Hawks

Pati Nagle wrote the original version of this round in 1978 and called it “The Merry Dwarves!”. It was published at that time.

3 rounds singers (Jan Maier, Evy Mayer and Randy Spiegel) learned this round (but not its correct title or origin) through the folk process. They thought it was an anonymous composition (as with many rounds) and felt that it could have have come from Germany. They adapted it in its present form into a “catch” (which means three single words sung by different parts in the latter part of the round combine to create a surprising sentence). They gave this new version of the round the title "Elves". It was included in Sol Weber’s famous pink-covered Rounds Galore collection. It also appeared on the accompanying "Rounds Galore & More Vol. 2" CD.

“Elves” was in turn adapted lyrically by Martha Davey as an antiwar parody during the 2nd Bush Administration into “Hawks” . The basic melody and “catch” structure are the same as in "Elves".

The five authors collaborated before this round appeared in Rise Again and agreed on a shared copyright and royalties agreement that reflects the shared creative process that led to creation of these ingenious rounds.