Martin Carthy - Homegrown Concert

[Music] hello my name is martin carthy the american folk life center at the library of congress has invited me to perform in the 2021 homegrown at home concert series so instead of being in washington dc i'm four miles from my home in robin hood's bay coming you today from whitby in north yorkshire england on the north sea coast the american folk life center will release a concert every other wednesday from now through september the 22nd at noon east coast u.s time and each artist will be there with you in the chat section to answer questions so be sure to say hello after each concert is released you can continue to find the video on the library's website or youtube channel the first song is called the bed making and it comes from a singer in dorset on the south coast of england called marina russell she lived in a village called upway which is now a suburb of weymouth itself she had 11 children including a set of twins and they were called lavinia and cordelia all her children had beautiful names and one of the twins went into service and was targeted by the the man of the house where she worked and she fell pregnant and the remarkable thing about marina russell is that she managed to keep the baby out of the workhouse but the daughter had to stay there in many ways this is a true story but it is not the only place in the country where the song is found oh my father he was a good old man put me to service while i was very young mrs and me we never could agree because then my master he didn't love me family sent me upstairs to the loft to make up the bed so neat and soft master followed after with the gay gaundry saying betty have this how you been making all to the kitchen and down to the hall all with a parlor above the women old master followed up with the game [Music] mrs come upstairs in a great haste called the master bed with his arm and my waist from the top to the bottom stairs she didn't flee saying mr had that for your bed making all through the kitchen and down through the hole [Music] me out of the door she called me a nasty cheeky little the weather being wet my clothes being thin now our wish doubles back [Music] six months over and seven months passed pretty fair made grew thick about the waster stains wooden [Music] took him to the church she had him christened she took him back again to the dear old man she cursed him through the kitchen and down through the whole kirsten through the parlor among the women hall saying if you weren't baby take your little son john cause he never caused you nothing but a bread making [Music] [Music] the next song is called the whale catchers and it comes from a singer called henry hills who lived in a village called raspa in west sussex and it was collected by a minor english composer called w percy merrick this song is history and should be remembered [Music] [Music] on the twenty feel of march my boys we hoisted our top step crying heaven [Music] [Music] and when that we come to greenland where the icy winds didn't blow we tapped about all in the north among the frost and snow our fingertips were frozen off like wise greenland [Music] [Music] [Music] we will make those lofty hail houses in london and when that our party is all gone to cool and go for the greenland goes [Music] so i'm going to sing a thing called a sailor by my right which is part of cecil sharpe's mighty collection of somerset songs and one of the ones that's in five time that that he found it was a very common time signature it's a ghost story and this is one very very angry ghost and you will hear that there's really good reason why she is that angry [Music] i'm a sailor by my right on [Music] promised i would be true to both [Music] she hanged herself onto [Music] here on [Music] while he's on earth will i be just while he's on earth shall he take no rest what she said plain the young man saw that on the sea he was forced to go one day he stood on the top mast high a little birdie chance to spy saw his true love come all alongside two angel babies [Music] do [Music] in some little [Music] [Music] [Music] me once [Music] into is [Music] [Music] [Music] the next song is called lovely joan at the tune of which was used by vaughn williams who obviously collected it from a man called mr j vaughn williams used it as the first variation on his fantasia on green sleeves and i was dying to find the words i was so happy when the penguin book of english folk songs came out and there they were it's found in francis james child as the baffled knight [Music] a fun young man he was indeed mounted on his milk white snake rode and he woke and he rode all alone until he came too lovely good morning to you my pretty fair maid twice good morning so she said ted of the week and she wrote a dark eye says to himself hug me there bye [Music] [Music] oh don't you think these books have had a pretty place for us to play so come with me pass me something i'll give to you my golden brain then he took off his ring of gold oh pretty much do this behold freely well i'll do it for your maiden head her cheeks they blush like the roses red come give that ring into my hand i will die the stainless stand for hearing it is worth much more to me than twenty maidenhead nets achieved the lies he made for the cooks of hag she left on his horse and she tore her away cold equality gold in vain for jungle bat nor did she think herself quite safe not till she come to her true lord's gate robbed him of his horse and ring she led him to rage [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the next song is called the dream of napoleon napoleon bonaparte songs were found all over southern england which is where most of the collectors did their work you find it elsewhere whenever they went and taxed people about songs they knew napoleon bonaparte would turn up again and again and the songs were written by the english the scots and the irish and possibly the welsh two in english this particular one i learned from yarmouth fisherman sam lana and he was an extraordinary passionate singer i actually saw him singing when i was 17 years old and it's decided for me what i was going to do i saw him singing a club called the ballads and blues and i guess 1958 and i was thunderstruck by the passion of this man he was around 80. i didn't know when i walked through the door what i was going to experience i didn't know how it would change my life and it did [Music] [Music] [Music] i went to my bed i scarcely declined on my pillow when a vision surprising come into my head i thought i was crossing the pillow i dreamed as my vessel dashed over the team i beheld a huge rock standing craggy and steep the place where the windows were once known to bleep or the gravel that once [Music] oh stranger cried to me from the land of thy science where they boast they are free a story a true story i'll tell unto thee [Music] how i crossed the broadheads faintly story the legions of france were the sons of my pride i led [Music] was the standard of freedom all over the world the signal of fame cried napoleon [Music] as a soldier i've known both the heat and the cold i marched to the trump and the symbol my dark deans of treachery i have been sold the monarchs before me to tremble oh rulers and princes their stations dimming like scorpions they spat out their venom and spleen but liberty shall be seen and i woke from my dream of napoleon [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] the last song is uh is a classic and it's patrick spends my mother used to recite this to me when i was six or seven years old and i was absolutely enthralled and then i found out later on that people sang songs that were as long as this and i always wanted to learn it but i could never find a tune the tune i sing is the tune that nick jones found in a book called balance of britain edited by a man called john goss and i had that book but i never found that too thank you nick [Music] [Music] or the king sits in them in town drinking about red wine says where will i get me a brave young skipper sell the sheep of mine and up and spoke an old old man sat on the king's right knee he says patrick springs is the finest skipper sailing today on the sea so the king he has written a long long letter sealed it with his hand and he sent it along to patrick's friends walking down the sand and the very first line the patrick roach sat down so loud loved him and the very next blind the patrick red down he fell to his knee oh who is this who has done this [Music] it is the king's daughter far away we must bring her home now they set sail with all good speed on a monday in the moon and they have arrived far over the sea on a wednesday in the and [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] i get me a brave young boy take my helm in hand while i climb up to the tall top must see can i spin hand and he's not on the step on his trap but barely won when the whirling winds and the ugly drawers come driving to their shin oh finish me away of a silken cloth another web on the twine and lay them around [Music] and they laid them around the little ship's sides till the sea come it was a deadly storm and the whirling winds and the ugly jaws come driving to their chin and then come again from the north more things to survive so loudly then cried patrick's bones on all of his [Music] men [Music] do [Music] and loathe love were the good scots lords to wet their shining shoe but along and air this plane was done their hats were soaking through and many were the five feather beds flattering sir patrick spends ascending land and its east find hope from aberdeen is fifty fathom deep and it's eric lies patrick spends the scots rolls on his feet [Music] [Music] do [Music] thanks very much for listening today be sure to check out the american folk life center's website where you can find lots of amazing sound recordings online to explore at www.loc.gov forward slash folklife [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Library of Congress

Views: 24,636

Keywords: Library of Congress

Id: XyZmrauw2Ws

Length: 31min 33sec (1893 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 16 2021