From the "Traditional singers altering songs?" thread, an inquiry and some replies, below.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Traditional singers altering songs?
From: tradpiper - PM
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 09:00 AM

Hi all. I am a traveller. I learnt many of my songs round the yog Iron. many from old cassettes, and from ballad books. With the digital age I can actually find the correct lyrics on-line, a great bonus.

So from my point of view I would do my very best to understand and reproduce the words and tune that i heard. I would not modify them , but try to be faithful to the original rendition that attracted me.

there is one particular song i have not got, and would really like to find. Its about the old ways of the traveller dying out. If that rings a bell, please contact me.

An amusing twist I found in a printed version of Spancil hill. the correct lyrics are; an old horse fair in county Clare' was rendered as ' a hairy ass fair ' I mean! this same version twisted the lyrics in other places as well.

i encountered many such changes over the years, too many to mention. and im sure i have contributed to this, with misheard lyrics passed on!!

Subject: RE: Traditional singers altering songs?
From: tradpiper - PM
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 04:55 PM

The song I am after, 'the old ways of the traveller are dyin'. I heard it once, . In the morning yer man had moved on. Its clearly a traditional travellers song. So were I to find the words written down, would I remember the melody he sung it to. ? To some extent.
I read music so I would hope to have the dots. So if I learnt it from the printed page, combined with my memory how would it go were I to meet him again and we sung it together?
Firstly I would merge with his singing. I would copy' phrasing, inflexion, and tone of voice, to blend in. So the version I sung before hand, would be the template, the ground upon which I would base my rendition. but its quite likely that there would be a number of different lyrics due to the different sources. I would of course ask him to tell me the words to write down. Of course a recording would be great, but that kind of thing was unavailable when I learnt many of my songs. it would be the words writ out and the melody remembered.

So come on !, anyone know the song? Its been bugging me the last , maybe 14yrs!

Some songs have missing verses, for some reason a verse is lost. Finding a missing verse is like gold dust to me, let alone a missing song.!


Subject: RE: Traditional singers altering songs?
From: curmudgeon - PM
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 05:17 PM

tradpiper - the only song that comes to mind from what you seek is "Freeborn Man" by Ewan MacColl - not trad, but now fifty years old.

"Winds of change are blowing,,, old ways are going,
Your travelling days will soon be over."


Subject: RE: Traditional singers altering songs?
From: GUEST,mg - PM
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 05:17 PM

It's not the Ewen Macoll one is it?

The buying and selling the old fortune telling

Fairwell to the tents and the old caravans
The tinker the gypsy the travelling man
..

You can tell I don't know it. Lots of people know it.

There's a bylaw to say you must go on your way
And another that says....


Subject: RE: Traditional singers altering songs?
From: Vic Smith - PM
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 05:21 PM

Tradpiper wrote:-
The song I am after, 'the old ways of the traveller are dyin'. I heard it once

Could the song that you are after be the one that starts:-

The old ways are changing you cannot deny
The day of the traveler's over
There's nowhere to gang and there's nowhere to bide
So farewell to the life of the rover.

in which case it is Ewan MacColl's Thirty Foot Trailer which is available on this site at
http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=2359


Subject: RE: Traditional singers altering songs?
From: Tradsinger - PM
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 05:23 PM

It's "The Thirty Foot Trailer" by Ewan Macoll. You can find the words easily on the Internet plus various versions on Youtube. Let us know if this is the song you are looking for.

Tradsinger