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Post by Nonfatman on Nov 11, 2009 19:40:16 GMT -5
In medieval and renaissance times, there was a tradition for traveling musicians in England, Scotland and Ireland to sing a "calling on song", introducing themselves and what they intend to sing about. The following is Steeleye Span's Calling-On Song, sung acapella by the group's male and (two) female singers. It was their first song on their first album! (The photo is a later one of the band, though, because Gay Woods is not shown.) Give it a listen, it's really good! "We have come to relate many stories, concerning our forefathers' time....."
Jeff
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Post by Nonfatman on Nov 11, 2009 19:51:22 GMT -5
And here are the full lyrics to that one: ------------------------------------------------------- Good people pray heed our petition Your attention we beg and we crave And if you are inclined for to listen An abundance of pastime we'll have
We have come to relate many stories Concerning our forefathers' times And we trust they will drive out your worries Of this we are all in one mind
Many tales of the poor and the gentry Of labor and love will arise There are no finer songs in this country In Scotland or Ireland likewise
There's one thing more need be mentioned The dances are danced all in fun So now that you've heard our intention We'll play on to the beat of the drum. -------------------------------------------------------------- The song then immediately segues, appropriately with the beat of a drum, into Steeleye's first version of the traditional folk song "The Blacksmith," with Dave Mattacks on drums.
Jeff
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Post by Nonfatman on Nov 18, 2009 21:37:24 GMT -5
Check out Dave Mattacks' great drumming on Steeleye's version of this traditional song called Blackleg Miner, which begins after the acapella part that opens the song.
According to a Youtube poster, the song is about "Cornish strike breakers being murdered and thrown down the old pit shaft at seaton delaval, during the 1884 strike in seghill, delaval, cramlington which was a bitter fight that led to the riot act being read out in front of the hastings arms (seaton delaval) the miners eventually returned to work, starved,for less pay and more hours, the local Methodist chapel preyed for the death of the scabs in the chapel, and held night meetings in the fields."
Jeff
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Post by Nonfatman on Feb 21, 2010 23:41:19 GMT -5
I have been wanting Steeleye's album Commoner's Crown for the longest time, but it is out of print, and copies for sale are scarce and very costly (even used CDs go for $50.00 or more.) So I was surprised to see that Amazon recently put a remastered MP3 edition on sale for $7.99, which I immediately bought and downloaded.
Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia's description of the album: "By this point, the band had evolved into a full-fledged rock sound, comparable to Jethro Tull during its folk rock phase. Several of the tracks feature strong rock drumming and heavy guitar riffs, but the material remains almost entirely traditional folk music, with the exception of 'Bach Goes to Limerick', a surprising attempt to interweave a classical Bach violin piece with a traditional Irish fiddle piece."
The album has one of Steeeye Span's most beautiful songs ever, Long Lankin. I really love this one. (The song begins very quietly and the visual of the album cover blacks out after a few seconds, but the song begins to cast its mesmerizing spell at around the seven or eight second mark).
A youtube poster explains the song's subject:
"Lamkin (Lankin) was a stonemason who was hired by a lord to build a castle. The lord refused payment and then leaves the country. Lamkin, with the help of the lords' nursemaid, get revenge on the lord by killing his baby and his wife. When the lord returns, Lamkin is hanged and the nursemaid is burnt at the stake."
Jeff
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Post by Nonfatman on Feb 28, 2010 8:24:32 GMT -5
Here's another from Commoner's Crown that I really like a lot. 'Little Sir Hugh' is based on the story of the disappearance and murder of a boy (later re-named Little Saint Hugh) in 13th century England, during the blood libel accusations against the Jews shortly before their expulsion in 1290. The boy's death was, wrongfully, blamed on a local Jewish man, who confessed after being tortured, and was then sentenced to death, so that King Henry III could confiscate the convicted man's money and property. See these Wikipedia links for the full story: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Saint_Hugh_of_Lincolnen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_HughThe story became the subject of a virulently anti-Semitic medieval folk ballad. Steeleye Span turned the ballad into this song, but deleted the anti-Semitic lyrics. Jeff
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