Lyr Add: Capetown (Don Clark)

Subject: Lyr Add: Capetown
From: Wolfgang
Date: 16 Nov 15 - 02:10 PM

This is my transcription of the song. I'm fairly confident that any remaining errors are minor.

What the song is about may be read here

Wolfgang

CAPETOWN
(Don Clarke) (tune: Dark woman of the glen)

The sun it shines like murder as it stares us in the face
dust beats in palls off the road-o,
the policemen they have dogs
and they're waiting by the bogs,
but we have no fear we've been this way before.

Our comrade lies in prison for the telling of the truth
the way he looks, the place that he was was born-o.
In his cell he lies in rags
near the house with all the plaques
where the minister is sipping on his tea.

CHORUS
We will walk together though some of us are lame
some of us are weary, sick and sore-o.
They may throw us into jail
but we'll die before we fail.
We will walk along together to Capetown.

Last time we walked together the army shed our blood
charged with horses, laid us down with gas-o,
but we'll let all people know
we'll not run before our foe,
we will walk as long as one of us can stand.

CHORUS

They say that his journey will take a thousand years
some of us will die along the road-o,
but to follow on your friends
to stand up like women and men
it is better for to living on your knees.

CHORUS

CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Capetown
From: maeve
Date: 16 Nov 15 - 02:28 PM

Hi, Wolfgang. Thank you for your transcription. Do you have a link to hear the song?

(PS- I suspect you'll find some little errors in the last stanza.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Capetown
From: Wolfgang
Date: 17 Nov 15 - 09:48 AM

Hi Maeve,

Sorry, I have no link for the song, only a tape of the Californian group "Out of the rain" titled "Song of the wage slave".

This link tells a bit about the singer Richard Adrianowicz who once was with this group.

The last verse sounds awkward, you're right. There's one sense changing typo in it: "this journey", not "his".

I'm unsure about the "follow on" in line three of the last verse. "Better for to living"? I can't hear anything else though it doesn't sound like proper grammatical English.

Line 2 of the first verse is also suboptimal.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Capetown
From: Wolfgang
Date: 17 Nov 15 - 12:26 PM

I should mention that Richard is/was "radriano" in Mudcat.

W.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Capetown
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Nov 15 - 12:52 AM

I believe I know this Don Clark. He is an editor and reporter for the Wall Street Journal, working at their San Francisco bureau. He is married to Michele Delattre. They live in Oakland. I was acquainted with them when they lived in the Twin Cities 20+ years ago and performed, along with Ross Sutter & Laura Mackenzie, as a group called Walking on Air. I believe CAPETOWN was in their repertoire then.

Please note the correct spelling of his name: Clark.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Capetown (Don Clarke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jun 20 - 07:52 PM

I haven't found a recording yet of Don Clarke singing this song, but I did find another Don Clarke song, "Til You're Free Again," by Don Clarke and the Drakondale Girls Choir:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7B1q6wLJFU

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Capetown (Don Clarke)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 09:39 AM

Joe: the Don Clarke you have found is a different person from the Don Clark who wrote CAPETOWN. The name of the latter was misspelled at the beginning of this thread. I will correct the thread title.

Subject: Lyr Add: CAPETOWN (Don Clark/Walking on Air)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 09:43 AM

You can hear this recording at YouTube or at Blackberry Way Records. My transcription below. I have boldfaced the words that are different from the transcription above.


CAPETOWN
Words by Don Clark, music trad. "Bean Dubh an Ghleanna" ("Dark Woman of the Glen")*
As recorded by Walking on Air** on "Music of Ireland, Scotland and Beyond" (1984)***

1. The sun it shines like murder as it stares us in the face.
The dust it beats in clouds off the road-o.
The policemen they have dogs
And they're waiting by the bogs,
But we have no fear; we've been this way before.

CHORUS: Oh, we will walk together though some of us are lame
Some of us are weary, sick and sore-o.
They may throw us into jail,
But we'll die before we fail.
We will walk along together to Capetown.

2. Our comrade lies in prison for the telling of the truth,
The way he looks, the place that he was was born-o.
In his cell he lies in rags
Near the house with all the flags
Where the minister is sipping on his tea. CHORUS

3. Last time we walked together, the army shed our blood,
Charged with horses, laid us down with gas-o,
But we let all people know
We'll not run before our foe;
We will walk as long as one of us can stand. CHORUS

4. They tell us that this journey will take a thousand years;
Some of us will die along the road-o,
But to fall among your friends,
To stand up like women and men,
It is better far than living on your knees. CHORUS TWICE


* I have given the tune credit as it appears at Blackberry Way Records (which presumably came from Don Clark) but frankly, I don't hear much resemblance between "Capetown" and "Bean Dubh an Ghleanna."

** Walking on Air consisted of Don Clark, Michele Delattre, Ross Sutter & Laura Mackenzie. The group is defunct now but they had a reunion concert in St. Paul a couple of years ago.

*** The album has recently been remastered and reissued by Blackberry Way Records but it was recorded in 1984.