History Main / CommonMeter

* OlderThanSteam: The Scottish Psalter of 1650 sets the [[Literature/TheBible biblical Psalms]] to Common Metre.[[note]]This was the point of it; since hymns were forbidden in the Calvinist tradition held by the Prebyterian Church (the Church of Scotland, at the time), only scriptural references and paraphrases could be sung. The natural target was therefore the Psalms, already intended as congregational songs; however, the songs were written originally in ancient Hebrew and were translated (roughly) into non-metrical English in the King James Bible of 1610 (as well as a few other editions of the 16th century) which worked fine for the English, who could sing their psalms in Anglican Chant or Plainchant - but the practice of chanting was consider too much of a Catholic holdover by the Scots.[[/note]] It's [[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/anonymous/scotpsalter.psalter.html here]]. While the Scottish Psalter didn't ''invent'' Common Metre, it is the reason that it's considered "Common" -- 149 of the 150 psalms (including Psalm 119, in 22 separate parts) are written in Common Metre.[[note]]Many psalms have two versions, one in Common Metre and one in another; Psalm 136 has two versions, and neither is in Common Metre -- it is the ''only'' exception in the entire 1650 Scottish Psalter.[[/note]] Poor scansion is the natural result in many cases. The Psalter also had a wide variety of Common Metre tunes which could be used with any of the psalms; standard publishing practice for this and other metrical psalters, even today, is to divide the book in half horizontally, essentially binding two separate books together, the upper with music and the lower with the words.

-->--Webcomic/{{xkcd}}, "[[http://xkcd.com/788/ The Carriage]]"

* [[Series/GilligansIsland "The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle"]]

->I learned from ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' that since [[http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/stop.html this poem]] is in ballad meter, it can be sung to the tune of ''Series/GilligansIsland''. Since then, try as I might, I haven't ONCE been able to read it normally.

You'll see examples float around,\\

* The union song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kxq9uFDes "Joe Hill"]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Ufc2hI4FM "Sink the Bismarck"]] by Johnny Horton.

Please note that this is a good bit more specialized than just [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant two songs that share the same meter]]. "Common meter," as the poem above demonstrates, is a specific (though very popular) rhythm. Tune-swapping in general is covered by the trope ToTheTuneOf.

* Some of the best "One Song To The Tune Of Another" rounds on ''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'' use two songs in Common Meter (others have deliberately chosen songs with completely different meters to make it more difficult). ''Clue'' regular Barry Cryer used "Amazing Grace to the tune of Rising Sun" as part of his musical double act with Ronnie Golden for a while after singing it on the show.

* The verses of "The Mummers Dance" by [=Loreena McKennitt=]

* All of the Sorting Hat's songs in Harry Potter
* "I Just Can't Wait to be King" from ''Disney/TheLionKing''

* Some of the best "One Song To The Tune Of Another" rounds on ''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'' use two songs in Common Meter (others have deliberately chosen songs with completely different meters to make it more difficult).

->I learned from ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' that since [[http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/stop.html this poem]] is in ballad meter, it can be sung to the tune of ''Series/GilligansIsland''. Since then, [[EarWorm try as I might]], I haven't ONCE been able to read it normally.

* The verses of "Rocky" by Dickey Lee

** "I heard the Voice of Jesus Say" also fits, but is often [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rr_4M5LQLo sung to the tune of "Star of the County Down"]].

** "The Yellow Rose", a country song by Johnny Lee and Lane Brody, also swipes the melody from "The Yellow Rose of Texas".

** "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"
** "Joy to the World"

** "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

* OlderThanSteam: The Scottish Psalter of 1650 sets the [[Literature/TheBible biblical Psalms]] to Common Metre.[[note]]This was the point of it; since hymns were forbidden in the Calvinist tradition held by the Prebyterian Church (the Church of Scotland, at the time), only scriptural references and paraphrases could be sung. The natural target was therefore the Psalms, already intended as congregational songs; however, the songs were written originally in ancient Hebrew and were translated (roughly) into non-metrical English in the King James Bible of 1610 (as well as a few other editions of the 16th century) which worked fine for the English, who could sing their psalms in Anglican Chant or Plainchant - but the practice of chanting was consider too much of a Catholic holdover by the Scots.[[/note]] It's [[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/anonymous/scotpsalter.psalter.html here]]. While the Scottish Psalter didn't ''invent'' Common Metre, it is the reason that it's considered "Common" -- 149 of the 150 psalms (including Psalm 119, in 22 separate parts) are written in Common Metre.[[note]]Many psalms have two versions, one in Common Metre and one in another; Psalm 136 has two versions, and neither is in Common Metre -- it is the ''only'' exception in the entire 1650 Scottish Psalter.[[/note]] Poor scansion and PainfulRhyme are the natural result in many cases. The Psalter also had a wide variety of Common Metre tunes which could be used with any of the psalms; standard publishing practice for this and other metrical psalters, even today, is to divide the book in half horizontally, essentially binding two separate books together, the upper with music and the lower with the words.

Is more common than bread.\\

** "The Rising of the Moon"
** "The Foggy Dew"
** "The Irish Jaunting Car" (whose melody was reused for the Civil War song "The Bonnie Blue Flag")
** "Skibbereen"
** "My Little Armalite"
** The parody "Another Irish Drinking Song" by Da Vinci's Notebook

* Many songs from UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, including "Marching through Georgia" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (verses) on the Union side, and "I'm a Good Ol' Rebel" on the Confederate side.

* Many Irish folk and rebel songs, including:

* Many songs from UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, including "Marching through Georgia" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (verses) on the Union side, and "I'm a Good Ol' Rebel" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" on the Confederate side.

* Many songs from ''UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar'', including "Marching through Georgia" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (verses) on the Union side, and "I'm a Good Ol' Rebel" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" on the Confederate side.

* "The Rising of the Moon"