Sheer poetry.................Martin Carthy ,Dick Gaughan , Martin Simpson ,,,,,,,,,,,the real deal ..... Cheers DaveH
@theondebray
3 жыл бұрын
Wonderful! I had the privilege of picking him up from the station to take him to a local house concert a few years ago, he was the politest, humblest person you could ever hope to meet, especially as he is regarded as the grand old granddaddy of English folk music. And yup, bearing in mind he has played on the biggest folk stages, he had the courtesy to turn up for a small house concert. I hold him in the highest respect.
@simondenny305
18 сағат бұрын
Yes, a real talent and top guy. I did a supporting Dj set for him earlier this year, he was right interested in my record collection- and how he can play the guitar! ❤
@theseustoo
Жыл бұрын
Perhaps the most fabulous traditional song, played and sung by the most fabulous traditional folk-singer in the history of English folk music... and he's not a bad guitarist either! Martin Carthy RULES! :D
@davidweaver1699
8 ай бұрын
Martin Carthy's music is like a time machine. If you listen to his songs, I mean really listen...his voice and guitar will transport you back in time to Tudor Stuart England to experience all the joy and tragedy visited upon that most stoic of people.. the English.
@donnarawlinsfrench220
3 жыл бұрын
"Oh pretty bird, come sing it plain"...this wonderful song has beguiled me for 45+ years: Martin's narrative delves deeply into the distant past, but the narrative is so searing..."for they sent thieves in the deep of the night"...Martin cuts to the tragic chase immediately, and the tale's resolution is thus so warm and gorgeously, forgivingly romantic. One of the greatest folk music recordings from the 20th Century. Thank you, Martin!
@dfreeman120
Жыл бұрын
Just listened to this genius performance about 20 times in a row.
@WatTyler13
9 жыл бұрын
I've obsessed over this song for years. It never fails.
@estherberry4046
4 жыл бұрын
Likewise
@jamesrobert4106
2 жыл бұрын
7 years after your comment, I discoved it for the first time yesterday having been watching a Bert Jansch documentary. This song is incredible 😁
@theseustoo
Жыл бұрын
@@jamesrobert4106 You're SO lucky! Do yourself a favor and check out Martin Carthy's album, "Shearwater"... Trust me, you'll LOVE it! :D
@Teddyb1939
Жыл бұрын
Martin Carthy, in full flow, magical guitar and voice.
@KathrynRosa
Жыл бұрын
Hello
@KathrynRosa
Жыл бұрын
👋 How are you doing today and it’s nice meeting you if you don’t mind Will you mind for a private chat 💬
@boggartholecloughfilm8939
Жыл бұрын
My mother did me deadly spite For she sent thieves in the dark of night Put my servants all to flight They robbed my bower they slew my knight They couldn′t do to me no harm So they slew my baby in my arm Left me naught to wrap him in But the bloody sheet that he lay in They left me naught to dig his grave But the bloody sword that slew my babe All alone the grave I made And all alone the tears I shed And all alone the bell I rang And all alone the psalm I sang I leaned my head all against a block And there I cut my lovely locks I cut my locks and I changed my name From Fair Eleanor to Sweet William Went to court to serve my king As the famous flower of serving men So well I served my lord, the king That he made me his chamberlain He loved me as his son The famous flower of serving men Oh oft time he'd look at me and smile So swift his heart I did beguile And he blessed the day that I became The famous flower of serving men But all alone in my bed at e′en Oh there I dreamed a dreadful dream I saw my bed swim with blood And I saw the thieves all around my head Our king has to the hunting gone He's ta'en no lords nor gentlemen He′s left me there to guard his home The famous flower of serving men Our king he rode the wood all around He stayed all day but nothing found And as he rode himself alone It′s there he saw the milk white hind Oh the hind she broke, the hind she flew The hind she trampled the brambles through First she'd mount, then she′d sound Sometimes before, sometimes behind Oh what is this, how can it be? Such a hind as this I ne'er did see Such a hind as this was never born I fear she′ll do me deadly harm And long, long did the great horse turn For to save his lord from branch