Ten of My Favourite Songs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Only a Rose

This song, performed both as a solo and duette by the two leading stars of the film, is an exquisite dedication to love. MacDonald and Dennis didn't get along during the shooting of the movie however, because of Dennis's insistence on being in almost every scene. This lead Jeanette, because of his profile appearance beside her during her solo rendition of the number, to refer to the song ever after as "Only a Nose". Performed by many artists over time since it was first written by Rudolf Friml in his 1925 operetta, prior to the 1930 film version, MacDonald's performance of this sweet number is lovely. A later version by the famous tenor Mario Lanza is a little bit gruesome. Meant as a tender celebration of love, Lanza's bellowing rendition of "Only a Rose" is a little like being bowled over by a melodious cannon.

The pictured clue is of a delicate, softly tinted rose, as in "Only a ROSE".

Answer: The Minstrel Boy

Thomas Moore (1779-1852) also gave us such beautiful old songs as "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms" and "The Last Rose of Summer", both lovely numbers which tug at the heartstrings. When he wrote the lyrics to "The Minstrel Boy" he was already earning himself a name as a fine poet and singer. He based this lovely, rather stirring number on "The Moreen", an Irish air from the times. It is believed the inspiration behind its lyrics were the deaths of many of his friends in the 1798 Irish Rebellion. The song can be produced with a martial beat as well being sung as a straight ballad. It is best, however, as a ballad because of the pause that is needed at the end of the third last line to each verse. That allows the emotion of the song to fully hit its audience. One of those verses follows below.

The pictured clue is of a minstrel singer, as in "The MINSTREL Boy".

"The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he has girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Though all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

Answer: The Ash Grove

Nobody knows the original composer of this number, for, like most folk songs, its origins are shrouded in the mists of time. The melody itself remains the same though as far as we know, and that is quite lovely. The most well known of its many different lyrics are the English translation by Thomas Oliphant of the Welsh lyrics by John Jones. That appeared in 1862 in a volume of Welsh melodies authored by one John Thomas. The tale it tells is of a man wandering alone in a grove of trees, as he remembers his lost love from long ago who has died young. This beautiful song features a contrasting change in tempo and melody in the second half of each verse, yet somehow that almost light-hearted lilt to the latter parts is at odds with its sad lyrics. One has to be aware, when singing it, not to speed up the second half of the verses, particularly the last one, which follows below, but to present its delightful rise and fall in keeping with the sorrowful tale it tells.

The pictured clue is of ash from a cigarette - an absolute no-no for trained singers - as in "The ASH Grove".

"Still glows the bright sunshine o'er valley and mountain,
Still warbles the blackbird its note from the tree;
Still trembles the moonbeam on streamlet and fountain,
But what are the beauties of nature to me?
With sorrow, deep sorrow, my bosom is laden,
All day I go mourning in search of my love;
Ye echoes, oh, tell me, where is the sweet maiden?
"She sleeps, 'neath the green turf down by the ash grove".

Answer: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was known also as "Wimba Way" and "Wimoweh" and "Mbube". When first written by Solomon Linda, a South African performer of Zula ancestry, it was called "Mbube", but because of its adaptation and subsequent recording by the English group, the Tokens, in 1961, most people in the western world know it today as "The Lion Sleep Tonight". This is a fantastic song to sing, either as a solo, but far better, if performing live, with a group of people doing the melody and words, while a high, soaring counter melody and lyrics rings out above them. It basically tells the story of a sleeping king of the mountains who will one day awaken to fight the oppressors of the people. Most listeners today wouldn't recognise the political side to this number as they are too engrossed instead in enjoying the lovely combination of sounds the song delivers.

The pictured clue is of a lion, as in "The LION Sleeps Tonight".

Answer: Ye Banks and Braes

This truly lovely old song tells of a girl who is sitting watching the lovely, blooming landscape all around her as she remembers how her false lover took her love, and then, having used her, discarded her. It's one of my favourite songs not only for the lovely rise and fall of the melody, but also because it tells a definite story as well. It was written in 1791 by Scotland's famous son, the great poet and lyricist, Robbie Burns, and has been performed by hundreds of singers ever since because of the hold it has on the heart. There's always such an appeal to sad songs, isn't there?

The pictured clue is of a piggy bank, as in "Ye BANKs and Braes".

