Steeleye Span - Long Lankin

 #Steeleye Span #Maddy Prior #Tim Hart #folk rock #British folk #British folk rock #traditional folk #electric folk #British roots rock

Long Lankin is based off a Northumbrian legend where Lankin (who was either a stonemason or robber, depending on the story) entered the hall of a rival lord, and with the help of a nursemaid murdered both the lord’s grandchild and daughter. Lankin is said to have hanged himself, while the nurse was burnt at the stake. Steeleye Span’s version of this traditional song omits the origin story of Long Lankin, instead portraying him as more of a cruel boogeyman.  From: https://genius.com/Steeleye-span-long-lankin-lyrics

"Lamkin" is an old ballad and probably one of the darkest. It gives an account of the murder of a woman and her infant son by a disgruntled mason. Versions of the ballad are found in Scotland, England, and the USA. In the most common version Lamkin, the stonemason, is hired by Lord Wearie to build him a castle. When it is complete, the Lord refuses to pay, saying he would have to sell his land to pay for the castle he had built on it. Wearie soon makes a trip across the sea, and Lamkin, with the aid of the Lord's nursemaid, takes his revenge on his family during his absence. He first attacks Lord Wearie's baby.

Then Lamkin a' tane a sharp knife,
That hang down by his gaire,
And he has gien the bonny babe
A deep wound and a sair.

This gets the attention of Lady Wearie, who offers gold and riches to Lamkin if he will spare her life. No rationale is ever given for the extreme measures Lamkin takes, nor why he refuses money at this stage, if his grievances were merely financial. It is speculated that some verses may be missing, although there is some evidence that the nurse may have had a long-standing personal grudge, and played a more active role in the killings.

"O sall I kill her, nourice,
Or sall I lat her be?"
"O kill her, kill her, Lamkin,
For she neer was good to me."

Lord Wearie returns months later to find his wife and son dead, and Lamkin gloating over the deed.

"And wha's blood is this' he says,
'That lies in my ha'?"
"It is your young son'd heart's blood;
'T is the clearest ava."

Lamkin is hanged for his crimes, as he must have known he would be, again giving him no motive but the cruelest revenge. In some later version, the nurse is burned at the stake, the punishment for petty treason. Other versions follow the same basic story, but the antagonist has many different names, among them "Balankin", "Lambert Linkin", "Rankin", "Long Lankyn", and "Lammikin". Later versions lose the opening of the story, which explains that Lamkin is a mason who has not been paid; in these, Lamkin becomes a sort of a bogeyman who dwells in the wild places; the lord, before leaving, warns against him:

Says milord to milady as he mounted his horse,
"Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the moss."
Says milord to milady as he went on his way,
"Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the hay."

These versions add peculiar incidents that add to the grisliness of the crime. Lamkin and the nursemaid collect the baby's blood in a basin, for no named purpose. This has led to speculation that Lamkin was a leper who sought to cure himself by bathing in the blood of an innocent.
The song has been recorded as "Long Lankin" on "But Two Came By" (1968) by Martin Carthy. Steeleye Span perhaps most famously recorded it as "Long Lankin" on Commoner's Crown (1975), and vocal trio The Devil's Interval also recorded it as Long Lankin on their debut album "Blood & Honey" (Wildgoose 2006). Dave Burland recorded "Lamkin" on his album You Can't Fool The Fat Man (1979) with Nic Jones. The Neofolk band Fire + Ice recorded "Long Lankin" on their album Gilded By The Sun (1992). The song has also given its title to Long Lankin, a collection of short stories by John Banville

From: https://www.last.fm/music/Steeleye+Span/_/Long+Lankin/+wiki

Silly Sisters - Four Loom Weaver

 #Silly Sisters #Maddy Prior #June Tabor #Steeleye Span #folk #British folk #traditional #a capella #1970s

Silly Sisters is a collaboration between Maddy Prior, vocalist of Steeleye Span, and June Tabor, the queen of British folk. Originally formed in 1976, during a hiatus in Steeleye Span's recording activity, the "group" was more or less a glorified excuse for a hootenanny, with two of Britain's finest female folk vocalists (Prior from the more "progressive" camp and Tabor from the more "trad") teaming up for rousing versions of traditional ballads and rave-ups. On the 1977 album, Silly Sisters, they were joined by Steeleye Span's Martin Carthy (later associated with the Pogues) among a host of other capable musicians. Most often, either Prior or Tabor takes a "lead" role in a song, with the other providing backup, but on a few tracks, like "My Husband's Got No Courage In Him", a harrowing (from the male perspective) a capella lament, they both shine equally alongside each other.

"Four Loom Weaver" (Traditional) A song about unemployment in the nineteenth century, possibly dating from 1819-20. First recorded by Ewan MacColl in 1951.  

