Origins: Crazy Man Michael (Richard Thompson)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Crazy Man Michael (Richard Thompson)
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 07 Jan 12 - 05:32 PM

Thanks for that bob.

I wouldn't like to think that I was dictating what people chose to sing. (I try to stick to factual posts; I'm useless at arguments!).

And on the subject of mistakes, my own song folders are certainly not exempt from them from the days when I took songs down from records and tapes. From time to time I decide to sing something I haven't done for years and when I relisten to the song with the aid of modern digital tech, audio editors and decent phones I find I got something completely wrong in the words I took down listening on my Dansette all those years before!.

I should also make it clear that when I said Shirley Collins sang Long Years Ago as she got it, I meant that she chose to sing it like that; I'm sure she was aware of and could have inserted the missing word if she'd wanted to.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Crazy Man Michael (Richard Thompson)
From: RobbieWilson
Date: 19 Nov 14 - 05:28 PM

Thank you all for your contributions.
I am still convinced it is " Kiss, O " and will continue to sing this.

Incidentally RT often changes elements of his lyrics himself so I think it is a little fatuous to argue about the "correct" words of a song, though not to discuss what you might be unclear about hearing
Robbie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Crazy Man Michael (Richard Thompson)
From: Musket
Date: 20 Nov 14 - 04:49 AM

I used to sing kiss o. If The Blessed RT wrote thistle, then fine but words of songs being altered slightly through mishearing, misremembering or thinking an alternative works is all part of what we call the folk process.

In his song Valerie, I always sung "She's got gonorrhoea" so I felt rather embarrassed when I bought his Acoustic Classics album earlier this year, to find, now I hear it clearly, "She's got gold in her ear."

Whoops...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Crazy Man Michael (Richard Thompson)
From: cptsnapper
Date: 20 Nov 14 - 09:25 AM

I remember that when Maggie Holland made her first album we ended up singing The Grey Valerio.