Chord Req: Crazy Man Michael (Fairport Convention)

Subject: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: lunamaid
Date: 22 Aug 00 - 06:29 PM

Can anyone help me with music to Crazy Man Michael? I managed to learn how to naviagate this site well enough to get the lyrics --whoppie do! Need this for guitar or mountain dulcimer. Help? Than

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: sophocleese
Date: 22 Aug 00 - 08:43 PM

Chords that I use are:

Em G D Bm Em D Em Em x2

Bm Bm Em Em Bm Bm D D

Em D Em Bm Em D Em Em

Hope that's useful for you.

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: GUEST,Mark
Date: 22 Aug 00 - 08:46 PM

Anyone know what the song is about.

Wasn't it written by Dave Swarbrick.

How is he, by the way?

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: GUEST,Mark
Date: 22 Aug 00 - 09:23 PM

This song also works well in 9.8

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Llanfair
Date: 23 Aug 00 - 03:58 AM

Mark, the song was written by Dave Swarbrick and Richard Thompson, and, In my opinion, is about witchcraft, and it's closeness to the elements.
Swarb performed at Cropredy, and, although far from well, sounded marvellous.
Bron.

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Aug 00 - 07:30 AM

Thompson is rarely specific about what his songs "mean"; I rather doubt if he even told Swarbrick what this one was about.  I did come across some interesting comments on a Thompson website, but can't find the place just now; you'll have to play with some Search Engines and see what you can find.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Noreen
Date: 23 Aug 00 - 10:03 AM

I think The Guitar of RT- about the songs is the site you mean, Malcolm- I just happened to have it to hand!

Unusually, he seems to have given some more info on meaning here. Relevant bit:

Crazy man Michael-Melody by Swarbrick, lyrics by RT. A song steeped in the imagery of roses growing from the breasts of dead lovers. CMM inadvertently kills his own true love and is forever condemned to wander the earth, shunned by human society. Able to communicate only with animals. Talking to Flypaper's Frank Kornelussen in 1984, Thompson admitted the song was about Jeannie really. "CMM is kind of guilt, because in some way I feel responsible for her dying. There wasn't any way I was, but I just felt that at the time." (Extract from RT Biography)

Lots of guitar tabs are there but not CMM as far as I can tell.

Noreen

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Noreen
Date: 23 Aug 00 - 07:17 PM

And I found this on the Sandy Denny site:

Fairport Convention: Crazy Man Michael
[Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick]

``Richard had the words set to a trad tune and I thought that the words were great but that the tune weakened it ... He said that if I felt like that, why didn't I write a tune for it - so I did ... Funnily enough, I wrote the piece on the piano and I don't even play piano!'' (Dave Swarbrick, "Hokey Pokey" #18).

Noreen

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Aug 00 - 08:23 PM

Thanks, Noreen; that was indeed the site I was thinking of.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: lunamaid
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 02:34 PM

Thanks -- ya'll are great!

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Brendy
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 02:53 PM

The TABS seem to be a closely guarded secret, though.

Just keep playing the record until it's just one big wide groove; you'll develop a better understanding of it that way.

Good luck.

B.

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Noreen
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:21 PM

Is that one of those big old black things with a hole in the middle, Brendy?

RT says he's going to bring out his own song book, but who knows when- still waiting for the live video which is tied up by legal problems....

Noreen

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Brendy
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:38 PM

Yeah, Noreen. I couldn't resist re living the image of me sitting in bedsits during Uni days with my handful of records, and the determination that 'I will get this song if it kills me' attitude. *BG*
I'm not very good with TABS, and I would notate it (even though that would take me ages as well), scan it and make it available somewhere......but me scanner's up the left at the minute, and I'm waiting for it to come back from a friend of mine who's having a look at it.

If I could, I certainly would.

B.

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Noreen
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:57 PM

Yes Brendy, been there- it helped that we only had 3 or 4 LPs between us in our Uni flat so we got to know them well. Some songs I can't hear now without remembering the click where the record jumped!

Noreen

Subject: RE: Chord req: Crazy Man Michael
From: Brendy
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 05:18 PM

*LOL* - I used to hear people leave out words of songs, in the middle of lines. I always wondered was that where the record skipped!
I used to rob the electricty meter for 10p coins to put on the needle, so as it would cut a swathe through the offending (and infuriating) section.

Ahh the trials and tribulations of the folkie!!!

B.

Subject: Crazy Man Michael
From:
Date: 09 Feb 01 - 09:19 PM

I know that the words to "Crazy Man Michael" were written by Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick. I'd like to know if the tune was original or was it put to a traditional tune, etc...

Subject: RE: Crazy Man Michael
From: Noreen
Date: 09 Feb 01 - 09:42 PM

All original, jake. If you search the forum you'll find previous discussions on the song.

Noreen

Subject: RE: Crazy Man Michael
From:
Date: 10 Feb 01 - 04:02 AM

Thanks, Noreen. Someone posed the question on the Fairport list and I became curious.

Subject: RE: Crazy Man Michael
From: GUEST,Jake
Date: 10 Feb 01 - 04:17 AM

Hi, Noreen. Are you in the New York City area? If you are, my band, Castle Keep, will be playing at 22 Below, a coffeehouse on East 22nd Street, on March 3rd. We will also be recording for a live CD that evening. You can listen to some of our songs at: www.mp3.com/castlekeep

We formed in 1981 and "Crazy Man Michael" was one of the songs we performed.

Jake ([e-mail])

Subject: RE: Crazy Man Michael
From: Llanfair
Date: 10 Feb 01 - 04:48 AM

It's on my CD, too, wonderful song.
Cheers, Bron.

Subject: RE: Crazy Man Michael
From: Noreen
Date: 10 Feb 01 - 12:56 PM

Hi Jake. No, I'm in the UK, and I remember you from the Fairport list.

Relevant quote that I searched the forum for:``Richard had the words set to a trad tune and I thought that the words were great but that the tune weakened it ... He said that if I felt like that, why didn't I write a tune for it - so I did ... Funnily enough, I wrote the piece on the piano and I don't even play piano!'' (Dave Swarbrick, "Hokey Pokey" #18).

click here for the old thread

Noreen

Subject: RE: Crazy Man Michael
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Feb 01 - 01:00 PM

Guestdisk: Post your concert to the Teal Thread about What's going on" You'll get more readers.

Subject: RE: Origin: Crazy Man Michael (Fairport Convention)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jun 23 - 05:38 PM

Joe - do cleanup