MUSIC: "Other Side of Town" by John Prine (RIP)

John Prine 

(October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020)

Rest in Peace

Thanks for all you gave to this world

"An American country folk singer-songwriter. He was active as a composer, recording artist, and live performer from the early 1970s until his death and was known for an often humorous style of original music that has elements of protest and social commentary.

Born and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Prine learned to play the guitar at the age of 14. He attended classes at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. After serving in West Germany with the U.S. Army, he moved to Chicago in the late 1960s, where he worked as a mailman, writing and singing songs as a hobby.

A member of Chicago's folk revival, he was discovered by Kris Kristofferson (although Prine himself credited film critic Roger Ebert), resulting in the production of Prine's self-titled debut album with Atlantic Records in 1971. The acclaim earned by this LP led Prine to focus on his musical career, and he recorded three more albums for Atlantic. He then signed to Asylum Records, where he recorded an additional three albums. In 1984 he co-founded Oh Boy Records, an independent record label with which he would release most of his subsequent albums. After his battle with squamous cell cancer in 1998, Prine's vocals deepened into a gravelly voice. Prine died on April 7, 2020 of COVID-19.

Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for humorous lyrics about love, life, and current events, as well as serious songs with social commentary and songs that recollect melancholy tales from his life. In 2020, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award." (Wikipedia)

John Prine

"Other Side of Town"

from his album, Fair & Square

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/D2g0CaneKXY

MUSIC: "Sweet Adeline" by Avriel & the Sequoias

FEELIN' GOOD HARMONY!!!

I really love the energy of this song and video

Great song to begin our weekend

(it's not the Sweet Adeline from the I Love Lucy Show : )

You will notice Avriel is Avi from yesterday's Music

He is the former bass singer of Pentatonix

"Sweet Adeline"

by

Avriel & the Sequoias

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/m7g7N29KUok

MUSIC: "Shenandoah" performed by Sissel Kyrkjebø

Shenandoah

A Beautiful Rendition of this Song

One of the Great American Folk Songs

Popular in Walt Whitman's time

"Shenandoah" (also called "Oh Shenandoah", or "Across the Wide Missouri") is an American folk song, dating to the early 19th century.  The lyrics may tell the story of a roving trader in love with the daughter of an Native American chief; in this interpretation, the rover tells the chief of his intent to take the girl with him far to the west, across the Missouri River. Other interpretations tell of a pioneer's nostalgia for the Shenandoah River Valley in Virginia, and a young woman who is its daughter; or of a Union soldier in the American Civil War, dreaming of his country home to the west of the Missouri river. The tune  was also used for sea shanties, of sailors longing for home."

I love Sissel's performance of this song

Having the "fiddle" and the "penny whistle"

Gives it a more authentic feel

Sissel Kyrkjebø

"Shenandoah"

Live performance from 2001

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/W1EG_4IBzbA

MUSIC: "The Skye Boat Song" performed by Ella Roberts

 Hauntingly Beautiful

Most beautiful rendition I've heard so far

Very lovely video fitting the song

The Skye Boat Song

performed by

Ella Roberts

The History Behind "The Skye Boat Song"

"The Skye Boat Song" is a late 19th century Scottish lullaby recalling the voyage of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) to the isle of Skye as he evaded capture by Government troops after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The song was written over a century later.

Backstory:

"Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) was the grandson of King James II (House of Stuart.) James II was the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland. James II reigned for three years before being deposed and sent into exile in 1688. In the mid-1700's, Bonnie Prince Charlie led the efforts to restore the House of Stuart to the thrones. This movement was called the Jacobite Revolt. It was named after Jacobus, the Latin form of James. 

In 1745, Charles led the Jacobite Rebellion to regain the throne for his father James (would be James III). Though he and the Jacobites had early successes, their rebellion ended with their defeat at The Battle of Culloden in 1746. The battle was a crushing and deadly defeat for the Jacobites and Highlander culture. It brought an end of the Jacobite Movement and a permanent exile for Prince Charlie. 

