And perhaps I should point out the -- for this type of ballad -- atypical narrative element in that what saves Willie from the gallows is the king deciding he's really kinda hot.
Hmm. That audio recording is interesting. I think if I could see the singer I would get it as there is a pseudo? Scottish twang which is easier for me than anything American. Interesting narrative element also!
Dick's as Scots as they come. We fell out over his assertion that the original 51st Highland Division was deliberately abandoned at St Valery. There's nae charms can smoor the wiles of ye...
I saw him once in a club in Boston, he said the word "God" and the lights went out. An hour and a half later he said the words "Hamish Henderson" and the lights came back on. I swear that this is true.
Makes sense! I've seen him live three times; in a pub in London, in Ottawa and in Seattle. The morning after the first time I was involved in a bad car crash. It was three years before I could listen to Raglan Road without breaking down completely.
HD fixed with no loss!
ReplyDeleteI find the lyrics quite hard to follow but then I have trouble with some US film dialogue. I do like the unresolved ending.
Yay!
ReplyDeleteI can empathize about the difficulty following, the first version I ever heard of this song was more like this one. Took a few years :-)
Lyrics to the AM/JH version of Child 100 (which is pretty much the Anne Briggs one) can be found here.
And perhaps I should point out the -- for this type of ballad -- atypical narrative element in that what saves Willie from the gallows is the king deciding he's really kinda hot.
DeleteHmm. That audio recording is interesting. I think if I could see the singer I would get it as there is a pseudo? Scottish twang which is easier for me than anything American. Interesting narrative element also!
ReplyDeletelol Gaughan comes by his Scottish twang honestly, he was born in Glasgow and grew up in Leith.
DeleteDick's as Scots as they come. We fell out over his assertion that the original 51st Highland Division was deliberately abandoned at St Valery. There's nae charms can smoor the wiles of ye...
DeleteI saw him once in a club in Boston, he said the word "God" and the lights went out. An hour and a half later he said the words "Hamish Henderson" and the lights came back on. I swear that this is true.
DeleteMakes sense! I've seen him live three times; in a pub in London, in Ottawa and in Seattle. The morning after the first time I was involved in a bad car crash. It was three years before I could listen to Raglan Road without breaking down completely.
DeleteAch, that's a rough thing.
Delete