More English Folk Flourishes

[jazzy_dave]

Crap start to the day - rain again - and I will have to pop out to Headcorn later for covert charity shop visits. Meanwhile more folkies -

Shelagh McDonald - Stargazer

Fairport Convention - Matty Groves

Mellow Candle - Reverend Sisters

Giles, Giles & Fripp feat. Judy Dyble - I Talk to the Wind

Martin Carthy - Scarborough Fair

This song goes back 1,000 years to pagan England, originally it was a fantasy song called the elfin knight. A dialogue about an elf knight and a mortal woman who wanted him to have sex with her. Over the years though it was Christianised and the roles were reversed. 300 years ago England was a rural place and if you wanted to meet a husband or wife you'd have to travel to a big fair where people would meet and sell their vegetables and cattle. This song was sung only, no instruments. The new version 300 years old tells of a demon who comes to earth and tries to bewitch a mortal woman into falling in love with him. She says "no, I have parsley, sage rosemary and thyme. In a time when people thought diseases were really spells put on them by evil spirits sweet smelling herbs would ward off evil. So he set her tasks to perform if she didn't want to fall in love with him. Impossible tasks such as "Make me a cambric shirt" cambrick is very thick canvass for huge ships sails, And can't be made into a shirt with no seems or needlework. But she has parsley sage rosemary and thyme so she makes it through. Incidentally, Martin Carthy wrote the guitar arrangement to this song.

Finally a live version of another English folk song -

Pentangle - Willy O Winsbury

Enjoy