor.

None was nearer, none was dearer,
Since the days of forty-nine,
When, in youth, he had another,
Who was then his Clementine. -- Chor.

She led her ducks down to the river,
The weather it was fine,
Stubbed her toe against a sliver,
Fell into the raging brine. -- Chor.

He heard her calling: "Father, father!"
Her voice was like a chime,
But alas he was no swimmer,
So he lost his Clementine. -- Chor.

How I missed her, how I missed her,
How I missed my Clementine,
Till I kissed her little sister,
Bouyon my Clementine. -- Chor.


Or
How i missed her, missed my dear girl
missed my darling Clementine
She Was gone forever, i'll soon be with my Clementine

Additional verse

I took her, on a picnic,

Oh, how the Sun did shine.

But she’s 'llergic to bee stings

To the doctor, Clementine—Chor.

Contemporary use

The melody for the song has become popular as the rhythm for a number of chants by sports supporters, such as the Barmy Army
Barmy Army
The Barmy Army is a semi-organised group of English cricket fans which arranges touring parties for some of its members to follow the English cricket team on overseas tours...

http://www.barmyarmy.com/funandgames/index.php?m=songsfull&iSongID=15
It was also parodied by the satirist Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...

 in a song also named Clementine, in which he rewrote the verses of the song in various notable styles of music. Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...

 cartoon character Huckleberry Hound
Huckleberry Hound
The Huckleberry Hound Show is a 1958 syndicated animated series and the second from Hanna-Barbera following The Ruff & Reddy Show, sponsored by Kellogg's. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring Huckleberry Hound; another starring Yogi Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo; and a third...

 often sang an off-key version of Clementine. Featured in a theater in the motion picture Hud.

An instrumental version was used in the movie Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction comedy Western film. It is the third installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson. The film...

.

The song plays during the opening credits for the highly acclaimed John Ford movie "My Darling Clementine
My Darling Clementine
My Darling Clementine is a 1946 western movie. It was directed by John Ford, and based on the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers and the Clanton gang. It features an ensemble cast including Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, and others.The movie...

." It also runs as a background score all through the movie.

A North Korea musical movie "The Flower Girl" from 1972, used the song's melody as its main theme. This musical was said to be written by Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...

.

A birthday version with Chinese lyrics is featured in the 2001 movie Quitting
Quitting
Quitting is a 2001 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yang, starring and based on the true life story of Jia Hongsheng. Jia, an actor and former drug addict, battled his addiction to marijuana and heroin for five years from 1992 to 1997...

. Excerpts of the song can also be heard in Michel Gondry's film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction film about an estranged couple who have each other erased from their memories, scripted by Charlie Kaufman and directed by the French director, Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science fiction, psychological...

. Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...

's character, Clementine Kruscynski, complains that people always make fun of her name because of this song. Also subtle emphasis is placed on the phrase, "you are lost and gone forever," to fit with the film's theme.
In Star Trek Voyager (601 Equinox Pt II
Equinox (Star Trek: Voyager)
"Equinox" is a two-part episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the cliffhanger between the fifth and sixth seasons. -Part 1:Voyager receives a hail from the Federation Starship USS Equinox, and Janeway immediately decides to go investigate...

) The Doctor stimulates Seven of Nine's
Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine is a fictional character on Star Trek: Voyager, portrayed by actress Jeri Ryan. Born human, she was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six. Eighteen years later, Voyager left Borg space with Seven on board, after attempts to negotiate passage through Borg space proved only...

 auditory processor to make her sing a duet of Clementine after his ethical subroutines have been deleted.

Music of the famous song, 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' from the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 film CID is inspired by this song.

The song provides the central musical theme in the 2006 South Korean television drama, Spring Waltz
Spring Waltz
Spring Waltz is the fourth and final installment of Yoon Seok-Ho's seasonal drama series, Endless Love directed by Yoon Seok-Ho, following the preceding Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata and Summer Scent.- Series Development :...

 (봄의 왈츠).

