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I posted to youtube.com
Andy Roberts The Rowan Tree Folk Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHZWfjwSksk&feature=youtube_gdata
May 18 2012, 3:16am | Comments »
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I posted to distributedresearch.net
The Unthanks: Last – review
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/03/10/the-unthanks-last-review
Review of the Unthanks folk music album.
This article titled “The Unthanks: Last – review” was written by Robin Denselow, for The Guardian on Thursday 10th March 2011 23.07 UTC The Unthanks experiment continues, with an album of gentle melancholia that matches their most elaborate instrumental arrangements to date with a reworking of a startling variety of songs. As ever, their music centres around the delicate, haunting vocals of the Unthank sisters, Rachel and Becky, but Rachel’s husband Adrian McNally is playing an increasingly important role as producer, pianist, co-arranger and composer of the gently epic title track. Based around a sturdy, drifting piano theme, it’s a thoughtful, sad and lyrical meditation on “why the future doesn’t look so great”. Elsewhere, there’s more epic gloom with an unlikely revival of King Crimson’s Starless, now based around trumpet and strings, while other cover versions include a breathy treatment of Tom Waits’s No One Knows I’m Gone, and Jon Redfern’s slow, sad reflection on the Iraq war, Give Away Your Heart. The traditional songs do little to change the mood, but include some fine harmony singing and violin work on Canny Hobbie Elliot, a quietly eerie Gan to the Kye, and impressive piano work on The Galloway Lad. There’s not the emotional range of the last Unthanks album, Here’s the Tender Coming, but it’s a bold and highly original set.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogThe Unthanks: Last – review
Related posts:Radiohead: The King of Limbs – review PJ Harvey – review Million Dollar Quartet – review
- Tags:
- Music
- Folk Music
- folk song
- Features
- The Guardian
- Article
- culture
- Album reviews
- Reviews
- Film & music
- jon redfern
- king crimson
- Robin Denselow
- The Unthanks
- Tom Waits
- traditional songs
- unthank
March 10 2011, 5:14pm | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Captain Coulston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3daGSupUfk&feature=youtube_gdata
January 6 2011, 7:17am | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Going Up Camborne Hill Coming Down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np5BcZAsJVo&feature=youtube_gdata
- Tags:
- Music
- Havering Folk Club
- Andy Roberts
- folk song
- cornwall
- Cornish
- Camborne Hill
- acapella
- Richard Trevithick
November 19 2010, 12:09pm | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Rowan Tree
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u_1E3wRcvM&feature=youtube_gdata
November 18 2010, 9:19am | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Hold On Below - Andy Roberts original folk song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUAoEqe2Hu8&feature=youtube_gdata
October 10 2010, 9:47am | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Change Is - Andy Roberts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTmk0YcEOdM&feature=youtube_gdata
October 7 2010, 9:12am | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Sitting On Top Of The World - Andy Roberts Havering Folk Club
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mOrIIp6D9I&feature=youtube_gdata
August 4 2010, 7:24pm | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
The Last Nail
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2010/03/last-nail.html
The Last Nail is the title of my latest new Andy Roberts song, it's a folk song ballad sea shanty whatever that laments the closing of a boatyard inspired by the story of St Monan's in Fife, Scotland where I spent some time recently. Hers is the video of the first live performance of The Last Nail at Havering Folk Club on Wednesday March 17th, St Patrick's Day as it happens. These are the Lyrics to The Last Nail:Above the stone walled harbour, or down the winding hillThat's where they built the boatyard, and the structure stands there still.Not much boat building happens now, just repairs and fitting outbut when the wind rattles the boatmasts, you can hear the old boatbulders shout: Will you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.Our grandfathers put up the boatyard, to build the fishing fleet, more than fifty boats in the harbour, and shops all down the main streetthen the steam age brought in the drifters, boat builders became engineersNow the wind blows straight through the boatyard, there'll be no more boat building hereWill you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.With a keen eye for staying in business, they switched over to build leisure craft And the weekend yachtsmen snapped them up, no expense spared fore or aftThen wooden hulls went out of fashion, the order book emptied last yearSo the bankers foreclosed on the boatyard,and there'll be no more boatbuilding hereWill you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.Now the Vikings invented the clinker for both strength and shallow seasand the herring boats followed the coastline, until the canning ships found the keyThere's a regatta here every August, and the whole village turns out againBut the Sea Queen's no real competition, and it's guaranteed to rainWill you pass the last nail over and I'll knock it into place,Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.Above the stone walled harbour, or down the winding hillthat's where they built the boatyard, and the skeleton stands there still.No more boat building happens now, not even fitting outbut when the wind rattles the boatmasts, you can still hear the old boys shout:Will you pass the last nail over, we'll knock it into place,Then with four more coats of varnish, she'll be ready for the race.