and thorn And but long e'er the day was o′er It tangled all in his yellow hair All in the glade the hind drew nigh And the sun grew bright all in their eye And he sprang down, sword drew She vanished there all from his view And all around the grass was green And all around where a grave was seen And he sat himself all on the stone Great weariness it seized him on Great silence hung from tree to sky The woods grew still, the sun on fire As through the woods the dove he came As through the wood he made his moan Oh, the dove, he sat down on a stone So sweet he looked, so soft he sang "Alas the day my love became The famous flower of serving men" The bloody tears they fell as rain As still he sat and still he sang "Alas the day my love became The famous flower of serving men" Our king cried out, and he wept full sore So loud unto the dove he did call "Oh pretty bird, come sing it plain" "Oh it was her mother's deadly spite For she sent thieves in the dark of the night They come to rob, they come to slay They made their sport, they went their way "And don't you think that her heart was sore As she laid the mould on his yellow hair And don′t you think her heart was woe As she turned her back away to go "And how she wept as she changed her name From Fair Eleanor to Sweet William Went to court to serve her king As the famous flower of serving men" Oh the bloody tears they lay all around He′s mounted up and away he's gone And one thought come to his mind The thought of her that was a man And as he rode himself alone A dreadful oath he there has sworn And that he would hunt her mother down As he would hunt the wildwood swine For there′s four and twenty ladies all And they're all playing at the ball But fairer than all of them Is the famous flower of serving men Oh he′s rode him into his hall And he's rode in among them all He′s lifted her to his saddle brim And there he's kissed her cheek and chin His nobles stood and they stretched their eyes The ladies took to their fans and smiled For such a strange homecoming No gentleman had ever seen And he has sent his nobles all Unto her mother they have gone They've ta′en her that′s did such wrong They've laid her down in prison strong And he′s brought men up from the corn And he's sent men down to the thorn All for to build the bonfire high All for to set her mother by All bonny sang the morning thrush All where he sat in yonder bush But louder did her mother cry In the bonfire where she burned close by For there she stood all among the thorn And there she sang her deadly song "Alas the day that she became The famous flower of serving men" For the fire took first all on her cheek And then it took all on her chin It spat and rang in her yellow hair And soon there was no life left in
@abilitiesrehab5071
8 ай бұрын
just in case someone couldn't hear it...
@Samuel.Sharman
4 ай бұрын
@@abilitiesrehab5071 In case someone wants to sing along. Don't be a bell-end.
@alisonmcnee557
Жыл бұрын
Saw Martin do this at the Manchester Sports Guild in the 70's - blew me away , what a genius interpreter , guitar and singer ! ✌️ ♥️ 🎶 ☮️ 🇬🇧
@stephenwarrilow4220
3 жыл бұрын
Haunting and melodramatic...the guitar accompaniment is peerless.
@andersingram
5 жыл бұрын
Adapted from the ballad originally written by Laurence Price, one of the seventeenth centuries most prolific and commercially successful ballad writers, first published 1656 ...
@theseustoo
Жыл бұрын
If I had to choose a single Martin Carthy song as a favorite, it would be a hard choice between so many fabulous songs, but in the final analysis, this song would probably be it... I think! :/
@tunguskalumberjack9987
Жыл бұрын
This is the first time that I’ve heard this studio version- I have only heard the live version from a small pub performance (the one in which he asks for a pineapple juice before beginning). I love how he tells the background story of the song as he tunes his guitar before starting to play, and seeing the look on his face when he sings, not to mention watching his fingers make magic happen on the strings. What an unforgettable experience it is, and while I ultimately prefer the live version, this one will definitely have a permanent place in the soundtrack of my life. Thanks so much for posting this for us all to enjoy.
