Thanks, Tattie Bogle. It is a challenge working with audio archives, esp when the singer has a rich accent and uses archaic language. I came across a song listed as "The Dark Orchards" in the Flanders collection. Intrigued by the title, I made a point to listen to the song. As I listened it became clear to me that it had nothing to do with an orchard; indeed it seemed to be about a romantic encounter in a railway station! After listening more closely and doing a bit of research, I deciphered the words " down by the dark arches". The singer pronounced it "dahk ahchids" which the collector heard as "Dark Orchards". In this case, it was the collector who misinterpreted the words making their transcription non-sensical.
|