APPLES, PEACHES, PUMPKIN PIE is a children’s song composed by Edward Moncrief many years ago. Ed asked me to create a version for String Quartet. Ed’s song employs quirky, fun harmony and a joyful rhythm and melody that contrast with the text’s considerable depth of meaning. My arrangement focuses on the youthful musical elements and the spirit of the play of children. The Friction Quartet is performing.
Ed’s text:
Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie,
If you’re not ready, holler, “I”.
Clouds move across the sky
When they hear the children cry,
“Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie”.
Fruit of the branch, fruit of the vine;
Each one will ripen in its own time.
Rain-soaked leaves drink the sunshine,
All of the seasons circling by,
Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie.
All join hands, dance in a ring.
You can hear creation sing.
When you’re young the world’s on a string
When you’re old you learn to ask why.
Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie.
Moments come, moments go.
If you’re not growing you’re moving too slow.
You can be more than you know.
Even the swallow must learn to fly.
Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie.