Lyr Req: Follow the Plough (Jake Walton)

Subject: Lyr Req: Jake Walton : Follow the Plough
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 11:57 AM

This beautiful song appeared on the 1976 Leader album 'Times & Traditions for Dulcimer' by Roger Nicholson, Jake Walton & Andrew Cronshaw. Never been able to decipher the lyrics which are a setting of an anonymous Cornish poem.

The melody came to me the other day whilst sitting playing my wife's dulcimer but as to the words I couldn't get further than:

After the plough, the seagulls follow,
Up the hill and down the hollow...

Help, please!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jake Walton : Follow the Plough
From: Wolfgang
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 11:17 AM

You can order (for free) the lyrics here

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jake Walton : Follow the Plough
From: Wolfgang
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 11:29 AM

click
(the order form in English might be a bit easier)

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jake Walton : Follow the Plough
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 12:19 PM

Thanks for that, Wolfgang! I've put in my order...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jake Walton : Follow the Plough
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 04:53 PM

Jake Walton was a great performer, and I remember he played an absolutely beautiful handmade guitar ( I know because I borrowed it one night at the Edinburgh University Folk Club ). Does anybody know who the maker was ? This would be around 1974/75

Subject: Lyr Add: ST. EVAL (Elizabeth J. Coatsworth)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 06:18 PM

I was able to piece together this poem from snippets found with Google Book Search. I'm not sure about the punctuation or the placement of the breaks between stanzas.

From A Cornish Chorus: A Collection of Prose and Verse By Murile Hawkey, 1948, page 100.

ST. EVAL
Elizabeth J. Coatsworth

AFTER the plow
The sea-gulls follow,
Up the hill
And down the hollow,

A cloud of wings,
A storm of cries,
That rise and fall,
That fall and rise

Where the slow brown furrow
Rolls from the share
The sea-gulls hover,
Their pale eyes stare

At the fluid earth
They stare and scream,
White breasts above
The slow brown stream,

And the plowman thinks
Of his youth again,
And a high dark wave
With a horse's mane.

The same poem is also in Modern American Poetry: A Critical Anthology By Louis Untermeyer, 1930, page 674.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jake Walton : Follow the Plough
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 09 Dec 07 - 02:13 PM

Thanks for that. One or two differences from the text that Jake gives as 'anonymous' (!?) :

A cloud of wings, a storm of cries,
they rise and fall, they fall and rise.

The slow brown furrow rolls from the share,
the seagulls hover, their pale eyes stare.

And the ploughman dreams of his youth again,
a high dark wave and a horses mane.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Follow the Plough (Jake Walton)
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 26 Dec 07 - 10:02 AM

As is my personal tradition, I dig out my old copy of Times & Traditions for Dulcimer (1976) and give the first side a spin early on Christmas morning as I have done now for over thirty years...

Anyway, according to the cover, Jake's guitar was made by one Keith Johns of Brighton.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Follow the Plough (Jake Walton)
From: redsnapper
Date: 26 Dec 07 - 11:40 AM

Jake was a friend back in the 80s and we played together a bit but I've lost touch now that he's back in Cornwall and I'm in Scotland. I think at one time he might have played a Nigel Thornbury guitar.

RS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Follow the Plough (Jake Walton)
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Jun 11 - 04:58 PM

Jake Walton is STILL (at date of posting which is 4th June 2011) performing with dulcimer, guitar and hurdy gurdy. See his website at www.jakewaltonmusic.co.uk Many of his songs are available for download
He is currently working on an anthology of his work over the decades and has also been performing with Anglo Celtic band Tinkerscuss. Those of you in Germany have just missed a reunion tour with Jez Lowe and some solo dates too but don't despair .. Jake will be back very soon !

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Follow the Plough (Jake Walton)
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 05 Jun 11 - 02:03 PM

Thanks for the update; I still love Times and Traditions... in general and Follow the Plough in particular. I loved what he and Jez did with Dance With Me too. But that old hurdy-gurdy (man), that was sweet..

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Follow the Plough (Jake Walton)
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 06 Jun 11 - 04:44 AM

PS - On a point of supreme trivia Jake's old symphony-style hurdy-gurdy (as used on Times and Traditions for Dulcimer) was made by Michael Lynch, who also made bespoke ukuleles for Vivian Stanshall as can be seen in the clip below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3RVr1f9abM&feature=related

It's 6 minutes in...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Follow the Plough (Jake Walton)
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jul 13 - 02:51 PM

Jake's new album, featuring a remake of After The Plough, is about to be released. It is currently going to be mastered and the artwork etc is all ready. The album is entitled Silver Muse (beautiful song of Jake's) and if you keep an eye out on MY page on Facebook, there will be links to sample tracks and news about Jake's gigs. www.facebook.com/bryonyholden

Jake is a very dear friend of mine (and my sister's) and we have had a great time working on this project with him. Erin has produced the album and appears on a couple of tracks and I have added harmonly vocals in places. Also appearing are Eric Liorzou, Jez Lowe, David De La Haye,(Bad Pennies) Athene Roberts (3 Daft Monkeys) Alex West and Peter Coleman (Brocc/Metheglin).