Monthly Archives: May 2011

evolution of Maiden’s Prayer

Working from this history of the song Maiden’s Prayer on Wikipedia

1856

Sentimental salon tosh original, published as “Modlitwa dziewicy” in 1856 in Warsaw, Poland

A medium difficulty short piano piece for intermediate pianists. Some have liked it for its charming and romantic melody: others have described it as “sentimental salon tosh.” The pianist and academic Arthur Loesser described it as “this dowdy product of ineptitude.”

1935

That sounds almost nothing like the Bob Wills version, published in 1935, via YouTube

The American musician Bob Wills arranged the piece in the Western swing style and wrote lyrics for it. He published it first in 1935 as “Maiden’s Prayer”; later, it became a standard, recorded by many artists.

2009

Mike Auldridge casual jam on it.

74 years after the Bob Wills version it keeps just the chord progression and a few fragments of the melody.