@sandramorey2529
3 жыл бұрын
Try listening to Willie's Lady, which is a Breton dance tune with this gorgeous mystical ballad put to it as only Martin Carthy can do. Also Ray Fisher sings it with Martin Carthy providing the guitar part. Luckily for us Martin is still performing with his daughter, Eliza and a whole slew of Watersons. They are so amazing! Martin is probably one of the best guitarists on the planet.
@oldLao
10 жыл бұрын
Martin Carthy belongs in the pantheon of progenitors of the british soul with Blake and Milton
@mfisher1952
5 жыл бұрын
Mesmerising. Utterly mesmerizing - and that's difficult to do with nine minutes to fill.
@d.w.stratton4078
4 жыл бұрын
Hear hear!
@hectorlp1298
4 жыл бұрын
national treasure!
@dancapriotti8896
3 жыл бұрын
“Martin Carthy is in the pantheon...” There, I fixed it for you.
@anthonyfmoss
3 жыл бұрын
I’m completely with you!
@1sosalini
9 жыл бұрын
breathtaking . absolutely Martins finest hour .
@stonethecrows25
6 жыл бұрын
Dramatic and life-changing stuff for the listener. Was Martin's guitar ever more percussive than here?
@barbarajames4933
2 жыл бұрын
This song is mesmerizing ❤️🌿💥
@geoffpalmer6711
5 жыл бұрын
Such intensity - and that's just in the first verse. Absolutely compelling.
@oddish4352
2 жыл бұрын
My favorite version of the song/poem forgoes the extended torture scene, leaving the mother in prison and cutting back to the king: "And to put an end to further strife, He's taken Sweet William for a wife. And so, for the first time ever seen, A serving man became a queen."
@BoerChris
3 жыл бұрын
I have known this song for over 40 years, and love it. I especially love the way the rhythms are sung at certain moments: "the hind she trampled the brambles through" (seeing the hind picking up her knees as she tramples); "long, long did the great horse turn" (seeing the horse rearing and plunging); and that brief but significant guitar pause as he sings "great silence hung from tree to sky". Masterly.
@naffsharpe
7 жыл бұрын
The most powerful folk guitar tune ever, and the one that I've been trying for 40+ years to learn correctly.
@Greenknight1099
4 жыл бұрын
To me he's the most important male folk singer in the business
@stevewhiteba
3 ай бұрын
I love my folk music. I've seen & heard so many wonderful performers over the last 50 years. But I always come back to this. Absolutely wonderful. Just played it through, now I'm gonna do it again,,,,,, do it again? I like the Beach Boys too!
@marks3970
8 жыл бұрын
For me it was 32/33 years ago at Aberystwyth (Uni) Folk Club in Wales. The pleasure too of a chat with Martin at the bar during the interlude just before he broke into this song. You cut the air with a knife each and every time he sang this - one of life's great experiences!
@1sosalini
7 жыл бұрын
you lucky ducky , great story , missed it !!!
@Pwecko
5 жыл бұрын
I've listened to this so many times over the years but it never gets stale. A magical performance. Undoubtedly Martin Carthy's finest hour (or 9:22 anyway).
@LaserGuidedWhitehaus
5 жыл бұрын
I always liked this resurrected older English music. When people like Davy Graham in the early 1960s, and later, Martin Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, Maddy Prior, etc, started turning these songs up again (on paper, lost in libraries, even, I think) it all seemed to fit comfortably (for me) into a world of rock. The 'edginess' of these open guitar-tunings, and a sort of simmering aggressiveness in the music work well 200 years later. It's always fresh and interesting to my ears. Some weird time signatures, and also, interesting turns of phrase, if you're amused by older ways of speaking English.
@d.w.stratton4078
4 жыл бұрын
The shift from minor key to major key to minor key again is so intoxicating that I just want the song to go on forever.
@yiggoto
10 жыл бұрын
Mesmerising. I first heard this thirty years ago and it still haunts me.
@mfisher1952
5 жыл бұрын
Such a simple arrangement - but utterly hypnotic. A bravura performance.