March 19 2010, 7:22am | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
The Rowan Tree - Folk Song with Witches by Andy Roberts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuY6YtqTyVg&feature=youtube_gdata
February 26 2010, 7:20am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.wordpress.com
The Rowan Tree – Andy Roberts Folk Song
http://andyrobertsmusic.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/the-rowan-tree-andy-roberts-folk-song/
http://andyroberts.me The Rowan Tree – Andy Roberts Folk Song at Havering Folk Club
January 8 2010, 4:21pm | Comments »
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I posted to distributedresearch.net
Rowan Tree Folk Song
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2009/10/01/rowan-tree-folk-song
The little wild rowan tree (sorbus aucuparia) in my front garden is looking great at this time of year, although half the berries are gone already thanks to hungry blackbirds. I planted it there about ten years ago, and it’s taken its time to grow upwards in the shadow of a great big sycamore, but in the last two years it has managed to get itself firmly established and is turning into a mature specimen tree. I was told that its not uncommon for people in Scotland to plant rowan trees in front of houses, partly from sentimental attachment to the wild Scottish countryside, and also to help keep the witches away. I didn’t know anything about that at the time, but it does seem to have worked.
Rowan Tree Song So I wrote my song about the rowan tree, whilst I was in Scotland as it happens, and then worked on the music and finishing off back home. Motivated by the approach of Halloween, which tends to get celebrated at Havering Folk Club, I’ve tried it out twice now, once at the regular Tuesday Evening 7.00pm webcast and once at the folk club last night, where it was encouragingly well received. There’s no video from the session last night, but the early prototype from the webcast is embedded below, followed by some form of the lyrics. Sometimes called the mountain ash, this is a native rowan tree, not a cultivar, and the berries glow a light red colour in the autumn sunlight, making for welcome food for blackbirds and thrushes, although they always leave the more difficult bunches at the end of delicate branches until last, due to the danger of falling off.
Lyrics of The Rowan Tree
Lyrics to “The Rowan Tree”, a folk song by Andy Roberts Come hear my story, it’s a tale of four witches but I could have added three more And heed my advice if you’re troubled by witches Just plant a Rowan tree outside your front door And the branches sway in the faintest of breezes the berries are red bright and fair. And I’ve not had much trouble with those witchee witches Not since I planted my Rowan tree there Well the Witch of the West was cunning and sly She had me always on the run And I never knew which way her nose was pointing Not until after she’d been there and gone. And the branch tips dance…. planted my Rowan tree there The Witch of the East was just counting the years and somehow that three became five. Then her time was up and she vanished away Now nobody knows if she’s dead or alive. And the branches sway…. planted my Rowan tree there The Witch of the South was trouble from the start Her fancy was playing with fire The anger rose up as the coals glowed white and the smoke billowed higher and higher And the branches sway…. planted my Rowan tree there The Witch of the North is not like the rest She uses her powers for good As the Rowan tree watches and nods in approval and keeps us both safe from the dark witchee wood And the branches sway…. planted my Rowan tree there So that was my story the tale of four witches I could have mentioned three more Now heed my advice if you’re troubled by witches Just plant a rowan tree outside your front door And the branch tips dance in the faintest of breezes The berries are red, bright and fair. I’ve not had much trouble with those witchee witches Not since I planted my rowan tree there.
Rowan Tree Berries
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogRowan Tree Folk Song
Related posts:Mozambique at Havering Folk Club
- Tags:
- Music
- wildlife
- Havering Folk Club
- halloween
- Andy Roberts Music
- lyrics
- folk club
- Folk Music
- folk song
- scotland
- Rowan tree
- Witches
- rowan trees
- scottish
- webcast
October 1 2009, 3:02pm | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
The Rowan Tree - Andy Roberts Folk Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvriIzmASJM&feature=youtube_gdata
September 30 2009, 3:02am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.wordpress.com
The Wreckers Prayer
http://andyrobertsmusic.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/the-wreckers-prayer/
This is the Wreckers Prayer as uploaded to soundcloud for the twestival earlier this year.
- Tags:
- Andy Roberts
- Andy Roberts Music
- Folk Music
- folk song
- World Music
- soundcloud
- The Wreckers Prayer
August 15 2009, 12:38pm | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Whatever Happened To Us - Havering Folk Club
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIk4n7reQNY
- Tags:
- Music
- Havering Folk Club
- Andy Roberts
- loudon wainwright
- folk song
- World Music
- AndyRobertsmusic
- Whatever Happened to Us
- flok music
July 24 2009, 11:04am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.wordpress.com
The Wreckers Prayer at Walthamstow Folk Club
http://andyrobertsmusic.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/the-wreckers-prayer-at-walthamstow-folk-club/
A live version of The Wreckers Prayer by Andy Roberts at Walthamstow Folk Club
April 4 2009, 3:02pm | Comments »
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I posted to andyroberts.wordpress.com
Andy Roberts - guest night
http://andyroberts.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/andy-roberts-guest-night-2/
Andy Roberts - guest night
Originally uploaded by LindaH
Andy Roberts - guest night Andy Roberts Singer Songwriter Havering Folk Club Golden Lion 2 High St Romford Essex April 1st 2009 8pm Tickets £1
March 4 2009, 10:56am | Comments »
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