http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKWFmWQ7ajo Okay, so maybe this one is cheating, since the melody is a retooling of an Irish folk song and Seeger didn't even write all of the new lyrics. However, Seeger's work does appear in the song, so that justifies its appearance here, for me anyway. Pete Seeger collaborated with fellow folk musicians Lead Belly and Lee Hays to turn the Irish tune "Drimmin' Down" into "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine." This was a massive change; after all, "Drimmin' Down" is about a farmer mourning his dead cow. It's really a miracle that Seeger, Hays, and Belly were able to turn a song about a cow's death into a catchy, uplifting love song. Seeger's contribution to the transformation was rewriting "Drimmin' Down's" chorus, giving us the new song's title. Working together, Seeger, Hays, and Belly produced a wonderful love song that charts a couple's love life from their first meeting through their married life. It's impossible to feel sad while listening to this tune.
Alan Howell is a native of Southern California. He loves movies of any and all kinds, Hollywood, indie, and everywhere in between. He loves pizza, sitcoms, rock and pop music, surfing, baseball, reading, and girls (not necessarily in that order).