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Subject: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 06 Apr 11 - 07:09 AM Another setting of one of Ron Baxter's songs inspired by the culture and history of the Fleetwood fishing industry. This one's a little different, concerning a piece of sensitive folklore from the perspective of a bereaved widow. Consequently, Rapunzel's setting is just as sensitive. Mother Carey Chicks are storm petrels. ; the song tells of their signicance to fisherlore. We featured it on the Dark Brittanica Volume 2 CD (Cold Spring) in a recording with Ross; and you can listen to Rapunzel and I doing it here in a rehearsal demo from December: http://soundcloud.com/rapunzel-and-sedayne/mother-careys-chicks In the gale the spray was flying All along the foreshore With her window's weeds a-weeping A lonely woman I saw. She said as she stared across the bay Aboard The Belfar he went down; Though his body's gone forever I know where he will be found He flies with Mother Carey's Chicks He flies with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them his soul is born No marble cross, no marking stone, For those lost to the sea - But I know where my lover's gone For the good lord he decreed That the souls of all drowned fishermen To heaven would not ascend But fly above the rolling tide Til time itself will end They fly with Mother Carey's Chicks They fly with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them their souls are born So he called on Mother Carey And his orders to her he gave Your daughters will carry All those lost out on the waves For their lives were on the ocean So in death still let them roam Over their own fishing grounds Until I call them home They fly with Mother Carey's Chicks They fly with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them their souls are born She turned to face the driving spray And the wind streamed through her hair She said though I know you're not coming home I know that you are still there Oh I know that you're not returning And your face I'll never more see But where the stormy petrels fly I know that's where you'll be You fly with Mother Carey's Chicks You fly with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them your soul is born * I might add we'll be doing this as part our Fleetwood 175 show which we'll be doing at the Fylde Festival. Those who saw our Demdyke show at the last two Fyldes will have heard it there too. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 06 Apr 11 - 07:49 AM Should be: Mother Carey Chicks are storm petrels, and the song tells of their signicance to fisherlore. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 06 Apr 11 - 07:59 AM Windows Weeds? Sorry Ron & Rapunzel! Haven't quite woken up yet... It should, of course, be widow's weeds... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: Charley Noble Date: 06 Apr 11 - 09:10 AM Nice work, gang. There's a painting by Winslow Homer titled "The Gale" featuring a fisherman's wife carrying her child while walking along the shore looking out to sea which you might find useful for illustrating this song. Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 06 Apr 11 - 09:29 AM Cheers Charlie! Did you know Winslow Homer used to live near my homeland when he stayed at Cullercoats? He stayed in the old Bay Hotel, later home on the legendary Bay Hotel Folk Club, alas long since demolished and replaced by a new block of sea-side flats called... Winslow Court. I think The Gale was painted at Cullercoats - references say Tynemouth which is only a few miles away, but Cullercoats was his haunt, and a thriving fisher community in its day. Even now the atmosphere is very strog in that respect - you'd love it... Not sure when The Belfar was lost, but I think the song has a more modern feel than Winslow's Cullercoats painting. You get the sense here in Fleetwood of a deeper, more lingering lore of personal grief & loss - just look at how the promenade sculpture of the mother and her children waving out to sea has become a shrine for floral tributes. http://www.fredmoor.com/thefylde/pix/wave.htm It's not a million miles from the Wimnslow Homer painting either... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 06 Apr 11 - 02:37 PM Not the best of pics. Here's a better one: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1324/5107338213_d86d48bee7.jpg The sculpture is called Welcome Home, with the figures near the lower light looking out up the Wyre channel. As you can see it's never without its floral tributes... I wonder if Winslow Homer ever came to Fleetwood during his time in England? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: Sailor Ron Date: 07 Apr 11 - 08:53 AM As you can see both figures are rather scantily clad. During the first winter after they were placed there someone , thinking of theJan/Feb gales took pity on them and stitch an old parka on 'the mother', and clad the child in a cardigan! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 07 Apr 11 - 09:03 AM Am I right in saying Belvar there, Ron? Any details?? Cheers! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: Ross Campbell Date: 07 Apr 11 - 09:05 AM Winslow Homer - The Gale |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: Charley Noble Date: 07 Apr 11 - 09:26 AM Ross- Thanks for the link to "The Gale." I had that image in mind as a header graphic for "Fisherman's Song" by Andy M. Stewart which my group Roll & Go recently recorded on Look Out!: Click here for song Click on the MP3 sample for a listen. Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 07 Apr 11 - 10:05 AM Definitely Cullercoats / Tynemouth though; you never get seas like that in Fleetwood even on stormy day, way too shallow; hence the lack of sheltering piers in these parts, just pleasure piers, erstwhile or otherwise... For more on Cullercoats: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullercoats Little boats too; the once ubiquitous coble, as you can see in the Carmichael painting. Once a real feature of the NE coast, though you don't see so many of them now. In the words of the old Newcastle folk song: There's Tynemouth and Cullercoats And North Shields for sculler-boats Westhoe lies iv a nuek; South Shield's the place for muck Sculler-boats? No idea; racing sculls just don't fit with the area. I've heard it sung as shuggy-boats which I associate more with Tynemouth (and Cullercoats if I remember right) than North Shields (the town of my birth). |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: Charley Noble Date: 07 Apr 11 - 10:30 AM Speaking of monuments, here's a link (loads slow) to the "Spirit of the Sea" fountain that my grandfather designed and donated to the City of Bath (Maine): click here for photo She is even more scantily attired than your Fisherman's Friend monument, and has certainly attracted her fair share of attention from generations of teenagers; we've seen her equipped with various brasseries, sweaters, and scarfs. And she's still looking good! Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: Ross Campbell Date: 07 Apr 11 - 10:13 PM Rachel's setting of "Mother Carey's Chicks" is a very poignant arrangement - a great contrast to some of the more rough-and-ready tunes I have used for much of Ron's fishing output. The name "Belfar" I think is Ron's eccentric spelling in operation. It occurs as "Belavar" in Ron's memorial to all the vessels from Fleetwood which went down with loss of life, the song "Lost", which will also feature in "The Golden Dream" our show for Fleetwood's 175th anniversary this year. (Is there an on-line version of us singing "Lost", Sean?) Listed as "Belovar" on the Fishermen's Memorial near the Lower Light, her details follow:- BELOVAR: February 06 1913 Lost with all hands (10) North of Barra Head S.T. Belovar GY109 Technical Official Number: 122715 Yard Number: 94 Completed: 1906 Gross Tonnage: 242 Net Tonnage: 94 Length: 125 ft Breadth: 22 ft Draught: 11.8 ft Engine: 65 NHP T.3-cyl by Charles D. Holmes & Co Ltd, Hull Speed: 10.5 knots Built: Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley History 29.11.1905: Launched by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley (Yd.No.94) for Alick (Alec) Black, Grimsby as BELOVAR. 1.2.1906: Registered at Grimsby (GY109). 2.1906: Completed. 1909: Sold to Walter M. Olney, Grimsby (Alick (Alec) Black, manager). 1.1912: Transferred to Iceland, salting (Sk. Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson). 6.1912: Returned to Grimsby. 1912: Transferred to Fleetwood. 31.1.1913: Sailed Fleetwood on 12 day trip to Rockall grounds (Sk. George Schofield); ten crew. 4.2.1913: Reported fishing at Muldonich, Hebrides. 6.2.1913: Posted missing; crew lost. 8.4.1913: Grimsby registry closed. Note: One source lists her as wrecked north of Barra Head Crew List George Schofield James Johnson James Adams Frederick Allet George Salmond Harry Clarke Samuel Farrow Richard Wright Robert Wright Frederick Kidd Details from http://www.fleetwood-fishing-industry.co.uk/fleetwoods-trawlers-lost-at-sea/ . From fishing smacks in local waters to steam and motor trawlers in middle and distant waters, this page shows the attrition which affected both ships and men in this most dangerous trade. Charley, if you haven't already found the Fleetwood Maritime Heritage Trust sites, these links might provide some interesting reading:- http://www.fleetwood-trawlers.info/ ("The Bosun's Watch") http://www.fleetwood-fishing-industry.co.uk/ ("Fleetwood Motor Trawlers") Also http://float-trawlers.lancashire.gov.uk/index.php ("Fleetwood On-line Archive of Trawlers" - created by Fleetwood Museum to make available the photographic archives of Peter Horsley and Wilfred Dodds). Ross |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 08 Apr 11 - 04:22 AM Talking it over last night with Rachel she said what she sings is Belovar rather than Belfar - my mistake. That said, originally Ron's lyric named The Lois, but as that loss didn't involve bereavement he changed it to Belovar, which begs other questons too I suppose, but as Ron won't be within the vicinity of a computer until Monday I guess we'll have to wait. As for Lost, it used to play just fine at the old Fleetwood Folk Club Myspace page, but who knows what will happen now that Myspace has so spendidly shot themselves in the foot? Here's the link anyway: http://www.myspace.com/fleetwoodfolkclub It's the first song on the player & it plays okay for me: Lost - Words: Ron Baxter / Music: Ross Campbell Ross - cittern & voice Rapunzel - voice Sedayne - voice & muted low whistle Other version by Pint and Dale... As a few of you will have seen, for the last two years we've done Lost as part of Ron's Heritage Walk on the Saturday of the Fylde Festival - it's the perfect anthem for those lost trawlers and men, and the musical counterpart of the memorial sculpture which stands on the pomenade. Mother Carey's Chicks is the sequel! |
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Subject: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter) From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 08 Apr 11 - 06:58 AM So, those lyrics again, corrected throughout... MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKS [Words - Ron Baxter / Music & Adaptation - Rapunzel (AKA Rachel McCarron)] In the gale the spray was flying All along the foreshore With her widow's weeds a-weeping A lonely woman I saw. She said as she stared across the bay Aboard The Belovar he went down; Though his body's gone forever I know where he will be found He flies with Mother Carey's Chicks He flies with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them his soul is borne No marble cross, no marking stone, For those lost to the sea - But I know where my lover's gone For the good Lord he decreed That the souls of all drowned fishermen To heaven would not ascend But fly above the rolling tide Til time itself will end They fly with Mother Carey's Chicks They fly with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them