@mfrost71w
5 ай бұрын
Seen him quite a few times - everywhere from a small pub in Lark Lane Liverpool where I sat about 3 feet away to top billing at the Broadstairs Folk Festival Never disappoints
@norton7256
6 жыл бұрын
He played this at our folk club The GiffordArms in Wolverhampton in the seventies i still have the recording i made on tape...now saved on the computer..wonderful.
@Ianjcarroll
6 жыл бұрын
you are very luck to have seen and heard Martin live, one day i also wish to see him in the flesh.
@blackmichael75
8 жыл бұрын
I'm not even a big fan of folk music, but there's something extraordinary about this arrangement and performance.
@1sosalini
8 жыл бұрын
I think its the sheer power and attack that is the key . he also manages to get the quieter parts in too , light and shade .
@echolightstudio9456
7 жыл бұрын
The intensity & power does it for sure. I wonder if it might also be that major-pentatonic "aura" with those meditative drones that get you (as art-fart as that sounds) ...I've known this song for decades and it still gets me...
@sandramorey2529
3 жыл бұрын
I first heard this song at age 5 and I was hooked forever. These ballads come down to us from hundreds of years ago passed from parent to child. They tell scary stories and gentle love stories. They pass on history which it might do us well to learn from. Martin Carthy is one of the very best balladeers and plays guitar like nobody else. These ballads require a lot from an audience. It is like Shakespeare and takes so much attention to figure out what's going on in the ballad. The language is gorgeous.
@PaulR986
9 жыл бұрын
First heard this in1971 On the album. It is pure story which I can listen to time and time again. I remember holding my own baby in my arm in 1973 and listening to this through headphones. I am one with Beggar Wall.
@middarklight
6 жыл бұрын
is that an album?
@WatTyler13
12 жыл бұрын
Wonderful beyond words. I feel so privileged to have seen Carthy play a number of times, including once or twice in very intimate settings of the back rooms of pubs. He is the very embodiment of folk music.
@drewmacleod6414
11 жыл бұрын
Saw him play this at Wick Folk Club in the mid 1970's. What an experience and since I was doing the review for the local paper I got to interview Martin afterwards. Those were the days.
@jobarrieglenn
3 жыл бұрын
Big thumbs up. Followed Martin for a long long time
@kateking3953
7 жыл бұрын
The origins of this lie in a ballad from the Borders. I first heard it over half a lifetime ago, and I still love it for it's purity and connection to our folk past.
@3340steve
5 жыл бұрын
Fantastic song and performance.
@NeonTotemFractals
5 жыл бұрын
Fantastic, love this song and this version.... namaste to all :D
@TheHeathenSquirrel
9 жыл бұрын
This has stayed with me ever since I first heard it on a compilation sent by a knowledgable friend. Utterly mesmerising and perfect. The story is stunning, the vocals powerful and pitch perfect, but what I've always loved the most is the guitar playing. Incredible. So good to be able to share this with everyone, great work on the upload.
@Neitherherenorthere970
5 жыл бұрын
Wonderful - one of Martin's very best
@douglasalan5783
9 жыл бұрын
I had the pleasure of seeing Martin when he was with Steeleye Span. Oxford, UK, summer of '77. Martin played a Strat or Tele, if memory serves. This performance is just off the charts brilliant. Totally mesmerizing.
@LateNotes
12 жыл бұрын
a singular gem.
@chriscaplin9551
6 жыл бұрын
Wonderful bits of Older English. "tained her". How beautiful when compared with arrested! A lovely song which I first heard many years ago but this is the best rendition.
@Ianjcarroll
6 жыл бұрын
indeed, wonderful Old English.
@andywhysall6744
5 жыл бұрын
Not as elaborate as "''tained her" it's 'ta'en', as in 'taken', a common contraction in folk song. When I was about 16 I had to ask Martin what the "All alone in my bed a teen' line meant...he was patient and suggested I look to my Shakespeare, and that it was :"at e'en"...ie. at evening..
