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25 Jan 18 - 11:18 AM (#3901687) Subject: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: MickyMan I just heard a version of Two Sisters, set by the seaside, with the poor little sister being killed and turned into a harp by mintrels. Alas, it was streaming on Pandora with no title/performaer info. It sounded like some kind of Celtic group, with a rfrain that included some words that sounded like "bonnie broom". It was a medium fast tempo. Does anybody know what i probably heard? Are the words on Mudcat? |
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25 Jan 18 - 11:35 AM (#3901693) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: StephenH Yep, you can find the lyrics in Mudcat under "The Two Sisters", "The Twa Sisters", or "The Cruel Sister." I don't know if it's what you heard, but my personal favourite version still remains the one by Pentangle on their "Solomon's Seal" album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3S2brPXjEM |
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25 Jan 18 - 11:45 AM (#3901700) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: MickyMan Yes! Thank you! (Although the one I heard was more uptempo than your youtube link ..... I actually prefer this more intimate version.) Reminds me that I pretty much missed Pentangle as a band. Gotta do some listening, for sure! |
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25 Jan 18 - 09:44 PM (#3901832) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: CupOfTea Pentangle's version seemed pretty up-tempo to me, and was my go-to version of this ballad for a couple decades before Andrew Calhoun spoiled for me entirely. The "lay the bent to the bonny broom" made reference to two types of herbiage meant to repel the devil, and that melody, and refrains, more properly belonged to The Devil's Nine Questions. Now I'm not a purist, and know ballads can switch melodies and refrains like a body can change a dress or tie, but the logic of his assertation stuck with me, and I stopped singing it that way. There are so many other sets of refrains that go to this ballad, haven't settled on one yet. (I am MUCH more inclined to sing Sadie Damascus' 'Cruelish Sister' when I'm on that plot line, anyhow.) Joanne in Cleveland |
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26 Jan 18 - 06:05 AM (#3901879) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Susan of DT Several of the 15 versions of Child #10, the Two Sisters include the harp made from her breast bone: Two Sis 13 with harp 2sis #12 with harp 2 sis Bonnie Broom 2 sis 9 Cruel Sister Binnorie And many more make her into a fiddle |
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26 Jan 18 - 06:13 AM (#3901880) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Jim Carroll Wonerdful version of the Ballad, The Twa Sisters by Traveller Scots Betsy Whyte ]BAND 4 THE TWA SISTERS CHILD 10 Betsy Whyte Dear sister, dear sister, wad ye take my hand Hee ho an sae bonnie, oh, An put your foot on that marble stone? An the swan swam so bonnie oh. Dear sister, dear sister, wad ye go a walk with me, Hae ho an sae bonnie oh, And I will show you wonders before you return And the swan swam so bonnie oh. For thae was two sisters lived in a mill, Hae ho and so bonnie oh, For the younger sister pushed the older sister in An was drowned in the dams o' Binnorie-oh. Oh miller, oh miller, come stop your dam, Hae ho an sae bonnie oh, For I do see a maiden or a white-milk swan, An the swan swam in Binnorie oh. For the miller hastened, he stopped up his dam Hae ho an so bonnie oh, And it's then they took her and hung her up tae dry, An the swan swam in Binnorie oh. For thae was three fiddlers passing this way Hae ho and so bonnie oh, There was one of them taen her fore-finger For to make a fiddle-pin, And anither of them taen three links of her yellow hair For to make some fiddle strings, And the ither of them taen her breast-bone For to make a fiddle that wad play a tune its lone, And the swan swam in Binnorie oh. Jim Carroll |
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26 Jan 18 - 12:23 PM (#3901964) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Jack Campin Isn't there a version with the refrain "the broom blooms bonnie, the broom blooms fair"? From C.K. Sharpe originally, I think. The hair-into-harp idea is pan-European, used in Mahler's "Das Klagende Lied". |
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26 Jan 18 - 12:49 PM (#3901971) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: GUEST,kenny Was the singer male or female ? Any indication of nationality ? |
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26 Jan 18 - 02:35 PM (#3901992) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Will Fly I suspect the version you heard is by Old Blind Dogs - great stuff. Check out their version of Twa Corbies. |
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26 Jan 18 - 03:05 PM (#3901997) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Marje Eliza Carthy's recording of Sheath and Knife has that refrain (the broom blooms bonny, etc) but it's a different story from the two sisters. Marje |
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26 Jan 18 - 03:14 PM (#3902002) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: gillymor Here are the OBD's doing The Cruel Sister , mentioned by Will. Another trad song concerning cadaver luthiery, Wind and Rain, the song starts at about 1:08. |
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30 Jul 20 - 12:53 AM (#4066511) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: GUEST,anon Jack - from what I could find, the refrain "the broom blooms bonny, the broom blooms fair" originally comes from Sheath and Knife (child 16) |
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30 Jul 20 - 04:57 AM (#4066521) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler The Pyewackett version is worth listening to. They manage to do a very gradual slowing through the last verse, something I find very difficult to achieve in such a controlled manner. Robin |
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31 Jul 20 - 11:19 AM (#4066712) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: leeneia I sing a version with refrains Hey the gay and grinding.. By the bonnie, bonnie boughs of London I learned it from a recording by Martin Carthy, who learned a version collected from a woman in some southern state (Virginia?). Since I have friends who play harp, I changed the magic instrument from a fiddle to a harp. Boughs - when a river meanders, the curving pieces of land which border it are the boughs. |
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31 Jul 20 - 12:40 PM (#4066723) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Mysha And why are they bonny? BFN Mysha |
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31 Jul 20 - 08:17 PM (#4066784) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: leeneia In medieval times, there were abundant grasses and flowers on the boughs. Butterflies fluttered about, and birds sang sweetly. From time to time people would see princesses there. |
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01 Aug 20 - 03:41 AM (#4066815) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: GUEST,geo Oh the versions that have "the bows/boughs of london" are very fun! I think "The Bows of London" by Stick in the Wheel may have been the first version of this ballad I ever heard. |
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02 Aug 20 - 04:21 PM (#4067038) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: Cattia In Terre Celtiche Blog I wrote about the ballad and its variants with many music videos and related texts. Generally the blog is written in Italian but for The two sisters: Binnorie I also made the pages in English https://terreceltiche.altervista.org/the-two-sisters-ballad-binnorie/ |
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30 Oct 21 - 11:04 PM (#4124701) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Two Sisters - with a harp being made? From: GUEST,Jill Greene We have a version of "Cruel Sister" on our album Legends and Laments. We made a few slight revisions in the lyrics to get away from stereotypes of fair = good, dark = bad. We recently posted a video of the song here: https://youtu.be/zlDCurnQ5Cw |