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ethan signer, eric von schmidt, martin carthy, bob dylan and richard farina, troubadour club, london, england, january 12, 1963. photos by alison chapman mclean

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Presenting the results of my latest hyperfixation

Tam Lin is a Scottish folktale, usually presented in ballad form, dating back to at least the 16th Century. It has been summarized and re-told by different people over the years, including Overly Sarcastic Productions. It is the subject of a one-act opera, and was the inspiration for a 1970 movie that updated the story to the present day.

The fairy queen yells at Tam Lin in every version analyzed except for the Anais Mitchell version. Her version is an outlier in many respects, since the entire parade is left out, Janet simply grabs hold of Tam Lin mid-conversation.

Another oddity is Pentangle's version, which was written for the movie and consists of a jumble of images meant to complement scenes from the film, without a coherent narrative.

The biggest surprise to me is how few versions mention Janet seeking an abortion, something that I had always thought of as a central part of the story.

One thing I wish I could have looked at in more depth is the balance between versions that describe Tam Lin's transformations before he goes through them, and versions that describe them as they happen. As they happen is more common, but some songs will do the entire sequence twice.

Going into this, I had two versions prominent in my mind: Anais Mitchell's pop-folk version that leaves out much of the story, and Anne Briggs' very traditional (and very long) version. Because of this, I thought perhaps we would see a decrease in the complexity of the story over the years, but that's not the case, it's basically flat. I think a better comparison might be to separate into traditional and revised versions, although that is something of a judgment call.

There were so many minor discrepancies I couldn't even keep track of them all, but these four stood out because they are so oddly specific. Even the main character's name and the setting aren't consistent across versions, if they're even mentioned at all. Some versions don't even give the main character a name!

My data collection process leaves a lot to be desired, as well as the way in which I decided which events were major or minor, and which things to leave out altogether. This was mainly just a fun way to explore different versions of my favorite folktale, listen to a lot of different people sing different versions of the ballad, and rotate the whole thing in my brain.

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Lucy Wan - Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick

Lucy sits at her father's door Weeping and making moan. By there come her brother dear, "What ails thee, Lucy Wan?" "I ail, I ail, dear brother," she cries, "I will tell you for why. There is a child between my two sides That is from you, dear brother, and I." He's took out his good longsword Hanging down by his knee, And he has cutted off poor Lucy Wan's head, Oh my Lord, how she bleeds. Outen come her thick heart's blood. Outen then come the thin. He is away to his mother's house. "What ails thee, Georgie Wan?" "What's that blood on the point of your sword? Son come tell to me." "That is the blood of my greyhound. He would not run with me." "Greyhound's blood was ne'er so red, Son come tell to me." "That is the blood of my grey mare. She would not hunt with me." "Grey mare's blood was ne'er so clear, Son come tell to me." "That's not the blood of my grey mare, but 'tis the blood of my sister, Lucy." "Oh, what'll you do when your father comes to know? Son come tell to me." "I will set foot in the bottomless boat, And I will sail the sea." "And when will you come back again? Son come tell to me." "When the sun and the moon dance on yon hill And that may never be."

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Swarb sketch from last night :)

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'VACANCIES For Name Band. The long-established pop group Fairport Prevention have the following situations vacant (Yes folks, you must be vacant to apply):

AN EVIL LOOKING, SPACED-OUT FIDDLER (No, this is not an advert for a manager). No applicants over 3' 6" need apply. Wages: 26 ounces of duff grass per week.

BASS PLAYER with that twangy adenoid sound. man. Must be able to consume 18 pints of beer per night.

WHIZZ KID LEAD GUITARIST. Must be capable of wheedly-whooping at 140 miles per hour and chasing spotlights around the stage at the same time.

SARCASTIC PERCUSSIONIST. Should be able at all times to play cross-rhythms, poly-rhythms, quadruple flam-paradiddles, triple beat dim-flarapiddles and all that flashy stuff what the plebs can't follow. Strictly no straight 3/4 please (Only Buddy Rich and Dave Clark need apply).

HUSBAND AND WIFE SINGING DUO. She should: Sing like an angel, look like a dream on stage, possess that indefinable charisma, and be able to start the chorus at least 16 bars before anybody else. He should: Croak dem ole familiar folk songs in the 15 cycles per second range, sport; tell a good story, be able to concert tune 43 guitars in 6 weeks and be not less than 7 feet tall in his drainpipe trousers.