Charles's daring escape after the final Battle of Culloden has become the stuff of legend and is commemorated in the popular folk song "The Skye Boat Song". Hiding in the moors of Scotland, he was always barely ahead of the government forces. Though many Highlanders saw Charles, and indeed aided him, none of them betrayed him for the £30,000 reward offered. Charles was assisted by many supporters including Flora MacDonald, who helped him escape to the Isle of Skye by taking him, disguised as her Irish maid, "Betty Burke", in a small boat. In this way he evaded capture and left the country aboard the French frigate L'Heureux, arriving back in France. With the Jacobite cause lost, Charles spent the remainder of his life—except for one brief, secret visit to London—on the continent." (Wikipedia)

~*~

Vocab:

Bonnie Prince Charlie = the lad that's born to be king

Flora = Flora Macdonald who helped Charles escape

bonnie = good

claymore = "Great Sword"

Lyrics

Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing

Onward the sailors cry

Carry the lad that's born to be king

Over the sea to Skye

Loud the wind howls

Loud the waves roar

Thunderclaps rend the air

Baffled our foes

Stand by the shore

Follow they will not dare

Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing

Onward the sailors cry

Carry the lad that's born to be king

Over the sea to Skye

Many's the lad fought on that day

Well the claymore did wield

When the night came

Silently lain

Dead on Culloden field

Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing

Onward the sailors cry

Carry the lad that's born to be king

Over the sea to Skye

Though the waves heave

Soft will ye sleep

Ocean's a royal bed

Rocked in the deep

Flora will keep

Watch by your weary head

Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing

Onward the sailors cry.

Carry the lad that's born to be king

Over the sea to Skye

The tune of this song in used in the TV series, Outlander, using different lyrics. Outlander is set in the historical period of the Jacobite Revolt in the Highlands of Scotland. 

The first two seasons of Outlander are currently playing on Netflix.

"The Skye Boat Song"

performed by

Ella Roberts

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/XBSqQPP4aVM

MUSIC: "Lisa Lan" performed by Katherine Jenkins

GORGEOUS!!!

In honor of my Welsh heritage

"Lisa Lan" 

performed by 

Katherine Jenkins 

with the

Philharmonia Orchestra

conducted by

Nicholas Dodd

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/04WfaPtkNrA

Music from my Childhood: Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" performed by Peter, Paul and Mary

 Continuing the series

Music from my Childhood

One of my Favorite Songs

I don't believe in labeling people

But it is difficult not to

In a culture that focuses on labeling

With that said

It is no secret 

That some people would label me

(even disparagingly by some) as

A Bleeding Heart

Peacenik

Progressive 

Liberal

Tree Hugging

Hippie

These terms are supposed to be insults

But I prefer being labeled these

Rather than their alternatives

Labels and stereotypes

Can never describe the whole of a person

We are all so much more complex

In all our various subtle shades and hues

I guess I'd be labeled in this way because

Of my Love for Humanity

My overwhelming desire 

To put Love over profit

To reduce suffering in the lives of all people and

To make the world a better place

For all people to live

It was growing up with songs like this

That influenced my thinking

This song in particular

Resonated with my heart and spirit

Influencing me to choose

Peace and Love over fear and greed

Blowin' In The Wind Lyrics

by Bob Dylan

(Peter, Paul and Mary version)

"How many roads must a man walk down

Before they call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

How many times must the cannonballs fly

Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind.

How many years must a mountain exist

Before it is washed to the sea?

How many years can some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free?

How many times can a man turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind.

How many times must a man look up

Before he can see the sky?

How many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

How many deaths will it take till he knows

That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind."

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

~*~

Peter, Paul and Mary

perform

"Blowin' in the Wind"

by Bob Dylan

YouTube Directd Link: https://youtu.be/1Hhi0i0UDS0

Music from My Childhood: "The Reverend Mr. Black" by The Kingston Trio

Continuing the Series

Music from my Childhood

A Great Old Ballad

I loved the ballads from my childhood

Here's one that tells a story that captivated me as a kid

Especially that lumberjack part

from 1963

The Kingston Trio

"The Reverend Mr. Black"

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/MfEA_4gFDgo

Music from my Childhood: "Puff, The Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul and Mary

Another song from my childhood

That I played on our  

Philco Stereo Record Player

I remember playing this song a lot as a kid

The sadness of the story captured me

Seems like I asked my mother about it

But I can't remember what she said

Contrary to the urban myth

This song is not about drugs

It is about childhood

-the loss of innocence 

that comes with the end of childhood

 from 1963

Peter, Paul and Mary

"Puff, The Magic Dragon"

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/2elWJFmFpps