Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 06:20 PM

Thanks very much to Tim for making his version of The Old Baby Farmer available, which I'll link up to from PlanetSlade as soon as I can.

He sings it unaccompanied in a strong, resonant voice with a trace of his native Hampshire accent, and I'd encourage everyone give it a listen. Elsa Lanchester makes the mistake of turning the song into a joke half-way through, but Tim steers well clear of that error and his version's all the better for it. Great stuff.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 05:18 PM

Thank you, I am going to search and listen right now

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: Artful Codger
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 03:06 PM

To olddude: A good place to start is to search for "goodnight ballads". The "good night" referred to is a prisoner's last night on earth before his execution. These ballads are usually related in the first person, as if reporting the miscreant's last words upon the gallows. Some famous examples:

The Flash Lad/Adieu, Adieu
Valentine O'Hara/Allen Tyne of Harrow
Captain Kidd

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: RTim
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 01:32 PM

At last I was able to load my version of The Old Baby Farmer to my SoundCloud site.
See below.
http://soundcloud.com/tim-radford/the-old-baby-farmer

I also took the opportunity to load another Murder Ballad collected in the New Forest, Hampshire (my home county) called The Murder of John James.


Enjoy.

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 01:13 PM

I've already dropped Sean - or Suibhne, if you prefer - a line to thank him for this recording, which is a real cracker. The fiddle-playing has a wildness to it which really conjures up the vision of demons swirling round Henry's head and pressing him on to the fatal deed. I've only listened to it three times so far, but the tune's already lodged in my head. Go and listen to it. Go and listen to it NOW.

I'm not sure whether you're after written lyrics or audio recordings, Dan, but you can find examples of both at the links I gave in my original post. I'm sure other people here will be able to point you to plenty of other gallows ballads you could sample on-line.

Right: we're off to a great start! who's next?

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 10:58 AM

My friends
I really like British folk music. I have never heard a "gallows song"
can you give a newbie some examples

Thank you
Dan

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 10:56 AM

Okay - here's my version of The Silent Grove. Hardly perfect, but I hope it'll do...

http://soundcloud.com/sedayne-fiddlesangs/the-silent-grove

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: matt milton
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 09:25 AM

well don't put me down for anything, as I rarely have time to do any recording, but if I do I think it'll be that there Liverpool Lodger.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 09:23 AM

Oh, and I forgot to ask, Matt: which one can I put you down for?

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 09:16 AM

Thanks for that, Matt, and I'm glad you like the site.

I agree that that The Hammond School's treatment of Gallows Child worked well. Partly, I think because it was for a Christmas show anyway (which made the tune doubly appropriate), and partly because it has exactly the same tone as Dickens' own more sentimental passages.

On the question of the printed sheet's sometime-clunky lyrics, I've already said to a couple of potential contributors that they should feel free to tidy up the words where that's needed to make them performable. The guys who wrote these things were not remotely precious about their work, and I'm sure much of it could benefit from the same folk process routinely applied to old ballads we learn from hearing them sung.

On that subject, my new Pretty Polly essay has lyrics for an 1850 music hall parody of The Gosport Tragedy, which mocks just the forced rhymes you mention on the old ballad sheets. Spelt out phonetically to mimic Sam Cowell's on-stage delivery, it opens with the lines: "Young William, he courted her to be his dear / And he by his trade was a ship's carpen - tier."

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: matt milton
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 08:50 AM

aha, I see we already have a Gallow's Child. Yes, I can see how that would fit into a production of Oliver Twist!

Funny that they sang it to the tune of God REst ye Merry Gentlemen: that tune kept on popping into my head too, when I read through several of the ballads. I guess it's one measure of iambic quadrameter followed by one life of whatever you call a curtailed measure of iambic quadrameter.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: matt milton
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 08:39 AM

They're all very interesting, and I love your site.

But you do notice the difference between them and traditional folk songs. There are plenty of clunky trad folk songs, but those broadsides really take the biscuit! Though part of the appeal of those broadsides is their very clunkiness, their bloody awful rhymes and terrible, clod-hopping repetitiousness. The author of the first, Mary Arnold, seems to know few words other than "dreadful" and "deed"!!

The ones that work best, for me, are the especially florid and bloodthirsty ones, because the crass, child-like doggerel of the words magnifies the coarseness of the subject-matter. I like the Liverpool Lodger very much, there's a lot of dark comedy to its rhymes.

On the other hand, I'd be interested to see if anyone opts to tackle 'The Gallow's Child', a sanctimonious piece of Christian-greetings-card drivel. I suppose you could adopt a "Tiger Lillies" type approach: sing it as if you were callously taking the piss. Actually, it would work quite well as a medley with "Murder at Westmill": both concern a 9-year-old child standing in the dock.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 04:47 AM

The chap in Chicago, whose name is Simeon Peebler, has opted for Mary Arnold. To sum up progress so far, then, we've got Gallows Child and Mrs Dyer already up there, plus these prospects:

Mrs Dyer - RTim (additional version)
The Silent Grove - Suibhne Astray
Streams of Crimson Blood - Artful Codger
Mary Arnold - Simeon Peebler

I've no objection at all to having several versions of a single song up there - in fact, it might be quite interesting to contrast the different approaches. If later contributors want one all to themselves though, they'll have to steer clear of the list above.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 05:12 PM

That's great, Artful, thanks very much. I do want to keep the focus on the 16 songs listed, as I think it'd be easy for the whole thing to loose shape otherwise. I'll mark down your name against Streams of Crimson Blood, and I can't wait to hear it.

