The University Museum

OVER THE WAVES WALTZ

Listen to this song in one of three formats.

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.

The lead guitar in the version of "Over The Waves Waltz" you hear was played by Mr. Decker, a member of the Decker Family Orchestra. It was recorded by Professor McIntosh in McLeansboro, Illinois, on March 17, 1953. Listen closely to hear both a rhythm guitar playing backup chords and the lead guitar playing the melody.

American Roots Music. Eternal Songs: Standards. http://www.pbs.org/americanrootsmusic/pbs_arm_es_standards.html
Dee's Potpourri of Webs. Over The Waves. http://www.homestead.com/deegold/waves.html
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings website. Learn and discover: Anthology of American Folk Music. http://www.folkways.si.edu/learn_discover/anthology/liner_notes/track_41.html
The Hurricane Brass Band website. Over the waves. http://www.hurricanebrassband.nl/over_the_waves.htm