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Lyr Req: A Cold Wind Blows (Alasdair Clayre)

19 Feb 11 - 09:49 AM (#3098502)
Subject: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: GUEST,Joe

I'm looking for help in tracing the author and remaining verses of this song that I first heard around 1970.

The opening verse went something like this:

'There's a cold wind blows, you cannot see.
Strips the thin leaves from the tree.
Drives the small birds singing, way off to the South.
It'll drive black dust in a young girl's smiling mouth'

It had a very haunting tune.

20 Feb 11 - 11:34 AM (#3099108)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: GUEST,kab

I think the song is by Alasdair Clayre.
I heard it many years ago on an album called "A Cold Wind Blows"
There are quite a few references in the Mudcat Archive but I don't know how to link them.Good song.

20 Feb 11 - 01:16 PM (#3099163)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: Leadfingers

There are several Catter who have the Alasdair Clayre song book - seePrevious Thread - Hopefully one will oblige

20 Feb 11 - 01:28 PM (#3099169)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Kab is correct.
"Query re Alasdair Clayre," thread 60621, gives the song as the title thread of the Electra LP EUK 283 and authors Alasdair Clayre and Peggy Seeger. The thread has no lyrics from that LP.
'cold wind blows did not turn up anything in mudcat with the lyrics.

Aladsair Clayre

(Some sites have the song mis-titled as 'an old wind blows')

20 Feb 11 - 02:13 PM (#3099189)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Joe may have the lyrics- he posted index of "New English Broadsides" which has the lyrics.

20 Feb 11 - 04:39 PM (#3099301)
Subject: ADD: A Cold Wind Blows (Alasdair Clayre)
From: Joe Offer

Good thing Q pointed this out. I had searched for this song, and didn't know I had it on the shelf.

A COLD WIND BLOWS / An Old Wind Blows
(words and music by Alasdair Clayre)

There's a cold wind blows you cannot see,
It shakes the thin leaves from the tree,
Blows the small birds singing away to the South
It drives black dust in a young girl's smiling mouth.

There's a strong wind blows you will not hold,
Brings you pleasure, lets your body turn cold,
Lets a child's hair grow, slowly sends it grey,
Makes you laugh and sing before it lifts your voice away.

That wind was blowing before the breath of man,
Straying on the water when the world began;
Takes each young body to play its slow tune on,
That wind will be blowing when we and our love are gone.


©Albemarle Music, 1966 (UK)
Nina Music (USA & Canada)

from New English Broadsides, page 72
Oak Publications, 1967

I'll try to remember to post a MIDI later. If I forget, remind me. Right now, it's time to go sing.

-Joe-

Click to play


From the Folkways album Adam and the Beasts and other songs by Alasdair Clayre. Identified as "An Old Wind Blows" on the recording, and the singer sings "An Old Wind."

20 Feb 11 - 05:05 PM (#3099320)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

'black dust'

Grief is hard upon me, Master, for she has left me;
The black dust has covered my pretty one.

My heart is black, for the tomb has taken my friend;
How pleasaantly would go the days if my friend were here.

I can only dream of the nature of my friend;
The flowers are dying in my heart, my breast is a fading garden.

Her breast is a sweet garden now, and her garments are gold flowers;
I am an orchard at night, for my friend has gone on a journey.

I am Majid Shah, a slave that ministers to the dead;
Abdel Qadir Gilani, even the Master, shall not save me.

Pus'hto, Afghan, 19th C.

The Garden of Bright Waters; translations by Edward Powys Mathers (online book).

I was reading a bit of this book. Saw this brief poetic piece also about the 'black dust'.

20 Feb 11 - 06:07 PM (#3099359)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: GUEST,Joe

Many thanks for all the replies and useful references.

I've been trying to find these lyrics during the past six months. The tune suddenly came back into my head whilst walking in the Pyrenees.

Very pleased to have stumbled onto this friendly site.

