Talk:Red Wing (song)

I'm Stickin' With the Union

Listening to the linked melody made me realize -- this is the melody for the song "Union Maid"! For all that Guthrie said he used Schumann. Pittsburgh Poet (talk) 19:59, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

The melody: Schumann?

According to the article, the melody is taken from Schumann's Album für die Jugend, Op. 68, no. 9 “Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit zurückkehrend”. I believe that this is in error. Listening to the piece it sounds nothing like "Red Wing". Perhaps someone can point out what piece (by Schumann or some other composer) is actually the origin of "Red Wing"? Or is it an original composition? In any case, the article seems to be in error when it states "Mills adapted the music of the verse from Robert Schumann's piano composition "The Happy Farmer, Returning From Work" from his 1848 Album for the Young, Opus 68". The article on Woody Guthrie's song "Union Maid" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Maid) would also have to be corrected. Lestrad (talk) 08:25, 7 July 2025 (UTC)

Indeed, the melody is taken from Schumann's Album für die Jugend, Op. 68, no. 9 “Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit zurückkehrend”. It is a variation, but follows the highlights of the melody and the harmony. It is clearly an adaptation of the Schumann melody, although Mills adds a responsive refrain. So, I don't think any correction is needed. You can hear the two versions, Schumann's and Mills at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T20Wh7YY7WA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cm6hTglo0Y and they are often put together, as here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhMaYXPkiqs --Paul K Clifford (talk) 08:52, 7 July 2025 (UTC)

Thanks for your reply. If you look at the Schumann score, the refrain of the Mills-Chattaway song is absent. My mistake was that I did not listen to the entire "Red Wing" song. The verse of the song is indeed Schumann's melody.

Here is the rendition of "Red Wing" that made me realize I spoke too soon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA0v-GgTp2E It's worth a listen. Lestrad (talk) 09:30, 7 July 2025 (UTC)

T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land"?

I've only been able to find an unreliable source so far (i.e. a blog), but it makes two claims that are both plausible. Here are the claims:

• Australian soldiers during the same general time period had their own parody of this song, which begins "Oh the moon shines bright on Mrs Porter" (or words to that effect).
• This is the same Mrs Porter who appears in Eliot's poetry, including (but not limited to) lines 198 through 201 of "The Waste Land".

Here's a link to the blog. I hope a better source can be found. eliotwasteland blog: Mrs Porter TooManyFingers (he/him · talk) 21:14, 10 August 2026 (UTC)