Similarities have been drawn between the song and the chorus of Cher Lloyd's
Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd is a British singer and rapper from Malvern, Worcestershire. Lloyd rose to fame in 2010 when she participated in reality TV series The X Factor, to which she finished in fourth place. Shortly afterwards, Lloyd was signed by Simon Cowell to Sony Records subsidary SyCo Music, releasing...

 debut single Swagger Jagger.

Bobby Darin Version

Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...

 also had a hit version of the song, where he made fun of Clementine's weight, joking at the end of the song that whalers might find her: "Hey you sailor, way out in your whaler, a-with your harpoon and your trusty line, If she shows now, yell..., A-there she blows now!, It just may be chunky, Clementine."

Jan and Dean Version

Jan Berry and Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...

 fame had a minor hit with Clementine. It was released under the Dore label (SP DORE 539 (US)) in November, 1959. "You're On My Mind" was the B Side.The single version was remixed differently then that of the album (Jan and Dean) version (Dore 101 -released 1961 produced by Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...

 and Lou Adler
Lou Adler
Lou Adler is an American record producer, manager, and director.-Life and career:Adler was born in Chicago, Illinois in December 1933, and raised in East Los Angeles. In 1964, Adler founded and co-owned Dunhill Records. He was President of the label as well as the chief record producer from 1964...

 with an echo effect in the beginning. While a minor hit for the duo, it charted at 65 on Billboard and at 88 on Cashbox.

Tom Lehrer version

Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...

 recorded a set of variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...

 on the song on his live album An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer
An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer
An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer is an album recorded by Tom Lehrer, the well-known satirist and Harvard lecturer. The recording was made on March 20-21, 1959 in Sanders Theater at Harvard.-Track listing:#"Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" – 2:38...

, demonstrating his theory that "folk songs are so bad because they were written by the people." He plays the first verse in the style of Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...

, the second and third in the style of "Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 or one of that crowd
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

", the fourth in a disjointed jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 sound, and the final verse in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...

.

Other cover versions

  • In 2004 the song was recorded by Westlife
    Westlife
    Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...

     on their Allow Us to Be Frank
    Allow Us to Be Frank
    -Singles:"Smile" was released as the album's first single on 4 November 2004. The physical single features the video, and B-sides "White Christmas" and "When I Fall In Love". "Fly Me To The Moon" was released as the album's second single on 20 December 2004...

    .
  • The song is referenced in the lyrics of two separate songs by Elliott Smith
    Elliott Smith
    Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...

    . The first, "Clementine," from his 1995 self-titled album
    Elliott Smith (album)
    Elliott Smith is the second album recorded by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was released by Kill Rock Stars on 21 July 1995 in CD and vinyl LP. It was Smith's first full-length release on the label....

    . The second, "Sweet Adeline," appears three years later on XO
    XO (album)
    XO is the name of the fourth album recorded by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Smith's first work on a major label, it was released by DreamWorks Records on August 25, 1998. Bong Load Custom Records released it on vinyl LP, which has since gone out of print. Vinyl copies of XO remained...

    .
  • Cher Lloyd
    Cher Lloyd
    Cher Lloyd is a British singer and rapper from Malvern, Worcestershire. Lloyd rose to fame in 2010 when she participated in reality TV series The X Factor, to which she finished in fourth place. Shortly afterwards, Lloyd was signed by Simon Cowell to Sony Records subsidary SyCo Music, releasing...

     from The X Factor
    The X Factor (UK)
    The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

     interpolates the melody for her first single, Swagger Jagger
    Swagger Jagger
    "Swagger Jagger" is song by British singer Cher Lloyd, taken from her debut studio album Sticks + Stones. It was released as the album's leads single on 31 July 2011. The song was written by the two production teams The Runners and The Monarch with Cher Lloyd, Autumn Rowe, Marcus Lomax and Clarence...

    .

External links


Megan Washington recorded 'Clementine' 2010. The song references some of the lyrics from the original.
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