Regards,

Joe

20 Feb 11 - 06:31 PM (#3099367)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: GUEST,Joe

I managed to find a very reasonably priced copy of '100 Folk Songs & New Songs' on Amazon & downloaded an MP3 from The 'Adam & The Beasts' album, found here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=alasdair+clayre&x=10&y=13

Oddly, the song is titled and uses the lyric 'An Old Wind Blows'.

Thanks again for the help.

Regards,

Joe

21 Feb 11 - 12:45 AM (#3099523)
Subject: RE: Origins: There's a cold wind blows
From: Joe Offer

The song can be found on the Folkways album Adam and the Beasts and other songs by Alasdair Clayre. Identified as "An Old Wind Blows" on the recording, and the singer sings "An Old Wind." You can get a pdf of the liner notes at this link (click).
Oh, and I added the tune:

Click to play



The MIDI doesn't do it justice - the recording is very good.
-Joe-

21 Feb 11 - 06:58 AM (#3099629)
Subject: RE: Origins/ADD: A cold wind blows/An Old Wind Blows
From: GUEST,Joe

Thanks for the extra information; very interesting reading.

Putting 'Clayre Kirkby' into Google brings up links which show that Emma Kirkby is the female vocalist on the 'Old Wind Blows' track.

Regards,

Joe

22 Feb 11 - 10:31 PM (#3100804)
Subject: RE: Origins/ADD: A cold wind blows/An Old Wind Blows
From: GUEST,Alasdair Clayre (the nephew)

Just to confirm - it's an "old" wind... And the best archive I know for any of these is the Smithsonian.

04 Mar 11 - 01:57 PM (#3106973)
Subject: RE: Origins/ADD: A cold wind blows/An Old Wind Blows
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Odd that the title is given as A Cold Wind Blows, with brief musical score, and copyright information, in Joseph Nathan and Eric Winter, compilers, 1967, Songs of Our Time from the English Folk Scene, Oak Publications.
See Joe Offer post.

The Electra album EUK 253 with the Clayre song is titled A Cold Wind Blows

AMG artist ID p 586049

04 Mar 11 - 06:22 PM (#3107164)
Subject: RE: Origins/ADD: A cold wind blows/An Old Wind Blows
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Can't find addresses for either of the two copyright holders. Anyone?

17 Mar 11 - 10:06 AM (#3115668)
Subject: RE: Origins/ADD: A cold wind blows/An Old Wind Blows
From: GUEST,Joe

Joe Offer gave the lyrics from 1966 earlier in the thread:

A COLD WIND BLOWS / An Old Wind Blows
(words and music by Alasdair Clayre)

There's a cold wind blows you cannot see,
It shakes the thin leaves from the tree,
Blows the small birds singing away to the South
It drives black dust in a young girl's smiling mouth.

There's a strong wind blows you will not hold,
Brings you pleasure, lets your body turn cold,
Lets a child's hair grow, slowly sends it grey,
Makes you laugh and sing before it lifts your voice away.

That wind was blowing before the breath of man,
Straying on the water when the world began;
Takes each young body to play its slow tune on,
That wind will be blowing when we and our love are gone.


©Albemarle Music, 1966 (UK)
Nina Music (USA & Canada)

from New English Broadsides, page 72
Oak Publications, 1967

The single change in the 1968 version, published in '100 Folk Songs and New Songs' was 'moving' for 'blowing' in the final verse.

The Version from the 'Adam And The Beasts' (1978) album goes;

An Old Wind Blows

There's an old wind blows you cannot see,
It shakes the thin leaves from the tree,
Blows a small bird singing away to the South,
It drives black dust in a young girl's smiling mouth.

There's a strong wind blows, you will not hold,
Brings you pleasure lets your body turn cold,
Grows a young child's hair dark and gold and grey,
Lets you laugh and sing before it lifts your voice away.

That wind was moving before the breath of man
Straying on the water when the world began
Takes each young body to play its slow tune on.
That wind will be blowing when our love and we are gone.

One of the reasons I like this song is the vivid imagery conjured up with an economy of words. It's interesting to see how Alasdair Clayre honed the lyrics over a period of twelve years.

Joe