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Sleeve Notes by Dave and Toni Arthur
If you are reading this without having heard Nic Jones, we advise you to buy this record. If you have heard Nic, you will have bought the record, and we are preaching to the converted. This is his first solo LP since leaving the Halliard, a group now disbanded. It wasn't until Nic left the group to work on his own that it became apparent that here was one of the people the folk revival occasionally throws up; a singer destined to be emulated by aspiring young singers all over the country, a person whose singing style, instrumental work and repertoire, Is instantly recognisable. Around the revival there seems to be an increase in complicated accompaniment. When this happens the words usually suffer. Nic is one of that small band of folk schizophrenics, who can play the most complex rhythms, and sing in another rhythm across this without loss of interpretation or legibility of the lyrics. We have worked together on radio, records and concerts, and apart from being an outstanding interpreter of traditional material, he is in our mind perhaps the most sympathetic and sensitive accompanist on the folk scene, particularly on the fiddle, an instrument few people know he even plays, and about which he is exasperatingly modest. Apart from all this he has written some beautiful tunes to traditional words. Nic and his wife Julia live in Essex, where he runs two very successful clubs. He is a person who is destined to acquire recognition and esteem, and a person with whom we are pleased to be in the same line of work.
Sleeve Notes by Nic Jones
Three very common ballads are included on this record: Sir Patric Spens, The outlandish knight and Musgrave. All three are well-known to anyone with a knowledge of balladry, as they are well represented in most ballad collections.
The tune of Sir Patric Spens is basically that which appears in Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, a collection well worth working through for anyone after some good tunes. The melody for The outlandish knight is from Cecil Sharp's published collection of English Folk Songs. Musgrave's tune is more a creation of my own than anything else, although the bulk of it is based on an American variant of the same ballad, entitled, Little Matty Groves.
Annan Water is not such a well-known ballad. I have altered and simplified it considerably. The original verses may be found tucked inconspicuously away in an appendix of volume 4 of the Child Ballads. The tune used is an adaption of The brisk young lively lad, found in The Folk Song Journals. In addition to The outlandish knight, Cecil Sharp also very kindly supplied me, through the aid of his book, with The Duke of Marlborough. Versions of this have been collected in Lincolnshire, Sussex, Norfolk and Somerset, all having probably derived from a printed broadside copy. The tune used here is the only major one collected, and very fine it is too.
The printed broadsides are often accused of stunting the growth of folk-songs and of solidifying the words by submitting them to print. True as this is in many cases, they also created and diffused a great many songs which possess a deal of charm in themselves. Don't you be foolish pray is a good example of this, probably created by a townsman with his idealised view of rural life. In many instances, songs such as this appealed very strongly to the country singers and were allotted high positions in their repertoires.
Another song that I obtained from a broadside is The butcher and the tailor's wife. The poor tailor is subjected to a multitude of indignities throughout a great many songs, for examples, The tailor's breeches, Benjamin Bowmaneer, The tailor and the louse and The bold trooper. Here we pour ridicule on him yet again.
One interesting factor which has contributed to the development of folksongs throughout the years has been the desire of singers to localize their songs. Where a town is mentioned, or a person, a public house or even a regiment, local names will be used. Witness The white cockade, Dido Bendigo, Uncle Tom Cobleigh and The rambling soldier. It seems highly probable that this has occurred in the case of Bold Reynard the fox where Jerry Balsam, farmer (Simon) Stewart and the Dolphin are names used to fit the song to a particular area. The tune used in this song is not the one usually given with the words. It is a dance tune called May day morning, sung by a blind man on the Isle of Man named Tom Kermode.
Noble Lord Hawkins may have been the result of another bout of name-adaption. He appears to have existed at one time as Sir Arthur in Sir Arthur and charming Mollee, the story being more or less the same. Noble Lord Hawkins was collected by H. E. D. Hammond from Mr. R. Barrett of Piddleton and it was printed in the Folk Song Journals where I found it.
Trailer LER 2014
- Sir Patrick Spens
- The Butcher And The Tailor's Wife
- The Duke Of Marlborough
- Annan Water
- The Noble Lord Hawkins
- Don't You Be Foolish Pray
- The Outlandish Knight
- Reynard The Fox
- Little Musgrave
