31 Jan 02 - 11:28 PM (#639780) Subject: Suzannah Martin From: GUEST |
01 Feb 02 - 12:07 AM (#639803) Subject: Lyr Add: SUSANNA MARTIN From: alison I'm sure it's in the database but I can't get the search engine to work at the moment so here you are...
SUSANNA MARTIN
Susanna Martin was a witch who dwelt in Amesbury0
A witch she was, though trim and neat with comely head held high.
"Hast thou bewitched these maids?" he asked, and strong was her reply:
The neighbors 'round swore to the truth of her Satanic powers
The spectral evidence was weighed, and stern the parson spoke:
Now those bewitched, they cried aloud, and loud their voice did ring. Repeat 1st verse slainte alison
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01 Feb 02 - 08:15 AM (#639959) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: MMario missing the tune, I do believe. |
01 Feb 02 - 01:20 PM (#640111) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Desert Dancer It's uncredited in the DT. According to this site, "By John Allison and Claudine Langille of the band Touchstone, first recorded on their album The New Land." They have an MP3 of a performance by Liza Kay. ~ Becky in Tucson |
01 Feb 02 - 08:37 PM (#640327) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Irish sergeant I have Touchstone's version of it and I have to say I dig Claudine Langille's voice. How true the lyrics were remains debatable. My research indicates that Susannah Martin was in her sixties and the rest of it might well be true. I believe the jacket notes stated that the lyrics were taken from the court transcripts. I guess even in 1692 they couldn't bring themselves to admit they were persecuting old women. None the less, it's a great song. Kindest regards, Neil |
03 Feb 02 - 10:02 AM (#641262) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Jeri Does anyone have the album Witches and War Whoops? I swear the song is on it, but my copy of the album seems to be hiding from me at the moment. |
03 Feb 02 - 10:11 AM (#641267) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Jeri Well, as soon as I posted that, the album came out from hiding. Susanna Martin (that's how it's spelled) IS on the album, recorded in 1962. Witches and War-Whoops contains songs collected and sung by John Allison. It's on Folkways FH5211 A. I'll have a listen later and see if they lyrics are similar/the same as the one in the DT and above. |
03 Feb 02 - 10:11 AM (#641269) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Peg I think portraying Suzannah as an attractive younger woman makes it a completely different song; certainly more romantic. Yet if one thinks about the gender implications of the witch trials in Europe and Colonial America (which have really only received intensive study and commentary in recent years; sex was not a major factor in earlier studies), one of the very significant facts of this phenomenon has to do with the prejudice against older women: their invisibility, their threat to community cohesiveness (because of their solitude or intractability or need for care from non-family members as they approached advanced age), and in MANY cases their access to the property of their dead husbands...which, frequently, they would choose to bequeath to the families of second husbands, and not the children or relatives of their FIRST husbands...in many cases in the Colonies (not necessarily Salem, which was a whole other kettle of fish) the accusations were motivated by land appropriation...
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03 Feb 02 - 06:27 PM (#641544) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Jeri I still haven't listened to the album, but Desert Dancer said it was by John Allison and Claudine Langille. The site DD linked to has a link to MP3.com which calls the song traditional. It's probably the same John Allison who recorded my album, so it's probably the same song. There's another song on the album about Goody Nurse. I haven't heard for a while, but I remember it being a lot more in touch with the truth |
03 Feb 02 - 09:53 PM (#641671) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Barry Finn Tune was by Claudine Langille, a real guttsy singer & fine banjo player. Barry |
03 Feb 02 - 10:05 PM (#641679) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Jeri Barry, how do you know she wrote the tune? I can't find anything except "traditional." Maybe she wrote a newer tune? I don't remember being that impressed by the one on the album. |
04 Feb 02 - 11:00 AM (#642017) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: lamarca My memory from talking to Claudine was that John Allison collated court transcripts and wrote the words to Susannah Martin, and Claudine set it to a tune. If Allison had a tune of his own, perhaps Claudine hadn't heard it or didn't like it. Sally Rogers recorded Claudine's setting, too. I've been singing it for almost 20 years, and like it a whole lot! |
04 Feb 02 - 03:37 PM (#642254) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Irish sergeant It's a great song. I have Touchstone's version but the other does intrigue me. As I remember from my readings on the Salem witch trials many of the accusations were politically based meaning that there was land disputes etc going on. The initial accusations were made by two or three girls from well to do families who blamed a Caribeean born slave named Tituba. Tituba,, understandably, confessed and implicated others to save her neck. If memory serves, those who confessed were not put to death and suffered little if any punishment save possibly losing land. In the cases of Susanna Martin, Goody Nurse and the Coreys among others. They refused to confess to something they were not guilty of Martin, Nurse and Mrs. Corey were hung. Giles Corey was pressed to death. The witch hunt finally ended when someone accused the governor's wife of witchcraft. Hutchinson finally put an end to the trials in 1694 and I believe approximately ten years later the Salem judges in charge of the trials apologized for using "excessive zeal in vanquishing God's enemies." Have a lovely evening all, Neil |
