music is my life :)
Jun. 10th, 2006 10:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
floatingleafSo, does anybody around here like obscure British folk-rock from the seventies?... Or am I the only one? Because I've been totally ecstatic of late about a band called The Strawbs. Now, I freely admit that I would have never even heard about them if not for a certain radio program back in Poland, many years ago - but that in itself is a topic for a separate post. Anyway... I've been rediscovering their music, kind of amazed that it's actually so easy to find, on Amazon and other places (guess they were more popular than it seemed to the poor, ignorant me back then... LOL). I have also found that they have an official website, with all the lyrics included. Which is great news to me, because their lyrics are amazing. I love songs that have plenty of drama and emotion in them, songs that tell a story... and the Strawbs seem to specialize in that particular kind of epic ballad where the music is used to give more power to the verse. If I were to compare their style to something more widely known, I would say Jethro Tull (which I also adore, btw) - even the vocals of Dave Cousins sound sort of similar to those of Ian Anderson. And the Strawbs also lean heavily towards progressive rock - even though while searching online I usually found them listed under "British folk". Anyway - I just had this sudden urge to share the lyrics of my favorite ballad...
The village square stands quiet with the curfew still in force
The streets are even clear of dogs and whores
Like some evil bird of prey the scaffold spreads its wings
The people build their fires and bolt their doors
The mayor is giving dinner to the officers and wives
His eldest son is learning how to fawn
The barrack block is hushed and tense, the soldiers drawing lots
Who will be the hangman in the dawn.
The lot falls on a young man who has served for but a year
His home is in the village close nearby
He shivers at the thought of what he's forced to do next day
He wonders who it is that has to die
The full moon casts a cold light on the gloomy prison walls
The papist walks his cell, he cannot sleep
He hears the waiting gallows creaking just beyond the door
He prays for he has no more tears to weep.
The day begins to break, the muffled drums begin to sound
A crowd begins to gather in the square
The presence of the hangman in his terrifying mask
Weighs heavy on the minds of all those there
The colonel reads the sentence which the papist knows by heart
He has failed to show allegiance to the King
His crime is thus with God himself, in His name he must hang
The papist, head held high, says not a thing.
The jailer binds his hands and puts the blindfold to his eyes
He leads him through the door before the crowd
The hangman sees his victim and the blood drains from his face
He sees his younger brother standing proud
The hangman tries to protest but is ordered to proceed
His trembling hands begin to take the strain
His eyes are blind with streaming tears, he cries for all to hear
"Forgive me God, we hang him in thy name".
The song is performed in a very lively, dramatic way, the closing line shouted out several times, then ending so abruptly you can almost hear the squeak of the gallows as the body goes down. I swear I get a shiver down my spine every time I listen to it, no matter how often that is. Just... stunning. And it doesn't really matter that I don't know the historical reality behind the events. It's the personal tragedy and the symbolic meaning of making someone 'kill a brother in God's name' that matters here. The message is as clear as it can get. Btw, the song was written by Dave Cousins, who is the author of most lyrics for the band. It's not some anonymous ballad from a book of old verse - though it sounds like one. And there are many other gems like this on my two-CD The Very Best of the Strawbs collection...
OK. Time to stop rambling and boring innocent people.;) Not that I actually expect anyone to read this, btw - feel free to skip, dear friends and casual acquaintances, though I guess I should warn you that there might be more posts like this one coming from me in the near future, as I keep busily expanding my music library...;D
The village square stands quiet with the curfew still in force
The streets are even clear of dogs and whores
Like some evil bird of prey the scaffold spreads its wings
The people build their fires and bolt their doors
The mayor is giving dinner to the officers and wives
His eldest son is learning how to fawn
The barrack block is hushed and tense, the soldiers drawing lots
Who will be the hangman in the dawn.
The lot falls on a young man who has served for but a year
His home is in the village close nearby
He shivers at the thought of what he's forced to do next day
He wonders who it is that has to die
The full moon casts a cold light on the gloomy prison walls
The papist walks his cell, he cannot sleep
He hears the waiting gallows creaking just beyond the door
He prays for he has no more tears to weep.
The day begins to break, the muffled drums begin to sound
A crowd begins to gather in the square
The presence of the hangman in his terrifying mask
Weighs heavy on the minds of all those there
The colonel reads the sentence which the papist knows by heart
He has failed to show allegiance to the King
His crime is thus with God himself, in His name he must hang
The papist, head held high, says not a thing.
The jailer binds his hands and puts the blindfold to his eyes
He leads him through the door before the crowd
The hangman sees his victim and the blood drains from his face
He sees his younger brother standing proud
The hangman tries to protest but is ordered to proceed
His trembling hands begin to take the strain
His eyes are blind with streaming tears, he cries for all to hear
"Forgive me God, we hang him in thy name".
The song is performed in a very lively, dramatic way, the closing line shouted out several times, then ending so abruptly you can almost hear the squeak of the gallows as the body goes down. I swear I get a shiver down my spine every time I listen to it, no matter how often that is. Just... stunning. And it doesn't really matter that I don't know the historical reality behind the events. It's the personal tragedy and the symbolic meaning of making someone 'kill a brother in God's name' that matters here. The message is as clear as it can get. Btw, the song was written by Dave Cousins, who is the author of most lyrics for the band. It's not some anonymous ballad from a book of old verse - though it sounds like one. And there are many other gems like this on my two-CD The Very Best of the Strawbs collection...
OK. Time to stop rambling and boring innocent people.;) Not that I actually expect anyone to read this, btw - feel free to skip, dear friends and casual acquaintances, though I guess I should warn you that there might be more posts like this one coming from me in the near future, as I keep busily expanding my music library...;D
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Date: 2006-06-14 02:37 am (UTC)Ha! I somehow knew you had supernatural abilities...;P