@chriscaplin9551
5 жыл бұрын
@@andywhysall6744 Similar to gloaming , as in roaming in the --.It was years before I learnt it was Scots for twilight or dusk.
@chriscaplin9551
4 жыл бұрын
@@andywhysall6744 Same miss use as in Hallows eve. We have a beautiful language with some very old words in it. My grandfather spoke of effits and emmets. Years later I found that it was saxon for newts and ants!
@chriscaplin9551
2 жыл бұрын
@Daniel W. Bridge The feast of All Hallows (All Saints) is still celebrated in some countries in memory of dead family members. Halloween was the Scottish version. But has been "bent" , probably for commercial reasons.
@MrScintilator
12 жыл бұрын
The most powerful English folk singer in modern times. "They left me nought to dig his grave but the bloody sword that slew my babe"
@faiskies_
6 жыл бұрын
This is freakin beautiful
@redbeardsbirds3747
4 ай бұрын
I can definitely hear English folk music influence in traditional Appalachian Mountain music !
@Mehefinheulog1
10 жыл бұрын
just utterlly stunning
@gphilipvirgil355
Жыл бұрын
Holy smokes!!😮
@LemoTetson
2 жыл бұрын
Great recording. This song goes back to the 1650s, doesn't it?
@felixhelix4274
8 жыл бұрын
this tune haunts me
@JT-sr2pl
4 жыл бұрын
Yes Please!!
@stephenperkins1929
Жыл бұрын
EXTRAORDINARY
@KathrynRosa
Жыл бұрын
Hello
@stephenperkins1929
Жыл бұрын
@@KathrynRosa hello you too
@stephenperkins1929
Жыл бұрын
@@KathrynRosa i'm good, Friday is always good, yourself?
@KathrynRosa
Жыл бұрын
Quite and cool
@stephenperkins1929
Жыл бұрын
@@KathrynRosa my name is Steve
@Glenechocreek
11 жыл бұрын
That guitar playing is as powerful as any blues or rock offering. Fylde Falstaff tuned to CGCGCD. I could live a 1,000 years and not forget it.
@maxcuthbert100
5 жыл бұрын
I think this is from before the Fylde days....not that it matters too much.
@andywhysall6744
5 жыл бұрын
This was recorded with his ancient, even then, Martin 00018. Falstaff was yet to come.
@Glenechocreek
5 жыл бұрын
I saw him live in about 2000. I requested this song, and he put down his Martin, picked up the Fylde, and played the song. And, there's a video on YT of him doing it with the Fylde that you can watch.
@hugodetroyer845
5 жыл бұрын
The original recording was definitely with his Martin 00018. The LP Shearwater (on which it's featured) is from 1972, and the Fylde Guitars company was only founded in 1973.
@edwardhutchison5099
3 жыл бұрын
A Story To End All Stories:
@dannydine5263
9 жыл бұрын
Where i come from people would turn and walk away if this was played live.Even if it was performed this good they would just say it was weird. I kinda hate where i live.
@tonyoliver6797
9 жыл бұрын
Danny Dine People (generalisation) prefer artists who use auto-tune, unfortunately. I think people take for granted the skill and finesse that goes into playing tunes such as this.
@dannydine5263
9 жыл бұрын
Tony Oliver Yes i agree.They tend to change there minds if they ever take guitar lessons.Its takes a hell of a lot of skill and finesse to play something like this.This is out there.His voice is really cool to.
@jackshirack2
5 жыл бұрын
It's not just that boys. He's singing of our past, our heritage, these were spoken by our forbearers and he brings their spirit back to life when channeling his energy into these songs. This will be forgotten and destroyed like our current cultural heritage. The existence of our people is not negotiable.
@sflyons
12 жыл бұрын
I'd give my left stone to hear PJ Harvey do this.