04 Feb 02 - 05:42 PM (#642380) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin From: Jeri Thanks, lamarca. I'm working with very limited information - just the record. (I bought it used, hence, not even a jacket.) All it says is "Early New England ballads collected and sung by John Allison." Of course, back then, I believe copyrights weren't always identified...or claimed. |
03 Apr 10 - 01:40 PM (#2878835) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: GUEST,Dave I have the record and the song is on it and it has the jacket with it and the words. |
25 Feb 17 - 03:26 PM (#3841530) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: GUEST,Jeffrey J Stark If anyone is truly interested in the story their is a book by a Marin called "A Witch in the Family." I am a descendant of Susannah North Martin. Allot of extraneous matters in the book but it tells the story. I also visited Salem last summer and actually found the land she owned, in Amesbury, and their is a rather large stone marker dedicated to her. The street is aptly known as North Martin St. The cul de sac is where her farm was. I also located the spot where she was hanged. Anyone interested in contacting me can at tucker6951@yahoo.com |
26 Oct 20 - 03:17 PM (#4076929) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: GUEST,Marc Bernier For what it's worth; I know Claudine Langille personally. She states she frequently encounters folk that claim this to be a Trad. Song, and insists that she did in fact write it. |
16 Feb 21 - 03:15 PM (#4093428) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: GUEST,woodyguth3 FYI, pertaining to this thread. Witches and War-Whoops Folkways album with preview audio of Susanna Martin as sung by John Allison. The melody is different from that on the Touchstone record, which apparently was written by Claudine Langille. Album liner notes I can't find any reference to the authorship of the lyrics of this song in the liner notes. The implication is that John Allison collected it from some unspecified source. That said, John Allison does claim copyright for "All ballad items" in his liner notes. Tom Smith |
19 Feb 21 - 01:04 PM (#4093855) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: GUEST,# https://schools.amesburyma.gov/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=489&dataid=2238&FileName=martin_%20susannah%20-%20by%20woodburn_%20melissa.pdf There is a good history at that link also. |
20 Feb 21 - 06:20 AM (#4093959) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: Reinhard German trio More Maids sang Susanna Martin on their 2002 CD More Maids Live. The credited the song to "words: John Allison, taken from the transcripts of 'The Salem Witch Trials', 1692, music: Claudine Langille". |
21 Jan 22 - 04:11 PM (#4133190) Subject: RE: Susanna Martin, witches of Amesbury From: Felipa rendition in Czech by Assonance: Carodejnice z Amesbury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqdJUT8Im6U |
14 Apr 22 - 10:03 PM (#4139131) Subject: RE: Origins: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: GUEST,A relative of Susannah Shame on you all for perpetuating this distastful and torturous song. Hasn’t our family suffered enough without you making it a current spectacle? GROW THE F___ UP! |
15 Apr 22 - 02:21 AM (#4139148) Subject: ADD Version :Susanna Martin From: Joe Offer Guest, Wikipedia says Susannah Martin died in 1692. Get over it. And hey, the song is very much in support of Susannah Martin. Sing it with pride. Here are the lyrics from the lyrics from the liner notes from Witches and War-Whoops: Early New England Ballads Collected and Sung by John Allison - Folkways Album FH 5211, released in 1962. As you can see, the lyrics are almost identical to those found in the Digital Tradition.
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15 Apr 22 - 11:47 AM (#4139155) Subject: RE: Origins: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: Jeri Joe, I suspect that the word "vie" should be "lie", because why would those who accused her of being a witch think it was a problem that she was fighting with Satan? Anybody have the album? |
15 Apr 22 - 11:56 AM (#4139157) Subject: RE: Origins: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: Jeri Never mind. The song is on YouTube, here. |
15 Apr 22 - 03:31 PM (#4139173) Subject: RE: Origins: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: Joe Offer Yeah, Jeri, I wonder how to treat such things. When I copy something directly from a source, I usually post it with mistakes and all. If I correct something, I put it in italics or a different color. I agree with your suggestion, so I entered the corrections in italics. -Joe- |
19 Apr 22 - 12:08 PM (#4139573) Subject: RE: Origins: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: leeneia Cotton Mather had nothing to do with any witch trials. I have read that the Salem witch trials were conducted by a backward, isolated settlement which was looked down upon at the time. However, there was no legal way that the mainstream population could take over and put a stop to the trials. |
21 Apr 22 - 12:38 AM (#4139707) Subject: RE: Origins: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: Joe Offer I dunno, Leeneia - According to Cotton Mather himself, he was involved at least in the executions that followed the witch trials. He wrote a book to explain his actions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Mather |
26 Apr 22 - 07:00 PM (#4140300) Subject: RE: Origins: Suzannah Martin / Susanna Martin From: GUEST well how wonderful this thread is still alive! I am researching a bit about it for a book I am writing and came across this page. I do notice the lyrics about the cat have two different tones, but I believe "fearsome mien" is correct. Hope all your fine Mudcatters are doing well! love Peg |