Answer: When You Were Sweet Sixteen

I love this song and of all the songs listed in this quiz, it's my favourite. Written by James Thornton back in 1898, it has stood the test of time since then, having being recorded by many different artists, including, for example, The Ink Spots (1959), Glenn Campbell (1985), Barry Manilow (2010) and Daniel O'Donnell (2011). Thornton wrote it after his wife asked if he still loved her and he had replied "I love you like I did when you were sweet sixteen". The song recalls their first meeting many years prior on the village green. It has an exquisite melody and lovely lyrics, and, performed by a fine tenor, can reduce an audience to tears. We sopranos also do a pretty reasonable job with it too! I really do love this beautiful number. Some of its tender lyrics appear below.

(The pictured clue is of sweet sixteen birthday cake, as in "When You Were SWEET SIXTEEN").

"I love you as I never loved before
Since first I saw you on the village green
Come to me e'er my dreams of love is o'er,
I love you as I loved you,
when you were sweet
When you were sweet sixteen".

Answer: I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls

The plot of the opera "The Bohemian Girl" is based on Miguel Cervantes's story "La Gitanilla" written some time between 1590 and 1612. It tells of a daughter of a nobleman who has been brought up by gypsies. Arline, the heroine of the piece, sings this song as she is recalling the vague memories of her long ago stolen childhood. It's a beautiful aria, filled with lovely soaring notes and trills and its words seek to combine her cherished memories of her youth with the love she feels for her romantic swain today now that she is grown. It's a fairly predictable plot, as most operas are, but their lovely music and arias, including this exquisite number, soar breathtakingly way above all the mundane. "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" has been recorded by some of the top singers of the time, including Dame Joan Sutherland, Enya, Celtic Woman and Sinead O'Connor.

(The pictured clue is of marbles, as in "I Dreamt I Dwelt in MARBLE Halls").

Answer: Perhaps Love

John Denver (1943-1997) wrote this song for the album "Seasons of the Heart" which was released in 1982 when he was in the process of a long, and ultimately very bitter, divorce from his first wife Annie Martel. The song was also recorded as a duet by John, with his light tenor, and the Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, with his rich, full tones. Separately the song is exquisite and the beautiful voices of both men do it full credit, but when they combine those voices during one section of the number, it's rather like the bark of a Domingo great dane being mixed with a Denver poodle yap, and most definitely does not work. The song itself is exquisite with a beautiful melody, counter tenor line, and lovely lyrics. It soars with passion and love, and yet, it has such a sad association of loss with Denver's personal life. One short extract follows which, perhaps, sums that loss up perfectly.

(The pictured clue is of a heart, which symbolises love, as in "Perhaps LOVE").

"Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict, full of pain
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Or thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you"

Answer: Waves of the Danube

"Waves of the Danube" was composed by Romanian military band leader and composer, Ion Ivonovici (1845-1902), in 1880, as straight waltz music. It was made popular in the United by the great singer and actor, Al Jolson (1886-1950), in 1946, when it was adapted, given words, and the title "The Anniversary Song". It lasted fourteen weeks on the music charts there, peaking at number two. The song has been recorded by various artists over time, and also surfaced in several films. Perhaps the most notable of those was in the highly successful autobiographical film, "The Al Jolson Story" which starred Larry Parks as Al, during which he mimes Al's many songs, all of which were recorded by Al himself for the film. This lovely song celebrates many years of a happy marriage between a husband and wife as the man look back over the years to the days of their wedding. In the film, it marks the long contented marriage of Al's parents. The words are sweet, and perhaps, because they capture a sense of time passing away too quickly, just a tiny bit sad as well. The presentation of this number in the movie is done to perfection. Just one verse of this sweet old song follows below for you.

(The pictured clue is of the Danube River, as in "Waves of the DANUBE").

"The night seemed to fade into blossoming dawn
The sun shone anew but the dance lingered on
Could we but recall that sweet moment sublime
We'd find that our love is unaltered by time".

Answer: Down by the Salley Gardens

Recorded by many singers right up to the 21st century, this beautiful song is based on a poem found in a collection of the first works of Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). That is known as "The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems" and it was published in 1889. "Down By the Salley Gardens" tells, in simple words and images of nature, of a parting of ways long years ago between a young couple, as he fails to listen to her pleadings for the gentle life together, and instead, in the hot surge of youth, dashes off to adventure elsewhere. When he eventually returns, she has gone forever. The song has a beautiful lilting melody, and leaves a listener with a haunting, aching sense of lost love and youth. Because one has to sing all those lovely old songs in this quiz with emotion, truth and feeling to impart their full message and do justice to what they seek to tell, the risk is that this can even break the heart of the singer at times. A few of the gentle words of this song follow below.

(The pictured clue is of lovely, well set out gardens, as in "Down by the Salley GARDENS")

"In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears".