Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)

Subject: Origins: His name was Andrew
From: Wyrd Sister
Date: 11 Apr 07 - 03:12 PM

I had an LP in late 60s and all I can remember is a track with "His name was Andrew He worked in a canning factory He didn't have a friend..." and another track "This road leads to Cairo ... ?I've gotta get me a ride"

Any suggestions? I don't even remember if it was 'folk'!

Subject: RE: Origins: His name is Andrew
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 11 Apr 07 - 03:22 PM

It's on Martin Carthy's 1971 album Landfall, credited as written by David Ackles.

LFF

Subject: RE: Origins: His name is Andrew
From: GUEST,ifor
Date: 11 Apr 07 - 03:29 PM

Almost certainly you are thinking about the late and great songwriter David Ackles who was killed in a road accident about 12 years ago.
His Road To Cairo was recorded by Julie Driscoll in the UK ....I also know his work through his album American ? which contains such great songs as Another Friday Night and Montana Song.It received massive critical acclaim when it came out in 1973
His work was certainly folk influenced but I think he was also a composer and teacher of other forms of music.I often sing his stuff while walking to work but for the life of me cannot remember the full name of the album ...perhaps someone can help out?!
A wonderful writer...
ifor

Subject: RE: Origins: His name is Andrew
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 11 Apr 07 - 03:30 PM

Both those songs are on (the late) David Ackles' album called "Road to Cairo." I don't know whether it's been reissued on CD or not, but a search should turn it up.

Subject: RE: Origins: His name is Andrew
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 11 Apr 07 - 03:34 PM

Guest ifor, just FYI David did not die in a car accident. He died after a long and difficult struggle with cancer. However, some years before his death he was involved in a car crash which caused him serious injury, so perhaps that's what you were thinking of.

Subject: RE: Origins: His name is Andrew
From: GUEST,ifor
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 03:58 AM

Sorry about my lack of accuracy about David Ackles.He was a
very intense and moving songwriter and singer and his songs deserve rediscovering by new generations. I never hear them on radio and yet I still find myself singing snatches of them ....the album I referred to above was produced by Bernie Taupin ,Elton John's lyricist who was a great admirer of David Ackles.
ifor

Subject: RE: Origins: His name is Andrew
From: Wyrd Sister
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 05:00 AM

Thanks folks!
Mudcat to the rescue!

Subject: RE: Origins: His name is Andrew
From: GUEST,ifor
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 06:31 AM

The album title I have been trying to think of is of course American Gothic.....it really is a classic and deeply moving cycle of songs and well worth finding.I had in on vinyl but have not heard any of its songs for a long time.
ifor

Subject: Lyr Add: HIS NAME IS ANDREW (David Ackles)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 10 - 12:42 PM

Copied from Reinhard Zierke's web site:


HIS NAME IS ANDREW
David Ackles

His name is Andrew.
He works at the canning factory.
He doesn't have a friend.
He chooses to wait alone for his life to end.
When Andrew was just a little boy,
He learned all the words to all the hymns of joy,
And he sang them on Sunday,
And he sang them on Monday,
And through April and through May,
And he caught them say:
God is love, God is love,
And he believed them.

This child was Andrew.
He lived in a world of nonsense.
On him the lion grinned.
He sang in the arms of God as he strung along.
When Andrew was tall and twenty-one,
He wandered far from God and wondered what he'd done,
For he still sang on Sunday,
Though he muddled through Monday
With a silence in his head.
Till in jest it said:
God redeems, God redeems,
And he believed it.

This man was Andrew.
On hearing a voice he thought was stilled,
Returned to the arms of grace.
He stumbled from the arms of night into a lighted place.
When Andrew returned into the light,
He lifted his voice and sang away the night,
And the preacher from Sunday
Heard him singing on Monday,
And he stopped him with a word.
From the dark he heard
God is dead, God is dead,
And he believed it.

My name is Andrew.
I work at the canning factory.
I do not have a friend.
I choose to wait alone for this life to end.

[Sung by David Ackles on his album "The Road to Cairo" (1968). Sung by Martin Carthy on his album "Landfall" (1971). The latter recording was included as a bonus track on the 2004 CD reissue of David Ackles' 1973 album "Five and Dime."]

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 10:38 AM

American Gothic

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: GUEST,bmathieson
Date: 29 Mar 11 - 05:56 PM

Full information on David Ackles can be obtained from the website at http://www.songsinger.info/da - I hope this helps.

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: GUEST,Jerry Simon
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 03:06 PM

Most of the lyrics for this on t'internet seem to have been copied from someone else's mis-hearing. German whispers. I suggest:

His name is Andrew
He works in a canning factory
He doesn't have a friend
He chooses to wait alone for his life to end.

When Andrew was just a little boy
He knew all the words to all the hymns of joy
And he sang them on Sunday
And he sang them on Monday
And in April and in May
And he heard them say
God is love, God is love
And he believed them

This child was Andrew
He lived in a world of innocence
On him the lion grinned
He sang in the arms of God as he strummed the wind

When Andrew was tall and twenty-one
He wandered from God and wondered what he'd done
For he still sang on Sunday
Though he muddled through Monday
With a silence in his head
Till in jest it said
God redeems, God redeems
And he believed it

This man was Andrew
Hearing a voice he thought was stilled
Back to the arms of grace
He stumbled through darkened woods to a lighted place

When Andrew returned to love and light
He lifted his voice and sang away the night
And the preacher from Sunday
Heard him singing on Monday
And he stopped him with a word
From the dark he heard
God is dead, God is dead
And he believed him

My name is Andrew
I work at the canning factory
I do not have a friend
I choose to wait alone for this life to end.

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: JHW
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 03:27 PM

I'm pretty sure it was Dave Burland I heard sing this more than once way back when, indeed I have sung it; I like the key leaps like I like those in Palaces of Gold or Hallelujah.
I certainly sang the first verse in First Person and assume I got this from Dave Burland?

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 04:03 PM

If anyone sings this why not make a recording on your porta-studio / dictaphone / Zoom H2 / laptop - be it in the bath, the folk club, field, etc. and wing it along to The Landfill Project?

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine, sans cookie
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 04:22 PM

Thanks, GUESTbmatheison, for the link to your site on David. He was a friend, many decades ago. Good to see that his gifts are not forgotten.

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: JHW
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:45 AM

I was wrong about Dave Burland's first person. I found a tape (reel). These are the words of his fine rendering.

HIS NAME IS ANDREW
David Ackles
Transcribed from the singing of Dave Burland

His name is Andrew.
He works in a canning factory.
He doesn't have a friend.
He chooses to wait alone for his life to end.
When Andrew was just a little boy,
He knew all the words to all the hymns of joy,
And he sang them on Sunday,
And he sang them on Monday,
And in April and in May,
He heard them say:
God is love, God is love,
And he believed it.

This child was Andrew.
He lived in a world of innocence
On him the lion grinned.
He sang in the arms of God as he strung
When Andrew was tall and twenty-one,
He wandered from God and wondered what he'd done,
But he still sang on Sunday,
Though he muddled through Monday
With a silence in his head.
Till in jest it said:
God is dead, God is dead,
And he believed it.

This man was Andrew.
Hearing a voice he thought was stilled,
Into the arms of grace.
He stumbled through darkened doors to a lighted place.
When Andrew returned to love and light,
He lifted his voice and sang away the night,
But the preacher from Sunday
Heard him singing on Monday,
And he stopped him with a word.
In the dark he heard
God is dead, God is dead,
And he believed it.

My name is Andrew.
I work in a canning factory.
I do not have a friend.
I choose to wait alone for this life to end.

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: JHW
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 04:45 PM

Suibhne Astray - I have seen the Landfill thread but as I have no yours truly recordings of those items thought no more indeed until this thread hadn't even recalled the 'Andrew' song

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: JHW
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 04:47 PM

Yes me again. We never yet have turned up the ORIGINS of the story in the song?

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: Reinhard
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 11:13 PM

@Jerry Simon: Are these David Ackles's original verses? I don't have his recording so I can't compare them. But what you disqualify as German whispers is definitely what Martin Carthy sang on his album Landfall.

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: Anglo
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 01:37 AM

Unfortunately I don't have David Ackles' original recording. Reinhard, I find your critic's comments totally and unnecessarily critical, even malicious and quite possibly racist. Is the BNP at work here? Your contributions to Mudcat are always useful and germane (not quite a pun ;-) and I am sure many of us, including myself, always appreciate them.

I have just listened to Landfall and I will add a couple of small comments. In v.1 Martin does sing "And he heard them say...". He went through a phase when he was articulating the "h" and it sounded hard. Listen for example towards the end of the song when he sings "from the dark he heard...". The "heard" has that same hard beginning consonant. I have made several errors in transcription listening to him do that.

In v.2 I suggest that he sang "He lived in a world of no sense." "Innocence" might be the original but that's not what Martin sang. I can't check.

I'll take this opportunity to thank you for your website, which I consult extremely frequently for all sorts of reasons. Thank you for your contributions.

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: GUEST,Reinhard
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 03:26 AM

Anglo, my words were definitely were not meant as malicious or racist and I wonder how they can be interpreted this way.

I understand that the game that I as a German know as "Stille Post" is called "Chinese Whispers" in English. I have never heard the term "German whispers" for this before and understood Jerry Simon's use of this phrase as making fun of my poor English skills in transcribing Martin Carthy's words. That's why I responded that I still believe my transcription is what Carthy sang and not what David Ackles' verses originally were. (In the meantime I found Ackles' version on YouTube and added his lyrics to my page too.)

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: Anglo
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 12:18 PM

Reinhard, I said "your critic's comments." I was absolutely not referring to you, but to the person who was criticizing you.

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: blinddrunkal
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 01:33 PM

This song, and others by David Ackles are on YouTube

http://youtu.be/erHffAR9np0

Subject: RE: Origins: His Name Is Andrew (David Ackles)
From: blinddrunkal
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 01:38 PM

don't know why the "blue clicky" didn't work, but you can always copy and paste it I suppose!