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22 Jul 13 - 09:32 AM (#3540246) Subject: Lyr Req: Peter Bellamy's Sir Patrick Spens From: Roberto From English Maritime Suite, by Peter Bellamy. This is what I can get. Please, someone to check and correct. Thank you. The King sits in Dunfermline town A-drinking at the wine And he has called for the finest skipper In Fife or all the land Then up and spoke an old man Who sat by the King's right knee: He said: Patrick Spens is the finest sailor That ever sailed on the sea Now the King he wrote a broad letter And signed it with his hand He sent it to young Sir Patrick Spens Who was walking on Leith strand "To Norrowa, to Norrowa To Norrowa o'er the foam The King's daughter in Norrowa 'Tis you must bring her home Now, they had not been in Norrowa A week but barely three When all the lords in Norrowa They up and they spoke so free They said: "These outland Scots they drink our King's gold They swallow our Queen's fee Oh woe upon the tongue that told Such a dreadful lie And how can this be?" cried Sir Patrick Spens, So I pray now, tell it unto me When the bows of our ship they are wrought in gold And we've twelve chests of white money But take heed, take heed, my good men all And mind you be forewarned For cometh wind or cometh hail Our good ship sails in the morn But up there spoke the weatherman: I fear we all be drowned For I saw the new moon late yest'reen With the old moon laying in her arms Now, they had not sailed a league, a league A league but barely three When the skies they run black and the seas run high And the ship she was now a wreck Then it's where can I find some bonny boy To take the steer in hand While I climb up to the high topmast To see if I can spy land But he hadn't take a steep, a step A step but barely one When bows of that good ship did crack And the salt sea did rush in And loth, oh loth were those proud Scots lords For to wet their cork-heeled shoes But ere the race was halfway run They'd wet their hats also Now long and long may the ladies sit With their fans all in their hands Before they see Sir Patrick Spens Come sailing to Leith strand Half ower, half ower to Aberdour Where the seas they run so deep 'Tis there does lie young Sir Patrick Spens With the Scots lords at his feet |
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22 Jul 13 - 12:35 PM (#3540336) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peter Bellamy's Sir Patrick Spens From: Reinhard I have abut a dozen very small changes at the end of my page for Sir Patrick Spens |
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22 Jul 13 - 01:13 PM (#3540355) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peter Bellamy's Sir Patrick Spens From: Lighter The words are almost the same as MacColl's version, recorded in 1956 and 1961. |
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22 Jul 13 - 01:49 PM (#3540386) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peter Bellamy's Sir Patrick Spens From: GUEST,Roberto Thank you very much, Reinhard. |
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23 Jul 13 - 07:14 AM (#3540725) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peter Bellamy's Sir Patrick Spens From: Brian Peters The very same 'Sir Patrick Spens' that was the subject of a volcanic Bellamy rant, in the last year of his life, on having been informed that MacColl had quite possibly composed the tune himself, rather than hearing it from his father. I can still hear him roaring "That fucking Marxist lied to us!", as we strolled along the cliff at Whitby - though at the same time Peter was a great admirer of MacColl. |
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24 Oct 13 - 07:30 AM (#3569553) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sir Patrick Spens (from Peter Bellamy) From: Big Al Whittle sunshine over Leith indeed. I've always loved that final image of Sir Patrick and his stony faced parliament down in the depths. wonder what they talk about....we should have turned left at Bergen... |
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24 Oct 13 - 09:27 AM (#3569589) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sir Patrick Spens (from Peter Bellamy) From: Lighter But maybe MacColl's father composed the tune. MacColl's lyrics are rather different - and I think superior - to other versions, including Percy's, which is the one familiar in poetry anthologies. The improvement seems to suggest a sophisticated reviser. However...the tune is still in the folk tradition, i. e., sounds exactly like a Scottish folk tune usu. sounds (more so, probably, than the modern tunes for "The Great Silkie" and "The Twa Corbies"). The same goes for the lyrics. Whoever revised them knew what he was doing, but that's not necessarily a sin. And MacColl did learn a number of ballads from his parents - which makes him a traditional singer, at least when he sang those particular songs. So MacColl's possible messing with tradition is still within the tradition. Otherwise its significance is for us pedants only. |