@stuartbarker6508
6 жыл бұрын
SF Lyons I'd give your right one never to have to listen to the whining bitch at all
@ben-fe3zy
5 жыл бұрын
Oooh, I love a good riddle. Give me a minute........ No it's no good, I can't solve it. Tell me, does Mr Lyons now have zero, or two stones?
@georgehaswell4275
4 жыл бұрын
Indivualy and collectively was the original comment to cryptic steeleye span may help
@erikamundson5515
3 ай бұрын
A Michael McKean recommendation..
@zarathushtra9564
3 жыл бұрын
Really beautiful music, with meaninful content, no sign of mass culture...
@johnloveday2161
2 жыл бұрын
LOVE OF VIRTUE WILL ALWATS WITNESS
@KathrynRosa
Жыл бұрын
Hello
@KathrynRosa
Жыл бұрын
👋 How are you doing today and it’s nice meeting you if you don’t mind Will you mind for a private chat 💬
@johnloveday2161
Жыл бұрын
@@KathrynRosa Hi Kathy - I live in Manchester !
@chriscboland
3 жыл бұрын
Apparently they're talking to Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep and Denzel for the movie .....
@micosenor3148
3 жыл бұрын
what a gruesome song
@amykirk1718
7 жыл бұрын
Is this song in a mode?
@garywolstenholme4097
6 жыл бұрын
Yes, Mixolydian.
@torbjornkarlsen
4 жыл бұрын
Also the tonic chord and most of the melody omits the third which is quite characteristic.
@freetofu
5 жыл бұрын
What the hell is the time signature on this?
@nigelbowley7027
3 жыл бұрын
Martin, in 'A Guitar In Folk Music' notes it in 9/8, but I think of it in more of a mixture of 4/4 and 5/4. It doesn't really matter; just put the bass notes (drone) where you feel that they fit. Martin says that English folk music is basically in 1/4!
@annother3350
Жыл бұрын
@@nigelbowley7027 Even if you tap on the 'ones' I'm sure there is a half beat every so often
@paddybpaddyb9940
Жыл бұрын
Sweet Jeebus.......goes on a bit
@chrishall1902
4 жыл бұрын
Punk missed a trick here !
@johnridley4868
6 жыл бұрын
does anybody know the tuning?
@ksmyth999
5 жыл бұрын
He was quoted as saying it was DGCGCD. But if you listen to the recodings he seems to have tuned his guitar to the B on the 2nd string. So it seems to be a half tone lower viz.: C# F# B F# B C#. Maybe some one who has tried to play it can comment on my analysis. This song totally knocked me out when I first heard it. It is his finest performance. His ability to sing perfectly and distinctly over complicated guitar voicings is almost unique. (Almost: There is probably someone as good but I can't think who it is. :))
@maxcuthbert100
5 жыл бұрын
Nic Jones. The tuning is basically correct.
@andywhysall6744
5 жыл бұрын
DGCGCD is an interesting tuning. The available drones allow you to play in a kind of 'frailed' banjo-style if you feel that way out, and there's room for experimentation around Martin's style for this tune. Have to say these days I play it, to interesting effect, on a primitive tuning c/o Dick Gaughan, I think I from Coppers and Brass days, EAAEAE. Have to say, I would have loved to hear Richard Thompson do something with Famous Flower sometime between 1978 and 1982. After that, no.
@maxcuthbert100
5 жыл бұрын
Thompson's not that big on tunings,at least,for public consumption.Fair enough.
@JesusSanchez-hd8ro
7 жыл бұрын
I don't get the lyrics. Can someone explain?
@kateking3953
7 жыл бұрын
And the white hart, a white deer, and the dove, are magical creatures. The dove represents the spirit of the murdered husband, and in folk tales white harts always point to some deeper truth when seen in the hunt. In the story the white hart leads the hunting king to the spot in the forest where the murder took place, and the the dove comes and sings about the murder. The song is based in a ballad from the area between England and Scotland - 'the borders' - where there was much violence and murder and cattle raiding through the centuries.
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