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_Sisters_(album)

Ewan MacColl was one of the key architects of the post-war British folk-song revival, and a dominant but controversial figure in its development for decades. A lifelong communist, his initial passion was workers' theatre, and in a series of influential groups throughout the 1930s and 1940s, culminating with the Theatre Workshop, he became well known in left-wing drama circles as actor, producer, writer, and propagandist. MacColl moved away from the theatre after the Second World War, although his expertise in dramatic production never left him and imbued much of his subsequent work. In the early 1950s, at the suggestion of American folklorist and collector Alan Lomax, MacColl teamed up with A. L. Lloyd and others to found the new British folk-song revival movement. The timing was perfect. By means of the Ballads and Blues club (which later became the Singers' Club), radio programmes for the BBC (including drama-documentaries in which MacColl's theatrical experience was evident), articles, innumerable concerts, talks, LP records, appearances at Trade Union meetings, clubs, and other venues, they laid the foundations for a highly successful national movement.  From: https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100121901;jsessionid=7B9810173FE95C1CC067432EEE42B223

Steeleye Span - Sweep, Chimney Sweep

 #Steeleye Span #Maddy Prior #Tim Hart #Martin Carthy #folk rock #British folk #British folk rock #traditional folk #electric folk #British roots rock #a capella

 

Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival. Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes; Maddy Prior being the only remaining original member of the band. Their musical repertoire consists of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steeleye_Span

One of the best children’s tales involves an impressive song and dance number performed by a group of chimney sweeps. Dick Van  Dyke and Julie Andrews did a pretty good job showing how dirty the chimney sweep job is, but I can’t guarantee an in-tune song and dance number. You may ask me to leave before the job is finished if I break out into song and dance. The rooftop acrobatics were a bit on the dangerous side as well. As unusual as this topic is, today I’m going to point out several of the myths surrounding chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins, and I’ll discuss some of the actual lore behind my profession. Many chimney sweep myths have been passed down through the ages. Some cultures believe the chimney sweep is a sign of good luck. Several legends go so far as to say they are the ultimate bringer of good luck. Old European folklore says that if a bride receives a kiss on the cheek from a chimney sweep on her wedding day she will have a very blessed and happy marriage. There’s also the story of the chimney sweep who fell from the rooftop of an apartment building and was dangling from the guttering by one foot. A lovely woman opened her window and pulled him inside her home to safety. They married and lived happily ever after. Most people believe that these chimney sweep myths originated during the reign of King George of England. He was riding astride a horse when a dog startled the animal, which threw King George to the ground. A chimney sweep stepped up, took hold of the horse’s reigns, and calmed him. The king then declared that chimney sweeps should be regarded as lucky.  From: https://loucurley.com/chimney-sweep-song-dance-quite-like-mary-poppins/

Sweep, chimney sweep, is the common cry I keep
If you can but rightly understand me
With my brush, broom and my rake, with my brush, broom and my rake
See what cleanly work I make
With my hoe, with my hoe, with my hoe and my hoe
And it's sweep, chimney sweep for me

Girls came up to my door I looked black as any Moor
I am constant and true as the day
With a bunch of ribbons gay, with a bunch of ribbons gay
Hanging down by my right knee
And there's no one, and there's no one
And there's no one and no one
And there's no one can call me on high

Arise girls, arise, wipe the sleep from off your eyes
Go and fetch to me some beer that I might swallow
I can climb up to the top, I can climb up to the top
Without a ladder or a rope
And it's there you, and it's there you, and it's there you and there you
And it's there you will hear me “Hullo”

Now here I do stand with my hoe all in my hand
Like some soldier that's on the sentery
I will work for a better sort
And I'll kindly thank them for it
I will work, I will work, I will work and I'll work
And I'll work for none but gentery 

Steeleye Span - The Weaver and the Factory Maid

 #Steeleye Span #Maddy Prior #Tim Hart #Martin Carthy #folk #folk rock #British folk #British folk rock #traditional folk #electric folk #British roots rock

 

A broadside of unknown origin with the title ‘The Weaver in Love’ is in the Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection, and John Holloway and Joan Black's 1975 book ‘Later English Broadside Ballads’ has ‘The Weaver and his Sweetheart’ from the Madden Collection. In both versions the weaver still fell in love with a servant maid, while in the following versions from A.L. Lloyd on she was changed to a factory maid. A.L. Lloyd claimed that he collected The Weaver and the Factory Maid from William Oliver of Widnes, Lancashire, in September 1951; he sang it on the 1963 Topic theme LP ‘The Iron Muse: A Panorama of Industrial Folk Music.’ Lloyd commented in the notes:
“The earliest weavers' songs are from the time when hand-loom weavers went from village to village, setting up in farmhouse and cottage kitchens. Amorous chances were plenty. The invention of the power-loom and the establishment of textile factories brought a great change in the handloom weavers' lives. This song, lyrical and wry, curiously illuminates this moment in history when the hand-workers were finding themselves obliged to follow the girls into the factories and weave by steam, and when country song was changing to town song.”
In 1973, Steeleye Span recorded a version of ‘The Weaver and the Factory Maid ‘with lyrics nearly identical to A.L. Lloyd's, but they added Robert Cinnamond's fragment in front and end, and two more verses from a children's rhyme. This was released on their LP ‘Parcel of Rogues’ whose sleeve notes commented:
“There was a great bitterness felt between the hand-loom weavers and those who worked on the steam looms introduced during the industrial revolution. This feeling polarized in the Luddites (named after their mythical leader Ned Ludd) who were unemployed hand-loom weavers bent on destroying the steam looms which had put them out of work.
From: https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/theweaverandthefactorymaid.html

 

Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival. Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes; Maddy Prior being the only remaining original member of the band. Their musical repertoire consists of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steeleye_Span