Please Say You Will (1895) - Scott Joplin (With Score / Sheet Music)

Details

Description

"Please Say You Will" is the first known piece to ever be published by Scott Joplin. During this period, he had been traveling with his Texas Medley Quartette (actually an octet) in which Scott played the piano, conducted and acted as a soloist, with his brothers Robert Joplin and Will Joplin singing baritone and tenor respectively. Having been well represented by a credible booking agency, they traveled together throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States performing songs at small venues & gatherings.

At some point the group likely had an extended stay in Syracuse, New York, where this and one other Joplin piece were first published. Mr. Mantell, who was the one to purchase & publish the song, was a jeweler by trade, but many different merchants dabbled in publishing in this time when vanity publications were becoming good business. There is little extraordinary about the song, which reflects the current style of maudlin ballads that were a part of the "gay nineties," but it shows that Joplin was already an accomplished musical talent. The lyrical content reflects male attitudes of the time, with a man begging his intended love to take him back because the tryst he engaged in was the other girl's fault. Try that one on in this age of personal accountability!
-----------
"Please Say You Will" - Waltz Song - Pattern: Intro Vs1 Ch Vs2 Ch Vs3 Ch
Music & Lyrics by Scott Joplin, Published by M.L. Mantell in 1895
Cover Artist: Unknown

Music description provided & written by Bill Edwards
© 1998-2024 Bill Edwards

Music performed by Guido Nielsen with his album "Scott Joplin: The Complete Works (Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs)"

℗ 2000 Basta Audio-Visuals
Producer: Piet Schreuders
Music Publisher: Basta Music
Performer: Guido Nielsen