their souls are borne So he called on Mother Carey And his orders to her he gave Your daughters will carry All those lost out on the waves For their lives were on the ocean So in death still let them roam Over their own fishing grounds Until I call them home They fly with Mother Carey's Chicks They fly with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them their souls are borne She turned to face the driving spray And the wind streamed through her hair She said though I know you're not coming home I know that you are still there Oh I know that you're not returning And your face I'll never more see But where the stormy petrels fly I know that's where you'll be You fly with Mother Carey's Chicks You fly with them across the foam On the stormy petrel's wings With them your soul is borne * And the Soundcloud link once again: http://soundcloud.com/rapunzel-and-sedayne/mother-careys-chicks This is a live take with Rapunzel playing her Daisy Rock electric guitar through the same amp as I'm playing my kaossilator, but we took great care in recording it, as we always do. The CRWTH is integral to the whole thing too, although without Ross's contrapuntal cittern it's a good deal more languid than the version we featured on the We Bring You a King With a Head of Gold - Dark Brittanica 2 CD. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks From: Charley Noble Date: 08 Apr 11 - 07:32 AM I always impressed with the level of creative energy you folks put into your songs and folk operas. And, Ross, thanks for the links. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter) From: Joe Offer Date: 08 Apr 11 - 05:21 PM Intriguing song, Suibhne. Since it appears you have a definitive version of the lyrics posted, I standardized the title and songwriter formatting. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter) From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 09 Apr 11 - 03:51 PM Cheers, Joe - maybe you could have Rapunzel's name in the thread title as well? After all she set it & made it into what it is! As I've explained before, when Ron writes a lyric he has a traditional tune in his head, but he never tells you what that tune is. Either you must somehow divine it, or else come up with something entirely different, traditional or otherwise. The one I'm most proud of that I've set is The St Anne of Dunkirk, although the tune came out of the ether really. Mother Carey is a little different (?) in terms of subtlety and sophistication reflecting the personal over the historical (Ron's a History Man basically) - in the 'Process' these things change... For a further selection of other settings of Ron's lyrics see the Fleetwood Folk Club Myspace link above which features a few, one of which is actually in the Digital Tradition - Paddy Doyle, as sung there (& set) by the late Phil Ryan - something of a theme tune for the FFC that one I think! |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 11 Apr 11 - 07:52 AM Ta! And anyone passing by might have a listen, ignoring the various Folk Unfriendly adjectives we've been picking up of late (wierd, scarey, otherworldly) - as a piece of Folk Moderne this one's a well-crafted wee beauty, haunting, moving, touching.... Mother Carey's Chicks |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: Charley Noble Date: 11 Apr 11 - 09:53 AM Gorgeous work! Well sung, played, and recorded. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: Ross Campbell Date: 12 Apr 11 - 01:19 PM Might be time to start the long-promised Fleetwood Fishing Songs Permathread which I proposed a while back as a repository for the work of Ron Baxter, Dick Gillingham, Dave Pearce and others, material connected with Fleetwood and its fishing industry (could extend to Grimsby and Hull, and anywhere else with similar history). Ron Baxter's first effort, "Lord Middleton", must be getting on for forty years old - there was a bit of a gap, then a flurry of activity with Fleetwood Folk Club's production "The Final Trawl" (1982), and since then Ron has continued to produce a constant stream of songs on this and many other topics. Joe, I'll PM you with my ideas for that. Ross |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: Charley Noble Date: 12 Apr 11 - 07:08 PM Excellent idea. Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: Sailor Ron Date: 13 Apr 11 - 10:41 AM Lord Middleton was writen on board the M.V. Clan Malcolm, it was my 2nd deep sea trip. |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 13 Apr 11 - 10:47 AM So how many times did you cross to Knot End in all, Ron? I jest of course; but what are they doing with that rig out in Canshe Hole right now? Making it deeper? |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: Sailor Ron Date: 13 Apr 11 - 11:36 AM I guess so. For those not in the know, the Canshe Hole is a deep patch in the Wyre, where, before the Fleetwood docks wer opened large sailing vessels would anchor & dischange into barges. At present a rather wierd looking vessel, with 'legs' & two larde cranes, is sat there. To bring this conversation back to the original thread, this is some 200 yards from the spot where "the lonley woman, with her widow's weeds a'weeping" stood. |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray Date: 14 Apr 11 - 03:47 AM This is something you should be out sketching, Ron - is there a song in there too do you think? The Temporary River Structures on the Wyre... I noticed there's something similar off Cleveleys just now, to the north of the last one which was repairing some pipes damaged by Riverdance - maybe Ross can enlighten us? |
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Subject: RE: ADD: Mother Carey's Chicks (Ron Baxter/Rapunzel) From: GUEST,Guest Allan Date: 06 Oct 16 - 11:26 AM I can't get or find Mother Carey's Chicks song anywhere, the links go to Soundcloud but Soundcloud says cannot find the track, have you it anywhere else? cheers Allan |
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