FAIRPORT PREVENTION is protected by the Ancient Monuments Act 1956. P.S. Soundchecks our speciality (about once every vernal equinox!)'

– Advert for 'Fairport Prevention', December 1975

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1972

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Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, "Blackwaterside"

A gorgeous voice with masterful accompaniment. If you like Sandy Denny, Anne Briggs is the OG. She recorded little—only two solo albums in 1971 and one other that was recorded in the early '70s and only released 25 years later.

A keening voice. She didn't really gaf about fame or a career in music and behaved accordingly, either absenting herself to places like the Hebrides or, earlier in life, partying hard (English folk-rock luminary Richard Thompson "recalled that he only ever encountered Briggs twice and on both occasions she was drunk and unconscious."). But there are a few other places where one can hear her voice, including a few tunes on this recording of British "traditional erotic songs" such as "The Whirly Whorl," the story of the sexual incompatibility between a young bride and an old groom:

"Well, first she modestly turned her back And then she turned her front, And long she wished for kindliness But kindness she got none. So at last she’s grabbed him all in her arms And shoved him against the wall, Saying, 'Are you there, you silly old devil? You’ve lost your whirly whorl!'"

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one of my favorite lesser-known ballads is the famous flower of serving men, and some little thumbnail doodles i made got away from me so here is the full ballad illustrated

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Playing the “Maryland,” Scott Street, Glasgow (c1967)

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Pre-covid, the co-op I live in occasionally hosted folk song events, and a couple years ago I came across a stash of wee booklets labeled "Pub Songs" and had to learn all of them.

Anyway, of all the songs I could have stuck in my head today, I am all right with it being this one.

She was so blithe, so buxom, so beautiful and gay, Now listen while I tell you what her daddy used to say: "Oh treat me daughter decent, don't do her any harm. And when I die I'll leave you both me tiny little farm. Me cow, me pigs, me sheep, me goats, Me stock, me field and barn, And all the little chickens in the garden."

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Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick - St. Andrews Folk Club, Fife, Scotland, 1968

Since we listened to Dylan playing "Girl From The North Country" yesterday, let's listen to the guy Bob kinda/sorta learned it from — living legend Martin Carthy! More than 60 years later, Dylan and Carthy are still pals, according to a recent Uncut interview: "He's a mate, it's a real friendship, and he always looks after his friends. I last saw him when he came over in autumn 2022, it was lovely."

Yeah, that is lovely! Let's keep the loveliness flowing with this very nice tape of Martin and his old sparring partner Dave Swarbrick, entertaining the folks up in Fife. A totally good time, Carthy's keen vocals and nimble guitar backed magnificently by Swarb's fiddle and mandolin (and occasionally some dude on spoons). It's funny to realize — no matter how fully formed and settled in their set sounds — that playing trad-folk like this was a pretty new mode. These guys were pioneers!

The pair would part ways for the time being in '69, with Swarbrick going electric with Fairport Convention. From that same Uncut interview: "Swarb said, 'Joe Boyd wants me to go and play with this fucking band of his. Oh, you know me, man, I like jazz, I can't bear this rock 'n' roll, it's all bollocks.'" Never mind the bollocks, here's Liege & Lief!

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ALLMUSIC STAFF PICK

Peter Bellamy The Transports: A Ballad Opera by Peter Bellamy 1977 British Folk

Widely considered the late Peter Bellamy’s masterwork, the 1977 ballad opera The Transportstells the true story of Henry Cabell and Susannah Holmes, a pair of English convicts transported to Australia in the 18th century, set to period instruments, and featuring vocals by Norma Waterson, Mike Waterson, Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, and A.L. Lloyd.   - Stewart Mason

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"A long time ago I came across The Dominion of the Sword in a Penguin anthology of War Poetry, and the longer I have known it the better it’s got. It was written in 1649 by an anonymous pamphleteer and with the removal of verses or lines particular to that time becomes a reflection of the propaganda lie currently being touted for all it’s worth (again) that violence or the threat of it will get you nowhere. The tune is adapted from a Breton pipe tune called Ar Ch’akouz (The Leper)."

— Martin Carthy

Lay by your pleading, law lies a-bleeding Burn all your studies down, and throw away your reading Small power the word has, and can afford us Not half so much privilege as the sword does...

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The Watersons, of of the great British folk groups of the 1960s.

Left to right: Lal Waterson, John Harrison, Mike Waterson and Norma Waterson.