"Over the Waves" Waltz
Instrumental, Lead Guitar Performed by Mr. Decker, a member of the Decker Family Orchestra
Recorded by Professor McIntosh in McLeansboro, Illinois
March 17, 1953
RP WMP MP3
This song has been passed along by many individuals on its journey to Southern Illinois and beyond. Composed in 1891 by Juventino Rosas, a pureblooded Otomi Indian from Mexico, it was one of six pieces published under the title Sobre las Olas. To this day, "Over The Waves" is one of the most popular fiddle waltzes performed in the southern and southwestern United States.
The tune has been adapted by performers in a variety of musical genres, including tejano musicians, New Orleans jazzmen, and Italian accordion players in New York. It became a popular ballroom dance tune better known as "The Moonshiner's Dance," and was recorded in St. Paul, Minnesota, by Frank Cloutier and the Victoria Café Orchestra in 1927. It was also transformed into an "oompah" song and was played frequently on the Lawrence Welk television show. And, although the original tune was written without words, lyrics were composed by Paul Francis Webster for use in the 1951 film The Great Caruso, and titled "The Loveliest Night of the Year":
When you are in love,
It's the loveliest night of the year.
Stars twinkle above,
You can almost touch them from here.
Words fall into rhyme,
Anytime he is holding you near.
When you are in love,
It's the loveliest night of the year.
Listen closely to hear both a rhythm guitar playing backup chords and the lead guitar playing the melody.
For more information, please visit the official Words, Wood & Wire site.