About Oh My Darlin, Clementine!#
Clementine is an American western ballad from the 1880s, a mock-mournful tune about a miner’s daughter who drowns. It is usually credited to Percy Montrose around 1884, though earlier versions were already circulating and the real author is disputed, so it often gets filed as simply traditional. The gold-rush setting and its easy chorus made it a campfire and singalong standard, where the sad story is really half the joke.
For the ocarina, this one asks a bit more than the average round. The melody covers a full octave, from a low D up to the D above it, and the reach into the high C and D in the second line is where beginners tend to trip. Take those top notes slowly at first. The rest of the tune sits in comfortable middle range.
Oh My Darlin, Clementine! Lyrics#
In a cavern, in a canyon, Excavating for a mine, Dwelt a miner, forty-niner, And his daughter Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling, Oh my darling Clementine, You are lost and gone forever, Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Light she was and like a fairy, And her shoes were number nine, Herring boxes without topses, Sandals were for Clementine.
Drove she ducklings to the water, Every morning just at nine, Hit her foot against a splinter, Fell into the foaming brine.
Ruby lips above the water, Blowing bubbles soft and fine, But, alas, I was no swimmer, So I lost my Clementine.
Then the miner, forty-niner, Soon began to peak and pine, Thought he ought to join his daughter, Now he’s with his Clementine.
In my dreams she still does haunt me, Robed in garments soaked in brine, Though in life I used to hug her, Now in death I draw the line.
How I missed her, how I missed her, How I missed my Clementine, So I kissed her little sister, And forgot my Clementine.
Oh My Darlin, Clementine! Ocarina Tab#
| G | G | G | D | B | B | B | G |
| G | B | D | D | C | B | A | |
| A | B | C | C | B | A | B | G |
| G | B | A | D | F | A | G |