I put a copy of this appeal up on the No Depression board too, and that's netted a chap in Chicago who wants to tackle one of the ballads, so I think we might be in with a chance here.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: Artful Codger
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 03:26 PM

Paul, I've done up a tune for "Streams of Crimson Blood", to which I added a refrain section for each verse, adding a touch more ..um.. color. Once I get it down a bit more, I'll make a low-tech home recording and send it to you.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 02:15 PM

See my answer to Artful Codger above (Feb 10).

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 01:47 PM

Would I be alowed to sing my own ballads wich my grand mother she had left me all her copyrights ballads like, bonnie glenshee ballads like that

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 06:29 AM

Thanks, Sean - consider that track reserved for you. I've just dropped you a line now, so please check your in-box.

Sean, for them as don't know, is half of Rapunzel & Sedayne, one of the most critically-acclaimed acts in UK folk right now. You'll find more details of the duo and their album here: http://www.folkpolicerecordings.com/rapunzel--sedayne.html .

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 05:14 AM

Sounds like my sort of thing; put me down for The Silent Grove and maybe we might link it in with my Fiddlesangs project??

contact me directly: [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 03:59 AM

http://tindeck.com/listen/ftwm

I should have said earlier that I'm also quite willing to come out and do a little field recording for this project.

I've got a mini-disc and a decent mike for radio interviews, which is what I used for the Pete Morton recording at the link above. Pete and I just found an empty dining room in the pub he was playing that night, and did the recording in a single take there.

I live in London, but I've already been as far afield as Hitchins and Chester in pursuit of these recordings, so distances like that are no problem.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Pr
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 05:08 PM

Thank you, all three.

To 999:
You're quite right, and I'm very glad I decided to bump the post up to the top for one more go-round. Thanks for the encouragement, which is always welcome.

To Tim:
Is your version of Mrs Dyer (as I call it) available on-line anywhere? If so, I'd love to add a link to the relevant PlanetSlade pages pointing people towards it. Failing that, if you'd care send me a recording of it - and give your permission, of course - I'd be delighted to post it myself alongside the two existing tracks.

To Artful Codger:
As far as this particular project's concerned, I think I'd rather keep things tidy by sticking to the 16 ballads already detailed on the site. If you'd like to tackle one of those, that'd be great. If not, feel free to drop PlanetSlade a line with the appropriate link to any other genuine old gallows ballad you may record and I'll be delighted to point people towards it on PlanetSlade's letters page. Let a thousand flowers bloom!

You can contact me via the link on this page: http://www.planetslade.com/contact.html.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Pr
From: GUEST,999
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 02:44 PM

Ya got two good and knowledgeable people there already, Paul.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Pr
From: Artful Codger
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 02:42 PM

Are you interested in other gallows songs as well, or only those associated with true stories and broadsides, and particularly those you've researched? For instancee, I sing a version of "The Footboy" (about a man who frames his footboy for theft and has him hanged because his daughter developed a fancy for the man), but to my knowledge any specific antecedents have been lost to obscurity, despite general similarities to some other songs.

I'll take a look at the other broadsides and see if one tickles my fancy enough to set. Do you mind if the lyrics are tightened up?

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Pr
From: RTim
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 02:10 PM

I have been singing The Old Baby Farmer for years. I learnt it many many years ago
from my old late friend Dave Williams, in South Hampshire.

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Pr
From: GUEST,999
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 01:45 PM

Paul, don't give up so easily.

http://www.planetslade.com/broadside-ballads-songs.html

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Pr
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 08:41 AM

No takers? Oh well...

Subject: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Pr
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 09 Feb 12 - 07:14 AM

I've just posted free audio online for the first two of PlanetSlade's genuine Victorian gallows ballads. I'm hoping these will be just the beginning of a project that eventually brings all 16 of the ballads back to life as fully-performed songs.

These are the songs knocked out by jobbing hacks in London's Seven Dials slum and sold at public hangings while the condemned man was still dangling. Each song comes with full lyrics, plus my own research on the real crime that inspired it. All the lyrics are well over 100 years old. So far, the audio available covers:

Gallows Child: Original lyrics set to the tune of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by The Hammond School's Nicola Andrew, and performed by the cast of the school's Christmas 2011 production of Oliver Twist. It's my own field recording from the show's run last month, made and posted on-line with their permission.
Audio: http://tindeck.com/listen/spbc .
Background: http://www.planetslade.com/broadside-ballads-gallows-child.html .

Mrs Dyer, the Old Baby Farmer: A 1960 music hall recording by Elsa Lanchester, the actress who played The Bride of Frankenstein, and salvaged here from a long out-of-print vinyl LP.
Audio: http://tindeck.com/listen/gqqv.
Background: http://www.planetslade.com/broadside-ballads-mrs-dyer.html .

If you'd like to help PlanetSlade bring its other 14 Gallows Ballads back to life too, why not set one of the song's public domain lyrics to your own music and record yourself performing it? I'd be delighted to use PlanetSlade as a central list of links to everyone's recordings or - if you prefer - post your track on-line myself. Bedroom musicians, pub performers, folk clubs and global megastars are all welcome to take part.

PlanetSlade Music already has exclusive free tracks from both Pete Morton and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, so you'd be in excellent company.

Ideally, I'd like to have links to people performing all 16 of our British Broadsides up and running there, but whether I manage that or not is entirely up to you. There's no money in this for anyone - least of all me - but I think it's a worthwhile project nonetheless. If you agree, please help me spread the word. More details here: http://www.planetslade.com/broadside-ballads-songs.html .

PS) PlanetSlade also has a new Murder Ballads essay up on-line today, covering Pretty Polly and it's 18th Century roots in The Gosport Tragedy. Find it here: http://www.planetslade.com/pretty-polly01.html .