She Moved Through the Fair - advice

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Trevor
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 04:20 AM

Nobody's mentioned Van Morrison's attempt yet. Now that is different!

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Fiolar
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 06:24 AM

According to the All Music Guide there are some 96 vocal versions on various records. That doesn't include nearly as many instrumental versions.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: GUEST,Den at work
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 09:59 AM

McGrath I don't think the Pogues did but Shane sang it on a solo effort. Sinead sang it very well too.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 11:29 AM

Shane sang it on a solo effort. That could be interesting to hear.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: GUEST,Den at work
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 12:50 PM

Done in his inimitable style of course.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Leo Condie
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 01:41 PM

now, the big question...do you sing three or four verses? I personally go for the whole four myself but I believe some people like to miss out the second verse for some reason.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 02:30 PM

That's how Margaret Barry sang it, with just the three verses, and that's how lots of people, includng me, first heard it.

I think it works dramatically better without that third verse explaining things a bit. I don't want explanations.

I'm not sure whether that verse was in Padraic Colum's version when he published it - I've seen it printed both ways.

I think it was likely Margaret Barry's recording that made people sing the last verse with "my dead love came in" - and I think that's a lot better than "my young love came in".

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: GUEST,Jim Clark..London.England
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 02:43 PM

Hi Tunesmith,

Yes I agree this is a very special song...you can just nexer forget it...

You might enjoy a listen to a version I recorded in the mid 1990's for my video/sound archive of acoustic musicians and poets....a wonderful couple of singing sisters came to see me calling themselves "The Holohan sisters" ...Jane Holohan sings this one unnacompanied.....
She Moved Through the fair performed by Jane Holohan ...


Regards.

JC.....

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Leo Condie
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 03:00 PM

I've never found that verse to give a particularly good explanation, but it definitely seems to be a song that benefits from being as mysterious as possible, so I suppose in a way missing out the third (i got it wrong when i said second) verse does add to it. Having said that, it's a song I greatly enjoy singing so the more of it there is to sing, the more I like it!

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 04:02 PM

Margaret Barry learned the song from a John McCormack record, it appears, and the introduction of "dead love" seems to derive from him, possibly as the result of an accidental misreading of sheet music. Certainly it doesn't appear in Colum's verses, or in any known traditional forms of the song on which he based it. The "mystery" is of recent origin. Those aspects of the song have been discussed here in the past at some length, of course.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 06:27 PM

Whether it's "young love" or "dead love" it seems pretty clear to me she's dead either way. And he's not go long to go.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Leo Condie
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 06:32 PM

life's a bugger, eh!

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jul 03 - 06:43 PM

Here is one not mentioned.

Naimh Parsons sings it on 100 Irish Ballads volume 2. I love what she has done with it, without changing notes, over dramatizing or changing the words. There is an honesty in most everything she sings (even on that record). I would most enjoy versions that use ornamentation, slight changes in phrasing, and just plain heart-felt singing to get the point across. To me, this is one of the great Irish ballads and I don't think it should be messed with too much. Just my opinion.

Tunesmith, good luck on your interpretation.

Claire

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: GUEST,Heely
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 11:03 AM

Has anyone else heard the "King's Singers" do this one? It is 7 part unaccompanied men's voices, arranged by Daryl Runswick. We love it. I'm using the arrangement for my school choral group next year.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Old Grizzly
Date: 01 Sep 06 - 11:00 AM

Hi,

I have known and sung a penultimate verse (below) for over 30 years.

I have no recollection now where I learned this from..... any ideas

as to source ?


In the still of the evening, when the wild birds do sleep,

I heard a soft whisper and a young maiden weep,

I heard a soft whisper and this she did say,

it will not be long love until our wedding day

regards

Dave

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: GUEST,anna
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 06:56 PM

does any one no the notes for this song on the tin whistle? i need them !!

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 18 Mar 07 - 08:23 PM

I am surprised nobody has yet mentioned Adam McNaughtan's précis of the song (and my favourite version by far)


" My young love said to me, as she fell through the flair,

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH "

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: nutty
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 03:54 AM

Guest Anna

This site gives you all the tunes in the Digital Tradition in Whistle notation ... Have fun.

Click here for Tunes

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: GUEST,Guest - Fredrik
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 07:29 AM

Thought I'd just step into this old thread and mention a couple of versions that haven't been mentioned earlier.
One is by counter tenor Andreas Scholl on the album 'Wayfaring Stranger', on which he sings folk songs from the British Isles, all very beautifully arranged, and he has a stunning voice. He sings the four verse version, with "dead love" in the fourth verse, so perhaps - as I gather from the lengthy discussion on this subject here on the forum - he is not as true to the "original" (not intended as an invitation to discuss what's original - I just mean the oldest available sources) as many would want.

Another beautiful version is recorded by the Irish (I think) folk music group Slaínte on their record "Cup of Tea". Beautiful. Four verse version. Fourth verse "I dreamt it last night that my young love came in".

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: PoppaGator
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 05:52 PM

As you can see a the top of this page, there have been many Mudcat threads about this song.

Fairly recently ~ long after this thread was begun back in '03 ~ one of those discussions went into detail about the meaning or interpretation of the lyrics, introducing an element of controversy. I was particularly struck by this contribution from Jim Lad:

thread.cfm?threadid=28589#1932046

(Read down past the full set of lyrics to see Jim's additional comments.)

If you're interested enough to read the rest of the thread, you'll see that some folks disagreed rather violently with this interpretation, the specific disease that may or may not have been alluded to, etc.

Certainly, the clearer and more detailed an idea a singer can hold in his/her mind regarding a song's "meaning," the stronger that singer's interpretation can be. I don't think it's a matter of whether said interpretation is "right" or "wrong" ~ it's the depth of the singer's conviction that can give a performance extra intensity and authenticity.

Incidentally, my first exposure to this lovely old tune was a recording by Judy Collins, on one of her mid-to-late-1960s LPs. But she did NOT list the song under its usual title; I don't remember the title used on this recording, but it was NOT "She Moved Through the Fair." It was many years before I realized that "SMTTF," a song title I encountered occasionally, was indeed the song I had heard under a different title. I believe Ms Collins sang it unaccompanied, and whatever other lyrics may or may not have differed from the traditional text, each verse ended with the phrase, "It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day."

Anyone remember that album cut, and/or its non-standard title?

Subject: RE: She Moved Through the Fair - advice
From: Banjiman
Date: 15 Aug 07 - 09:28 AM

Here's how Mrs Banjiman (Wendy Arrowsmith) approached it with Uilliam Haicead on Uilleann pipes.

I'm sure it is not definitive but I like it (well I would....)

Any thoughts, comments or feedback gratefully received.

http://www.myspace.com/wendyarrowsmith

Paul